Page 10 of Broken Harmony (Heartbreak Melody #2)

“Tell me, Mom! Tell me how Lulu is doing!”

She’s quiet for too fucking long.

“You lied to me!” The sound that leaves me is soul-crushing. “You told me everything was okay. What the fuck did those monsters do to her?”

“Ally, let me explain,” she pleads.

“Tell me everything now!” I demand, my anger taking over as my whole body starts to vibrate.

By the time Mom is done, I wish I hadn't asked.

I’m lying on the ground, staring blankly at the wall. Everything hurts. My heart, my soul, my head.

My Lulu. My best friend. She was held against her will, fucking drugged, and god knows what else by that fucked up piece of shit.

And her parents! What kind of people do that to their kid? They’re supposed to love her! Protect her! But they handed her over to the devil himself.

All while I’ve been here, living up the good fucking life.

I’ve never hated myself more than I do right now in my entire life.

“Ally, baby, you’re scaring me. Talk to me,” Mom pleads.

“I should have been there,” I say, voice hoarse from crying. “I should have protected her.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. Nothing any of us could have done,” Mom insists.

“She’s my best friend!” I sob. “I could have checked on her more.”

“And they would have arrested you for trespassing. They’re sick people, Ally. They would have done everything they could to ruin your life.”

“I would have happily gone to jail if it meant keeping her safe.”

“Ally.”

“Don’t Ally me!” I growl. “This whole fucking time you knew all the horrors she was going through and you didn’t tell me! Why, Mom, why would you keep this from me?”

“I was trying to protect you!” she sobs.

“I was going to tell you the day you told me you won the competition. But then you told me you won, and I could hear how excited you were. You were about to start this amazing journey, Ally. I couldn’t take that away from you.

I knew if I told you, you would have come home.

You would have lost everything you worked so hard for. ”

“That wasn’t your choice to make!” I scream, grabbing the phone as I force myself into a sitting position.

“You should have told me. I could have been there for her, Mom. Maybe I couldn’t have prevented what happened, but I could have been there, holding her hand while she dealt with the horrific aftermath. She was alone.”

My chest tightens as I think about everything she’s been through, the pain she must have felt, the fear. And I wasn’t there for her.

“She was alone, and I wasn’t there to protect her.”

“I know, baby. I’m so sorry. I promise we’ve been watching out for her, making sure she has everything she needs. But it’s complicated. She’s under a no-contact order. Only the police and the Omega center have access to her.”

“She would have wanted me by her side,” I insist. But would she? I was the one who left her there, left her to be locked up and tortured.

“No, baby–”

“I’m coming home.” I struggle to get to my feet.

“What? No, Ally, don’t. There’s no point. They won’t let you see her. The trial ends today. She’s going to get her justice, baby, I promise. There’s no way they won’t lock them all up. She’s going to be okay."

“Nothing about this is okay!” I scream. “Nothing is okay. Nothing. I’m coming home. I don’t care what you say. I hate you!” I sob. “I hate you for lying to me. For taking away my chance to be there for my best friend!”

“Ally, don’t say that. Please don’t–”

I hang up the phone, throwing it on the ground as I run towards the bathroom. I made it just in time to puke up everything I had eaten this morning.

I cry harder than I’ve ever cried before, the pain in my chest so overwhelming that I’m struggling to breathe.

I need to get home. I need to see her, to make sure she’s okay.

“Fuck!” I roar. “Fuck!”

While I’ve been living this sweet life of fancy hotels and money, recording an album, making new friends, and starting a new life, the woman I’m in love with has been in literal hell.

Once I’m sure nothing else is coming up, I get to my feet, ignoring the way the world shifts under me as I stumble my way back into my room.

Grabbing my suitcase, I start shoving everything I can get my hands on into it. The only thing on my mind is getting out of here and back there.

I need to see her. To let her know how sorry I am. That I didn’t know, and if I did, I’d have been home in a heartbeat.

“Ally, what the fuck?” a voice sounds. My eyes snap up to see Julia standing in my doorway, looking at me in horror. “What are you doing?”

“Packing,” I grunt, going back to it.

“For what? You’re not leaving for another few days.”

“I’m going home.”

“Wait, what? No, you’re not.”

I swing a feral gaze her way. “Yes, I am.”

“Why?” she demands, face turning angry.

“A friend of mine is going through something, and I need to go back home.”

“Fuck,” she growls. “How did you find out?”

“What?” I pause, brows furrowing.

“Damn it.” She looks at the TV. “I thought I told them to unhook your TV.”

“Why would you do that?” What is she going on about?

“All that fucking work for nothing,” she mutters, going over to the TV and yanking out the cord. “Show me your phone.”

