The Bucket List Romance: An Enemies to Lovers Romance by Jade Warner

Author:Jade Warner [Warner, Jade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

HUNTER

It’s been three months since Ben died and two weeks since the argument between Alyssa and me. Neither of us have made attempts to communicate with the other.

None of it was really her fault, but she assumes that any family dynamic other than hers is perfect. Maybe on the outside my family looked close and happy, but reality was a different aspect. I had struggles growing up. Responsibilities and expectations of how I should be, how I should dress, how I eat, who I date… it was never-ending.

One night I decide to drive around the city, desperate for some light to come to my mind to calm the darkness creeping in.

Parking near a quiet park, I step out, hoping the cool night air might soothe my anger and when I settle on a bench, staring at the city lights that seemed to mock the chaos in my life, the frustration, the feeling of being manipulated, surge through me like a relentless tide.

My family—the very people who should have supported me—had become architects of my discontent. Their misguided attempts to steer my life had reached a boiling point, and the weight of their expectations pressed down on me like a suffocating shroud.

As memories of the dinner replay in my mind, the anger intensifies. The frustration of being treated like a puppet in their matchmaking game, the years of feeling stifled and misunderstood—all of it was a heavy burden on my shoulders.

My phone buzzes with a message from my mother, a feeble attempt to mend what felt irreparably broken. I scoff at the screen, fingers hesitating over the reply button. Harsh words dance on the tip of my tongue, but a part of me hesitates.

Ever since I was a child I’ve always had this pressure to live up to my mother’s expectations of being the perfect gentleman. My entire family is traditional, conservative, always valuing societal norms and appearances.

I’ve always strived to break away from these expectations and make my own path in life. Maybe it’s why I rebelled in school or dated different women all the time that I know my mother wouldn’t approve of. My family were always constant in my life to question my choices or subtly manipulate situations so that they fit their ideal vision of “perfect”.

I think that’s why I exploded on Alyssa the other day. Since Ben’s death, she had become something reliable and enjoyable in my life. Yet, when my family’s feeble attempt to further meddle in my life and with the only person I felt like myself, it was a line clearly crossed. I see what they did as an action of betrayal. It’s more the respecting of my boundaries which my mother has never comprehended.

I decide enough is enough and head back to the car. I quickly tap out a text and head off into the night.

The drive is short but when I arrive, my footsteps echo with newfound determination as I approach the front door. Taking a deep breath, I raise my hand to knock but the door swings open before my knuckles can make contact.

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