CHAPTER 4 — BETWEEN MY HUSBAND AND MY FATHER

Arabella's POV

“Whatever your father tells you, don't believe him.”

Paulit-ulit kong binasa ang mensahe ni Damien sa cellphone ko.

Hindi ko alam kung alin ang mas masakit isipin—na maaaring ginagamit lang ako ng sarili kong asawa para makaganti sa pamilya ko, o na may alam ang sarili kong ama tungkol sa babaeng muntik nang pakasalan ni Damien.

Victoria Ashford.

The woman who disappeared three years ago.

The woman everyone believed was dead.

At ngayon, ako ang babaeng nakatayo sa gitna ng isang lihim na maaaring sumira sa buhay ko.

“Papa,” I whispered, turning toward him. “Tell me the truth.”

My father looked away.

“Arabella, hindi mo kailangang malaman ang lahat.”

Napatawa ako nang mapait.

“Hindi ko kailangang malaman? Papa, kasal na ako sa lalaking naniniwalang may kasalanan ang pamilya natin sa pagkamatay ng dati niyang fiancée! Paano mo nasasabi na hindi ko kailangang malaman?”

“I'm trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what? The truth?”

He ran a trembling hand through his hair.

“May mga bagay na mas mabuting hindi na binubuksan.”

“Then why does it feel like everyone is hiding something from me?”

Wala siyang naisagot.

I stared at the photograph still clutched in his hand.

“Did you know Victoria?”

His silence made my stomach twist.

“Papa?”

“Yes.”

Isang salita lang iyon, pero parang may kung anong nabasag sa loob ko.

“You knew her?”

He slowly nodded.

“Matagal na.”

“How long?”

“Arabella, please—”

“HOW LONG, PAPA?”

Napaatras siya sa lakas ng boses ko.

I immediately regretted shouting, but I couldn't stop the tears gathering in my eyes.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “Pero hindi ko na alam kung sino ang paniniwalaan ko.”

My father approached me, but I stepped back.

“Anak, pakinggan mo muna ako.”

Before he could continue, a loud knock came from the front door.

Pareho kaming napalingon.

Then came a familiar voice.

“Open the door.”

Damien.

My father suddenly went pale.

And for the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.

“Arabella,” he whispered urgently. “Whatever happens, don't let that man convince you that he's the victim.”

I barely had time to process his words when the door opened.

Damien stood at the entrance, his black suit slightly disheveled, his expression colder than I had ever seen.

His eyes immediately found mine.

“Come with me.”

I crossed my arms.

“Not until someone explains what's happening.”

His gaze shifted toward my father.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

“Mr. Sinclair.”

“Mr. Kingsley.”

They stared at each other like two men who had been waiting years for this exact confrontation.

Damien took one step forward.

“You should have told her the truth.”

My father let out a bitter laugh.

“You're the last person who should be talking about the truth.”

Damien's jaw tightened.

“At least I'm not pretending to be innocent.”

“And what exactly do you want from my daughter? Another victim?”

“Enough!” I shouted.

Pareho silang natahimik.

I looked at Damien first.

“Did you marry me to get revenge on my family?”

He didn't answer immediately.

And that hesitation hurt more than any insult he had ever thrown at me.

“Answer me, Damien.”

His eyes met mine.

“Yes.”

My breath caught.

He continued before I could speak.

“But not for the reason you think.”

I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks.

“Then explain it to me!”

“Not here.”

“Of course! It's always the same with you. You make decisions for me, you hide things from me, and whenever I ask questions, you tell me it's none of my business!”

“Arabella—”

“No! You don't get to silence me anymore.”

I wiped my tears angrily.

“You promised me a contract marriage. You never told me that you suspected my family of being responsible for your fiancée's disappearance.”

His expression darkened.

“Because I didn't want you involved.”

“Too late.”

For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to reach for me.

But he stopped himself.

And somehow, that small gesture hurt even more.

“Get your things,” he said quietly. “We're leaving.”

I stared at him.

“I'm not going anywhere with you.”

His eyes hardened.

“Arabella, don't make this more difficult than it already is.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You think I'm the one making this difficult?”

My father stepped between us.

“She stays here.”

Damien's expression turned dangerous.

“This is between me and my wife.”

“She's my daughter before she's your wife!”

“And she's my responsibility now.”

“She's not a business acquisition, Damien!”

“Then stop treating her like a pawn in your game!”

The words echoed through the room.

I froze.

So did my father.

For the first time, Damien looked genuinely furious—not because he had been insulted, but because my father had accused him of using me.

I stared at my husband, trying to understand the anger in his eyes.

Was he defending me?

Or was he simply defending his pride?

“I'm leaving,” I finally said.

Both men turned toward me.

“But not because either of you ordered me to.”

I walked toward the door, refusing to look back.

Damien followed.

And for once, he didn't try to stop me.

The entire drive back to the mansion was silent.

