The Truth is revealed

Arielle's POV "I can't believe she's pregnant," Bianca exclaims, her expression filled with concern. "This can't be happening, can it?" I nod and fall back against her sofa. In recent days, I've found myself spending more and more time away from home. Ariel is doing his best to reassure me, but his words are ineffective because he is continually hovering about Loretta.Grandma was correct. It just took a few days for him to become concerned about her well-being, and I can't blame her — especially because I know it's not about her, but about their child. It does not make it any easier to watch. "Yep," I reply, popping the P. "You are going to be an aunt shortly. Congrats." Bianca frowns and tilts her head. "Yeah, you… too?" My eyes widen briefly, and then I recoil. Bianca turns away, silent for once. There are no complex plots or gags. Not this time. This is not a situation to be taken lightly.Grandma told me I could leave if I wanted to. She will let us get divorced. I think Operation Happily Ever After failed, right?" Bianca sits up, shocked. "Are you serious?" I nod and look down at my nails. "She told me that she just wants me to be happy, but I can't tell if it was just a way of asking me to do the right thing and divorce him." Bianca shook her head. "No one but Ariel and you get to decide that." I nod. "I agree, yet there is some truth in what she told me. I've spent my entire life loving your brother, and why? In the end, she is still standing between us. Bianca sits up, frowning, her phone in hand. "Someone disabled my security system." Ariel enters moments later, his stride confident and his expression immovable as he approaches me. "Ariel !" Bianca warns, but he ignores her and gives her a scathing warning stare. He reaches for me and lifts me into his arms, one hand wrapped around my back and the other beneath my knee. I immediately place my head on his shoulder and breathe him in, my heart instantly at ease. No matter what we're going through, he's always there for me. "Enough," he says to me as he walks out, his hands strong. "I gave you a few days to comprehend what occurred, but that's all I'm going to give you. You're finished jogging, gorgeous. No more dodging me. That's not how we solve our problems, remember?"I glance up at him as he carries me back home. He's only grown more attractive with age, and with each passing year, I've fallen harder for him. But is my love enough? Is it enough to get us through the challenges we'll face? The media attention, scorn, and co-parenting. I tense myself as we walk into our house, afraid Loretta may see us. I am his wife, yet I still feel as if I am doing something wrong by being in his arms in our own home. Is this the way I will always feel? Ariel places me in the center of our room, and I take a step away from him, feeling conflicted. "Arielle," he whispers. "Can we please talk? All you've done is work or go away to Biancas. You once asked for honest and open communication, and I now expect the same from you." I look at him and nod cautiously. "Ariel , I don't know what to say. "That is all it is." I run my fingers through my hair before walking to the toilet, expecting him to drop it, but he follows me. "I am not expecting you to tell me nice and planned words, Arielle. I have never desired that from you. I want the raw, unvarnished truth. Tell me about all of your anxieties, and I'll take them away." I take off my dress, the sound of cloth hitting the floor and breaking the silence that had fallen between us. I turn on the shower and try my hardest to express the thoughts that torment me. "You want the truth, Ariel ?" I step beneath the shower stream and breathe shakily as the warm water touches my skin. I wish he hadn't followed me in so I could have a private breakdown. I don't want him to see my suffering. "I despise who I am around Loretta and you. I despise my thoughts and emotions. I'm not a bad guy, Ariel , but there have been times when I wished Loretta's child didn't exist. Ariel wraps his hands around my waist, and I gasp when he joins me in the shower. He pulls me against the wall and traps me within. "So have I," he admits, his forehead resting on mine. "I understand the child is innocent, Arielle. Of course, I understand, but I've also hoped she wasn't pregnant. We worked so hard to find happiness, and the last thing I want to do is let something endanger it. Is it terrible that your happiness means more to me than my unborn child's? Perhaps so, but it is my truth. "I'm not a bad person, Arielle, and I'm sure we'll love this child a lot once it's born, but we're only human." I wrap my arms around his neck, and he moves closer to me, till our bodies are pushed together and the water falls on us. "I'm afraid I'll have to see you fall for her all over again. I don't want to see you care for her and celebrate each pregnancy milestone together. I do not want to hear about scans, cots, or fucking pregnancy supplements. I don't want her to get all I wanted from you." He puts a kiss on my forehead and breathes shakily, his pain palpable. "I'll do everything I can to reduce that kind of thing. With Grandma forcing us to welcome her into our house, it's more complicated than I'd want, but we'll make it work, Lollipop. I tighten my hold and squeeze him fiercely. "You shouldn't have to, Ariel . This is such a lovely experience, and if it weren't for me, you'd be enjoying every moment of it." He buries his palm in my hair, tightening his hold. "There's no point in thinking about what-ifs, my dear. You are my wife and my everything. You always will be. "No matter what." "I'm scared that's not true. I'm frightened I'll lose you to her again. How can I compete with the history you two have? Which child will you share? The links between you are limitless, and no matter which angle I look at it from, I'm the bridge between two people who have always loved one another. Ariel , I've always been her stand-in, and she's finally ready to join you. "This is everything you ever wanted." I take a long breath and look away, thinking I could take back what I just said. I despise it when my insecurities rule me. This is not who I am. When I see Loretta and Ariel , I almost don't recognize myself. Will I lose myself if I keep putting myself through this? "No, Arielle," he whispers, tightening his hold on my hair. "You are everything I've ever desired. I've never been so joyful before, baby. You fucking complete me, lollipop. You are the part I didn't realise I was lacking. You're