Swan Song

By Robin Clement

Swan Song is an enthralling tale in which the Supernatural world and Humans collide in the magical heart of New Orleans…

 

Lilibeth Anderson was the girl who thought she had it all, a loving father, a wonderful fiance and a cousin that had been by her side since the dawn of time. However, her world comes crashing down around her when the lies and deceit of those who she loves comes to light.  

 

Killian Moreau, the once heir to the throne of the Underworld, banished to the mortal realm after being framed by his younger twin brother. Now living in the City of New Orleans to live his life amongst humans  while searching for a magic that will take him back home to right the wrongs against him. 

 

But, what happens when Killian the former Crowned Prince of the Underworld meets Lilibeth, a half-angel half-fae who knows nothing of her heritage, the supernatural world or how their destinies are entwined. 

 

Is Lilibeth the key Killian has been looking for? Will she help him find his way back home to clear his name and take his rightful place on the throne? Or will he be the one who saves Lilibeth?

 

Swan Song is an enthralling novel filled with humans, supernaturals, love and the ultimate betrayal of someone you love and trust. If you like twists, turns, magic and intrigue. Then you'll love Robin Clement's  latest bewitching novel.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robin Clement
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215104422

Robin Clement

Robin was born in January ,circa 1991 and raised from birth in her home town of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Robin’s love for reading started at a very young age and has never gone away. Now she spends her free time diving into her own make believe worlds and creating stories from dreams. Robin is a graduate of the Public Relations diploma stream at Kitchener’s own Conestoga College. This was one place that really showed Robin her love for creative writing and gave her the courage to shoot for all the things she dreamt of. Robin is currently working full-time as an insurance claims adjudicator in Cambridge, Ontario on top of being a single mom raising her children to love fiction and make believe as much as she does. Robin’s stories stay in the realm of the whimsical and magical. Fantasy Romance with a twist. If asked Robin would tell you that the authors she looks up to most are J.R.R Tolkien and Stephen King- with many accolades going to other authors like Garth Nix who helped along the way. Robin attributes her passion for reading and writing to the influences she had growing up. There were always books, and always someone to read them with her until she got old enough to read them by herself. One of Robin’s fondest memories about reading is a children’s book called Zoom at Sea which she read with her Aunt Tracy as a child. From Great grandparents, grandparents, teachers and parents- Robin has always found books to be her calling participating in Silver Birch and other reading clubs during her junior school days. This love of reading has continued as Robin loves reading to her son every night and helping her daughters with stories of their own. Stay in touch! www.facebook.com/robinclementbooks https://tinyurl.com/5n7ds6u3 (Book Misfits)

Book preview

2

Secret Dinner Dates

RYLIEE

Iwas sick and tired of watching Lilibeth get everything I ever wanted, Little Miss perfect. She was the perfect student, had the perfect boyfriend and of course she had the perfect father. Hell, even my own father loved her more than me. He constantly compared me to Lilibeth. If it wasn’t for my mom being on my side, I likely would have lost it a long time ago. She was my favorite person because she saw through the bullshit. Yes, she loved Lilibeth because she was her husband’s niece. But she was different from my mom and I and that was something we bonded over.

I was at my wits end with Lilibeth, her family's secret that I have been forced to keep most of my life and the fact that she overshadowed me at every turn. When she told me that Kendryck had proposed to her, I nearly lost it. I was on the verge of mentally snapping. I didn’t want to believe it, I couldn’t believe it, but there I was earlier today looking at wedding dresses so Lilibeth could once again have the perfect life. The life I deserved with the man I always dreamed of.

I had begun to resent her; I mean I had always resented her but not to this level. We were close at one point, but that was years ago. Before high school, before she invaded my space, she was younger than me and yet she graduated in my year, with my class. Hell, she was the fucking valedictorian! While my dad and Uncle Chris gushed and fawned over the perfect Lilibeth. My mother made me feel wanted. She loved Lilibeth too, but not as much as her only child, her only daughter. The one she would do anything for.

