Aly Martinez

Mateo Rodriguez was something of an anomaly. The majority of the world viewed him as a ruthless criminal with no respect for life or law. However, the man I knew was gentle and caring, catering to my every desire. He would have been the perfect man, if only he would have left his life of crime behind and chosen me. So there we were—for five years—in love and at a stalemate. When three armed men dragged me out of my bed in the middle of the night, I realized just how right I’d been to fear his lifestyle. Or, maybe I’d been wrong. Because Mateo was the only man powerful enough to save me.

In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember. The deafening boom as the house exploded. The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife. The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out. But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife. Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team. It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering. The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life. I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me. As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again. Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.

One story. Two couples. I fell in love with a man who didn’t exist. What started out as romance ended in hell. His words turned to razor blades. His kisses converted to fists. His embrace became my cage. His body transformed into a weapon, stealing parts of me until ultimately…. I broke. I hated him. My sole job in life became to protect our daughter. I wasn’t sure I’d ever escape the prison he’d skillfully crafted from my fears. Until the day our savior arrived. This is the story of how I escaped the man who thought he owned me. The transfer of my life and my family.

One story. Two couples. I proposed on our first date. She laughed and told me I was insane. Less than a day later, she said yes. It was a whirlwind, but we were happy… Until we got greedy and wanted a family. It was a life I couldn’t give her, not for lack of trying. Fertility just wasn’t on our side. We sought out doctors and treatments. Spent money we didn’t have. Lied to our families. Smiled for our friends. Put on a brave face for a world that didn’t understand. Finally, we were successful… Until we were forced to bury our son. We were left broken, battered, and destroyed. They say love is in the details, but it was the details that ruined us. This is the story of how I took back what had always been mine. The retrieval of my wife and our family.

Every little girl dreams of the fairytale. The one where the white knight rushes in to save her from the clutches of evil. They fall in love, have babies, and live happily ever after. By that definition, my life should have been a fairytale too. When I was eight years old, Caven Hunt saved me from the worst kind of evil to walk the Earth. It didn’t matter that I was a kid. I fell in love with him all the same. But that was where my fairytale ended. Years later, a one-night stand during the darkest time imaginable gave us a little girl. It was nothing compared to the pitch black that consumed me when I was forced to leave her with Caven for good. At the end of every fairytale, the happily-ever-after is the one thing that remains consistent. It wasn’t going to be mine, but there hadn’t been a night that passed where I hadn’t prayed that it would be hers. I owed Caven my life. However, I owed that innocent child more. And that included ripping the heart from my chest and facing her father again.