Chapter 5%
Nadia turned to him in disbelief, her voice shrill with anguish. “Jonah, my mother is barely clinging to life because of Arabelle and you’re still protecting her?”
Tears streamed down her pale face, her body trembling as if she would collapse at any moment. If I weren’t the one being framed, even I might have believed her–believed that I was some heartless monster who had done the unthinkable.
Under my gaze, Jonah gently wiped the blood off Nadia’s hands with his own sleeve, his touch tender. “I just don’t want you to dirty your hands,” he murmured, his voice soft in contrast to the madness unfolding around us.X
Then, as if something in him shifted, he pushed Nadia aside and slowly walked toward me. His expression was unreadable, his steps unhurried, deliberate. My body tensed involuntarily, a chill creeping up my spine.
There was no warmth in his eyes as they locked onto mine. Only a cold, merciless calculation.
“Jonah, I didn’t hurt her mother!” My voice came out hoarse, raw. “She kidnapped me and staged this whole act! If you don’t believe me, you can-”
The words never left my lips.
A sharp, searing pain shot through my body.
I gasped, staring in disbelief at the knife now embedded in the back of my hand. The cold metal sent shockwaves of agony through my nerves, the pain so intense it forced blood up my throat. I coughed violently, splattering red across the floor.! Jonah, now spattered with my blood, stood unmoved.
His lips quivered slightly as he asked, almost absently, “Why… didn’t you dodge?“!
Dodge?2
He actually thought I let this happen. As if I could have done anything at all.
I was drugged. My limbs felt like lead. My body refused to move./
Yet, what truly twisted the knife deeper wasn’t the pain, but the memory of who he used to be.
There was a time when he would panic if I so much as lingered in bed a little longer. He would fuss, insist on taking me for a full medical checkup, afraid I might be ill.
Now, he couldn’t even see the bruises on my neck from being strangled. He couldn’t see that I could barely stay conscious. All he saw was Nadia’s tears.”
“Arabelle, don’t blame me.” His voice was eerily calm. “This is your punishment for your mistake. I hope you’ll learn from it…” He had already passed judgment–without hesitation, without verification !
The ambulance arrived swiftly, but I was not among the priorities. They took Nadia’s mother away, Jonah by her side, holding her hand as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
my
hand.”
I, however, was left behind, discarded in a corner like an afterthought. With the knife still lodged in A kind stranger took me to the hospital, where I finally regained consciousness hours later. The first thing I did was report the incident to the police.
Jonah stormed into my hospital room not long after, his face dark with fury. “Arabelle, what the hell are you doing?“%
His voice was laced with impatience, as if I were a nuisance. “The evidence and witness testimonies are all against you. Have you lost your mind? Call off the report immediately! I can’t marry a woman with a criminal record=”
I didn’t even look at him.
“Okay” I said flatly.
For the first time, Jonah hesitated. Perhaps he expected me to fight back, to plead. But I didn’t.”
Satisfied, he left without a single word of concern.
The day of my discharge, I went home to pack my things–only to find the entrance decorated for the wedding, the one that should have been mine. And the door had a new passcode.
I hired a locksmith to break in, gathered my belongings and left. After all, I had a wedding to attend.
As my plane landed, my phone buzzed with a call from my lawyer. There were new developments in the case.
I glanced at the damning evidence in my hands, my lips curling into a cold smile.
I sent Jonah a message. [Congratulations on your wedding.]
Jonah, standing at the entrance of the venue, glanced at his phone. His expression darkened as he turned to Zane.
“Make sure to guard all exits,” he ordered. “Arabelle must not be allowed to cause trouble.”
Zane, after skimming the latest news headlines about my wedding, thumped his chest.
“Rest assured, Sir. She’s too busy trying to get your attention–she won’t be coming to make a scene.“%
