Chapter 20: Truths Buried in the Heart

Arabella stood at the edge of the King estate's sprawling garden, the morning dew still clinging to the petals of the rose bushes that lined the walkway. The scent of lavender and fresh earth filled the air, but there was no comfort in it today. Her heart ached, pulsing with the weight of everything she had learned the night before.

Nathaniel's words still echoed in her head — soft yet sharp, tender yet guarded. "Some truths, Arabella, are better left untouched. Once you unearth them, you can't go back."

But she wasn't the same woman who used to cower from truth. Not anymore.

Arabella took a deep breath and walked away from the garden, her heels clicking softly against the cobbled path as she headed toward the main house. The morning sunlight filtered through the towering glass windows as she stepped inside, greeted by the faint hum of domestic staff going about their chores.

She hadn't seen Nathaniel since the late-night confrontation in the study. He had left abruptly after his confession — or rather, his warning — leaving her with a thousand questions and no answers.

She had barely slept.

As she climbed the grand staircase, she hesitated at the door to Nathaniel's private study. It was closed, locked, and undoubtedly forbidden. But her instincts told her that whatever he was hiding — whatever past he was protecting — the answers were in there.

Her hand hovered near the handle, but before she could decide whether to try and open it, a voice startled her.

"You're up early."

Arabella turned to find Elina approaching, dressed in a chic pantsuit, her brows raised in quiet concern.

"Elina," Arabella whispered. "You scared me."

"I could say the same about you." Elina folded her arms, eyes darting to the study door. "Don't tell me you were thinking of sneaking in there?"

Arabella sighed, resting her forehead against the cool wood of the door. "I can't help it. I feel like there's something in here I'm supposed to know. Something important."

Elina gently tugged her away from the door. "Curiosity killed the cat, remember?"

Arabella gave her a tired look. "But satisfaction brought it back."

They shared a brief smile before Arabella's expression turned serious. "He knows something about my past. Or maybe about what happened during the year I was gone. And I think it's tearing him apart."

Elina hesitated. "Do you… trust him?"

Arabella's lips parted, but no sound came out.

Did she?

In her heart, she wanted to believe that Nathaniel wouldn't hurt her. That behind all his secrets and controlled exterior, he genuinely cared. But trust? That required truth. And so far, Nathaniel had offered very little of it.

"I want to," she finally said. "But trust without truth is just… blind faith."

---

Nathaniel stood in front of his father's grave, his tailored suit flapping slightly in the breeze. The cemetery was quiet, the city noise distant, replaced by the chirping of birds and the rustle of trees.

"I told myself I'd protect her," he murmured. "That I'd keep her far away from this mess. But she's already too deep."

He crouched beside the grave, brushing away a fallen leaf.

"Father, I don't know if you'd agree with what I'm doing. Maybe you'd think I'm weak for not telling her the whole truth. But how do I tell her that the people who ruined her past… were once part of our world? How do I tell her that our family's hands aren't as clean as I've made them out to be?"

Nathaniel closed his eyes, images of Arabella's tear-stained face flashing in his mind.

"I love her."

The words came out like a confession — raw, trembling, real.

He stood, brushing dust from his trousers, his face set with resolve. If she was going to find the truth, then it would be on his terms. Before someone else did more damage.

---

Back at the estate, Arabella sat in her room, Elina by her side. The air between them had grown heavier, weighed down by unspoken thoughts.

"I had a dream last night," Arabella began. "It felt more like a memory. I was in a hospital… someone was holding my hand, but I couldn't see who. There was crying, a woman's voice... and then everything went dark."

Elina leaned forward. "Do you think it really happened?"

Arabella nodded slowly. "I think it was the day I gave birth."

A lump rose in Elina's throat. "You don't remember that day?"

Arabella shook her head. "It's always been a blur. But in the dream, I felt scared. Not because of the pain — but because I felt alone. Like I had no one. And now I wonder… was Nathaniel there? Did he even know?"

Elina reached out and took her hand. "You deserve answers, Arabella. Real ones. And if Nathaniel can't give them to you willingly, maybe you need to find them yourself."

"I want to," Arabella whispered. "But I'm scared of what I might uncover."

"Sometimes," Elina said gently, "the truth doesn't free us. But it makes us stronger."

---

Later that evening, Arabella found Nathaniel in the lounge, seated by the fireplace, a tumbler of scotch in his hand. He didn't look surprised when she entered — almost like he'd been waiting for her.

"We need to talk," she said.

He motioned to the seat across from him. "I figured you'd say that."

Arabella sat, eyes locked on his. "I've been patient, Nathaniel. I've given you time, space, everything. But I can't keep walking blindly through this marriage, not knowing what's real and what's not."

He didn't interrupt.

"I need to know the truth about that year. About what happened to me. About my child."

A shadow passed over Nathaniel's face.

"I never meant for you to get caught up in the darkness of my world," he said. "When I found you again, I thought I could fix everything by keeping you safe. By building a life where nothing could touch you."

"But that's not how life works," Arabella replied. "You can't protect me from pain by pretending it doesn't exist."

He looked down into his glass. "Your disappearance wasn't an accident. Someone wanted you gone. And I've spent the last year trying to find out who."

Arabella's breath caught. "You knew?"

"I didn't know it at the time," he admitted. "But when you vanished, I knew something wasn't right. And when I finally found you… you were unconscious in a clinic on the outskirts of the city, registered under a different name."

