Contract Marriage: I Will Never Love You-Chapter 102: Tell Her the Truth

Matthew

I rush home as soon as I get off the phone with Josh.

That fucking bastard. How dare he come into my home and threaten my wife!

The tires screech as I pull into the driveway. I don’t even bother turning the engine off. I throw the door open and bolt toward the back garden, my heart pounding in time with the fury roaring in my blood.

The first thing I see is Sarah sitting on the bench, pale, trembling, one hand protectively cradling her stomach. Josh is sitting with her, no sign of Rodrigo.

"Sarah," I breathe, rushing to her side. I drop to my knees in front of her, cupping her face with both hands. "Are you hurt? Did he—" My voice breaks.

She shakes her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. "He tried to take me. It’s like he is obsessed with me. He grabbed me."

I close my eyes, trying to keep control. Barely succeeding. "I swear to God, he won’t touch you ever again."

I exhale sharply and look at Josh. "Where is he now?"

"I tied him up and locked him inside the shade," Josh says. "I figured I’d wait to call the cops until you get here."

"Good call. I have something to ask him. I called Charles to come here too," I say grimly.

Sarah looks at me with surprise. "My dad? He won’t like this."

"Your father knows about Rodrigo and what kind of a shitty person he is," I say.

"Wh-what do you mean? What does he know?" Sarah asks.

I put my arm around her and pull her closer. "I think it’s best we wait for him and you hear it from his own mouth."

I didn’t want her to find out what her father did this way, but now is a good time than any. Sarah deserves to know the truth.

I kiss Sarah’s forehead and stand up. "Stay here with Josh. I’ll be right back."

"Matthew, wait—" Sarah grabs my wrist, her eyes wide with fear. "What are you going to do?"

I cover her hand with mine, squeezing gently. "I’m just going to talk to him."

Josh gives me a knowing look. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," I say firmly. "Stay with Sarah. Don’t let her out of your sight."

As I walk toward the garden shed, rage builds with each step. My hands clench into fists, knuckles white. The bastard who tried to hurt my wife, who tormented her as a child, is just a few feet away.

The padlock clicks open, and I swing the door wide. Rodrigo sits bound to a metal chair, duct tape around his wrists and ankles. A thin line of blood trickles from his temple where Josh struck him. His eyes narrow when he sees me.

"Ah, the husband arrives," he says. "Come to defend your little wife’s honor?"

I shut the door behind me. "You came into my home. You put your hands on my pregnant wife."

"She belongs with me," he hisses.

My fist connects with his jaw before I even realize I’ve swung. Pain radiates through my knuckles, but it’s nothing compared to the satisfaction of watching his head snap back.

"That’s for touching her," I growl.

Rodrigo spits blood onto the concrete floor. "You think you’re the hero? You know nothing. Ask Charles why he let me near his daughter all those years. Ask him what he traded for his success."

My stomach turns. I already know, but hearing it from this monster’s mouth makes it real in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

"Charles won’t save you now," I say coldly. "And neither will your money or connections."

A car door slams outside. Charles has arrived.

The shed door opens, and Charles stands there, his face ashen. He looks older somehow, the weight of his sins finally catching up to him.

"Matthew," he says quietly. "Let me handle this."

I look between Charles and Rodrigo, two men who destroyed Sarah’s childhood for their own selfish reasons.

"She deserves to know everything," I tell Charles. "All of it."

Charles nods slowly. "I know. And she will."

"Now. You tell her what you did. How you used her as bait," I demand.

"What is he talking about, Daddy?" Sarah’s voice startles us both.

Charles flinches like he’s been shot. Slowly, he turns around to face his daughter, who stands in the doorway of the shed. Josh lingers just behind her, looking guilty as he couldn’t hold her back.

Her hands are clenched at her sides, her jaw trembling. "What does he mean, Dad?" she repeats, more forcefully this time. "What did you do?"

"Sarah..." Charles takes a step forward, but she recoils.

"Don’t," she whispers. "Don’t take another step until you tell me the truth."

Charles looks at me, then back at her, and I can see him unraveling. Whatever mask of control he wore his entire life is slipping now, fast. The silence stretches for a beat too long before he finally speaks.

