Chapter 204
Chapter 204:
“Belle p>
“Can I ask you a favor p>
“Yes. Anything p>
“Can you keep everything you’ve known about me to yourself? I mean my past—and the real reason I agreed to marry your brother p>
“Please, Rian. At least until I resolve this. Okay?” I took her hands and placed them carefully on the table so she’d see how serious I was.
“But you need help. Why didn’t you tell Dani? He would help you p>
“No, Rian. You don’t understand. If Félix finds out this marriage is only an arrangement, he won’t stop until he forces his way back into my life p>
“Still, Dani is going to be your husband. If you tell him everything, he’ll listen p>
“No.” I shook my head, firm and unyielding.
“Then why don’t you go to the police? They could p>
I let out a bitter laugh. “The police? You think they’d listen? That they’d believe me? I don’t have any proof to show them, Rian. He erased it all. All he left me was the memory of his hands on me. His saliva on my skin. And the only person who saw everything vanished without a trace. She disappeared the same night it happened, and I still have no idea where she went p>
𝖶е𝖾𝘬𝘭у 𝗋𝗲𝗅eаs𝗲s о𝗻 ѕ.с𝗈𝘮
My vision blurred and tears gathered again—stubborn and painful.
“Belle p>
“And how does your brother treat me? He judges me every time we talk. He thinks I’m marrying him for his money. Why would a man like that believe something so awful? Even my own father refused to believe me. So what could I expect from anyone else p>
“I believe you. I believed you the second you told me. And my mother believes you too p>
“Because you and your mother aren’t like him. You understand because you’re women. You understand fear. You can imagine it and put yourselves in my place p>
“Ysabelle p>
The simple way she said my name broke something open inside me. The tears finally spilled, sliding down my face without stopping. I wished someone had stood by me the way she did. I wished I’d had a mother like hers. A brother who defended me. A father who hadn’t turned his back when I needed him. My father was the only person I had left, and he was the same man who left me to fight my nightmares alone.
An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and a gentle hand rubbed my back—steady and warm.
“Promise me, Rian. Please?” I looked at her through my tears, clinging to the thin thread of hope she offered.
“I promise. But I hope one day, when you’re ready, you’ll share this with him p>
I watched as she and Alex kissed, surrounded by friends and strangers alike. I let out a long breath and silently wished this wedding would bring me freedom and peace—anything that could loosen the grip of the memories that haunted me. A tear slid down my cheek, and I didn’t bother to wipe it away.