Kendryck and I had been fooling around behind her back for a little over a year now. Call it petty, I really didn’t care. He was what I had been craving for the past five years. He should have been mine the night of the party, but my dad made me take little miss perfect along with me. Kendryck had promised me he was going to leave her. He kept telling me soon, soon we would finally be happy together. He kept reminding me that I just had to be patient, but patience wasn't my strong suit. It never had been.

I had grown shorter and colder with Lilibeth. When she asked me to be her Maid of Honor it was like a slap to the face. Once again, she won! I had been going crazy, trying to find a way to push this along, to make Kendryck leave her once and for all. I wanted my time in the spotlight and I knew if I could bag Kendryck, someone with money, with standing, I would be able to further my life in a more prestigious way. A way even my father couldn't ignore.

Looking for a wedding dress with Lilibeth was a nightmare and I was beyond thankful that I had these dinner plans with Kendryck tonight. For once his attention would be solely on me and I could relish in that. I loved these dinners, they usually turned into a long passionate night of screwing, and I could use that right now. Ken’s job was his life, that’s why he used it as an excuse to see me. Sweet little innocent Lilibeth would do nothing to damage that, to damage his reputation in the business world. Kendryck was on track to make the top 30 under 30 list for business managers in Louisiana and I wanted to be by his side when that happened.

I pulled up to the restaurant I was meeting Ken at. Sullivan's Steakhouse is usually where we met for dinner. It is a fancy restaurant, so it made sense if Lilibeth ever questioned it. It’s not like he would be entertaining his clients at the local burger joint or something simple like that. I got out of my car and made my way to the entrance of the building. It didn't look like Kendryck was here yet, I couldn’t see his Jeep Wrangler anywhere in the parking lot, so I went inside and got seated at our usual table. I ordered a glass of wine and waited. I knew I wouldn't have to wait overly long for him to arrive. Kendryck had been on the phone with me when Lilibeth got home, so I knew he would be here any minute. I had called him when I left Lilibeth at the boutique a little while ago to make sure we were still on for tonight. I needed this more than he realized.

I needed to know he wasn’t just stringing me along like it had been starting to feel like. The engagement really hurt me, I hoped he was just doing this to save face. To make it look like they were taking the next steps in their happy life together. Clearly Kendryck wasn’t so happy, or he wouldn’t have ended up on my doorstep over a year ago with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms.

Twenty minutes later I saw Kendryck walking through the door and a waiter escorted him over to our table. My heart began to race like it did every time I saw him. I had been completely infatuated with Kendryck since the night we met. I had dragged Lilibeth to that party. Dad had begged and pleaded with me to include her. After a few weeks of him pestering me to bring her I caved. I had wanted to go alone, but my ever-saintly father wanted poor Lilibeth to experience life more and get her nose out of the books.

Well, look what happened now, the joke would be on her when I was finished. I was tired of coming in second and was going to take matters into my own hands, even more than I already had.

As Kendryck sat down at the table he started talking in his low raspy voice. Ry, have you been waiting long? That voice did everything to me. It set my soul ablaze and got my panties soaking wet. I'm okay I guess, I haven't been waiting too long, 20 minutes or so. I replied, fluttering my eyelashes at him and then looked back down at my almost empty glass of wine. How did you get away from Lilibeth tonight? I asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear him explain it. It gave me pleasure to hear how he lied to her, time and time again so he could sneak off and be with me, and that pleasure is what I was after.

Oh, you know, the usual. Dinner plans with a new client. He smiled at me as he picked up his menu. Kendryck was very predictable, he always ordered the same meal whenever we came here; Wagyu bone-in strip steak with a baked potato and Caesar salad. He was a man who knew what he liked, what he wanted. He had an expensive taste and his lifestyle reflected that.

I could have easily ordered it for him, and maybe one day I would, just to throw him off his game. But he liked to take charge and it was sexy to watch him do it. As much as I loved being in control, when it came to Kendryck I would give that control up any day.

