Semua Bab From Rejected to Rafael's : Bab 31 - Bab 40

**CHAPTER 31****MERIS POV**Dinner at Belmont Mansion felt like a battlefield disguised as dinner. Rafael sat across from me, jaw tight, saying almost nothing. Connor sat two seats down, and every time I looked up, his eyes were already on me. Mr. Belmont carved his steak like nothing was wrong, but I caught him glancing between the three of us more than once, filing something away behind that calm face of his."Have you two set a date yet?" Mr. Belmont asked, not even looking up from his plate.My fork stopped halfway to my mouth."We're still discussing it," Rafael said smoothly, like he'd rehearsed it.I kept my eyes down, but something in my chest lifted anyway. A date. A real date, on a real calendar, with flowers and a dress and Rafael standing at the end of an aisle waiting for me. I let myself have the thought for exactly three seconds …long enough to feel warm, long enough to feel stupid.‘It's not real, Meris. It's a contract. Stop.’ My wolf warned.I put my fork down and

CHAPTER 33MERIS'S POVThe words had been sitting inside me for so long that once I finally started talking, I couldn't seem to stop.“I saw him, Aria.” My voice shook. Aria didn't interrupt.“I went to his room that morning and…” I swallowed, but my throat still felt tight. “She was there. In his bed.” The words hung between us. I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.“I didn't know what to think. I still don't.” Aria moved closer and pulled me into her arms. That was all it took.The tears I'd been fighting spilled over. I pressed my face into her shoulder and cried, my breath coming out in uneven little gasps.“I thought he was different,” I whispered. “I really thought he was.” Aria rubbed my back.“But you told me how good he's been to you.”“He has.”“Then why are you blaming yourself?” I pulled away and wiped my cheeks.“Because I knew what this was supposed to be.” She frowned.“The contract.” I nodded.“I knew from the beginning. I knew exactly what I agreed to.” I lo

Chapter 35RAFAEL'S POVSeth's call came at the worst possible moment. Meris had finally been about to tell me what was wrong.I could still see the look on her face when my phone rang. She had been hesitant, almost as if she was fighting with herself over whether to speak.Then Seth told me they had found the girl. I had no choice but to leave.Still, as I drove away from the mansion, something inside me refused to settle. I should have stayed. I should have let her finish.I pulled into the safe house and sat in the SUV for a moment, staring through the windshield.Meris's face kept coming back to me. The way she had looked at me when I answered the call.The way her expression had changed when she realized I was leaving. I rubbed a hand over my jaw."I'll talk to her when I get back." I said it aloud, as if hearing the words would make me believe them.Then I stepped out of the car. Seth was waiting for me."Where are they?""Inside the dark room." I followed him inside. My men low

**Chapter 37****Connor's POV**I saw Meris before she saw me.She was standing near the reception desk, one hand pressed against her cheek, blinking fast like she was trying to stop something from falling. The moment she noticed me in the doorway, her spine straightened. Her hand dropped. Her mouth curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes."Connor."Her voice was barely a whisper to was steady, but her eyes were red at the edges, and when she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, her fingers weren't quite still."Are you okay?" I asked."I'm fine. Just tired." She looked past me, toward the hallway, like she wanted an excuse to walk away.I wanted to push. I wanted to ask her what had happened, who had upset her, whether it had anything to do with Rafael. But she'd already crossed her arms, and there was something in the set of her jaw that told me she'd shut the door if I knocked too hard.So I let it go. For now."I came to apologize again," I said instead. "For everyth

**Chapter 39****MERIS'S POV**I woke up before morning.For a second I didn't know where I was. Then I saw the ceiling, unfamiliar, and the smell of a hotel room instead of Rafael's mansion, and it all came back at once, like a wave that had been waiting for me to open my eyes.Rafael's face when he kissed me and I pushed him away. The video. That woman's voice saying ‘your so-called fiancé knows exactly who I am.’ Her hand moving toward me. The wall against my back. Connor's arms catching me before I fell.And Rafael, standing there, watching Connor carry me away, and me not stopping it.I pressed my palms against my eyes until it hurt. My chest felt tight, like something was sitting on it. I hadn't slept, not really. I'd only closed my eyes and let my mind replay everything until it wore itself out.I don't want to be afraid of him. I kept thinking that over and over, like saying it enough times would make it true. But every time I closed my eyes I saw that woman's face, so certain