Chapter 8 The truth about Elizabeth
"Jonathan, please, don’t do this to me!" Elizabeth pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"Eliz, I know you’re a good girl. If your father is hurting you, we need to know. He will pay for what he’s done."
She looked at Jonathan, lost for words, desperate for him to listen—but he wouldn’t hear her cries. Ronald noticed her distress.
"Jonathan, leave. Let me speak with your fiancée alone."
Jonathan obeyed, stepping out. Ronald’s tone shifted; he knew his son could be harsh, and that wasn’t what this girl needed right now.
"Now it’s just us," he began calmly. "I know your father is a filthy man. He should’ve been gone long ago. But my father intervened out of respect for their long friendship. If he’s been hurting you, you must tell me, so we can deal with him properly."
"You don’t understand," she said softly. "Before anyone does anything, I’ll already have been punished."
"So what my son saw—that was a punishment?"
"Jonathan hugged me, and I felt pain. He didn’t really see much."
"What caused it?"
"The dress... I wanted a dress for tonight, and he refused to buy it. I asked Uncle James, and he gave it to me. I was punished for asking him. The last time I bought clothes for myself was on my fifteenth birthday—Uncle James took me then too."
"Nathan hit you for that? For accepting a gift from my brother?"
"Will I have to go back home with him?"
"No. You’ll live here now, even before the wedding."
"Can Adam stay too? He’s still young. I only stayed in that house because of him."
"He can stay. But I want the truth..."
Elizabeth confessed everything—how her father beat her, how he forced her brothers to do the same. Nathan’s hatred for her was merciless, and she was tired of living in pain.
"Your father is worse than I imagined," Ronald said darkly. "He broke our agreement. He’ll pay with his life."
"What agreement? I swear I’ve never been with any man. I hadn’t even kissed anyone before Jonathan."
"My son kissed you? That bold boy!" Ronald chuckled, shaking his head. "I’ve been paying your father for years—a ridiculous sum—to make sure you were well cared for. And now you appear covered in bruises?"
Elizabeth wiped her tears as Ronald placed his coat gently over her shoulders.
"You don’t need to show me, child. Your word is enough. Let’s end this now."
It was time for Nathan to face the wrath of the Larson family.