How was dress shopping? He asked, putting down his menu as my whole body tensed up. I shot him a glare. He knew better than to ask something like that. Looking at me with those big brown eyes had my frustrated demeanor just melting away. I could never stay mad at Kendryck for long, not even if I tried. It went...fine, I guess. She didn't choose a dress, it's like she's purposely tormenting me. I huffed rolling my eyes. I didn't want to spend the whole night with Ken talking about Lilibeth and he should know that. I never did, this was our time, and I wanted his attention to be focused on me, not worrying about what his fiancée was doing. She asked me to talk to you, you know? He said, shrugging his shoulders. It seemed like he knew he was in hot water with me just for bringing her up and this was his lame attempt at justifying his reason for ruining the one night a week we didn’t have to pretend, where it could just be us in our Lilibeth free love affair.

Before I could reply, a waiter came to get our order and Kendryck ordered another bottle of wine for us to share which I was thankful for. My glass was completely empty now and it was already shaping up to be one of those nights. I would likely want to find myself at the bottom of a few more.

Kendryck reached across the table, scooped up my free hand, and intertwined his fingers in mine. I'm sorry Ryliee, I know this isn't ideal. Kendryck started. I was sick of hearing the same thing time and time again, and actually started to question whether or not he was just stringing me along this whole time. I pulled my hand away from his and picked up my wine glass. I was over it. Over feeling like even with Kendryck, the person who says he loves me, that I am second best. I was sick of hearing his excuses. I understood it would look bad on him, and his pride wouldn't let him, but still, why did I have to suffer?

When our meals finally arrived, we ate them in almost complete silence. Kendryck knew I was upset, and he likely didn’t want to push his luck any further as he was currently the root of my frustrations, him dragging his feet and leading me on. I twirled the pasta from my Chicken Parm around on the fork I was holding in my hand. I wasn’t really hungry anymore, but I knew if I continued to drink at the pace I was going, I would need to eat something or I would regret it later.

The atmosphere had changed between us, and I knew this was all thanks to Lilibeth and their stupid engagement. She had to ruin everything for me. There were times I wished her father never sent her to live with us. I was happy being the only child, the apple of my father’s eye. I was his little girl. When Lilibeth came, my younger perfect cousin, that all started to change. Not right away, but over time I could see how proud my dad was of her and her accomplishments, and he began to forget about me. Thankfully, I had mom, she was always in my corner.

Lilibeth's father had sent her to Baton Rouge to hide her family's secret from her. I knew, I have known since I was seven years old. Once I tried to take Lilibeth’s locket off her, I wanted to see what was inside and she refused to open it and show me. That’s when I learned the real reason behind that necklace and the real reason she never took it off. My father had taken me aside and explained that Lili was special, that one day she would be able to know all of this, but for now, he made me promise to never tell her or anyone else what I knew, and because I loved my father, I kept this secret for 20 years.

It wasn't as late as it usually was when we finished our meal. But the deafening silence that filled our ruined evening had given me time to decide my next plan of action. I was over Lilibeth getting everything that should have been mine. It was time to take matters into my own hands regarding my current uncomfortable situation. Being who I was I knew the stories, I knew of the voodoo magic that lived in Louisiana, but especially in New Orleans. I would seek out a Bokor, a voodoo witch, someone that could help me. I knew nothing normal would work, and desperate times called for desperate measures. And this definitely classifies as the most desperate of times.

3

Hexes and Curses

RYLIEE

We had walked outside to the parking lot after Kendryck paid for everything. He stopped walking and turned to look at me. Rylee Parkins, I love you. I hope you know that! I promise, soon baby girl, soon everything will work out and we can be together. Okay? Kendryck asked as he kissed my forehead. I smiled at him and returned the action by planting a kiss on his cheek. I know Ken, sooner rather than later I hope. I replied before he opened my car door for me, and I got in the driver's seat. I didn’t want to let him know exactly what I was planning, I wanted to see a voodoo witch and get a hex which would end all of my problems first. That was the only way to do it. I would ask for forgiveness later if necessary. Kendryck and I could finally be happy, we can be together and we would be completely rid of the throne in my side, Lilibeth.