“What?”

“Show me your phone!” Her Alpha bark has my spine going stiff, and to my utter horror, my hand lifts and I place my phone into her hand.

Did she just... what the fuck!

“Whose phone is this?” she demands.

“Mine.”

“No. It’s not. It’s not the phone I got you.”

“That broke. Skyler got me a new one a few days ago.”

“Damn it!” She paces back and forth. “I knew it. I knew when I recognized the name, you would want to go back. I tried so damn hard to make sure you’ve seen nothing. Made sure no one said anything.”

“Wait? You knew about Lulu? About what was going on back home?”

“Of course I did.” She spins her wide eyes at me.

“I know everything about your life, Ally. It's my job. And it’s my job to make sure you do as you're told. There’s too much at stake for you to take off. You’re just getting started, and I’m not letting some fucked up drama back home in your hick town ruin my plans. Do you understand me?”

“I’m–”

“You are not going home,” she repeats, her voice an Alpha command.

“You are not to contact Lucinda. You are not going to get any information on this from your parents. You are not to mention this to anyone. At all. You are going to stay here and do what you are contracted to do. And if you tell anyone, there will be hell to pay.”

“You can’t be for real,” I gape at her, dread filling my veins like lead as the command takes hold.

She steps closer to me, her face twisting into something cruel. “You will do as I tell you, or I will make your life a living hell. Your pretty new life? I’ll take it all away. Just like that.” She snaps her fingers.

“I don’t care about any of this!” I shout. “Not if it means the people around me hurt. I’m going home, I need to see her.”

“No!” she bellows. “What you're going to do is get yourself together and meet me downstairs in five minutes. We have a press conference."

My lip peels back, and pure hatred spills from me. “I hate you.” I hate how much I’m shaking. I want to argue, but the hold she has on me is too strong. I’ve never felt like this before. Never had my control taken from me.

I hate it. It feels gross, like poison in my veins. I want to claw at my arms, pull at my hair, and scream as I feel my DNA shift, forcing me to do as she commanded.

“If you try to fight me on this, Ally, I will ruin you,” she vows, face to face with me.

I hate how weak I feel. I’ve never hated being an Omega more than I do right now.

If this is how much control an Alpha can have over me before my hormones have really kicked in, I don’t want to know what it will be like after my heats start up.

The idea makes me want to puke again.

How can someone be so cruel, to take away someone's free will like this? I’ve read about the abuse of power by Alphas, but I never thought it would happen to me.

And by someone who’s supposed to be on my side, to do what's best for my career.

She only cares about herself, what she gets out of this. I'm nothing more than dollar signs to her.

“Not only you, but I will ruin your parents’ lives and everyone you love. No one will be safe. I have a lot of power, more than you know. And if you go running to your uncle, I’ll make sure to bring him down too.”

She turns on her heel and storms out of my room, screaming at me to get ready.

I stand there in disbelief; defeated, violated, and broken.

It’s all too much, the feelings inside me coming to a boiling point. Too much too fast for my brain to process.

With a scream that rips from my chest, I pick up my suitcase and throw it against the wall. It crashes open, sending everything to the ground.

I start to go on a rampage, throwing anything I can get my hands on, breaking the TV, the fridge, shattering the glasses, and the mirror.

I go until my body collapses into a heap on the ground as guttural screams rip from my chest. I don’t care if I’m making too much noise. Good, I hope they call the police. I hope Julia gets arrested.

She’s a fucking monster, abusing her power to get what she wants.

No wonder she’s one of the most successful managers in the business. It's because she uses dirty tactics to get her way. How many other clients has she done this to?

And now I’m stuck with her, locked into a three-year contract with her as our manager.

Can I tell the guys? If I do, will she keep her promise and ruin me? My parents? My loved ones?

And what about the guys? I can’t drag them into this. They don’t deserve this.

I should have left them alone. I shouldn't have brought them into this with me. Now we're all stuck, controlled by a snake who seems hell bent on getting what she wants by any means.

I don’t know what to do. Where to go from here. How to handle everything I just found out.

What I do know is I need Lulu to be okay. Even if I can’t be there for her, she needs to be okay.

Because if she’s not, I think I just might die inside.

I might not be able to go to her, but I’m sure as hell going to make sure I do everything in my power to make sure she has everything she will ever need.

If I’m forced to keep living this life, I may as well reap the rewards and use them to my benefit.

“I love you, Lulu,” I whisper as I lie on the ground, broken and numb. “I’m so sorry, baby. So fucking sorry.”

I’m never going to forgive myself for leaving her. It is the biggest regret of my life.