I sat beside Damien, staring out the window as the city lights blurred past us.

My mind was filled with questions.

Why had my father known Victoria?

Why did Damien believe my family was responsible for her disappearance?

And why had he chosen me, specifically, to become his wife?

I turned toward him.

“Did you know who I was before you approached me?”

He kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“Yes.”

The answer came too quickly.

I felt something cold settle in my chest.

“So you knew I was a Sinclair.”

“Yes.”

“And you still proposed to me?”

“Yes.”

I swallowed hard.

“Was everything a lie?”

He finally looked at me.

“No.”

“Then what part was real?”

His grip tightened around the steering wheel.

“The debt. The contract. The fact that I needed a wife.”

I waited.

“And the fact that I chose you?”

He said nothing.

I turned away, blinking back tears.

“Right.”

“Arabella.”

“Please don't.”

He fell silent.

For the rest of the drive, neither of us spoke.

But when we arrived at the mansion, Damien surprised me.

Instead of heading toward his office, he followed me upstairs.

I stopped outside my bedroom door.

“What now?”

He slipped one hand into his pocket.

“I owe you an explanation.”

I stared at him, uncertain whether to believe what I was hearing.

“Then explain.”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“Three years ago, Victoria and I were engaged. Our families had already arranged the wedding, and I thought I knew everything about her.”

His voice became quieter.

“Then, two weeks before the wedding, she disappeared.”

“What happened that night?”

“There was a car accident near the cliffs. Her vehicle was found, but her body was never recovered.”

I held my breath.

“And you believe my family had something to do with it?”

“I have evidence that connects your father to her disappearance.”

“What evidence?”

He looked away briefly.

“Financial records. Phone calls. Documents that disappeared after the accident.”

“That's not proof that he killed her!”

“I never said he killed her.”

“Then what are you accusing him of?”

Damien's face hardened.

“Of knowing what happened to her.”

I leaned against the wall, struggling to process everything.

“And you married me because you wanted to get close to my father.”

His silence answered my question.

I closed my eyes.

“I was right. I was just a pawn.”

“No.”

“Then why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I didn't know whether you were involved.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You thought I had something to do with her disappearance?”

“I didn't know what to think.”

I felt my heart breaking in a way I couldn't explain.

“You could have asked me.”

“I couldn't risk it.”

“Risk what? Your investigation? Your precious revenge?”

He stepped closer.

“Risk losing the only lead I had.”

I went completely still.

The words hurt more than I expected.

Not because I loved him.

I didn't.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

But because for one foolish moment, I had hoped he might have chosen me for a reason other than my last name.

“Get out,” I whispered.

“Arabella—”

“Get out of my room.”

He stared at me, his expression unreadable.

Then he slowly stepped back.

Before leaving, he said, “Whatever you think of me, I won't let anyone hurt you.”

I let out a shaky laugh.

“You don't even know whether you can trust me.”

He paused at the door.

“Maybe not.”

Then his eyes met mine.

“But I know one thing.”

“What?”

His voice dropped.

“If someone is threatening you, they're going to have to go through me first.”

He left before I could respond.

And I hated the way my heart reacted to his words.

Because how could I begin to understand a man who treated me like a suspect one minute and protected me the next?

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I kept thinking about Victoria, my father, and the evidence Damien claimed to have.

At around midnight, I finally got out of bed and went downstairs for a glass of water.

As I passed Damien's office, I noticed that the door was slightly open.

I should have kept walking.

I knew that.

But then I heard my name.

“Arabella Sinclair,” a man's voice said through the phone. “You're certain she's the one?”

Damien answered in a low voice.

“There's no doubt.”

My heart began to pound.

The man on the other end said something I couldn't hear.

Then Damien replied.

“Her father knows more than he's admitting. If she finds out why I really chose her, everything will fall apart.”

I covered my mouth.

Why he really chose me?

I took one step backward.

Unfortunately, my heel struck a small decorative vase.

It fell to the floor and shattered.

Silence.

Then I heard Damien's chair move.

“Who's there?”

I turned to run, but the office door swung open.

He stood in the doorway, his eyes immediately locking onto mine.

“Arabella.”

I couldn't move.

He glanced at the broken vase, then back at me.

“How much did you hear?”

I stared at him, my hands trembling.

“Enough.”

His expression changed.

“Arabella, listen to me—”

“No.” I shook my head. “I want the truth. Right now.”

He took a step toward me.

I stepped back.

“Why did you really choose me, Damien?”

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen in his eyes before.

Panic.

He answered the call.

“What happened?”

A woman's trembling voice came through the speaker.

“Damien… she's alive.”

He went completely still.

The woman continued, crying.

“Victoria is alive. And she knows about your wife.”

My blood turned to ice.

Damien slowly lowered the phone.

Then he looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

Because somewhere out there, the woman who was supposed to be dead had just returned.

And if she was alive, then everything Damien believed about my family might have been a lie.

End of chapter 4.