my heart and soul. It doesn't matter how many years I spent with Loretta; just a few months with you made me happier than years with her ever did. Arielle, if she and I were destined to be together, we would have made it work. If I genuinely loved her, I would never have fallen for you, especially so quickly.Hell, if I loved her the way you seem to believe I do, I would never have let her go in the first place. I hear you, baby. I hear you, and I understand your concerns, but believe me when I say that nothing she can do will make me reconsider. Arielle, you are the only one I will ever adore. No man could take you and leave you. "I know I can't." "But you have," I snap, my eyes burning from unshed tears. "You have, and I am frightened that you will do it again. I barely made it the first time, but it will crush me this time, Ariel . "I can't do it again." He frowns as he cups both hands around my face. "What are you talking about?" "Bianca's 21st birthday," I whisper. "I came to your room at night." We'd both been drinking excessively, but it didn't matter. The beers were just what I needed to regain my courage. We had been informally engaged up to that point. Your grandma and my parents both agreed, but you and I hadn't talked about it. We'd both been dancing around the matter, and you'd been treating me the same way you'd always treated Bianca, with playful friendliness and nothing else. I came to your room that night to enquire how you felt about me and our engagement. He glances at me with wide eyes. "What?" I take a trembling breath and force myself to face him. "I tried to kiss you, and you told me that I didn't know what I was asking for…" "—and you replied that you weren't as innocent as I thought you were." I nod, feeling my heart skip a beat. "You… you remember?" He shook his head. "No, but I dreamed about this night. Arielle, I have been dreaming about you for years. He tightens his grasp on my hair and tilts my head upward. "Even when you were the last woman I ever should've desired, you kept my dreams captive." My eyes are closed as grief floods my damaged heart. "Ariel , I gave you my virginity that night. You assured me that there would be no turning back from that moment forward, and I believed you. You asked me to marry you, and the next day you revealed that you were dating my sister." He presses his forehead to mine and inhales deeply. "Arielle," he implores. "The next morning, I… I woke up with Loretta in my bed." I press against his chest, my stomach squeezing. "W-what?" He refuses to let me go and nods, his eyes expressing the anguish I feel. "I recall waking up with a smile on my face, wanting more from you. I turned over to find Loretta naked in my bed. She grinned at me and said she had thoroughly enjoyed the previous night. She convinced me that the woman I had slept with that night was her. Tell the truth, Arielle. Was it really you? I sniff as tears fall from my eyes."Yes." My voice breaks. "That was me, Ariel . I sneaked out of your room at dawn and went back to Bianca's room to freshen up, and when I came down for breakfast, you were sitting there with your arm around her, telling everyone you were dating. "It broke me." His hands move over my body, and he lifts me against the wall. I wrap my legs over him to support myself, feeling more vulnerable than ever before. "When I woke up with her, I realised I had missed my chance with you, Arielle. I knew I couldn't have you after sleeping with your sister. I was just as hurt as you were, lollipop. She was never the one I desired. It has always been you. "Just you." I fall into tears, and he takes his time kissing all of them away. "Ariel , a few days later, I attempted to chat to you about it. Do you remember? You were in Grandma's living room when I asked when you met Loretta and what that meant for our engagement. I asked whether you ever had feelings for me, and if I ever meant anything to you. I sniffle, tears falling uncontrollably. "I vividly remember how my voice trembled and the terror I felt as I asked those questions. You looked at me with pity and dismissed me. You stated you considered me family, and you were going to beg Grandma to end our engagement since you'd never view me as anything other than Loretta's sister." Ariel tightens his grip on me, but I cannot face him. "You destroyed my heart and I've never recovered. Throughout the years, you two have continued to stab at my heart, and I can't take it any longer. I can't do it, Ariel . I ask you to quit destroying what's left of me. He cups my cheek and compels me to look at him, his eyes filled with the same misery I am experiencing. "I love you," he confesses. "I loved you then and I still love you today. Hell, if I'm honest with myself, I never quit." He leans in and kisses me, his lips brushing against mine, his touch desperate. "I feared I'd lost my opportunity with you, Arielle. I tried all I could to keep you in our life." He places his forehead on mine and inhales shakily. "Over the years, I took what you gave me, looking for any reason to spend time with you. I'd go to fashion events under the premise of networking just to get a peek at you. Most of the time, I could trick myself into thinking I was only looking out for you when it was so much more. It was wrong, and I knew it, yet I couldn't stay away. I told myself it was acceptable as long as I didn't cross the line, but being around you and not having you killed me. I pledge to you that I will spend the rest of our lives making up for lost time. Loretta will not get away with this—I promise it. Arielle, I will not hurt you again." He kisses me, and his touch is different this time. It feels significantly more emotional and desperate. "Baby," he murmurs, bringing his palms to my ass. "I love you, Arielle." I put my hands into his hair and squeezed tightly. "Ariel , I adore you too. "I always have." "I'll never let you go again," he assures me, pressing his lips on my throat. I reach between us and wrap my fingers around his cock, positioning it just where I want it. He looks into my eyes and pushes into me, taking his time. "I will never walk away. You are it for me, sweetie. "No matter what," he promises. He pushes inside me, causing me to cry out. Ariel fucks me against the wall in our shower, his eyes fixed on mine, and for a few moments, nothing else matters. The entire world melts away, leaving just me and him. I let myself to believe that we could get through anything, that nothing could ever separate us. I should have known better.