CHRISTABELL

From the same author who brought you BENEATH HIS HANDS,

comes a story about love, betrayal, and the kind of connection that changes everything.

Not every heart gets to choose who it beats for.

Not every promise survives the truth.

And sometimes… what breaks you is exactly what sets you free.

~AnonymouslyE

*CHRISTABELL*

I’m Christabell — yes, with two L’s.

I’m the only daughter in my family, sandwiched between two brothers: Caleb, the older one, and Coco, my baby brother.

Caleb and I are sworn enemies half the time. We argue a lot, but somehow, we still love each other more than we’ll ever admit.

I come from a rich family — actually, the second richest in all of Washington, D.C. My family is all about money and business. Even marriage, to them, is just another transaction.

My parents didn’t marry for love.

“Marriage is a transaction — you give, you take. If love comes later, then it’s your luck,” they always say.

I guess they must have gotten lucky, because they did fall in love eventually. Three children are proof enough of that.

I’ve only got one close friend — Julian. He’s not just my best friend though; he’s also my betrothed.

Julian and I have known each other since we were kids, and we’ve done almost everything together. Same school, same doctor, same chauffeur. The only thing we stopped doing together after he turned seven was taking baths.

Julian is a year older than me — well, eleven months, for anyone counting.

Our dads wanted us in the same class, but our moms refused, so now he’s a grade ahead. He just turned seventeen and finally got his own car, which practically makes him my personal chauffeur.

People are always jealous of us. I can’t blame them though — Julian and I are inseparable. He’s the most popular guy in school, and I barely talk to anyone else.

Our relationship doesn’t really have ups and downs; we just… work. We never fight because we both know we’ll end up together no matter what.

It’s the first day of school, Mom’s voice called from downstairs.

“Christaball, hurry up! You’re going to be late for the first day of school!”

I spit toothpaste onto the sink and grabbed my hair brush. “Almost ready,” I called back. Do they not understand? Perfect hair takes time.

When I finally slid down the stairs, the smell of toast and orange juice hit me. Everyone was already dressed. Caleb sat at the table, cereal in hand, grinning.

“And the queen of lateness arrives yet again,” Caleb teases.

I roll my eyes. “Good morning, Mom,” I say, hugging her before turning to my dad. “Good morning, Dad.”

“Good morning, pumpkin,” Dad says, ruffling my hair.

“Dad!” I groan. “I’ve told you not to touch my hair, especially when I’m ready for school!”

He laughs. “But you used to love it when I did this.”

“That was when I was a kid,” I complain. “Not anymore.”

“Alright, alright. No more hair-touching.” He grins, and I roll my eyes again. I know he’ll do it next time anyway.

I sit down across from Coco, who’s quietly eating his cereal. It’s funny — my parents had Caleb and me just three years apart, but then waited seven whole years before Coco came along.

“Hey, Coco,” I greet.

“Hi, sister,” he replies softly.

Coco doesn’t talk much, but trust me, that boy is a genius. He solves math problems I can’t even look at. Personally, I think girls like me shouldn’t stress our pretty brains over math — but who am I kidding? There are girl-math geniuses in my class. I’m just not one of them.

A loud honk from outside snaps me back to reality. My heart sinks. Julian’s here… and he hates waiting, especially on the first day of school.

“Hey, good morning, Bills,” Julian’s familiar voice calls as he walks into the dining room.

One of the perks of being betrothed is that he’s basically family. He can come over anytime he wants, and it’s the same for me at his house.

Julian stands tall at six-foot-one, with a face that could make angels jealous. There’s a small birthmark on his chin that only makes him more beautiful. I always say God really took His time with him.

“Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad,” he greets, kissing my mom’s cheek before turning to me. “Baby, don’t tell me you’re not ready.”

“Okay,” I say with a smirk, “I won’t tell you.”

He groans. “You’re evil, Bell Bell.”

I shoot him a deadly look. “You know I hate that name.”

“Sorry,” he says quickly, bowing playfully. I try not to laugh, but he always gets to me.

“You two know you’re not the only ones here, right?” Caleb interrupts, looking at us like we just ruined his breakfast.

“It’s not our fault you’re single, dumbass,” I fire back.

“Am I?” he says with a smug grin, grabbing his bag and heading out the door.

“Wait — tell me! Ugh, dammit, he left again!”

“I’m waiting, baby,” Julian says, reminding me how late we are.

“I guess I’ll skip breakfast,” I sigh, giving him my best puppy eyes.

He laughs. “Don’t do that, Chris. I’m already late — my meeting starts in five minutes.”

“Fine. Let’s go. Coco, you ready?”

“Yeah,” he says simply.

We always drop him off at his middle school on the way. Caleb goes to a different school entirely; he likes staying low-key and doesn’t want people knowing he’s the son of the Almighty Bills.

