Hello to all my fans. I want to take a moment to address something that I think needs to be addressed. Some of you will not agree with me, and it's okay, your opinion is valid, but truthfully, I do not want to hear any arguments or persuasions just simply say nothing in this moment. And ANY rudeness, mockery, teasing, or condemning will be automatically blocked and reported

To every person with a uterus out there, now is the time to stand together and let our voices be heard. Let our voices be loud and travel for miles. The ruling by the supreme court is not one that came as a surprise, but it is a devastating one. This is the time we need to stand together and to stand tall. We need to gather everyone and work against dehumanizing rulings that make minority groups less than. My heart goes out to each one of you. Even though we took about fifty steps back, we will take those steps back. We are strong together.

I love each one of you. Stay strong. We can win this.

Chapter Seven

"Wake up, sweetie." A soft voice said. "Come on, it's time to get up."

I opened my eyes and looked around. It took me a moment to remember everything from the previous day. I looked up to see Dora standing above me; she was already dressed in what appeared to be workout clothes.

"W-what's going on?"

"You and I are going to breakfast." She said. "Then we're going to spend all day in the spa. It's going to be so much fun. So, get up and get dressed. I laid your clothes out.

She left so I could get up. The outfit she laid out for me was exactly like hers, only blue. She didn't tell me to shower or do my hair, so I just pulled the outfit on and then walked out of the room to meet her.

She was waiting in the foyer with Caius. He was gently kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear. I waited at the foot of the stairs for them to separate. As I was waiting, a pair of arms wrapped around me.

I had been so caught off guard, I screamed. The arms tightened around me and pulled me to a body. I stopped breathing and started internally panicking.

"You're alright," Felix whispered. "I was just coming to tell you to have a good day and I can't wait to see you tonight."

I looked up at Caius and Dora to see that they were staring at us. Caius's nostrils were flared as he was obviously irritated that I had screamed. But Dora's expression was unreadable.

After a moment, Felix let me go. I stumbled to Dora's side. She wasn't any better than Felix or Caius, but she didn't scare me nearly as much.

"Your car is here," Caius said. "You two enjoy yourselves. Isabella—," He turned to me, his gaze icing over. "Behave yourself."

I cast my gaze downward and nodded. I don't know what he thought I was going to do. I was the best-behaved child in my group home. But I kept a firm belief that if you couldn't be seen or heard, then no one could hurt you.

There was a black SUV waiting out front with one man holding the door open. The man had a pair of black sunglasses on and an all-black suit. He was clearly the driver, but the gun attached to his hip made me wonder if that's all he was.

"Don't run late, Dora," Caius said as he stood in the doorframe. "I know how you can get. This dinner party is important. I plan on introducing Isabella and Felix as fiancés."

"So soon? I thought you wanted to wait a while."

"I did, but I've decided to speed things up." He said. "It's safer this way. Lord only knows who James, or his other flunky would tell. The sooner these two are married the better. That way Cullen can't try to uphold the original arrangement."

Dora nodded and smiled tightly at him. "Sounds like a good plan dear. Isabella and I will start planning the wedding after the party."

Caius smiled. "I knew I could count on you, my dear. Have a great day."

He closed the door and the two of us got into the car. I didn't say much as we drove through the city to a large building that was a luxury spa and upscale restaurant combined.

"Mrs. Volturi," The receptionist greeted. "It's so nice to see you again. Your table is all ready for the two of you. And your breakfast is on its way."

"Thank you, Sharon." Dora said. "Come Isabella, let's go eat."

I followed her to a quiet room that was full of tables and murmuring patrons. The soft music and green plants created an atmosphere that I would've normally loved. But I just couldn't love it or even feel comfortable.

As soon as we sat down, I reached forward and grabbed my glass of cold lemon water. As I drank, I noticed our driver had discreetly walked into the room. Dora's eyes shot to him momentarily before falling back onto me.

"So, Isabella—."

"Why am I being forced to marry Felix?" I blurted out; I usually didn't blurt things out like that, but I was sick of being kept in the dark. I wanted answers. I knew I wouldn't get any answers from Caius or Felix, and this might be my only opportunity to speak with Dora alone.

