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She looked up at Rathe’s father, willing him to see her determination to see this to the end. “But milord, I p-promise you, w-when I’m b-by your son’s side, he will never feel alone. He will never feel unloved.”

As the girl spoke, the emotions weighing down each word was like a visceral sound that stabbed his heart, killing all of Warren’s doubts until all that was left inside of him was shame.

Despair battered her body when Rathe’s father still didn’t speak, but she continued doggedly, “I know I don’t deserve your son, sir.” Every word she spoke felt like she was cutting her heart open for Rathe’s father to see, piece by piece. Forcing her to meet his gaze, she whispered, “But please let me love him anyway. G-give me a chance, and I will love him so much that nothing the world says would have an impact on him. That’s how strong,” she choked out, “my love for him is.”

Behind Warren, his wife said quietly, “Do you understand now, my love?”

****

Nearly an hour hadpassed before Mary felt sufficiently in control of her emotions to make herself meet Alyssa’s gaze. They were alone in the mansion’s small library, with Rathe’s father having excused himself earlier.

“You are feeling better now?” Alyssa, seated across her, queried in concern.

Nodding, Mary said tremulously, “I’m sorry—-”

Rathe’s mother shook her head. “No apologies. If there must be one, then it is I who should have said sorry for not going to you first.” Sadness darkened her blue eyes. “I should have known you would be suffering so much—-”

It was Mary’s turn to shake her head. “No, mila—-Alyssa,” she corrected herself when she saw Alyssa’s smile fade a little at Mary’s use of her title. “This...everything...is how it should be. Finding the courage to come here, it was something I needed to do.” Flushing at what she was about to say, Mary explained, “I n-needed to do something to m-make myself b-believe that I’m strong enough to fight for Rathe.”

“And are you now?” Alyssa gently.

Slowly, Mary nodded. “I am.” A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I used to think that because of my age, I wouldn’t ever find the guts to do certain things. But when I thought about...” Unreleased sobs had her inhaling and struggling to get more oxygen into her lungs. “When I thought about life without Rathe, I just realized I would never be able to live with myself if I didn’t fight for him with everything I’ve got.”

When she raised her head to meet Alyssa’s gaze, she was stunned to find Rathe’s mother quietly crying. “Alyssa, I’m sorry—-”

“No.” Alyssa shook her head fiercely even as more tears fell. “You misunderstand. These are tears of joy. You don’t know how long I’ve prayed to have someone like you love my son. And now that you’re here...” Impulsively, she reached forward to grasp the girl’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “Whatever you need, my child, I will help you.”

The words were exactly what she needed to hear. “Then, Alyssa,” Mary said haltingly, “could you tell me if you really meant what you said before?” She almost lost her courage then and there, but she told herself there was no turning back.

“What I said?” Alyssa echoed with a frown.

“Yes.” Even as she felt her lips drying with fear, she made herself ask the question. “Did you really mean it when you told me you believe Rathe loves me?”

The words, combined by the terror glittering in Mary’s eyes, almost made Alyssa ache to comfort the young girl, and there was only one way to do that.

“I’m going to tell you a story, Mary.” The shameful secret she was about to share made Alyssa want to hide, but for her son, she was willing to do everything.

“There was a time when I was really poor. I had no parents, no family. All I had was myself. And my determination to survive. The first time I met Warren, the chemistry between us was instant, explosive. It was a whirlwind romance, and we were married right away. But I didn’t love him then.”

Mary’s lips parted in shock. “But Rathe told me...”

“I never had the courage to tell him the truth.” Alyssa started to sob. “I didn’t want to risk losing his respect. I didn’t want him to stop loving me. You see, what everyone’s saying is true. Iwasa gold-digger. I agreed to marry Warren in exchange for a life of security. I was so scared of being poor that I refused to sign a pre-nuptial contract, and it caused a rift between Warren and his father.”

Wiping her tears, Alyssa continued, “But eventually, I found myself falling in love with him, and with it I began to hate my old self – hated how shallow and selfish I had been. Everyone was talking about us, and the gossip became so bad that I decided to have the family lawyer draw the contract you and Rathe discovered. I threatened to leave Warren if he didn’t sign it. I wanted him to use it to put an end to all the rumors about us, but...he didn’t use it.”

Behind them, the door opened, and Alyssa and Mary turned to see Warren walking inside. It was clear on his face that he had heard everything.

“Of course I didn’t use it. Why should I?” Warren came to stand beside his wife, and Mary’s eyes prickled with tears when Alyssa laid her cheek against his hand.

“I love my wife, and she loves me. Both of us know it, and it’s like what you said.” For the first time, Warren smiled at Mary.

She covered her mouth at the sight of it, trying not to cry.

“Knowing that we love each other was all the protection that we needed, and all of a sudden it was like nothing could harm us.”

Alyssa’s smile dimmed. “But our past had hurt our son, and that’s the one thing I will always—-”

Warren frowned down at her. “Enough of that, my love. Don’t you see? He will stop hurting, too, now that he’s found the woman for him.” He turned to Mary.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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