Dark Revenge Of A Jilted Bride: Till Life Do Us Part!-Chapter 75: Awake

When Gianna awoke, it took a few seconds of disorientation and reorientation—those slow, fog-thick seconds where the mind swims before anchoring—to realize that she wasn’t in that bleak, dark warehouse that smelled of despair, that almost ate her life.

That she wasn’t on cold concrete. That she wasn’t bound. That the air around her didn’t reek of dust and cruelty.

That she wasn’t under the hands of those leery, evil men, as she had been in her dreams—hands that lingered too long, eyes that stripped her bare even in sleep.

That she was in her room, on her familiar bed, the mattress dipping gently beneath her weight, the sheets soft against her skin... familiar ceilings.

A shaky sigh of relief escaped her lips, even as her eyelids burned and became wet.

But she didn’t let the tears drop. She blinked them back stubbornly. She thought she had cried enough. Surely, there had to be a limit to how much a person could cry.

There were other things to push her energy into—the convention in a day’s time, finding answers, the collection waiting for her attention.

Work. Focus. Purpose. She listed them silently, stacking them one atop the other like shields. However, knowing all that didn’t make the pushing away any easier.

As she took deep breaths to centre herself, she actively combated her mind from slithering back to those memories of last night—where she had been helpless, stripped of agency, and would have been lifeless if Athena hadn’t shown up.

If they had shown up later, maybe an hour late, she would have been dead, or close to it. Close enough that survival would have felt like a cruel technicality.

She had seen the car Ewan had pointed out. She remembered the depraved boss the men had been waiting for, who had wanted to watch as they raped her to pieces.

The tear slipped anyway. Then another followed immediately, cascading down her cheek before she could stop it.

Her throat tightened painfully. What had she done to deserve such cruelty?

She searched her memory, her past, her choices. She just couldn’t understand it. Who was behind it? And for what? What sin had she committed that warranted this?

She pushed herself up from the bed, muscles stiff, breath hitching—then stopped mid-motion when her eyes landed on Athena sleeping on the couch.

The tears streamed now, unchecked. Not of pain this time, but of gratitude so overwhelming it stole the air from her lungs.

She wiped at them with the heel of her palm, embarrassed by her own weakness, but they kept coming anyway.

Her friend had stayed. Had watched over her while she slept. Hadn’t left her alone with the ghosts.

Then she realized Athena had a change of clothes on—fresh fabric, different from the night before. Then she noticed the clock opposite her bed.

11 a.m.

Understanding settled in her chest. She could already guess that Athena had woken in the morning, freshened up, and gotten back to duty—back to guarding her.

And if she was right about her friend, then Athena had taken excuses for her at work while deliberately not going to her own company too.

Because Athena always chose her people first.

Slowly, carefully, Gianna got down from the bed, wincing slightly at the pull in her muscles, not wanting to rouse her friend. Not knowing how many hours of sleep Athena had managed at all, considering the workaholic was still asleep at this time.

She padded quietly across the room and walked into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. Pale complexion. Chapped lips. Almost dead eyes. Eyes that looked older than they should.

She sighed, reached for her toothbrush, and started cleaning her teeth with methodical precision.

I will not bow to depression.

She kept muttering the words as she cleaned, sometimes aloud, sometimes only in her mind, clinging to them like a rope.

I will not give them something to mock at, something to laugh at me for.

She rinsed her mouth, watching the foam swirl down the sink.

I am a lioness, and I will go out and hunt.

Words that had held her together during years when she should have spiralled. Years when breaking would have been easier.

Done with that mourning routine, she stripped herself and stepped under the shower.

As the water rained down on her head, she closed her eyes and imagined it cleansing away the effects of last night’s act—washing her mind, her self, her image clean. Washing away their fingerprints.

The past doesn’t define me, so I won’t let it affect me, she mused, reaching for the soap.

When she returned to the room, Athena was still asleep.

That tired, then. Gianna considered quietly, watching her friend’s steady breathing as she toweled her curly hair dry. Picking neat, comfortable house clothes from the wardrobe, she dressed slowly, thoughtfully, her mind drifting again.

Had they gotten answers last night? Did they know who was behind this?

She hoped so. God, she really hoped so.

Then came the regrets. The ’should haves.’

She should have allowed the guards to keep following her. Should have trusted old Mr. Thorne’s words.

She should have learned one or two things about combat like Athena and Aiden had advised.

She should have left work earlier, like everyone else. Maybe taken the work home instead.

She should have—

She shook her head firmly, cutting the spiral short.

"Don’t do that," she said out loud, steadying herself as she picked up her body lotion from the rack. "What’s done is already done. Move forward, Gianna. Take the lessons, and move forward."

By the time she finished her morning skin-care routine, her breathing had evened out. She felt somewhat lighter. More on track. More herself.

So she walked back to the couch and woke Athena with a light tap on the thigh. "Hey, bestie..." she murmured.

Athena’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first.

Gianna smiled sadly when clarity slowly seeped into Athena’s tired gaze.

"Hey, Gia. How are you doing?" Athena murmured, sitting up and stopping herself from wincing at the sharp ache throbbing behind her temples. She needed her medicine. She needed food. But first—

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Gianna replied, easing herself onto the little space left on the sofa.

"Are you sure?" Athena’s voice slowed, gentled. "You had nightmares last night... woke up screaming from most of them..."

Gianna’s brows furrowed. She didn’t remember screaming. But she remembered the nightmares—the dry, ashy texture left on her tongue always betrayed them. It had always been like that.

"I’m better," she said quietly. "Really. Thank you for watching over me..."

Athena shook her head without hesitation. "You’re my family. You don’t have to thank me for that."

Gianna rolled her eyes, and Athena chuckled softly, tension easing from her shoulders. Everything will be fine.

"So," Gianna said, voice steady despite the storm still inside her, "how did the searching go? Did you find who was behind it?"

So straight to the point, Athena mused, wetting her lips. "Not yet."

Gianna’s lips pressed together as sadness and frustration flashed across her features, too fast to fully hide.

"But we are still looking," Athena added firmly. "We will find the bastard. I promise."

Gianna nodded. "I know."

A pause settled between them. Then Gianna spoke again. "Your lawyer... can I have her contact?"

Athena frowned, not understanding the sudden turn.

"Areso mentioned something about Becketts being shady..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Gianna snorted lightly when she saw Athena frowning. "I’m not saying they’re behind this. I’m just... trying to cross all my t’s. Get things in order. Starting with that contract."

Athena nodded slowly in understanding.

"Gianna..." she said carefully. "I have a sneaking suspicion—maybe baseless—but it just won’t go away from my mind..."

"Go ahead," Gianna pleaded softly, trusting her friend’s instincts without hesitation.

Athena met her gaze. "Your convention is only a day away, right?"