Chapter 10%
“Arabelle, I understand now. You’re taking revenge on me. But I promised I would marry you–why couldn’t you just wait for me a little longer?“%
this!”
“You knew Nadia’s mother was lying. Why didn’t you tell me the truth? If I had known, things wouldn’t have ended up like
“And I had my assistant and bodyguards following you. If you hadn’t sped away to shake them off, how could you have been kidnapped?”
him.
Even now, he still tried to shift the blame to Nadia and her mother. But the real culprit–the one who caused all this–was
I let out a slow breath, trying to suppress the cold laughter bubbling in my throat. My voice was devoid of warmth as I reminded him, “I did tell you, but did you believe me?”
His lips parted, but no words came out. He had nothing to say because we both knew the truth.”
“As for why your assistant lied, maybe you should go ask him yourself.”
Jonah’s expression stiffened, his brows furrowed. Then, without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and called his assistant. The moment the call connected, Jonah’s tone was sharp and urgent. “Zane, tell me the truth. That night–why did you stop tailing Arabelle?”
A long silence stretched over the line. Then, after a hesitant gulp, Zane finally admitted, “Sir… Miss Nadia ordered us to stop. She said we didn’t need to worry about Miss Arabelle.“}
Jonah’s face drained of color. His knuckles whitened around the phone as he listened to the truth.
He fired his assistant and the bodyguards on the spot, his voice trembling with rage. Then, he turned to me, his expression raw with regret. He clutched his hair as if trying to hold himself together, but the weight of his mistakes was crushing him from within.
“Why…? Why did things turn out like this between us…?” His voice cracked. “We loved each other so much. You swore you’d only marry me…“”
He watched as Gerald and I walked away, his body sagging with despair. And then, as if something inside him finally shattered, Jonah collapsed to the ground. He buried his face in his hands, his broad shoulders shaking as sobs racked his body.
A man who still didn’t understand where he had gone wrong wasn’t worth my sympathy. There was no satisfaction in seeing him like this, only a dull ache deep in my chest. Six years of love wasted on a man who had never truly valued me.
I thought that would be the last of it, that Jonah would finally give up.”
I was wrong.
The next day, he ran to my parents and brother, begging for their forgiveness. He knew how much I valued my family and he was desperate.
If Ronan hadn’t been there to stop him, my mother would have learned that her daughter had been hurt so badly she had nearly lost the use of her right hand.”
Gerald and I had planned to have a quiet lunch with my parents that afternoon, but when we arrived, we found my brother dragging Jonah by the collar, hauling him toward the apartment complex’s dumpster.
With a grunt of disgust, Ronan shoved him to the ground.”
“Jonah, you held onto Nadia, but dragged my sister along too?” His voice was sharp with contempt. “After you finally got her, you didn’t even cherish her. You only care when it’s too late. Do you think this act is fooling anyone?”
Jonah fell to his knees with a loud thud. It was eerily similar to the time he had knelt before Ronan, swearing that he would love and protect me for the rest of his life.
But this time, no one believed him.
Tears streamed down his face as he crawled toward me, his voice breaking. “Arabelle, please… I can fix this. Just give me one more chance-”
Before I could even respond, a commotion broke out behind us.”
A disheveled woman broke past the security guards, her eyes wild with fury. Before anyone could react, she lunged at Jonah, plunging a knife deep into his back.”
“Jonah!” Nadia’s voice was shrill with hysteria. “How could you be so heartless?! My mother gave up everything for us even her life! And now you want to divorce me?!”
Her grip on the knife tightened as she twisted it cruelly, her entire body trembling. “Let me tell you something-if you’re with me, the only way out is through death! Divorce is not an option!”
Blood splattered across her face, but she didn’t even seem to notice,!!
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I barely had time to register what had happened before Gerald swept me up into his arms, shielding me from the horrifying sight. His grip was firm, his voice calm despite the chaos. “Let’s go.”
My brother, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, rushed back inside to make sure our parents didn’t witness the scene.
As the elevator doors closed, I caught one last glimpse of Jonah. He was no longer on the ground–he was fighting back. His furious, pain–filled roars echoed through the apartment corridor as he struggled against Nadia.
Later, we heard from neighbors that both of them had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
They survived. But Nadia’s hands were permanently damaged–so much so that she couldn’t even hold a cup anymore. Jonah, having suffered a stab wound to his lung, was forced to stay in the hospital for a full month before he was discharged.
It was only then that I learned the final piece of the tragedy. Nadia’s mother, unable to accept the reality of going to prison, had taken her own life.\
Before she died, she left behind a letter, pleading with Jonah to take care of Nadia. But her dying wish was never fulfilled. Jonah sued Nadia for intentional assault and divorced her in the end.
Ronan, worried that all of this might still weigh on me, patted my shoulder and said lightly, “You should stop thinking about the past. Just focus on being happy with Gerald now.“}
I rolled my eyes and threw a cushion at him. “I know, I know. Now hurry up and get me a sister–in–law!”
When Gerald returned home from work that evening, he walked into the living room to find my brother and me wrestling like children.
A small smile tugged at his lips. Without a word, he joined in, turning our match into an all–out two–against–one battle. (The End)