"There's just a lot of things that you wouldn't understand."

"Isn't he my cousin? This is illegal. You and Caius said you were my aunt and uncle."

"It's complicated."

I sighed softly and looked down at my hands. After a moment, Dora sighed heavily.

"You are not biological cousins. And that's all I will allow myself to say on that matter."

"Oh." So, it wasn't illegal. It still didn't make it better.

"Isabella, your father was one of the most powerful men on the west coast. He had unlimited access trading access with Mexico. Lots of people working for him. A lot of allies that would die for him. But he also had a lot of enemies who wanted the power and access he had." She said after a long silent moment.

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked softly.

"You were his only child, so by our laws, everything belongs to you. Unfortunately, since you are a female, you can't control the coast, only your husband can. Whoever marries you gains access to everything your father had. His territory, his money, his businesses. Your husband would become a very powerful man."

"When you say, our laws, what do you mean?" I asked; I knew she wasn't talking about American laws.

"Hmm, that's a little hard to explain," She said as she leaned back in her seat. "There are very powerful families that live in America. Those families control a lot of the comings and goings in America. Like drugs, weapons, and human trafficking, things like that. They're so powerful, they're almost untouchable. These families have different territories, and they would defend those territories with their lives because that is their livelihood. Their ancestor's legacy. And all these families tend to run in the same circle. If they aren't allies, then they stay out of each other's way. There's a list of unspoken laws that everyone pretty much follows because most of these families don't want to go to war with each other."

"What were my father's comings and goings?" I asked.

"He was mostly involved with allowing certain entities from Mexico to come into California and distribute. They paid him a lot of money to come here and sell their products. He also had a big hand in California politics and real estate. And he got pretty cozy with the CA-PD, which is why they often turned a blind eye to some of the shadier parts of his dealings."

"So, he was a bad guy." I said.

She licked her bottom lip slowly. "The shady things he did pale in comparison to the good things he did. He donated a good portion of his earnings to people in need. And with him in charge, it cut down on low-level turf wars which always result in innocent people getting hurt."

"What does your family do?" I asked.

"Caius's brother, Aro, is the leader of the Volturi family because he's the oldest. He's cooled on the shadier parts of the underground workings and now mainly focuses on security. I think his biggest account is with homeland, but he does have connections with the FBI and CIA."

"I don't want to marry Felix." I whispered.

"Don't worry about that Bella." She said before the waitress laid breakfast on the table.

Dora didn't make me overeat this time. She did make sure I had at least one plate, but she didn't force me to eat more than I wanted to. This made me tolerate Dora a little more. She had not been cold to me like Caius and Felix had. I couldn't see myself having an alliance with her, but I could see someone who had been kind to me.

After breakfast, I followed Dora into a room with dozens of lit candles and two women dressed in all-white clothing.

"Hello Dora," One of the women said softly. "And hello, Isabella. It's so nice to meet you."

"You too." I said without emotion.

"So, we have a lovely spa experience selected for you. We'll start with massages, then we'll do a full body skin rejuvenation peel, a long soak in our specialty baths, and then we'll get you ready for your party tonight. Nails, hair, makeup. The works."

"That sounds heavenly." Dora said as she moved behind the wall divider.

Dora called me to go behind the wall divider and strip. Apparently, I would spend today either in a thin robe or a naked. I don't think I'd like the spa experience too much, but it wasn't like I had a say in whether or not I did it.

I laid on the table and pressed my face against the circular pillow facing the ground. I did have a sheet around me, which made me feel better. I jumped when the woman started rubbing my back.

It was weird to admit, but I didn't totally hate the massage. At first, I was uncomfortable, but then after an hour, her soft hands and the warmed oil started to relax me. I had never allowed someone to give me a massage, I didn't realize how relaxing they were.

After the massage, we went into another room for the skin peel. This one I didn't like. They scrubbed my body down with rough stones, until my skin felt raw.

"You'll get used to it," Dora said as they finished scrubbing. "After getting this done twice a month for ten years, your skin thanks you by staying tight."

