Chapter One: Autumn Falls

Cursed Love: Sometimes love is thrust upon you

The crunch of dead leaves the colors of fall broke under Nadir’s black hiking boots. He took a deep breath of the sharp crisp winds of the fall weather, the wind hit in with the force of a thousand knives. Nadir welcomed the pain. He shoved his hands in his pockets. He’d left the Reign estate early that morning needing to get out.

Away from his parents who were looking over preparations for the merger of two great companies. Two dynasties about to become one. Away from his Grandmother and her secret smiles, she was so very pleased that her grandson was following her strict wishes. More than anyone else, he was trying to get away from his sister and all her disappointment. Looking at her made him remember all the broken promises. The life he’d been on the edge of. Inches away from happiness.

He hadn’t come with the intention of taking a hike, but he found that he was quite enjoying being outside of the gilded walls of the Reign estate. As he walked he heard the slight crunch from the trail above. Even so, he was still quite startled to see a figure fall and slide down the hillside. Alarmed he watched as the figure righted themselves on the trail. The person, he realized was a woman.

As he got closer he realized it was a woman he knew extremely well. He heard her muffled curses and wished he had chosen anywhere else to go today. Even so, he couldn’t stop walking towards her. She had a mustard yellow knitted cap on top of her wavy highlighted hair. She wore a too big leather jacket that clearly belonged to her cousin Bram and ripped jeans with her yellow hiking boots.

She was frowning brushing off the dirt and leaves off her knees. As she started to brush the back of her clothes, she turned slightly and finally saw Nadir walking up to her. He saw the moment the surprise at seeing someone turned to regret when she realized who had just appeared to her.

“Hello, Cate.” Nadir watched as her already pale face turned even paler. “Hello, Nadir.” She said warily. “Are you okay?” he asked instead of grabbing her and holding her tight in his arms the way he wanted to do. She scowled in response to the question. “Of course someone had to notice me fall.” She said, resuming the brushing off of dirt and leaves. Nadir’s mind had been so consumed with all the heartbreak of being broken up with the one girl he had expected to marry, he had nearly forgotten how adorably cute Cate was.

Nadir looked away and noticed the shift of leaves on the hill. “I don’t think I’m the only one who noticed you fall.” Nadir said as he watched the hulky frame come closer and land on the same trail, in the same breath he heard Cate groan an “Oh No.” Nadir watched as the person suddenly straightened on the trail and realized for the second time in as many minutes that he recognized the person that now stood in front of him.

“DYLAN?” He said with his eyes wide. Dylan’s eyes widened and then immediately narrowed. “Nadir Reign.” He said with a curl of his lip. Cate glanced uneasily between the two of them the hatred they felt for the other simmering in the air above them.

“The two of you know each other?” Cate asked her eyes wide. Nadir turned sharply looking at Cate and then at Dylan. “How do the two of you know each other?” Nadir asked turning pale. He had hated Dylan for an extremely long time. Now he was with the woman he had loved and never had wanted to leave. His hate grew all the more as he watched his nemesis in the corporate world smirk at him.

“That’s really none of your concern. Is it?” Dylan said. Nadir tightened his hand into a fist, wanting nothing more than to punch the smirk off Dylan’s face, even knowing he couldn’t. “Your right, it isn’t my concern. Not anymore.” Nadir said glaring at Dylan. Then he turned around and walked away from Cate for the second time. His heart turning into ice.

Three Weeks Earlier…

“No. No. NO. This isn’t fair!” Natalie said tears streaming down her face. “If I don’t do this, then you will have to,” Nadir said. “Then let me do it. You have Cate. The two of you love each other so much. I don’t have that, not the way you do.” Natalie said. “No. I’m your brother. It’s my job to protect you. Not the other way around.” Nadir exclaimed.

“I thought we protected each other,” Natalie said sadly. Nadir leaned forward wiping away Natalie’s tears. “I can’t believe it’s come to this. You crying over me.” Nadir said. Natalie shuddered, backing away from her brother. “This is so stupid. They’ve never cared about the dynasty before. They let us choose what we wanted to do. Who we wanted to be.” Natalie said.

“They’ve always let us do what we want. They taught us between right and wrong and made sure that while we have everything we were aware of how to be deserving of it.” Nadir said. Natalie walked away from Nadir, going to sit on the edge of the bed. “What are you even going to say to her?” Natalie said.

“That I have to choose my family over the woman I desperately want to be with,” Nadir said with a sigh. “There’s no way to make this easy. No way around breaking her heart.” Nadir said. “How can Grandmother just suddenly announce that you’re going to marry someone?” Natalie asked sounding lost.

“Not just someone. Serilda Ryn. The heiress of a multi-billion-dollar empire.” Nadir and Natalie turned around surprised to hear a new voice. “Charlotte,” Natalie said with a gasp. “What are you doing here?” she asked surprised. Charlotte looked at them both with a sigh. “You don’t know. I had hoped you didn’t. I knew you wouldn’t be so cruel.” Charlotte said looking at Nadir. “What are you talking about?” Nadir asked a note of fear creeping into his voice.

“Put on the TV. Channel fifty-two. Apparently, your grandmother thought it prudent to announce your engagement on National TV.” Charlotte said. Natalie turning white scrambled to put on the TV. Nadir didn’t wait for the TV. He fled the room, walking away from the East wing that he and his sister had claimed when they had first moved to Boston. He stood at the railing of the massive entryway steps staring down at the glistening granite floors lost in his thoughts.

“Nadir?” he heard Charlotte’s voice say from behind him. “Charlie.” He said with a sigh. “I don’t really want to talk.” He said with a sigh. “I was with her.” She said in a rush. Nadir turned to look at her his eyes wide. “Cate?” he said his voice soft as it always was when he spoke of his girlfriend of five years. “She knows what your grandmother is like,” Charlotte said.

Nadir searched Charlotte’s eyes before he turned away from the steps his eyes lost in the scenery of the wide floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the woods outside of the estate.

“We were at the coffeehouse, after class when the news broke. She didn’t cry.” Charlotte said. Nadir smiled slightly. “She wouldn’t cry. Not in public. Not until she was alone.” Nadir said. “I need to go see her.” He said, a frown etching her face. “She doesn’t want to see you. Or talk to you. Not right now.” Charlotte said carefully as Nadir turned sharply to look at her.

“She asked me to come here, she thought you must have not known about the announcement. She said it was better off this way.” Charlotte said. “Better?” Nadir said with a break in his voice. “Yes. Better. She also wanted me to give you this.” Charlotte said, pulling out a triple folded piece of cardstock from her pocket. Nadir took the cardstock looking at the way it was folded and Cate’s careful script of his name in her favorite black ink. “Do I even want to read this?” Nadir asked.

“Maybe not. But I think you owe her that. Since clearly, you agreed to marry someone besides your girlfriend at your Grandmother’s request. And I know you must have some noble reasons for doing so. Because that’s who you are. But it still sucks. So I’m going to leave and you are going to read that and not call Cate. Give her the space she needs. The space you both need.” Charlotte said, giving Nadir a playful punch on the arm.

“And if somewhere down the road you need someone to talk to, you can call me anytime. I’m your cousin after all.” She said with a smile before he walked over to the couch and sat his eyes going back to the outside window his girlfriend’s last goodbye clenched in his hand.