Suddenly, a couple of guys barged in, and in
seconds, they had Al and Two–Bit on the
ground.
Through my blurry, tear–filled vision, I saw
Jake Sterling’s worried face.
“Sarah? Sarah, are you okay?”
I stared at him, stunned. And the floodgates
opened. I burst into tears.
“Jake…you’re here.”
Jake scooped me up in his arms, gently
vant suuupeu me up is as, yeny
IIITIIS
patting my back.
“It’s okay. It’s okay now. I’m here. It’s all over.”
I sobbed, feeling every ounce of hurt and
humiliation pour out.
I’d never cried like that in my entire life.
After a long time, Jake cupped my face in his
hands, his eyes full of concern.
“I’m so sorry, I should have been here. I
should have taken care of you.”
He pulled out a velvet box, opened it, and slid
a huge pink diamond ring onto my finger.
“I’m never leaving you again.”
Г
Jungery
As Jake explained what had happened, I
learned that he had been in South Africa,
personally picking out the perfect pink
diamond and designing this ring for me.
An hour later, Al and Two–Bit were on their
knees in front of my parents, and Ben stood
in the living room, looking like death.
He glared at Jake, his voice trembling with
fury.
“Sterling, let go of her! She’s my wife!”
“Sarah, you know Jake’s been carrying a
torch for you forever. Why did you call him?”
Jake opened his mouth to say something, but
I stopped him, patting his hand.
<
“Ben, who else was I supposed to call? You?
You were the one who put me in danger!”
Seeing my cold expression, Ben looked
panicked. He’d been so angry seeing Ashley
get messed with, but he went too far.
But Al and Two–Bit were his guys. They’d
been with him for years. They were just trying
to scare her.
My dad stood up and walked over to Ben,
slapping him across the face.
“You animal! I entrusted Sarah to you, and
this is how you treat her?”
He threw a flash drive at Ben’s feet. It
contained a recording of the abuse.
<
He never thought his daughter would be
treated like this. Ben had kneeled and begged for his blessing, promising to treat Sarah like gold, and he agreed to the marriage.
Now, watching the video of me stripped and
sobbing, and Al groping me, Ben almost
collapsed.
He fell to his knees.
“Mr. Thompson, I messed up, please forgive
me! I accept any punishment.”
“I’ll take care of Sarah from now on. I will
always love her. I wasn’t thinking straight, and
it will never happen again.”
I looked at Ben.
“Ben, now you understand you messed up.
But what about Ashley? What are you going to do with her?”
Dad sighed.
“Ben, did you only like Sarah because of the
partnership?”
“Is Sarah the most suitable wife, so you don’t
want to let her go?”
Dad fixed Ben with a cold stare.
12
The second half was left unspoken. Ben’s
business was failing, and the Thompson-
Carter marriage was the best choice.
But it was my family who was doing the
balning
Over the years, he’d never admitted his
dependency on the Thompsons or figured out
how he felt about me.
Silence hung in the air as Ben stared at me, watching Jake and me holding hands.
His heart felt empty.
The thought of Sarah with another man was
unbearable.
He didn’t know if he ever loved Sarah, but
he’d never imagined leaving her.
He felt sorry for Ashley, and every time she
looked at him, he wanted to protect her. But
he never wanted to spend his life with her.
Now be understood. Sarah was a part of him
く
Now, he understood. Sarah was a part of him,
a part he couldn’t cut off.
Realizing this, Ben was consumed with regret.
Why did he keep Ashley’s baby? Why did he lock her in the basement?
Ben stood up, his eyes searching mine.
“Sarah, I’ve been thinking, and it’s you I love! I messed up.”
I didn’t want to talk to him anymore, so I took
out the divorce papers and threw them at
him.
“Ben, sign them! Or do you want me to sue?”
