Chapter 141 141
“Jacqueline!”
Mathieu shrieked in horror, slapping his palm dramatically against his forehead the way their mother used to when she caught them doing something outrageously foolish.
“Where are we?” he demanded in exaggerated disbelief, hopping off the bed and striding toward her, eyes wide as he scanned the unfamiliar room as though expecting it to dissolve.
Then his gaze landed fully on her face.
He froze.
“What happened to your face?” he asked, voice cracking with shock as his eyes widened even further.
Instinctively, she turned away. She had no makeup here nothing to conceal the bruises blooming across her skin.
“I… uh… I fell,” she said lightly. “It was pretty bad. Thank God my teeth are still intact.”
She tried to make the last part sound comical, casual normal.
But nothing about this was normal.
“Jacqueline,” he pressed, his voice losing its theatrics. “Where are we? Where’s Dad? What’s happening?”
The questions came one after another, frantic and relentless.
She inhaled slowly, steadying herself, then walked further into the room and lowered herself onto the edge of the bed with visible effort. Pain flared along her back, but she ignored it.
She gestured for him to come closer. He obeyed immediately, sitting beside her, his small frame tense.
“I’ll explain everything,” she said quietly. “Just give me ten minutes. Okay? Stay in the room. I’ll be right back.”
Her tone was serious, so serious that he looked at her with uncertainty. She rarely let him see that side of her.
“Okay,” he murmured at last, subdued.
She left the room and walked to Damien’s door, knocking softly. A few seconds later, he opened it. She slipped inside, her steps uneven.
“Mathieu is awake,” she said, panic threading her voice. “What should I tell him?”
Dominique stood near the window, leaning against the wall. The easy charm he had worn earlier was gone. In its place was something darker cold, unsettling. The look in his eyes made her flinch, and she quickly looked away.
What happened to the charming man?
“Tell him the truth,” Dominique said calmly.
She shook her head immediately. “I can’t,” she whispered.
“Then what else can you say?” Damien asked, his voice steady but firm.
“I’ll think of something,” she muttered, frustration bubbling beneath her skin.
She left before either of them could respond. He made it sound so simple. As if the truth were a neat little package she could just hand to her brother.
It wasn’t.
She returned to Mathieu and sat beside him again, wincing despite herself. He watched her expectantly, waiting.
“Julien hit me last night,” she whispered.
Mathieu’s brows shot up.
“What?” he breathed, stunned.
Slowly, she lifted the back of her shirt just enough to reveal the angry welts striping her skin.
He was quick to move, circling behind her. A loud gasp tore from his throat as he stared at the marks.
Tears pooled instantly in his eyes.
She lowered her shirt again.
“Your face… is it…” His voice trailed off, thick and clogged with emotion.
She nodded silently.
She had never wanted to shatter his fragile little world. But the truth was, that man had never loved Mathieu. He only pretended. And deep down, Mathieu must have sensed it too.
“W-why?” he asked, his voice breaking completely.
What could she possibly say?
That your father is a sadist?
That he raped and beat your half-sister?
That he wants his own son dead?
Mathieu was too young to carry such horrors.
“Because he hates me,” she murmured softly when no other words came.
Large, heavy tears rolled down Mathieu’s cheeks. He sat beside her and wrapped his small hands around hers.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Her heart twisted painfully.
She offered him a sad smile, but something about his reaction unsettled her. He wasn’t defending Julien. He wasn’t arguing. He wasn’t confused.
He believed her.
“A few days ago,” Mathieu began shakily, “I heard screaming from your room. I followed the sound and I… I saw him kicking you while you were on the floor.”
His breath hitched.
“I got scared. I ran back to my room and cried under my blanket. The next day you were smiling like nothing happened. I thought it was just a nightmare… b-but it wasn’t.”
He looked as though he had seen a ghost face pale, eyes haunted.
Her mind flashed back to that night. Julien had been furious after seeing Damien drop her home. The beating had been merciless.
Mathieu had seen it.
Tears blurred her vision as she stared down at the floor.
“I’m s-sorry,” Mathieu sobbed. “I should’ve saved you.”
He clung to her hand as though afraid she might disappear.
She had never believed anyone would stand by her if she told the truth. Not even her own brother. She had always feared he would choose his father.
Damien believed her without ever hearing the full story.
And now here was Mathieu crying for her pain as though it were his own.
She smiled through her tears and ruffled his hair gently.
“Thank you for believing me,” she whispered.
Movement in the doorway caught her attention.
Damien stood there, filling the frame with his broad shoulders, silent and imposing.
She immediately wiped her tears away. She refused to cry in front of others. Pity was the one thing she could not endure.
“Hey,” she said brightly, forcing a lighter tone. “Would you like to meet the guy who saved me?”
She patted Mathieu’s shoulder.
He straightened, scrubbing his tears away with his sleeve, and looked toward Damien.
“This is Damien. My friend,” she said softly. “He saved me.”
Her eyes lingered on him for a fraction too long. She was the first to look away.
Damien, however, kept staring at her intensely, searchingly.
“Thank you,” Mathieu said earnestly.
Damien gave the boy a short nod before turning and walking away without another word.
“You freshen up,” she told Mathieu gently, guiding him toward the restroom.
Afterward, she made her way to the lounge.
Damien stood in the kitchen, brewing coffee. Dominique lingered in the far corner, arms crossed over his chest, his posture rigid.
He looked different now colder. Chilling, almost.
She didn’t understand why.
“Was Julien keeping tabs on you?” Damien asked without looking at her.
Her throat tightened.
“Yeah,” she answered quietly.
Of course he was.
She could almost hear Damien thinking ahead calculating risks, anticipating consequences. Julien could show up at his door at any moment.
“I’ll leave in a few minutes,” she said calmly, as though discussing something trivial.
“Yeah,” Damien replied evenly. “Because you and the kid are coming with me to my town.”