"I faked your kidnapping when you were six, so I could use the ransom to pay off my debt," he says softly. "With Rodrigo’s help."

Sarah stares at him in disbelief. "You...what!?"

Charles exhales shakily, raking a hand through his hair. "It wasn’t supposed to end up like how it did. But...it’s a long story. Rodrigo tricked me and kept you away longer. I am so sorry, sweetheart. I had no idea he had other intentions for you."

Sarah’s face drains of color, her eyes widening with horror. "You... you had me kidnapped?" Her voice comes out as a broken whisper. "Your own daughter?"

Rodrigo laughs, a cold, cruel sound that fills the small space. "Tell her the rest, Charles. Tell her how desperate you were. How pathetic."

Charles’s shoulders slump. "I was in debt—gambling debts I couldn’t pay. Rodrigo offered to help stage a kidnapping. Evelyn’s father, your grandfather, would pay it, and you’d only be gone for a day. That was the plan."

"But that’s not what happened," I say, unable to contain my disgust. "Tell her what really happened."

Sarah’s gaze darts between us, her breathing shallow and quick. "What happened to me?"

Charles can’t meet her eyes. "Rodrigo kept you for three days instead of one. Police found you in a motel and you were... different. Withdrawn. You had nightmares."

"I was traumatized," Sarah finishes, her voice hollow. "Rodrigo did something to me."

Charles turned to Rodrigo. "Tell the truth now, Rodrigo. Did you hurt her?"

Rodrigo sneers, a grotesque smile twisting his face despite the blood on his lips. "I couldn’t do what I wanted with her," he says, eyes gleaming with a sick amusement. "The little princess was too wild, too defiant. She scratched and bit and screamed like a banshee whenever I tried to touch her."

His gaze slides to Sarah, appraising her. "Even at six, you knew how to fight. I’d get close, and you’d start thrashing. Kicked me right in the groin once." He chuckles darkly.

Sarah’s hand flies to her mouth, memories crashing over her in waves. Her legs wobble beneath her.

"I remember," she whispers. "I remember being in that house. And this woman...she dragged me away from you."

Charles lunges forward suddenly, grabbing Rodrigo by the collar. "You sick bastard! You told me you just wanted to help! You said she won’t be harmed!"

"You’ve always been an idiot, Charles," Rodrigo says coldly.

"You think your little ruse of a kidnapping would work for free? I just wanted something in return."

My stomach churns with disgust, but I force myself to step forward. I need to end this now.

"That’s enough," I say, my voice deadly calm. "Sarah, go back to the house."

She shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. "No. I need to hear everything."

I look at her, my heart breaking. She deserves to know, but not like this. Not from him.

"The police are on their way," Josh says from behind Sarah. "They should be here any minute." freewёbnoνel.com

Rodrigo’s smug expression falters. "You can’t prove anything. It was twenty years ago."

"We don’t need to prove what happened then," I say coldly. "Attempted kidnapping today is enough. Sarah has the marks on her wrists from where you grabbed her."

Charles turns to Sarah, his face crumpled with shame and regret. "Sarah, I never knew what he tried to do to you. I swear. When I realized he wasn’t bringing you back after the first day, I panicked."

"And then what?" Sarah demands, her voice trembling with fury. "You just let me think I had imaginary trauma? You let me believe I was crazy when I had nightmares?"

"The doctors said it was better not to make you relive it," Charles says weakly. "Your mother and I thought—"

"You were protecting yourselves," I cut in. "Not her."

Sarah sways slightly on her feet. Josh steadies her with a hand on her elbow.

"Did Mom know?" she asks, her voice small. "About the fake kidnapping?"

Charles hesitates. "Not at first. I told her after it went wrong."

Sarah wraps her arms around herself, as if trying to hold herself together. "I can’t believe this," she whispers.

"Princess," Rodrigo interjects, his voice sickeningly sweet. "Your father is the villain here, not me. Charles, why don’t you tell her why her grandpa didn’t jump in with the money to rescue her right away, hmm? Since we are revealing all the truths here, tell her the true origin of her birth."