Arabella's hands trembled. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I thought it would destroy you."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Keeping it from me destroyed me."

Nathaniel stood abruptly, pacing the room. "There's more. The night you went missing… someone tipped me off that there was a plan in motion. But by the time I got there, you were gone. No note. No trace."

Arabella stood too, the weight of his words crashing down on her. "Who would do this to me?"

"I don't know," Nathaniel said. "But I intend to find out. I swear it."

She stared at him, heart pounding. "And what about our son? Was he taken too?"

Nathaniel looked at her with pain in his eyes. "No. He was born months after I found you. And he's safe."

Arabella gasped. "You've seen him?"

Nathaniel nodded. "He's with someone I trust — someone who could protect him while I figured things out."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "You should have told me."

"I didn't want to give you more reasons to hate me."

She stepped forward, trembling. "I don't hate you, Nathaniel. I just… I don't know how to feel anymore."

He reached out, brushing a tear from her cheek. "Then let me help you remember who you are. Let me help you remember everything."

Arabella nodded slowly. "But no more secrets. No more lies."

"I promise."

As the fire crackled between them, the walls they had both built slowly began to crumble. The road ahead was uncertain, littered with pain and truth buried deep — but for the first time, they were facing it together.

Arabella's hands trembled as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself. The mansion that once felt like a golden cage now felt like a battlefield, each corner laced with hidden motives. Nathaniel's confrontation had cracked the mask she'd carefully built. She hadn't expected him to react the way he did, with fire in his eyes and a demand for answers. But worse, she hadn't expected the way her heart had fluttered during it.

"I shouldn't have let my guard down," she whispered to herself.

From her window, she could see the faint trail of headlights disappearing through the iron gates. Nathaniel had left. But for how long? And why did part of her feel relieved—and another part anxious?

A soft knock on the door broke her thoughts.

It was Elina.

"Come in," Arabella said, quickly brushing away any trace of tears from her eyes.

Elina stepped inside quietly, holding a small cup of warm tea. "I figured you might need this."

Arabella accepted the cup, her fingers curling around it like a lifeline. "Thank you."

Elina sat beside her on the bed, watching her closely. "What happened?"

"I told him a piece of the truth… about my past. Just enough to shake him, not enough to break everything."

Elina frowned. "And how did he take it?"

Arabella sighed. "He got angry. Hurt. Demanded more. But I couldn't bring myself to give it to him. Not yet."

"He has a right to know, Arabella. Especially if you want him to be a part of your child's life."

The mention of her child sent a jolt of fear down her spine.

"He can't know… not now," Arabella murmured. "Not while I'm still trying to figure out where I stand in all of this."

Elina didn't argue. She simply reached over and squeezed Arabella's hand gently. "Then you need to decide soon. Because Nathaniel is a smart man, and he won't stop until he uncovers every truth you're trying to bury."

Arabella nodded, the weight of her choices pressing against her chest. "I know. And that's what scares me."

—

Later That Night

Nathaniel stood on the balcony of his penthouse, the city lights sprawling before him. But his mind wasn't on the skyline—it was on her.

Arabella.

Her eyes haunted him. The pain in them, the fear. And the secrets she held.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady the emotions swirling inside. "Why are you so afraid to tell me the truth?" he whispered to himself.

For the first time in years, he felt out of control—not in business, not in power—but in his heart. There was something about her, something more than just the mysterious allure. It was the sense that she was hiding a part of herself out of protection, not manipulation.

He needed answers.

Not just to satisfy his curiosity—but because he was starting to care too damn much.

—

The Next Morning

Arabella walked into the kitchen, her eyes dull from a restless night. To her surprise, Nathaniel was there, leaning casually against the counter with a cup of coffee in hand.

"You're back," she said cautiously.

"I never really left," he replied, eyes locked on hers. "Just needed air."

She swallowed. "And now?"

"Now, we talk."

He moved toward her with slow, deliberate steps. She stood her ground, but her fingers curled against her palms.

"I want to understand you, Arabella. Not just the woman who entered my life as my assistant. But the woman who cries when she thinks no one is watching. The woman who flinches when I touch on anything about her past."

Arabella's breath hitched. "It's not that simple."

"It is if you let it be." He paused. "Let me in."

The silence between them stretched long and tense. Arabella looked away, tears threatening to spill again. But this time, she didn't stop them.

"My name wasn't always Arabella," she said softly. "And before I became this woman you see now, I was someone else. Someone who trusted the wrong people, loved the wrong man, and lost everything because of it."

Nathaniel's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.

"I had a child," she continued, voice shaking. "And I made the hardest decision of my life to protect that child. Even if it meant giving up everything."

Nathaniel's jaw clenched. His mind raced.

"Is the child—"

"Don't ask me that. Not yet," she cut in. "Please."

He stared at her, torn between anger and understanding. He wanted the truth, but he could see the fear in her—real and raw.

"I'm not the enemy, Arabella."

"I know. But the enemies from my past? They're still out there. And if they find out who I am… or who my child is…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

Nathaniel stepped forward, his voice low. "Then let me be your shield."

That made her look up, truly look at him.

"You would do that? Even now?"

"I don't know everything yet. But I know I'm not ready to let you go."

Her lips parted, but no words came. For a moment, they stood there, emotions unsaid hanging between them.

Then Nathaniel gently reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. "When you're ready to tell me everything, I'll be here."

Arabella nodded, her heart cracking open just a little more.

Maybe… just maybe, she didn't have to fight alone anymore.