I knew I would have a long drive ahead of me, but I was determined to find a way to end this now. I needed to make everything right in my world for once. I needed to make sure Kendryck would finally be all mine and I would finally start getting the things in my life that I deserved. If I had to make that happen on my own, so be it. Clearly the fates wanted this, they wanted me and Kendryck to be together and I just needed to help speed the process along. It wouldn't be the first time the fates toyed with me, but I was going to make sure it was their last. I started the engine of my Camry as I waved goodbye to Kendryck. If everything went as planned, I would be seeing him again, real soon and this time Lilibeth wouldn’t be the main focus for him. I would make sure all his attention was on me. The way it should have been from the start. I never wanted the hassle of Lilibeth living with us. From the start I knew I'd always be second best to little miss perfect.

As I pulled out of the steakhouse’s parking lot, I was absolutely positive this was what I needed to do. Nothing else had worked over the years. Even giving Kendryck the best sex of his life didn’t keep him with me, as every night, he would go back to her, back to his apartment and get in his bed… with her. The thought disgusted me. It should have been me he was coming home from work every night too. Not sneaking off for motel and bar bathroom quickies.

As I drove through the night, I thought back over everything that had happened, everything I had been through. Keeping the secret of Lilibeth’s true identity and pretending for the last couple of years that I actually gave a fucking shit about her. It made me all the more determined to finish this once and for all; enough was enough. I was sick and tired of living this way, I wanted my own life… I deserved my own life. One that didn’t revolve around everyone I loved and cared for doting on my cousin’s every word and action. She wasn't perfect, yet everyone kissed the ground Lilibeth walked on, even Kendryck. I was tired of it and because of Lilibeth's actions I'm left to seek out a special kind of magic. One that would make sure Lilibeth was taken out of the limelight for good. Restoring the reality in which she never existed.

It's not like I didn't know my way around most of the city of New Orleans, I wasn’t a tourist looking at shops and browsing displays, I was on a mission. I knew I had to go to the French Quarter. That’s where Uncle Chris lived and because of that, I knew I would be able to find the true voodoo magic I was looking for. He had to stay close to this area, although I never understood why fully, I only assumed it was because of Lilibeth's true identity and not allowing her secret or theirs to get out.

I had finally arrived at the area in the French Quarter I had Googled earlier and was slowly driving around until I found something that resembled a seedy looking establishment. The area called The Seventh Ward was correctly named and as I pulled up outside a grungy little place called the First and Last Stop Bar, I could tell I was in the right place to find what I was looking for. Gathering all the courage I physically could, I got out of my car and walked inside the dive bar. Not knowing what I should expect to find on the other side.

The place was dark with dim lights hanging above several tables and across the bar. I walked straight up to the bartender, clearing my throat and using the biggest voice I could. I said My name is Ryliee Parkins, I am looking for a powerful voodoo witch. Someone who can hex my cousin and stop her from getting my happily ever after. I came across this place and thought this would be a promising place to start my search. I know of the magic in the French Quarter, I know exactly what I'm looking for. Can you help me? Before the scruffy bartender even had a chance to answer, I heard a dark chuckle then a deep voice behind me say, Now what would a pretty little thing like you want with one of them? You're not magical, I can smell that on you. So how is it you know what hides in the shadows around these parts? I quickly turned around to see a very tall handsome man with dark brown hair and golden highlights. He had bronzed skin and a charming smile on his face. He had a look of amusement twinkling in his eyes as he stared at me. Well, that's pretty simple. I want to find someone to place a hex on my bitch of a perfect cousin. That little prude, she has stolen everything from me, I'm tired of always coming in second best and I want my life back! I replied. The stranger looked fondly at me, like in some deranged way he knew exactly how I was feeling. I wasn't going to ask why or how he may know the feelings I felt, I didn't need to, his eyes said everything I needed to know.

Well my dear, you have certainly come to the right place. Though, you don't need a voodoo witch to hex this cousin of yours, I can help you; For the right price of course. The stranger said to me and I immediately started to lose my wits. Wh-what do you mean you can help me? I asked the stranger in a trembling voice. I didn't know who this mysterious man was, he seemed to have a presence of danger that cloaked him, but his presence also felt inviting. There was something about this guy that definitely sent shivers down my spine.

