Chapter 301
~María José’s POV~
I knew sothing was wrong the mont Axel’s eyes changed.
We were still tangled together in bed, his chest rising and falling against mine. Our bodies had been warm and spent. The sheets slled like us. It slled like sex and sweat and sothing sacred. I’d never felt so close to soone before. I thought I’d never stop smiling.
Then I blinked... and he was gone.
He pulled away like I’d slapped him. He didn’t say a word. He just climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
"Axel?" I called after him, confused, still trying to catch my breath. He didn’t answer.
The door shut with a click. A few minutes later, the shower turned on, harsh and loud. Not gentle or soothing. Like he was trying to scrub sothing off him.
I sat up, the sheet pooling around my waist. My skin was still tingled with the echo of his touch. Everything between us had been real. I knew it was real. The way he’d looked at ; like I was his beginning and end. He’d said he loved . I had said it back.
So why did it suddenly feel like we were breaking?
I waited a few minutes, heart pounding, telling myself he was just overwheld. Maybe he was processing things. Maybe he was scared—hell, I was scared. But I couldn’t sit still. Not when the weight in the room felt like sothing had shattered.
This was supposed to be a mont we’d cherish for the rest of our lives, but why did it feel like I had done sothing that would forever change the course of our relationship?
I knocked softly on the door. "Axel?"
The water kept running. The steam curling under the door slled like eucalyptus and heartbreak.
"Please talk to ."
He didn’t answer.
I leaned my head against the door, biting my lip. "Did I do sothing wrong?"
The water stopped. The silence after was deafening.
Then he spoke flatly. "I just need to be alone."
I went in and he chased out, acting so weird as if there was sothing I knew I did and was pretending about. I didn’t.
I felt like he’d dropped a bucket of ice over my heart. No. No, not after what we just shared.
I stepped back, pacing. I gave him five more minutes. Ten. I heard the soft sounds of him drying off, the faint creak of the cabinet. My stomach twisted in knots.
When he finally ca out, I froze.
He was wrapped in a towel, his dark hair dripping, eyes puffy and bloodshot. He didn’t look at . He Just walked straight past like I wasn’t there.
"Axel," I whispered, reaching for his arm. "Please. Talk to ."
He flinched. Not visibly, or much—but I felt it. He pulled away.
"I said I want to be alone."
The way he said it didn’t feel like a request. It felt like a door slamming in my face.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "If you’re upset with , just say it. Don’t shut out. Please."
He sighed, running a hand through his wet hair. "You want to say it?" His voice was rough, clipped. "Fine. Why did you lie to ?"
I blinked. "What?"
"You told you were a virgin."
My heart skipped. Huh? Was that even up for debate?
"I—I am," I said, my voice trembling. "You’re the only person I’ve ever been with. Why on earth won’t I be?"
His jaw clenched. "Don’t do that."
"Do what?"
"Lie to my face."
"I’m not lying!" I stepped closer, reaching for him again. "Axel, I swear to you—on everything... I’ve never given myself to anyone else. Never."
He finally turned to look at , and the pain in his eyes made my knees weak.
"Then explain what just happened," he said. "Explain why it didn’t feel like it was your first ti. Explain why..." He stopped, his voice cracking. "Why it didn’t feel like you were mine."
My breath stopped. "What are you talking about? I don’t—I don’t know what you an."
"There was no hesitation," he said, pacing now. "No discomfort or resistance. My cock went in smoothly. None of the signs of a first-ti. You knew what you were doing."
To be honest, I also knew I didn’t feel as much pain as a first ti was rumored to be. But that didn’t an I didn’t feel any pain at all. It still felt painful.
However, the pleasure of finally being with Axel took over all that pain.
"Because I paid attention," I said quickly. "Because I wanted it. Because I love you and I felt safe. That’s all."
"María! Don’t." He bellowed, blocking his ears with both of his hands.
"I’m not lying!"
He dragged a hand over his face. "I felt sothing that didn’t make sense. Like soone had been there before. Recently."
What in the world?! Soone had been in ? How on earth was that even possible? I had never... I repeat, never, been with any other man.
Axel was my first. Why on earth was he doing this to ? Why was my very first making it all difficult?
"That’s not possible!" My voice cracked. "Axel, I swear on my life—on my mother’s grave, I’ve never been with anyone. I would never lie to you about that."
"Then how do you explain this?" he demanded. "Because it wasn’t just a feeling. You were tight, but not the kind of tightness one would expect of a virgin. Even your hyn was already broken. No blood at all!"
I took a step back, heart stuttering.
"No," I whispered. "No, that can’t be right."
"I’m telling you what I felt. You’ve had sex before, María. And you didn’t react like soone being touched for the first ti."
I stared at him, my lips trembling. "Are you saying... soone has had sex with and I am oblivious to it
He didn’t answer.
"Ignacio," I breathed.
His na felt like a curse on my tongue.
"No," I said again. "No, that’s not possible. He wouldn’t—he didn’t. I... I would know."
"Would you?" Axel asked, eyeing with so much irritation that made my heart break.
"I would feel it," I said. Rember sothing. A feeling. A mont. Anything." I was vigorously shaking my head now. I couldn’t believe this.
This was impossible. Ignacio wasn’t that horrible. He was the reason why Axel and I could get married.
Axel looked at for a long ti. "What if he took that from you too?"
"No." I shook my head. "No, I refuse to believe that without proof. We need to investigate. We need to check. This could be a mistake. Maybe the way you felt was sothing else. Maybe he put a spell on that didn’t involve... that."
Axel looked away.
"I don’t care if soone took my virginity," I whispered. "What I care about is that you think I lied to you. That you don’t believe when I say I didn’t know. That I would never hide sothing like that from you."
He didn’t speak for a long mont. Then he said, very softly, "I’m not mad that it wasn’t . I’m mad that I believed it was, and you let think that."
"Because it was!" I cried. "I didn’t lie to you. Not once. If soone did sothing to —if they took sothing... I didn’t consent to it. I didn’t even know. And I still don’t."
"But I know. And that changes everything." He spat at my foot.
The words hit harder than a slap. I stared at him, numb, the room spinning around .
"So what?" I said, voice breaking. "You’re going to leave ? Because I might have been violated without knowing? Because sothing I didn’t choose or rember makes you doubt ?"
He flinched. "Don’t twist this."
"I’m not twisting anything," I snapped, tears running hot down my cheeks. "I’m begging you to believe ."
"I do," he said. "Part of does. But the rest of can’t stop hearing your voice telling I was your first, and now knowing that wasn’t true."
"I didn’t lie," I whispered again.
But it didn’t matter. Because he didn’t believe . And that was what hurt the most. He walked to the door, not looking back.
"Where are you going?"
"I need air."
I stumbled after him, my voice rising. "You’re just going to walk away from ? After everything?"
He hesitated in the doorway. "I love you, María. But I don’t know how to carry this right now."
And then he was gone. And I was alone. Utterly, devastatingly alone.
This can’t be happening to . Was I truly... cursed? It seed I couldn’t just catch a break. Even when it seed like I was finally getting everything I wanted, this happened.
I had no idea what ached the most: the fact that I had been violated without even knowing it after keeping myself chaste for years or the fact that I had hurt Axel’s feelings.
What I did know was that my chest hurt, and I wanted to die.
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