Mom and Dad left for work — she’s a doctor, and he’s a business tycoon. Their chauffeur drives them, while Caleb insists on driving himself. That leaves Julian, Coco, and me in Julian’s car.

Coco claims the back seat. “I love me a good twenty minutes of peace and silence,” he always says. Works for me — I get uninterrupted time with Julian.

We drop Coco off, and then it’s just us. As usual, everyone at school stares when we arrive. I don’t get why they can’t just mind their business, but I guess that’s the downside of being rich — and betrothed to the school’s golden boy.

Julian walks me to class, holding my hand. He has Chemistry first period, and I have English, so we part ways reluctantly.

“See you at lunch?” he asks.

“Of course,” I smile.

When he walks away, the day suddenly feels a little duller.

*CALEB’S POV*

I pull into the school parking lot, only to get tackled by my best friend, Jared.

“What the hell, man?” I snap.

He looks offended. “Dude, what are you?”

“What am I?” I frown.

“I thought we were best friends, but now I know you don’t give a damn about me.”

Oh no. He knows. So much for keeping things quiet.

“Look, I’m sorry, man. I should’ve told you, but I was trying to keep things low for a while.”

He crosses his arms. “So how long have y’all been dating?”

“What?”

“How long have you and Camille been dating?” he repeats, and I almost laugh from relief. Oh, that secret.

“Man, you scared me,” I say.

Jared glares. “Wait — was that not the secret you were keeping? You’ve got another one?”

I laugh. “No, relax. How’d you even find out?”

“She told Stella, and Stella asked me to confirm.”

I groan. “She told your sister? The parrot? We agreed not to tell anyone until today!”

We’re still arguing when Camille — the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen — walks up to us.

“Hey, Jared,” she says sweetly before turning to me. I barely get a word out before she kisses me.

“Hey, baby.”

The whispers start instantly.

“Oh my God, did Caleb and Camille just kiss?”

“Was I dreaming?”

“Camille just stole the guy of my dreams!”

Exactly what I was trying to avoid. I’ve hated attention since birth — literally. Mom says I screamed my lungs out when more than one doctor entered the delivery room.

Jared suddenly turned towards them and announces, “Caleb and Camille are officially dating, so y’all better get used to it!”

Great. Now the whole school knows.

Camille, being the queen of dramatics, isn’t done. She faces them too and declares, “Caleb is my boyfriend now! No one better be drooling over him — he’s mine!”

And just like that, my quiet life is over.

Still… maybe giving love a second chance won’t be so bad.

*BACK AT THE BILLS’ MANSION*

~Christabell

When we get home, Julian and I go up to my room like we always do. Usually, we just talk and laugh about our day — but this time, he’s quiet.

“What do you mean you want us to be together?” I ask, confused. “Julian, we are together. Can’t you see that?”

“Chris, I know we are,” he says, taking my hands, “but we don’t act like people who are together. We only hold hands. We barely hug. Christabell, we’ve never even kissed — let alone done anything more.”

His words leave me speechless. He’s right. We’ve been together all this time, but it’s like we’ve been… waiting. I always thought being betrothed meant there was no rush — we’d have forever later.

“I’m sorry, Julian. I never thought about it that way.” I take a deep breath. “Come here.”

Then it happens — my first kiss.

With him.

The boy I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

When we finally pull apart, I whisper, “We can kiss, Julian. But the rest can wait. We’re betrothed, and we’ll be together always and forever, right?”

He smiles. “Of course. Always and forever.”

We kiss again and spend the rest of the evening talking about college. We’ve both decided on Juilliard. We talk until night falls, and he finally heads home.

*THE McCARTHY MANSION*

~JULIAN

“Julian, is that you?” my dad calls from the living room as I walk in.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I replied.

It’s always been just Dad and me since Mom passed. Well, and Juliana — my twin sister — but she moved in with our aunt years ago.

“How was your day?” Dad asks, smiling like he’s got a secret.

“It was fine,” I say, eyeing him. “Okay, spill it.”

He laughs. “Alright, fine. You remember the woman I told you I was interested in?”

“Charlotte?”

He nods eagerly. “She invited me to dinner — at her home!”

“Dad! That’s great!” I grin, hugging him.

“The problem is… I don’t know what to wear.”

I laugh. “You have me, and you’re still worried about that? Come on.”

We head to his closet, and I help him pick an outfit.

“Wow, Dad — you look amazing,” I say proudly. “Maybe I should go into fashion design.”

He chuckles. “If you think it’s nice, then why not?”

That’s one of the things I love about him — he’s always supportive of everything I do.

He heads off to his date, and I finish my homework. Later, I video call Christabell until she falls asleep. Afterward, I do a bit of research on design, and before I know it, I drift off too.