I am no voodoo witch, that is true, however I can cast a powerful curse that is more powerful than any voodoo witch could cast. This form of magic, well it isn't for the faint of heart. This magic will be more permanent, it will be final. If you choose to accept my help, know your problem will be taken care of, indefinitely. The man said. I was so mesmerized with his eyes that seemed full of rage and anger, but also longing and hurt. I never said anything back to him, I just stared into his eyes, lost in my own thoughts.

Well, what's it going to be, deary? The strange man asked, crossing his arms across his chest and tapping his foot on the ground. Do it. I managed to squeak out. Magic always comes with a price you know. He spoke again. For whatever reason my head began nodding up and down in understanding. I need a drop of your blood and an object she would have used recently, or something full of memories. Since you came looking for voodoo magic, am I safe to assume you brought a hair or toothbrush belonging to your cousin?" He asked. I reached in my bag and pulled out Lilibeth's hair brush that I swiped last time I had gone to see Kendyrck while she was working.

I handed the hair brush to the man and took a step back from him. He clapped his hands together around the hairbrush and closed his eyes then said something I couldn't understand. Per oculum nequam meum projeci cessationem malam in tuo unigenito sanguine vivo consanguineo cognato tuo. Ut nunquam prosperetur. In nihilum defluat, sicut nix aestate. Sit in conspectu Dei maledicta, et ab homine tuo odio habita. Sanguinis tui rore signatus et solutus cum anima tua, ad habe aeternum mecum in morte tua Ryliee. Hoc verum esse decerno. Once he finished speaking his eyes opened and stared deeply into mine. I felt a weird sensation come over me, it felt like he was looking directly into my soul. He released his grip on the brush and handed it back to me. What did all that mean? I couldn't understand a word of it I asked cautiously and curiously as I shoved the hairbrush back into my bag.

The strange man laughed a hardy blood chilling laugh. It means Through my evil eye I cast bad cess on your only living blood-related cousin. May she never prosper. May she fade into nothing, like snow in summer. May she be accursed in the sight of God, and hated by your fellow man. I hereby decree this to be true. He replied, and even with the explanation I still wasn't entirely sure what I had done. The curse has been cast, my dear. Your problems should soon resolve themselves and you will be freed, you will be in the clear to do as you please." The strange man said to me. He didn't specify what exactly would happen to my darling cousin Lilibeth but it didn't matter to me what happened. It only mattered that she was out of mine and Kendryck's life for good.

That's all? What about your payment? I asked as the man started slinking back into the darkness. The curse will take a few days to truly take effect. Give it a few days, after that, a week at most. Don't worry your pretty little head off. Go home, your troubles with your cousin will soon be over. He said, fully submerging himself back into the darkness. As he fully disappeared into the shadows of the poorly lit bar I heard a whisper say Payment was sealed the moment you agreed but don't worry that will be collected at a later date. I sighed a breath I didn't know I was holding and plopped myself down in one of the vacant bar stools. I have no idea what he meant about the payment already being sealed but I will deal with that whenever he returns to collect. I couldn’t believe my luck. This was really happening. Finally I would be free of Lilibeth, finally I would get all the things I had coming to me and I would be on top once again. Hopefully, what he said is true and the curse doesn't take too long to take effect. I am looking forward to watching Lilibeth's downfall so I can get this show on the road immediately. My mother always told me to create my own happiness, and that is what I planned to do. I quickly left the bar and got back in my Camry. I needed to get out of here, back home and into a nice hot shower.

STRANGER

While snooping in my father's quarters for information on how to make sure my brother stayed banished, I stumbled across a crumpled up old letter. The paper had been well hidden and the writing had already started to fade away. From what I could make out, the letter came from a childhood friend of my father’s. Its legible parts seemed to hint at the birth of a baby girl with 2 types of supernatural blood running through her veins, born in the mortal realm. I knew right away that I had to travel to the magical epicenter of the realm of men. The one place where magic filled the air and supernaturals blend in with humans without question. I put the letter back where I found it and shimmered to my matte black Lancer that I store in a garage in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Roaring the engine to life I started my search by going to all the seediest bars I could find.

