Page 102 of Seduced By Contract

"And still the pain didn't go away, right?"

"No. Nothing can erase what he did to us. His actions were like the first in a row of dominos, ultimately destroying everything in its path, especially my family."

"I don't know what to say."

"There was a reason I told you everything. I'm giving you a choice whether you still want to be with me after finding out what I did. I thought a lot about everything on the way here and came to the conclusion that, as much as they loved each other, my parents were not close enough to reveal their most painful secrets. For whatever reason, Mom never told her husband about the violence she suffered. He, in turn, only needed someone to make up a lie over the phone to make him take his own life."

"I don't think he killed himself because of the supposed betrayal," I say.

"Yes. It was the idea that he would never have her with him again."

"I think so."

"In any case, much of this tragedy could have been avoided if they had trusted each other. If, when she discovered who’d raped her as a teenager, my mother had told our father, the story could have been different."

"Yes, it could have, but we will never know for sure." I sit on his lap. "Did you say you're telling me everything to give me a choice?"

"Yes."

"Nothing has changed. I love you and I don't think less of you. Gordon got nowhere near what he deserved."

"There will be more to come. Odin will release Lyra's videos revealing the violence my mother was a victim of and also that Emerson paid my mother's cousin to lie to our father."

"Why didn't you just leave him alive to be punished for his crimes?"

"An investigation into murders that occurred more than a decade ago would take a long time. There was a chance that he would die before he could pay for what he did. Now, he has losthis life. We're not even, but the world is a better place without that wretch in it."

"An eye for an eye, as your brother said?"

"Exactly."

"You said that everything will come to light through the videos. This will affect your family too. It will probably impact your business."

"I know, and I'm prepared for the blow. For many years, my mother suffered in silence, without anyone's help. Without anyone rising to her defense. What happened was horrible, but now the whole world will know that she was a victim and not an adulteress, as our hypocritical society called her behind the scenes."

"And then you'll have gotten justice for her."

"Yes, even if it is too late, I will have gotten justice for her."

"I love you, Zeus. Nothing that’s happened will change the fact that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my days by your side. You are my love and the father of my child. You will always have my loyalty."

He hugs me. "No matter what happens, promise we'll always talk, Madison. No matter what you do or how much you think you’ve messed up, never keep secrets from me."

I know what he is asking of me. In a way, it was the lack of dialogue, trust, or perhaps a little of both, that destroyed his parents' lives.

"You have my word. I will never hide anything from you. I'm not good at starting to trust, but when I do, there's no turning back."

The next day

"Oops, we have a surprise," the doctor says, all excited, as he looks at the screen.

It's my first ultrasound, and I feel a little anxious.

"Is everything okay with the baby?" Zeus asks, tense and apparently trying to guess why the doctor is so focused on the image.

"Babies."

"What?" I almost scream.

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