His Bride in Chains-Chapter 186: A New Suggestion
The words hung in the air like a thunderclap, shattering the quiet. Eliana’s honey eyes widened in disbelief, her breath catching in her throat. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to clear a haze from her vision, her slender body going rigid against his. "What... what did you just say?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, laced with a tremor that spoke of shock and something deeper—perhaps a flicker of old hope warring with fresh wounds.
James, standing frozen by the window, looked equally stunned. His interlaced fingers loosened, and he uncrossed his arms, mouth opening slightly as if to interject, but he clamped it shut, his eyes darting to Rafael with a mix of surprise and reluctant admiration. He said nothing, stepping back into the shadows, content to let the drama play out.
"Please Marry me, Eliana?"
Eliana withdrew her hand from Rafael’s grasp as if burned, her fingers curling into her palm. She stared at him, her expressive eyes searching his face for any sign of jest. "Rafael, what are you talking about? Marry you? Now? After everything?"
Rafael’s expression remained steady, his steel-grey eyes holding that vague, unfocused stare, but his voice was firm, unwavering. "I’m serious, Eliana. Marry me. Become my wife."
She shook her head, a disbelieving laugh bubbling up from her chest—short, sharp, and devoid of humor. "Stop playing around, Rafael. This isn’t funny. Not after the night we’ve had. Not after... everything."
His jaw clenched subtly, but he leaned forward slightly, his athletic build shifting with purpose. "I’m not joking, love. Not about this. Not about us."
Her reaction was instantaneous—like a spark catching dry tinder.
Eliana jolted upright, the sudden movement slicing through the room’s heavy stillness. Her dress whispered against the sheets as she pushed herself away from him, the fabric swaying around her trembling legs. Her chest rose and fell in quick, uneven breaths. Shock still clung to her, but now something else flickered beneath it—anger, raw and trembling, fighting its way to the surface.
She turned toward James, eyes shining with unshed tears, her voice lifting in a strained, cracking plea. "James, please. Take me home. I can’t... I can’t do this right now."
The words were brittle, sharp around the edges, like she was holding herself together with nothing but sheer will.
Rafael reacted before he could think. His hand shot out instinctively, fingers reaching for her—but they froze mid-air, suspended inches from her arm. The restraint cost him. His jaw clenched, the muscles tightening as he fought the urge to hold her there, to keep her from drifting further away—physically, emotionally, in every possible sense.
"Eliana, don’t just walk away."
His voice broke on the last word, low and urgent. "Talk to me. Please."
There was no calculation in his tone this time. No strategy. Just desperation and a truth he rarely allowed anyone to hear.
She spun around so fast the air seemed to shiver with her movement, her long hair whipping over her shoulders like a dark, furious wave. The overhead lights caught in the strands, turning them into something wild and untamed—an external echo of the storm raging inside her.
Her honey eyes locked onto Rafael, blazing—truly blazing—with a mixture of heartbreak and fury that made him flinch. Fresh tears shimmered on her lashes, clinging stubbornly before spilling down her cheeks in thin, trembling lines.
"Talk?" Her voice cracked first in disbelief, then sharpened. "About what, Rafael?"
She took a shaky step forward, as if the force of her emotions demanded a physical outlet.
"If this was months ago—" Her hands lifted, shaking, pressing against her chest as though trying to steady the pounding beneath. "If you had asked me before the betrayals, before you shut me out so completely I wondered if I meant anything to you—I would have said yes."
Her breath hitched, but she pushed on, her words tumbling out with the energy of something that had been trapped too long.
"I would’ve leaped into your arms like an idiot in love. I would’ve dreamed of a life with you, a home, a future. I would’ve believed every word you said."
Her voice softened—just for a heartbeat—exposing the naked wound beneath her anger.
"But now?"
The word hung in the air, heavy and devastating.
"After I stood here and ripped myself open?" she whispered, her hands trembling at her sides. "After I told you I don’t trust you with my heart anymore? After admitting how deeply you broke me?"
Her expression twisted—hurt and disbelief merging into something sharp enough to cut.
"And you still ask me this?" she demanded. "Like it’s nothing? Like it’s some casual suggestion, some neat little solution you can throw into the air because it benefits everyone on your side of the board?"
Her voice cracked at the end, the sound small yet explosive, the echo of a heart that had once loved fiercely—and now didn’t know how to survive the ruins.
The words struck him like a dagger, twisting in his chest. Rafael’s breath hitched, a flicker of pain crossing his chiseled features before he schooled them back into composure. His broad shoulders tensed, the monitors betraying a spike in his heart rate, but he kept his cool, his voice steady and laced with understanding. "I hear you, Eliana. I know where you’re coming from—the mistrust, the distance I’ve kept. It’s all on me, and I won’t force you into anything. That’s not who I want to be for you." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
She crossed her arms over her chest, her baby bump subtly accentuated by the motion, her expression a storm of confusion and defiance. "Then why ask? Why now?"
He exhaled slowly, his dark wavy hair falling slightly over his forehead as he leaned back against the pillows, feigning vulnerability in his ’disabled’ state. "Because if you don’t want to marry me for real—if love feels too raw right now—then let’s make it a contract. A fake marriage, on paper, to protect us both."
Eliana went quiet, the room falling into a stunned hush broken only by the distant hum of the hospital corridor. Her lips parted in shock, her warm brown skin paling slightly as the implication sank in. Then, the silence shattered. "A contract marriage?" she yelled, her voice echoing off the sterile walls, raw with incredulity and anger. "What on earth would a fake marriage with you do to help my predicament with my mother? How does pretending to be your wife stop her from coming after me, after our baby? This is insane, Rafael! You’re turning our pain into some... some business deal!"
James shifted awkwardly, his eyes widening at the outburst, but he bit his tongue, glancing at Rafael as if awaiting a cue. The air crackled with tension, dramatic and charged, like a scene from one of those romance novels Eliana had once devoured in secret—full of betrayal, hidden identities, and hearts on the line.
Eliana spun on her heel, her low heels clicking sharply against the linoleum floor as she stormed toward the door, her long curls swaying with each furious step. But before she could reach the handle, Rafael moved with surprising speed for a man feigning blindness. His hand shot out, catching her arm gently but firmly, his fingers wrapping around her wrist with a warmth that contrasted the cold fury in her eyes.