I nodded and sighed in relief when the woman finally finished scrubbing me with the stone. My skin felt a little sore and was now bright pink. The opening to the room beside us had the baths we were supposed to soak in. I didn't realize they were mud baths. I couldn't believe rich people paid money to sit in mud.

I sunk neck deep into the mud. The lady who had scrubbed my skin with the stone, tipped my head back against the pillow and started painting my face with green cream. It smelt slightly funky, but I didn't fight her.

"How do you feel, Isabella?" Dora asked after the ladies walked away.

"Fine."

"Do you like the spa?"

"I liked the massage part. I don't like this. Or the skin scrub."

She laughed. "The massages are the best part. Wait until they give you a scalp massage. You'll feel like you're on cloud nine."

I rolled my eyes under my closed lids. But there was a part of me that was… actually kind of enjoying all of this. I'd never had a spa day before, or even thought about having one, so I'd never thought about whether I'd like a spa day or not.

And in some perverse way, I felt bad for enjoying myself and allowing myself to be pampered.

Why should I be given such luxuries? I wasn't anyone special. I had never been anyone special. Why did I deserve such luxurious treatment, when there are so many others who were suffering? I could think of countless other state-wards who had had it rougher than I had. They deserved to be pampered like this, not me.

After our long mud bath, we proceeded on with our spa day. The entire day, I wished I hadn't enjoyed the spa as much as I did because I didn't deserve any of it. I wish the women who had taken care of us today were just as mean as the other adults I had encountered in my life. With the exception of the Clearwater's, of course. I figured a big part of the reason I loved the spa was because they touched me very softly, spoke softly, and always told me what they were going to do before they did it.

"Come on, come on," Dora said as we rushed into the house. "Everyone will start showing up in a few minutes and we need to be dressed."

I went upstairs into the room I was staying in and found Felix casually sitting on the bed. He was wearing a dark suit and tie, his hair slicked back. I paused in the doorway, my eyes darting to the dress that was beside him and back at him.

"You look really pretty," He smiled as he held the dress up. "I can't wait to see you in this dress."

I nodded and very slowly walked over to him. My hands were shaking as I reached out for the dress.

Without warning, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to him. I awkwardly fell into his lap, his lips smacking roughly against mine.

I screamed and on instinct started clawing at any part of him I could reach. I ended up giving him a nasty scratch on the neck, to which he promptly responded with quick, but effective chop to the back of my neck. My vision blacked out for a few seconds and when it came back, my head was spinning, and Felix was hovering over me, blood dribbling from the cut on his neck.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he snarled.

My eyes were wide as I grasped at his hand that was currently wrapped around my throat. He held me down for several moments before slowly releasing me and getting off me.

"Get dressed. People are here." He snapped as he walked out of the room.

I slowly sat up, holding myself as I shook. I couldn't hold back the tears that fell down my cheeks. My fingers brushed against the bruises that were forming around my throat.

Hopefully you liked the chapter. And hopefully you have the time to leave me a little review! Have a wonderful day, and please remember to keep yourself grounded. I know I've had to continue taking care of my mental health to keep me calm. Here are some tips to help you, if you're feeling stressed:

1. 3-3-3 Rule: Name 3 things you see, identify 3 sounds you hear, move 3 parts of your body

2. 5 to 1 Technique: 5 things you see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste

3. Rainbow Grounding: 1 red object, 1 orange object, 1 yellow object, 1 green object, 1 blue object, and 1 purple object

4. Anxiety Breathing: Inhale 1 minute, hold 3, 2, 1, Exhale 1 minute... repeat

If you're ever feeling like you need something to help you keep calm, I use this app called Finch. It is an amazing app and it is free. It has been the most helpful app to me. It's where I got these four grounding/calming techniques. One last thing before I sign off:

"If you think for one second that the capitol will ever treat us fairly you are lying to yourselves. Because we know who they are and what they do. This is what they do and we must fight back." - Katniss Everdeen

^ This is hands down my favorite quote and I think it is very fitting for the times we are in now. We are in this together. We need each other to fight against those who want to take our rights away. It is our duty to fight for future generations. And just know, the overturning of Roe v. Wade is just the beginning. They have a plan that they are implementing, and they will take more rights away from minorities. Fight Back.