This letter about a female hybrid, a powerful girl that had been born in this area about 25 years ago, made me worry. It must have held some importance for my father to have hidden it so well for this long. If this hybrid truly exists, then I needed to find her. I needed to see for myself what powers she might hold and how she could play into my plan. Who knows maybe she could be the key to me becoming the most powerful King the Underworld has ever seen. A part of me worried that this hybrid girl was going to cause me more problems than she'd end up being worth.

I couldn't have my brother finding out about her existence, if he got to her first, that wouldn't bode well for me. It could end up ruining my entire set of plans and I couldn't have that now, could I? I needed to get her by my side so it would be easier to manipulate her. If I could use her power against my brother and have her rule beside me, I would truly be unstoppable. I had been scoping out seedy bars and dive joints for weeks now looking to the underbelly for information about this mysterious hybrid. So far my results have turned up nothing. Either my father had it wrong or whoever this hybrid is they are being well hidden by something.

I was about to give up my search and head back home until that pretty little blonde thing came bursting through the door at the current dive bar I had been scoping out called the First and Last, or something like that. This girl was hollering about wanting to find a voodoo witch, and while that was not me, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to claim someone's everlasting immortal soul and add it to my growing collection. She was easy enough to trick, especially using the Latin curse, it's easier to omit the truth that way. Since she didn't bother to ask too many questions, I didn't bother giving too many answers. The poor girl didn't even realize she sold her soul to the devil.

Oh well, desperate times call for desperate measures and now it is time to get to work. I would have to put my mission on finding this mysterious hybrid on hold for the time being. I needed to fulfill the requirement of the spoken contract I had with this mortal girl, Ryliee Parkins. It was time to start hunting my prey, a good old game of cat and mouse was just what the doctor ordered to clear my head and get my focus back on finding the hybrid my father’s note spoke about and convince her, manipulate her mind, do just about anything I could to make her my Queen when I finally ascended the throne of the Underworld. Finishing the swig of beer left in the glass bottle I had purchased earlier to blend in. I made my way out of the establishment and walked over to my matte black Lancer.

The connection had begun to form between myself and the dreaded cousin of the sweet little thing back at the bar. Too bad she was human and fucking her brains out wasn't possible, because man, that sweet little body made my cock grow hard and begin to throb. Getting in my car, I quickly sped out of the parking lot of the bar and hit the open road. Something started to feel strange, I figured I was heading in the right direction and that the curse had fully started to take effect. Soon hopefully I would be able to find this human girl, steal her life and claim her cousin's mortal soul for my own

4

A String of Bad Luck

LILIBETH

It had been a few weeks now since Ryliee and I had gone dress shopping. I had wanted to go again, to try another store, but I had no one to go with. I could have asked Auntie Emily, but it wouldn’t have been the same. I wanted Ryliee’s opinions as I admired her, for her fashion sense and her beauty.

It was really strange that I had heard nothing from her since that day, complete radio silence. Kendryck had not said much about it either. He said he would talk to her, and I believed him so maybe he had not gotten around to it. He had been pretty busy with setting up new accounts at work while juggling his current ones. Ryliee and I used to talk multiple times a day when I first moved out of her parents’ house, but then again that was before the engagement happened. I wanted to call her and figure it out because it was making my heart hurt. I was so drained from how emotional the constant worrying was making me.

Every time I went to pick up the phone Kendryck’s voice would play in my mind like a song stuck on repeat. Lili, just give her space so she can get used to the idea of us getting married. You know this is a big adjustment for everyone. Maybe if you had listened to me originally you wouldn’t be in this mess. he would say and that's what I kept hearing. Maybe I had caused this problem myself, maybe he was right, and I should have waited, but it had been five years, you would think this would have been expected.

I woke up early from yet another restless sleep. Ever since my birthday, since the engagement, I hadn’t been able to sleep well. I chalked it up to nerves and tried to forget about it. I decided to make a run to his favorite bakery to pick up breakfast for him. I wanted to surprise Kendryck and do something sweet for him to try and cheer him up. When he came home the other night, he was in a foul mood that just seemed to not go away. Apparently, the dinner meeting hadn't gone exactly as he had planned. Now he had to work even harder to make the client happy.

