Chapter 26: The secret contract.

ISADORA’S POV

Rafael stood in front of me with his mouth completely shut, refusing to tell me the truth about the secret contract that gave my sister power over his life.

I looked at the small gold ring sitting in my open palm, and the deep pain in my chest turned into hot anger as I stepped toward the big window and threw the ring out into the darkness with all the strength in my right arm. 

The small gold band vanished into the night, and my heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand small pieces. I turned back to face Rafael, wiping my wet face with the back of my hand so he would not see me cry anymore.

"You are a coward, Rafael," I said, pointing my finger at his pale face as my legs trembled under my weight.

Rafael then took a fast step toward me and grabbed both of my hands in his warm palms. "I am not a coward, Isadora," he said, holding my fingers tight while his eyes filled with tears. "I am keeping quiet because I am trying to save your life and your family from total ruin."

I pulled my hands out of his grip with all my strength and took three steps backward away from him. "Stop lying to me!" I shouted, feeling my throat burn with deep pain. "You let Rosalind insult me like a dog in this room, and you stood there like a statue because you were afraid of her."

"You do not understand what is happening here," Rafael said with his voice breaking as he stepped toward me again. "Five years ago, your father Peter and Rosalind set a trap for me before I married you."

I stopped moving and looked at his face, my breath catching in my throat as my mind tried to understand his words. 

"What kind of trap?" I asked softly, rubbing my cold arms with my hands.

"They made me sign a document that said I took fifty million dollars from your family trust fund without permission," Rafael whispered, dropping his head down as his shoulders shook. "If that document goes to the court judge, I will go to prison for twenty years, and your family trust will become completely bankrupt."

My mouth opened in total shock, and my stomach twisted into a tight knot as the reality of his words hit my chest and I realized that my own twin sister and my father had planned this evil move many years ago, just to hold Rafael in their hands like a puppet. 

They knew he loved our family land, so they used that contract to control every single decision he made in his life.

"Why did you sign such a terrible paper?" I asked, taking a step closer to him as my tears started falling again.

"I signed it because your father promised to use that fifty million dollars to pay for your heart surgery when you were sick in the hospital," Rafael said, looking directly into my eyes with raw pain. "I sacrificed my whole life and my name just so you could live, Isadora."

Immediately he said that, his words hit my heart like a heavy stone, and my whole body went completely weak in front of him.

All these years I thought Rafael was a greedy man who only cared about money and power, but he had been carrying this heavy cross on his back just to keep me alive. 

He let me hate him, he let my sister insult him, and he took all the pain alone without saying a single word to defend himself.

"You did that for me?" I whispered, my voice shaking as I reached out to touch his wet cheek with my hand.

"I would do it a thousand times again just to see you breathe," Rafael said, wrapping his strong arms around my waist and pulling my body flush against his chest.

I buried my face in his wet shirt and cried deeply, wrapping my arms around his broad back as all my anger melted away into pure love. I held onto him tight, feeling his heart beating fast against my ribs while his chin rested on top of my head. 

We stayed like that in the middle of the room for a long time, holding each other close while the cool wind blew through the open door.

"We have to fight them together now," I said, pulling back slightly to look into his dark eyes. "I will not let Rosalind and Peter use my life to destroy you anymore."

Rafael looked down at my face with a small, soft smile, using his thumbs to wipe the tears off my cheeks. "You are the strongest woman I have ever known, Isadora," Rafael said, kissing my forehead with deep tenderness. "Starting tonight, we are going to find that original contract and burn it to ashes."

We sat down on the edge of the large bed, holding hands tightly while we planned how to outsmart my sister and my father. 

I felt a new strength inside my chest because I knew the truth now, and I was ready to stand by my husband no matter what came our way. We talked softly for hours, deciding that we would pretend to fight in public so Rosalind would think her plan was working perfectly.

When the clock on the wall showed three o'clock in the morning, Rafael pulled me down onto the soft mattress and wrapped the heavy blanket over our bodies.

I rested my head on his broad chest, listening to his steady breathing while his fingers played gently with my hair. I felt completely safe in his arms, knowing that our love was real and that no secret could ever divide us again.