Rafael’s steel eyes widened in panic, his commanding presence fracturing under the weight of her accusations. He raised his hands placatingly, his voice rushing out in a torrent, sarcasm abandoned for raw honesty. "Eliana, no—wait, that’s not how it was at all. Please, hear out. When I first told you that marriage was the best protection, I ant it. Back then, I didn’t have everything I needed. My evidence was scraps—whispers from informants, partial docunts, things Mirabel could bribe or bully her way out of. I was digging, having my people tail her every move, but I never imagined she’d escalate so quickly. The hit-and-run on you and your father... that was the turning point. It gave us the smoking gun we needed."
She crossed her arms, her expressive eyes narrowing, tears glistening but unshed—her quiet strength holding them at bay. "Explain. All of it. Don’t hold back now, Rafael. You’ve already confessed to manipulating into this."
He winced at her words, the sting visible in the tightening of his jaw. "I wasn’t manipulating—I was desperate. But you’re right; I owe you the truth. The driver from the accident? We caught him. He’s in custody, and he’s confessed everything. Said Mirabel sent him explicitly, paid him handsoly to make it look like a random hit. He even has evidence of his own. He’s willing to testify—nas, dates, paynts. That, combined with what I had before... it’s airtight now. Before this, my evidence was circumstantial at best. She bribed judges, silenced witnesses—hell, she’s killed to bury her secrets. I knew about her embezzlents, her insider trading, her several attempts on my life, the way she poisoned my father’s mind against . I had files on it all, but nothing that couldn’t be twisted in court. She’s slippery, Eliana. Like smoke. I’d grab at it, and it’d slip through my fingers. I thought we had ti—that my surveillance would catch her before she struck again. I never dread she’d go after you so viciously, so soon."
Eliana’s breath hitched, her hand instinctively moving to her abdon, where their unborn child grew—a reminder of the stakes. "So you just... watched? Sat by while she bullied , terrorized my father? All because you wanted to say yes to this marriage? Rafael, that makes you sound no better than her!"
Panic deepened in his eyes, his voice cracking with emotion he rarely showed. "God, no! That’s not it—I swear on everything I am. I was protecting you the only way I knew how back then. My teams were on her 24/7, but she moved fast. The accident... it sealed her fate, but at what cost? Your father’s coma, your hospitalization—it haunts . I should have acted sooner, yes, but without solid proof, she’d have walked free and co back harder. Now, with the driver’s testimony and the chain of evidence linking back to her accounts, we can put her away. Not forever, maybe—the hit-and-run might get her 10, 15 years if we’re lucky—but long enough to dismantle her power. Break her networks, expose her allies. You don’t have to marry for that. Not if it makes you this unhappy."
She searched his face with an intensity that made his breath catch. Her honey-brown eyes—usually bright, sharp, full of quiet resilience—were now trembling pools of anger, hurt, and a stubborn love that refused to die no matter how hard she tried to smother it.
"Unhappy?" Her voice cracked, disbelieving. "Rafael, you think this is about the marriage?" She shook her head slowly, a bitter laugh slipping out. "It’s about trust. You hid this from . You let believe I had no choice but to tie myself to you—to give you a year of my life—because it was the only way to stay safe. And now, at the eleventh hour, when reporters are camped outside waiting to turn our ’perfect union’ into breaking news, now you tell the truth?"
The words punctured the air like arrows.
Rafael flinched, a subtle but genuine crack in his perfect composure. He reached for her hand again, and this ti he didn’t hesitate. His fingers wrapped around hers with a firm, trembling urgency—warm, grounding, pleading.
"Eliana," he murmured, voice thick with remorse. "I know. I know how badly I ssed up. I see it now—how selfish I’ve been. Always hiding behind walls and strategies and timing." He swallowed hard, his thumb brushing her knuckles as though he could soothe the betrayal from her skin. "But you... in the car earlier, you were sowhere else entirely. Drowning in revenge like it was the only thing keeping you afloat."
He leaned closer, anguish tightening the lines around his eyes.
"I can’t watch you beco consud by that. Not today. Not on our wedding day. I love you too damn much to let this marriage be built on obligation or fear. If revenge is the only reason you’re standing beside ... then let handle it alone. I’ll destroy her world piece by piece—for you, for us, for your father." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Just... don’t marry when your heart isn’t in it."
Her breath hitched.
Then the tears ca—slow at first, then spilling freely, warm trails glistening down her cheeks and catching the dim light inside the car. She didn’t bother wiping them away.
"Rafael..." Her voice was soft, shredded at the edges. "You idiot." She let out a shaky exhale. "My heart has been yours for a long ti. But you—you keep breaking it. You keep shaking my foundations. How am I supposed to trust anything you say now? How do I know this isn’t another layer of your gas?"
For a mont, the only sound was their unsteady breathing.
And then Rafael’s own eyes glistened, the carefully constructed facade of the cold, calculating billionaire crumbling into dust. He looked nothing like the man the world feared—just a lonely, terrified human being who had never learned how to love without ruining things first.
"No more gas," he said quietly, his voice stripped of every layer of armor. "No more secrets. This is —raw, flawed, terrified of losing you." His fingers tightened around hers as though anchoring himself. "I’m sorry. For everything. For not telling you sooner. For letting fear make my decisions. For being the reason you’re hurting on a day that should have been beautiful."
His voice broke.
"All I ever wanted... was to see that hopeful smile again."
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