Phantom Rider: The Aftermath | Book 1

Alice

I ran towards Alice. She looked stunning as always. 

"Hey, honey!" I leaned in for a hug, but she hesitated, not hugging me back. "What's wrong? I thought you'd miss me!" I teased her, all smiles, and playfully pushed her. 

"Yes, sorry, it was a long day," Alice finally responded, hugging me back awkwardly. Something about the interaction seemed off, but I brushed the feeling away.

Bill stood distant from us, holding his glass and looking in our direction, but not at me. He looked at Alice. 

I saw how Bill's and Alice's eyes locked, and I knew... my racing mind froze. Time stopped. I couldn't move or speak. That moment of recognition between them lasted too long. 

He stepped closer. I felt Bill's warm hand on my back, trying to assure me that everything was okay. I looked at him, and without words, he tried to calm me down with his eyes. 

On the other hand, Alice couldn't compose herself at all. I watched her fingers nervously play with the bracelet on her arm. Her eyes searched for a place to look - anywhere but at me.

"So, I am here to tell you all that we are no longer fighting for Tokyo as enemies," Bill broke the silence, looking around at people's faces. 

Then he looked at me, expectantly. 

"And there is something else we want to tell you," I said, feeling a rare fear that my people would not be happy with what they were about to hear. Bill scanned everyone's confused faces, then raised his eyebrow, smirked a little, and pulled me closer by my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. 

Sergei's face was priceless. He looked at our entwined hands, a smile spreading across his face in absolute excitement. 

"We are having a baby," Bill blurted out. Sometimes I hated how he spoke too soon and too honestly. "So it's a family business now." 

To my surprise, everyone was happy, and cheered, raising their glasses. "Oh my god, a baby! Congratulations!" People greeted us, pushing me away from Bill to wrap me in huge hugs. Bill stood next to me, smiling shyly and proudly. The tension calmed down, but of course, they all had questions. 

Just a few moments later, I saw Alice storming away. As she walked past Bill, her fingers slightly brushed his. 

My blood turned cold. I felt dizzy. "Would you all please excuse me? I need to find bathroom," I said, rushing after Alice. 

I found her hidden in a building next to the race tracks. Her eyes were full of tears, but once she saw me, she stepped back as if she were afraid of me. 

"Mila, not today," she begged. 

"Not today what? Alice, I'm not stupid! What is it about you and Bill?" I demanded, even though I didn't want to hear her answer. I already felt I knew, but I couldn't admit it to myself. 

"Mila, I thought you betrayed us," Alice started to cry. "I love you, Mila." 

"Love me?" I looked at her, trying to keep myself solid, but inside, my heart was cracking like glass. 

"It happened only one time," she hid her face behind her arms, ready to receive a hit. 

It took seconds for her words to reach my consciousness. And when they did... my glass heart shattered into a million pieces, causing the biggest pain I'd ever felt as if I had been cut through the inside. All my inner organs, my soul, my body, my mind turned inside out. 

"Mila, I swear it meant nothing!" she fell to her knees, begging. 

"You slept with him?" My mind fought me. I wanted to be wrong, to be the one who misunderstood something.