All Chapters of LOVE BEYOND THE PAIN: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

“You’re going to take your sister’s place and marry Mr. Gian.”The words fell from her father’s mouth with a coldness that sliced straight through her bones. As if he were asking her to run to the corner store for salt, not telling her to hand over her entire life to a man she’d never even met.Aurelia had just stepped off the last stair when the sentence hit her. Her heart dropped. She stared at her parents sitting in the living room, their faces paler than the walls behind them. On the table, wedding invitations were scattered everywhere like the remnants of a battlefield. Her sister’s name and her would-be groom were clearly printed on each one.“What... what do you mean, Dad?” Her voice was barely audible, no more than a whisper inside a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.Her mother, who looked ten years older overnight, dabbed at her tears with a crumpled tissue. She couldn’t even look Aurelia in the eye.“Your sister called from Japan,” she said shakily. “She said she can’t ge

Gian didn’t answer. Only a long, heavy silence filled the room, swallowing whatever courage Aurelia had left. She shut her eyes, desperately hoping for an explanation—anything. But all she heard was the faint rustle of fabric as Gian shifted on the sofa.Minutes passed before a voice finally broke through the stillness. Soft, low, almost too quiet to hear.“There are too many old wounds. You don’t need to know everything tonight.”And then, nothing. Just the ticking of the clock.Rain poured hard as the black car stopped in front of the tall iron gates. Aurelia stared at the grand three-story European-style mansion beyond it, Gian’s family home. The place that, for better or worse, was about to become hers too. Yet no warmth rose in her chest. Only a coldness that seeped deeper than the weather itself.“This… is the main family house?” she asked softly, taking in the imposing facade that radiated power and isolation.Gian simply nodded. No words.The gates opened automatically. The ca

“Typical gold-digger!”That was the first thing that flew out of Mrs. Lestari’s mouth this morning. Her tone was sharp, cutting, like a whip cracking across bare skin. The usually quiet house was now heavy with tension.Aurelia stayed silent. Her head bowed, her eyes fixed on the floor. She knew those words weren’t just an angry outburst, but a judgment she had feared long before this moment.“Graduate school? A master’s degree? You’ve barely been in this house and you already want to continue your studies? What’s next, huh? A car? An apartment? A vacation overseas?”Mrs. Lestari’s voice rose, and the maid who had been carrying tea, quickly backed out of the dining room. Gian sat at the far end of the table, staring into his cup. He didn’t say a single word.“I’m not asking for anything except permission, Ma’am,” Aurelia replied softly, barely audible. “I just want to chase my dream. I was accepted even before this marriage happened.”“Oh, of course! Exactly what I expected. You accep

“You have to fix me. Bring my confidence back.”Aurelia froze where she stood, while Gian closed the distance between them in just a few quick steps. The sudden proximity made her spin around instinctively.“I…I’m not that kind of woman,” she stammered, inching away as her hands flew up to guard her chest.“I know,” Gian shot back immediately. “You’re my wife, Aurelia.”He said it right beside her left ear, making her flinch and shiver at the same time. His voice was too close, low, steady and it slid under her skin like a blade. His breath brushed her neck, stirring a strange, unnameable sensation inside her.Aurelia faced him again. She wanted to get angry, to push him away and reject all of this. But her tongue refused to move. Her body locked up under emotions she couldn’t sort out. Gian didn’t even touch her, yet the weight of his stare made it hard to breathe.The next morning, Aurelia’s scream tore through the quiet room the moment she opened her eyes and found a tall, broad-sh