Chapter 187
Eliana Bennett’s heart hammered so violently she could feel the pulse in her throat, like her body was warning her to run even as her feet refused to move. Rafael’s hand closed around her wrist—not harshly, but with a kind of desperate insistence that made her breath hitch. His touch was warm, familiar, painfully so, and it clashed against the cold storm swirling inside her.
She stopped mid-stride, her low heels skidding against the hospital’s linoleum floor with a sharp, jarring scrape. The sterile bite of antiseptic filled the air, but beneath it lingered a faint trace of Rafael’s cologne—sandalwood wrapped in citrus. A scent she once associated with comfort, late whispers, and the kind of safety she never thought she’d lose so stupidly. Now it was a reminder of shattered promises and nights spent staring at a silent phone.
Her long hair slid over her shoulder as she turned back to him, the strands falling like a curtain she wished could shield her from the look in his clouded eyes. Her brown eyes sharpened, heat simmering behind them. Anger, exhaustion, heartbreak—they all hardened her expression into something Rafael hadn’t seen from her before.
“Rafael, let go of me,” she whispered—not weak, not pleading, but trembling in that way a sword trembles just before it strikes. The words sliced through the stale hospital air with quiet ferocity. Her body went stiff, her arms instinctively curling around her stomach, where the gentle swell of her baby bump rose beneath her dress. A reminder of the tiny heartbeat caught in the middle of all this madness.
But Rafael didn’t let go.
If anything, his grip tightened for half a second, as if the thought of losing contact with her terrified him. His steel eyes—usually cool, usually unreadable—were unfocused, overflowing with something too raw to hide. He shifted on the bed, the sheets whispering under his weight. He looked fragile and unbreakable all at once: tall frame slouched, jaw clenched, breath uneven. The monitor beside him beeped in frantic bursts, betraying the chaos he was trying so hard to keep contained.
“Eliana, please.” His voice cracked at the edges, but he pushed through it. “Just hear me out. I’m not saying this lightly—I swear on everything I have left in this world p>
And those last words hit the air like a plea, like an apology, like a confession.
Eliana jerked her arm out of his hold, tearing free with a sharp inhale. She didn’t run for the door, though every muscle in her body screamed for distance or else she’d be hurt by him again. Instead, she planted herself a few steps away, arms crossed like armor, lips pressed so tightly together she felt them go numb.
Her eyes glistened—not with weakness, but with the kind of grief that comes from holding yourself together far too long. She refused to blink. She refused to break. She’d done enough breaking for the both of them.
“What more is there to say, Rafael?” she whispered, her voice low but steady. “You’ve already turned everything into some twisted circus. A fake marriage? ” She almost laughed, but it came out as a sharp breath instead. “As if that magically erases all my pains and problems. As if that fixes anything p>
She shook her head slowly, disbelief rolling through every breath she took.
“As if I haven’t already suffered enough p>
Rafael blew out a breath that sounded like it scraped against every fear he was trying to hold in. His fingers dragged through his wavy hair, leaving it even messier as a few strands fell over his eyes—an unguarded softness he rarely let anyone see. The hospital gown slipped off one shoulder, exposing the bruised lines of a man who’d been fighting battles far beyond the physical. He looked wrecked, raw, and heartbreakingly real.
“Eliana,” he said, voice rough but steady, “listen to me p>
His gaze locked onto hers with a seriousness that pinned her in place.
“Yes, I want to marry you. God, I want it more than anything in the world. I’m in love with you Eliana, deeply, stupidly, in a way I can’t undo even if I tried. You tore through walls I didn’t even realize I’d built, and now I can’t imagine breathing without you in my world p>
He swallowed, jaw tightening as the truth pushed its way out.
“But this isn’t just about what I feel. It’s bigger than us. It’s about staying alive p>
He shifted, wincing slightly, but kept going.
“Mirabel is coming after you carelessly like you’re nothing—because right now, in her eyes, you are. No powerful family, no connections, nothing she considers worth hesitation. She could erase you, Eliana. One moment you’re here, the next… gone. And the world wouldn’t stop. No headlines. No outrage p>
His voice shook—not from weakness, but from the sheer terror of that thought.
“But if you become mine… if you take my name—Eliana Vexley—she won’t carelessly touch you. She wouldn’t dare. Not without provoking a war she can’t afford.” He exhaled slowly, like the weight of the truth was crushing him. “My name would becomes your shield. For you. For our baby. It’s the only thing right now that stands between you and the kind of danger you can’t outrun p>
Eliana’s breath caught, her warm skin flushing with a mix of rage and reluctant fear. She paced a small circle, her heels clicking rhythmically, echoing the turmoil in her mind. The room felt smaller, the walls closing in with the weight of his words. “Protection? That’s your angle? Rafael, you’re talking like this is some mafia movie. Mirabel might be ruthless, but I’m not hiding behind your money or your name. I’ve survived on my own before—I can do it again p>
Rafael’s expression softened, his piercing eyes—secretly sharp and seeing—pleading with her. He reached out again, this time not grabbing but extending his hand palm up, an open invitation. “It’s not just talk, love. You’re aware Mirabel’s has been trying to kill me for years. She’s cunning, always careful to avoid public suspicion. Poison in my food, tampered brakes on my car—she almost succeeded multiple times when I was truly blind. But once I regained my sight through that secret surgery, I turned the tables. I kept faking the blindness and paralysis to keep her in the dark, so she wouldn’t restrategize. If she knew I could see, she’d come at me harder, smarter. And now, she’s coming for you the same way. Don’t let her win by refusing this. At least with my name, you won’t be an easy target p>
Eliana stopped pacing, her expressive eyes widening as the pieces clicked. She placed a protective hand on her belly, feeling the faint flutter of life within. “And the baby? You want to drag our child into this web of lies p>
He nodded solemnly, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried the weight of his hidden scars. “The baby needs my name, Eliana. I don’t want you labeled as just my ’baby mama’—some disposable fling in the eyes of the world. With a contract marriage, at least for one year, our child is born into stability. Protected from Mirabel’s reach. We can make it legal, ironclad. No strings beyond that if you don’t want them. But please, think of the little one. Think of us as a family, even if it’s temporary p>
Her laugh was bitter, a sharp bark that echoed off the sterile walls, devoid of any real humor. She shook her head, her curls bouncing wildly. “Excuses, Rafael. All of this is just excuses to trap me. You say you love me, but where was that love when you shut me out? When you refused to listen to my side of the story. When you let me believe I was nothing to you? No. I won’t be your pawn in this game p>
She whirled toward James, who stood awkwardly by the window, his lean frame shifting uncomfortably, his eyes darting between them like a referee in a heated match. “James, please. Take me home. I can’t breathe in here anymore p>
To be continued p>