Aristocracy101

Chapter 9

“Bella, are you okay?” His voice was laced with concern, his brow furrowed. Before he could even check for bruises, she broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Waaaaaahhhhhhh…”

“Bella! What’s wrong?” Panic gripped him. He had never been in a situation like this. Lilian always had her emotions under control, even when things were falling apart. He had never once seen her vulnerable, always the one who handled everything with quiet strength. His other girlfriends—well, they never cried unless they wanted attention or money. Not like this. Not with raw, unfiltered pain.

“Why are guys so heartless?” Bella’s voice trembled, filled with a deep ache. “They don’t see you as a person. Just a s*x toy. They only care about their own pleasure, their own needs. They want you to cater to their every whim, and when they’re done with you, they toss you away like you’re nothing.”

Oliver’s mind raced. Was she talking about her ex-boyfriend, or was it about the thug who had hurt her? He couldn’t figure it out, but he felt his heart sink. Desperately trying to comfort her, he reached for her, but she shoved him away, her voice rising in fury.

“You’re just like them! You think girls are playthings! You buy gifts, pretend to care, just to win their love. Then once you’ve had your fun, you discard them like trash.”

“No, Bella, I swear, I’m not…” Oliver’s words faltered, but he couldn’t find the right way to explain himself.

“How can I even trust you?” She snapped, tears still streaming down her face. “Maybe you just wanted to win my heart, play the prince charming, then turn into the same damn playboy everyone says you are. I don’t want to be hurt, Oliver. I just want to get out of this life. I want happiness. If you’re just here to mess with my feelings, then leave. Please.”

Oliver froze, the weight of her words crashing down on him. He had always thought of himself as the one who needed saving, the one who needed a escape from all his pretentious relatives and false friendships, but here, it was Bella who needed it. He’d been so focused on his own problems—his family, his status—that he hadn’t realized how deep her pain went.

“I’m sorry, Bella,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I like you. I really do. And I want to protect you… from all of it. The world, the pain, everything. I want to be with you. I want to be your boyfriend. No games.”

He gently raised her chin, brushing a stray tear from her face, and kissed her—softly, tenderly, as if trying to undo all the hurt in one gesture. In that brief moment, a thousand emotions ran through both of them, but Bella’s thoughts were clear and cutting: “Mission accomplished.”

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Back to the Present

“Why do you want to see him? Last I checked, you’re getting married in two weeks,” Stacy’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she blocked the door.

She’d just been talking to Bella about finding a new candidate, but Bella had been adamant about seeing Oliver. Why waste time on someone like him? Sure, they’d played their part in the scheme to get closer to him once they found out he was from the Johnson family, but they had their reasons—reasons rooted in their own pain.

Oliver had promised to love only Bella, but now they were hearing news of his upcoming marriage to that Lilian girl. It wasn’t fair. It felt like everything had been set up for him to win, while Bella was stuck at the bottom.

Why did the rich get everything handed to them while the rest of the world had to struggle, only to end up exactly where they started?

Was it too much to ask for her to be Mrs. Johnson? Why couldn’t Oliver’s mother accept her?

Sure, Bella wasn’t a virgin, and yes, her pursuit of Oliver wasn’t entirely innocent. She’d used a thug to orchestrate a scenario where Oliver would “save” her, but it wasn’t as calculated as it seemed. She was just desperate to escape her circumstances. She was desperate for a way out.

They wanted to wake up and find themselves living a life of wealth, of security. Bella Thomas would become Bella Johnson, and she’d be the best friend of Mrs. Johnson, the woman she was supposed to be.

Was that too much to ask?

But as they say: Imagination is beautiful, but reality is harsh.

“Let him come in, Stacy,” Bella’s voice cut through the room, pulling Stacy from her thoughts. She stepped aside, reluctantly allowing Oliver to walk into the modest two-bedroom flat.

They had once lived in a one-bedroom, low-quality apartment, but when Oliver tried to move them to a duplex, Bella had refused. She said she preferred the smaller house for her own conscience so he bought this instead, though Stacy didn’t understand why. No man would love her forever, right? It was better to take what you could and make a life out of it. But Bella insisted she knew what she was doing. She said that by showing men she could manage on her own, while also revealing a hint of vulnerability, they would keep coming back.

Bella didn’t want to be a girlfriend or mistress. She wanted to be a wife, the one holding the real power. That’s why they’d set their sights on Oliver. They had almost won. Bella had even boasted that she had slept with Oliver a few times and was waiting for the moment she would get pregnant. Their plan had been moving perfectly, until Vivian threatened her, and then Lilian’s involvement with Oliver ruined everything.