Chapter 27: A Sincere Plea
Chapter 27: A Sincere Plea
Renee’s POV
“You do not know the value of peace until you lose it,” he continued. “And when Andrew walks away…and he will if you keep this up…I would be here to tell you I told you so”
His words landed like broken glass.
“Fix these stupid shenanigans of yours before you become the villain in your own life.”
He walked out… leaving me alone in the silence I caused.
I sank onto the couch, covering my face with trembling hands.
“Why… why does no one understand me?”
Because for the first time…
I wasn’t sure what to do.
Was revenge destroying them…
or destroying me?
Silence hung in the living room…heavy, accusing, cold.
I was still sitting there, staring at the space before me.. the place Andrew walked through moments ago, feeling like I’d shattered something I didn’t know was fragile.
Footsteps approached, slow and steady.
When I looked up, Miss. Helena… the head maid, the woman who’d practically raised Andrew after his parents death.. stood beside me. Her graying hair was pinned neatly. Her eyes were kind, but tired… the kind that had seen childhoods, heartbreaks, and history.
She lowered herself beside me with the same care she used when fixing broken things.
“My child…,” she said softly.
My throat tightened. “I know what you’re about to say too,” I whispered. “I messed up.”
Her weathered hand covered mine. “You didn’t just mess up. You hurt your fiancée ”
That pierced deeper than shouting ever could.
She continued gently, “Andrew… has become a man I'm proud of.. he doesn’t raise his voice. Even when he is angry, he’d rather withdraw than frighten the one he loves. Silence is his shield.”
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
“I never wanted to hurt him,” I whispered… truth trembling in my voice. “I love him so much.. he is the only reason I’m holding on.”
“I know you do love him.. I’ve seen how much you love him,” she replied. “But love cannot live where revenge sleeps. They will suffocate each other.”
I swallowed hard, but the ache inside me wasn’t logical… It was memory.
“Ms. Helena…” My voice broke. “I’ve tried. I swear I’ve tried to move on. But the memories… the scars… they don’t fade. They eat. They burn.” Tears rolled freely now. “Every day I wake up and breathe, and still I feel like someone is choking me.”
Her hand squeezed mine.
“If I don’t end what they started,” I whispered, voice shaking, “then I will live the rest of my life half-alive. A woman who survived, but never healed.”
Silence stretched between us… thick, emotional, understanding.
Finally, Ms. Helena spoke, voice softer than prayer.
“I understand pain,” she murmured. “More than you think.” She looked at me then… not as staff, but as another wounded woman. “And I understand vengeance. But child…”
Her thumb brushed a tear from my cheek.
“If you keep choosing revenge over Andrew or your father, one day they will stop waiting for you to choose them.. you’d lose them both..”
My chest tightened.
“You love Andrew,” she continued. “More than you admit. And he loves you… not because you’re perfect, but because he saw your broken pieces and wanted to help you hold them together.”
I stared at her… silenced.
“Talk to him,” she urged. “Not as a soldier planning war. As his woman who is hurting… and in love.” She stood. “You just came home from one week of happiness. Don’t make your first night the beginning of damage.”
She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder… motherly, steady.
“Fix it before he thinks you’re choosing war over him.”
And then she left me alone… quiet, shaking, thinking.
She had a point.. all I’ve ever had with Andrew on this issue are fights.. we've never talked things calmly..
There was no harm in trying now.
I picked up my heels, my clutch, and headed upstairs.
The bedroom was dim… curtains drawn, only the faint glow of the city painting the room in silver shadows.
Andrew lay on his side, fully dressed for bed.. back to me. He wasn’t asleep. I could feel the tension from across the room.
I closed the door gently, removed my jewelry with trembling fingers, and sat beside him… close… but not touching.
“Andrew…” My voice was barely audible.
No response.
I exhaled shakily. “I’m sorry.”
Still nothing… but I continued, because silence was safer than shame.
“I know today shifted too fast… from beautiful to broken. And it’s my fault.” My voice cracked. “You didn’t deserve that.”
He still didn’t move.
So I let the truth spill… the raw kind, ugly and naked.
“I’m still damaged, Andrew,” I whispered. “I keep telling myself I’m healed… but inside? I’m still bleeding.”
His shoulders tensed… but he didn’t turn.
“When I look at Clark’s perfect life,” my voice trembled, “I remember every sacrifice I made so he could have that dream.”
Words rushed out of me like confession.
“I got him his shot at hockey. His scholarship. His career. His image. His fucking reputation.”
I wiped tears aggressively.
“And the moment he had everything… everything I handed him while sitting behind the curtain to grease his ego… he threw me away. For her. He left me in a burning building like I was nothing.”
My breath shook… rage and grief fighting inside me.
“His happy family? His career? His comfort?”
My voice hardened.
“That life belongs to me. No apology or distance will ever erase that truth.”
Silence swallowed my words.
Then softer… broken:
“But you…” I whispered. “You’ve shown me love I never believed I’d feel again. And I love you, Andrew. So much it terrifies me.”
Tears rolled freely now.
“If you leave me… I don’t know if I’ll survive it. Not again.”
I swallowed.
“So please… give me this year. One year to finish what they started. After that…”
My voice softened like a vow.
“I’ll marry you. I’ll give you everything. I’ll finally live.”
I slipped under the blanket beside him… cautious, small.
My body curled toward him, seeking heat, forgiveness, safety.
No words came back… not tonight.
Eventually, exhaustion pulled me under… tears drying on my skin.
And for the first time since Italy…
I fell asleep afraid.
Afraid that the war outside wasn’t the one destroying us.
But the war inside me was.