The bakery wasn't far, and I didn't see the point in taking my car. I quickly grabbed my clothes to get dressed and snuck out of the bedroom. Kendryck was still sleeping, and I didn't want to wake him, he was a grizzly bear when he got woken up if he didn’t want to be awake. I also didn't want to ruin his surprise. It was a warm Louisiana September morning. I had chosen a floral tank top and jean shorts that I thought would be perfect together.

I got dressed in the bathroom, brushed my hair and teeth and got ready to go out. Today was my day off from work, I was a freelance photojournalist, one of the best there was. Because I was a freelancer I could pick and choose when I worked, as long as I got the job done to the client’s liking that’s all that really mattered.

When I finally left the apartment, something didn't feel right, I couldn't explain it even if I tried. I tried to shake off the feeling, and for the most part it worked, at least I thought it did. My brain felt foggy, like there was a permanent haze surrounding it. It wasn’t like the feeling I got on my 25th birthday, the first thing I did then was call my father about it, but he didn't seem overly concerned. He said people go through changes all the time, this was likely nothing to worry about and that I shouldn’t stress over things I had no control over.

The walk to the bakery didn't clear my head, if anything it added to the list of things I had running through my mind. Between Ryliee’s strange behavior, my own general health and now planning the wedding of my dreams, I had no space in my brain to worry about anything else. When I got to the bakery, I quickly placed Kendryck’s usual coffee order. I decided to get a little extra treat for him as well. Something sweet that he could take with him to the office, or if time permitted, we could eat together at home.

I had been so completely lost in my own thoughts while the staff prepared my order that I didn’t even realize the cashier had come back to the register. I had completely spaced staring out the window with my back towards the back of the bakery.

Having probably failed several times to snap me out of my haze, the cashier finally tapped me on the shoulder, I spun around and looked down to see my bank card had been declined. That never happened, I used this card for everything. I usually had a backup, but I had started leaving it in my car in case of emergencies.

Ma'am? The cashier said with a concerned look on his face. I apologized profusely and tried to dig through my oversized bag for enough change to pay for our coffees at the bare minimum. This seemed really strange, so I made a mental note to call my bank later and figure out exactly what was going on with my card. I also made a mental note to put my backup card back in my wallet, in case something like this happened again.

After I managed to scrounge enough change out of the bottom of my bag and apologize to the cashier again. I was handed my order and I quickly exited the building, hands full and in a rush. As I started to speed walk back to the apartment, I realized about a quarter of the way home that this trip had kept me out a lot longer than I had planned to be. Kendryck would likely be awake by now, and likely irritated that I didn't leave a note regarding my whereabouts. I tried to hurry as fast as I could while holding the paper bag of Beignets I had purchased in one hand and the to-go tray of coffee in the other.

The streets had started to get busier, bustling with morning activity. I had originally hoped to beat the business rush of downtown Baton Rouge. Like anywhere, downtown always got super busy and generally more crowded during certain times of the day. Crowds were never really my thing, I hated being around a lot of people all at once, especially when I was in a rush and right now, I was racing against the clock to get back before Kendryck left for work. He may not wake up to breakfast in bed, but I could still surprise him before he left for the day.

I had been bumped and jostled so many times that the front of my white floral tank top was now saturated with spilt coffee from the cups that I was carrying. I groaned to myself. This day was not going as I had planned, and it was only 8:45 in the morning. I was starting to think a black cat had crossed my path or something. I was having the worst luck this morning, and with me being superstitious, I was getting a little more paranoid. I really needed to get home before anything else strange happened to me.

I finally made it back to the apartment building having ditched the now empty coffee cups, so I had a free hand to open the door. I quickly climbed the stairs to the second floor hoping no one I knew from the building saw me. Thankfully, I was able to make it back inside the apartment unseen. Unfortunately for me, when I walked in the door, I walked straight into Kendryck who had already gotten up, dressed and apparently was already leaving for work. He had the coldest, most annoyed look on his face I had ever seen. He had never looked at me this way, at least not before we got engaged.

"Where