Chapter 149- The Truth
Beatrice POV
I shut my eyes, feeling heat crawl up my neck and face. My chest tightened with sha. Even saying it out loud made feel dirty, stupid, and foolish.
"We t, we talked, he seed really nice. He listened to . He cared. Or at least, he acted like he did. We talked about so many things... life, regrets, love. I don't know, I guess I thought maybe... maybe I finally found soone who saw ."
My voice was shaking. I was talking fast, like if I rushed through it, it would hurt less.
"He invited to his place so we could talk more—more privately—and I went. One thing led to another, and we... we had sex. That was just a day after we t."
I paused and looked away.
Silence.
Then he laughed.
Not just any laugh—that laugh. That mocking, cruel laugh that always made feel smaller than dirt.
"You must be really sex-starved," he said, shaking his head.
He leaned back, still smirking. "Actually, no. There's no 'must be.' You are sex-starved. So the guy just gave you so dick and you forgot everything? Even your son?"
My stomach dropped.
It felt like he'd just slapped with those words.
My face burned with sha. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow whole. I hated that he could make feel like this—like trash. Like I wasn't even a mother, just so cheap woman who couldn't keep her legs closed.
But I still found my voice. Even if it was small.
"No... it wasn't like that," I whispered, eyes stinging. "Even Tyler... he approved of our relationship."
He scoffed again. Louder this ti. "Did Tyler know that the relationship started less than 24 hours after you t the guy?"
I didn't say anything.
I just looked down.
Because the answer was no.
He didn't know that.
He only knew the version I showed him—the clean version, the careful version. Not the truth.
Declan leaned forward, his voice low and cutting.
"Exactly," he said. "That alone should tell you that even your own son knew sothing wasn't right. He may not have known the details, but he felt it. Kids always do."
I didn't respond.
Because what was I supposed to say?
What excuse could I possibly give that would make anything I did make sense?
Nothing.
So I sat there, quiet and broken, staring at the floor, feeling more ashad than I had in years.
"You can continue."
His voice was cold. Firm. Like he was running out of patience—and fast.
"What exactly made him that mad?" he asked again, folding his arms. "Because I know Tyler. And I know my son didn't run away just because of so random man you slept with."
He leaned forward now, his stare piercing through . "No, Beatrice. That's not it. So what did you do? What are you hiding?"
I opened my mouth but nothing ca out.
My throat was dry. My hands were shaking.
I felt like throwing up.
This wasn't just embarrassing anymore. This was dangerous. Because if I say the wrong thing... if I confess too much... he might snap. Again. And this ti, I may not survive it.
I took a deep breath and quietly said a prayer in my head.
Please, God. Please don't let him hit . Please don't let him kill . Not yet. Not like this.
"Spill it, Beatrice," he growled, dragging back to the mont. "Don't keep waiting. Ti is ticking. The more you waste my ti, the longer your son stays missing."
I nodded slowly, forcing my lips to move.
"He got angry at ..." I started, pausing for air. My voice cracked.
"He didn't just get angry because I slept with soone I barely knew. He got angry because... because I gave him all my money."
He narrowed his eyes. "What do you an you gave him all your money?"
I swallowed. My mouth was dry again.
"I an... I gave him all my money. My life savings. Every single dollar—including the millions you gave ."
His face changed.
It froze.
Like he didn't understand what he just heard.
So I repeated it again.
"I gave him everything."
He just kept staring at , his lips slightly parted in disbelief.
"I told Tyler," I went on quickly, my voice shaking. "I told him everything because I wanted to be honest with him. We were supposed to use the money to build sothing for ourselves. Start a small business. Do sothing that would give us steady inco, you know? Sothing that would help us stand on our own two feet before asking you for anything again."
I blinked away the tears building up in my eyes.
"But instead... I gave it all to that man."
"Why?" he asked sharply. "Why would you do sothing that stupid?"
"Because he said he had investnt ideas!" I cried out. "He told he knew people, he had connections. That if I trusted him and let him handle it, he could turn the money into sothing bigger. He told I would never be broke again."
I paused, chest heaving.
"He sounded so confident. So smart. I didn't want to lose the chance, so I transferred all the money to him."
He looked at like I was insane.
"That's what got Tyler mad," I whispered. "That's why he left. He felt betrayed. He trusted , and I threw our future away."
There was a long, thick silence.
I could feel him judging , tearing apart in his mind. And honestly, I couldn't even bla him.
"You're not telling everything," he finally said. "There has to be more. That alone can't be the only reason why Tyler would leave you like that. He's stubborn, but not careless. Sothing else must've happened."
I wiped my tears and nodded slowly.
"There's more," I admitted in a whisper. "We found out the man never loved . He didn't want to help . He lied. About everything."
"What?"
"He ran away with the money," I choked out. "He blocked . Disappeared. It was all a scam."
His eyes widened.
He looked at like I just told him the sky fell.
I kept talking, even though I was shaking.
"That was what broke Tyler. That was when he finally gave up on . He said I let a stranger walk in and destroy our lives. And then... he left."
He stood up slowly, staring at like I wasn't even human.
"What?" he said again, almost too calm.
Then his voice exploded.
"Are you fucking serious, Beatrice?!"
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