Between Love, Pain and A Contract

Chapter.4

For some seconds, I stood frozen, as if my entire body had turned to stone. The room around me seemed to fade.

The music, the chatter, even the faint laughter from the distant hall all became muffled noise. The only thing I heard was Edward’s voice..sharp, cruel, merciless.

“You fool,” he spat at Garrett, his face twisted with rage. “You said you love her, but you sold her out…..because you blamed yourself for killing her sister, Ian. And it wasn’t even intentional!”

The words slammed into me like a blow to the chest.

My breath caught. My nails dug deep into my palms until I could feel my own pulse pounding.

“You…” My voice broke. I swallowed hard and forced it out. “You said what?”

Both men turned toward me. Garrett froze like a man who had just seen a ghost.

“Sherlock…” His voice cracked.

I stepped forward, my heart hammering so loud I thought everyone in the building could hear it. “You knew?” My voice trembled, every syllable shaking. “All this time, Garrett….” My throat constricted. “You knew Ian was my sister?”

Garrett’s lips parted, panic flashing in his eyes. “Sherlock, please, I can explain…”

“No!” I snapped so sharply it startled even me. “No more explanations, Garrett. No more lies.”

Tears blurred my vision as my chest rose and fell violently. “You watched me look for her like a madwoman, while you sat back and kept quiet. You let me hold on to hope she was still alive. When you knew. You knew she was gone!”

Garrett tried to step closer, but I shoved him hard in the chest, my strength fueled by pain.

“And worse…” my voice cracked, raw and unrecognizable even to me…“you were the one who killed her!”

The words echoed like thunder.

Garrett stumbled backward, pale and trembling.

I hurled the bouquet in my hand to the floor. The flowers scattered like pieces of my heart. “You murderer!” I screamed, raining blows on his chest with my fists.

“I hate you, Garrett! Do you hear me? I hate you!”

The tears wouldn’t stop coming. My chest burned as though it would split in two.

“And I hate that I love you,” I sobbed. “I hate that from the very first day I saw you, I had a crush on you. But why? Why did it have to be you? Why did it have to be my sister?”

Garrett crumpled to his knees, his expensive coat soaking the dust from the floor. He looked broken, a man who had just been stripped of everything.

“I didn’t kill her,” he choked, clutching his hair. “It was an accident. Edward, tell her!”

Edward said nothing. He only stared at Garrett with cold, hard eyes, lips pressed together like he was enjoying the sight of Garrett falling apart.

I turned to Edward, my tears dripping on my lips. “You knew too,” I whispered, my voice shaking with betrayal.

He didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward and wrapped me tightly in his arms.

“You don’t need to listen to him,” he murmured in my ear, as if shielding me.

Garrett’s head snapped up. His eyes blazed with fury as he saw Edward holding me.

“You disgust me,” I spat at Garrett through my tears. “I never want to see you again.”

I turned, my legs wobbling, and let Edward lead me out. Garrett didn’t move. He just stayed there, staring at the floor like a man staring into his own grave.

When we reached the door that led to the hall, Edward stopped me and turned me to face him.

“You can’t go out there like this,” he said firmly, his hands gripping my arms.

“I don’t care,” I cried, trying to pull away.

“You should care,” his voice was sharp now, commanding. “If they see you crying like this, they’ll know something is wrong. Do you want them to suspect our marriage was arranged? That tonight is just a cover?”

I froze, staring at him, my tears still falling.

Edward softened his tone. He wiped my cheeks with his thumbs and tilted my chin up. “You can’t let them see you like this. Not tonight. Pretend. Smile. Let them believe you are happy. Do you understand?”

My lips trembled. I swallowed the sob clawing at my throat and nodded weakly.

“Good girl.” He straightened my dress, smoothed my hair, and gave me that politician’s smile that made my stomach twist. “Now hold my hand and walk with me.”

I obeyed like a ghost being led to the gallows.

Inside the hall, music and laughter welcomed us. The celebration felt cruel, mocking.

Edward pulled me close, his arm firm around my waist.

Then Garrett appeared.

The moment his eyes found me, the world seemed to stop. He looked at me like a man drowning, desperate for air.

Edward’s lips curved into a smirk. And before I could react, he dipped his head and kissed me..long, deliberate, in front of everyone.

The crowd erupted into cheers, clapping and laughing.

But Garrett’s face darkened, his fists clenched at his sides.

I turned my head away and forced a brittle smile, pretending I was fine. Pretending I wasn’t shattering inside.

I just needed air.

“Edward,” I whispered, barely holding myself together, “I need the restroom.”

He nodded, letting me go.

The moment I stepped out, I broke.

I leaned against the wall, my body shaking as sobs wracked me. My chest ached as though the world had wrapped chains around my lungs.

Something deep just happened. Something I could never undo.

Why does it feel like the world wants to swallow me whole?

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and stepped back into the hall.

But my legs gave out beneath me.

I fell, hard, onto the polished floor.

The crowd gasped, surrounding me in a circle.

“I want to die!” I screamed. “I want to die!”

Edward rushed to my side, pulling me against him.

“I’m so sorry, darling,” he murmured, his voice sounding almost mournful. “So sorry…”