?<strong>Chapter 169:</strong>


    Rafael appeared out of nowhere yesterday. Joelle was surprised. “Don’t you have work?”


    Rafael met her gaze, his voice steady. “I quit. For the next two months, I’m here to take care of you and the baby.”


    “Rafael…” Joelle’s cheeks flushed with a mix of emotions, her thoughts tumbling over one another. She had once been so infatuated with Adrian that she had lost herself entirely, and she feared seeing Rafael fall into the same trap. She knew that kind of love wasn’t healthy.


    “It’s okay. Not many people know about your pregnancy yet, which means there aren’t many who can help you.”


    “But what about your work?”


    “The research institute offered me a position,” Rafael exined. “They first invited mest year.” Joelle exhaled slowly, relief washing over her.


    Their rtionship was a delicate bnce of giving and receiving, a mutual exchange that they both respected. Joelle didn’t want to be in debt to him, and Rafael understood that perfectly.


    When they arrived at the research institute, an elderly man with a snowy white beard, who bore an uncanny resemnce to Santa us, talked to Rafael happily. Listening to their conversation, Joelle realized that the institute had been trying to recruit Rafael for over a year. He had turned them down before, but this time, he hade—for her.


    “Could you examine her right hand? I sent you some details about it earlier,” Rafael requested.


    “Certainly!”


    Joelle couldn’t undergo a radiation test just yet, but the doctor could examine her by touching her hand and feeling her bones.


    “I can see that your right hand has suffered a serious injury. I asked Rafael before, but he mentioned that you weren’t ready to talk about what happened. Is that still the case?”


    Joelle shifted ufortably. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him—it was just that the memory was painful, a dark cloud she preferred to avoid.


    Sensing her hesitation, Rafael ced a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Joelle, you need to tell us everything. It’s the only way we can truly help you.”


    She clenched her fists, anxiety gripping her. The mere thought of that day, with its blood-red sunset, made her break out in a cold sweat. But Rafael was right. She had to confront it.


    “Four years ago, I was kidnapped. The kidnapper trampled on my right hand for what felt like forever. Then he took a dagger and pierced it through my palm.” Closing her eyes, Joelle could still feel the weight of that day.


    When the dagger had pierced through her palm, she hadn’t felt any pain—perhaps the nerves in her right hand had already died when those men had mercilessly trampled it.


    She had spent the following year in and out of hospitals, consulting renowned doctors from all over the world, but despite all the treatments, her condition had not improved.


    She thought she had made peace with the past. But now, as the memories resurfaced, tears filled her eyes, and her body trembled.


    Rafael gently wrapped his arms around her, his voice soft and reassuring. “Joelle, it’s okay. It’s all over.” But Joelle’s heart was heavy with bitterness.


    She wasn’t okay. She could never be. That incident had shattered her lifelong dream. Every new treatment had reignited her hopes, only for reality to mercilessly extinguish them again.


    The ride back was cloaked in silence. Rafael, usually more talkative, seemed lost in his own thoughts.


    When they arrived at their home, Joelle turned to him. “Rafael, I think I’ll rest for a bit.”


    “Joelle.” Rafael’s tone was serious, his expression conflicted, as if struggling with words that needed to be said.


    “What is it?”


    “Did you get hurt four years ago because you were protecting Adrian?”


    The question struck her like a blow. She leaned heavily against the wall, barely able to keep herself upright. “How do you know?”


    Rafael took a deep breath, but speaking his mind did not bring the relief he had hoped for.


    “Four years ago, Adrian was targeted by an enemy. Your kidnapping wasn’t a random act—it was nned. They discovered how close you were to Adrian and used you to get to him. From what I’ve learned, Reba’s father and brother also died in that same conflict.”


    Joelle had heard rumors after she was rescued, but she had never med Adrian for the horrors that had befallen her.


    Since her parents’ idents, she understood the burden Adrian carried, the weight of his family’s honor resting solely on his shoulders. And Adrian hade to save her, alone, just as the kidnappers had demanded.


    She had shielded him from the dagger at thest moment, but not before they had beaten him within an inch of his life.


    She didn’t regret it—not then, not now. She had never sought Adrian’s attention or pity in exchange for her sacrifice. It had been her choice, and hers alone.


    But Rafael couldn’t let it go. It wasn’t until now that he realized just how deeply Joelle had loved Adrian—so deeply that she had been willing to give her life for him. Rafael, once so confident, now found himself wavering.


    Could he ever hope to rece Adrian in Joelle’s heart?


    “Rafael, that’s all in the past.”


    He gazed at her, his eyes dark and intense.


    “If I were in danger, would you stand in front of me?” Love, when it took root in someone’s heart, always came with the hope of being special, of being the one who mattered most.


    Rafael regretted asking the question the moment it left his lips, but he couldn’t help himself—he needed to hear Joelle’s answer.


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