The Spiteful Bride, Marry to Rival's Son-Chapter 141

HE WOULD MAKE HER REGRET IT.

They must have just walked in from their game, probably laughing and talking about their scores, only to walk into this emotional explosion.

They had clearly heard enough of the conversation to understand what Elena had been about to reveal.

The look on their faces was a mixture of shock, anger, and something that looked very much like hate.

Stefan’s face had gone completely white, all the color draining from his cheeks like someone had pulled a plug. His hands were gripping his golf club so tightly that his knuckles had turned white too.

Ethan looked like someone had walked up and slapped him across the face as hard as they could. His mouth was hanging open and he kept blinking, like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream.

His golf shirt was still tucked in neatly, his hair still perfect from their day out, but his eyes looked lost and confused.

And James. James was staring at Elena with an expression of cold disgust that made her blood run cold.

There was something different about his face now, something she had never seen before. It was like watching a mask slip off and seeing what was really underneath.

"What did you just say?" Stefan asked quietly, his voice deadly calm. It was the kind of calm that came before a hurricane, when the air got still and heavy and dangerous. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

When you knew something terrible was about to happen but you couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Elena realized with growing horror that she had just revealed the one secret they had all agreed to keep buried forever.

In her anger and desperation, in her need to hurt someone the way she was hurting, she had exposed the truth that could destroy everything.

She had just told Samuel’s two children that their father was a murderer. The same two people who had been there for her whenever she was down, who had welcomed her into their home, who had treated her like family.

She had hurt them because she was stupid and angry and couldn’t control her mouth.

And Mose. Oh God, what had she done to Mose?

The tears started flowing down her face before she could stop them. She couldn’t help it. The guilt was crushing her like a weight on her chest.

She looked at James again, watching the way he was putting pieces together in his mind. His eyes were moving back and forth like he was reading something invisible in the air.

His expression kept changing from confusion to understanding to something much darker and more dangerous.

She had just told him that he used to be a killer. That he had blood on his hands. That he had taken someone’s life.

That the accident that stole his memories had been caused by something terrible he had done on someone else’s orders.

And judging by the look on his face, James was not a man who would forgive her for giving him that knowledge.

There was something cold and calculating in his eyes now, something that reminded everyone in the room that underneath his friendly exterior and charming smile, he was still the same man who had once been capable of taking a life without hesitation.

Elena shifted her gaze toward Mia, who was staring at her with a look of betrayal so deep it made Elena’s chest ache. Her best friend’s eyes were wide and wounded, like a deer that had been shot and didn’t understand why.

"Is what she said true?" Mia whispered, turning toward Stefan.

Her voice was broken, barely audible. There was a look of hurt on her face that made everyone in the room want to look away.

Even Ethan and James, who were dealing with their own shock and pain, couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

Ethan stood there in complete shock, still trying to process everything he had heard. They had been standing at the door for maybe two minutes, but it had been enough to understand the situation perfectly.

His father had ordered someone to be killed. His father was a murderer.

But what was really eating at him, what was making him feel sick to his stomach, was Elena’s betrayal. He had never expected this from her. Never in a million years.

She had told him just yesterday that she wanted to explore their relationship. She had looked him in the eyes and said she was starting to have feelings for him.

She had asked him to be patient while she figured out how to tell Mia.

But the only thing she really wanted was to use him. To get back at his father somehow. To marry into the family that had caused her pain and make them pay for it.

He felt so dumb and stupid for believing that she might have felt something real for him. For thinking that maybe, just maybe, he had found someone who could love him for who he was instead of what his family name could give them.

"Mia, let’s discuss this inside," Stefan tried to say, moving toward her with his hands outstretched like he was approaching a wild animal that might attack at any moment.

His voice was gentle but his movements were careful. He knew that Mia was on the edge of a complete breakdown and one wrong word could push her over.

But Mia was shaking her head frantically, tears falling freely and uncontrollably down her face. They were the kind of tears that came from deep inside, the kind that hurt your chest and made it hard to breathe.

"No," she said, backing away from him like he was dangerous. "Tell me the truth, Stefan. For once in your life, just tell me the truth."

Stefan wanted to argue. He wanted to find some way to deflect or delay, to give himself time to think of the right words. But then he heard her say the one word that always brought him to his knees.

"Please."

The word came out cracked and desperate, like she was begging for her life. Stefan looked up to meet her eyes and felt his heart break a little more.

She was pleading with him. His strong, independent wife was pleading with him to tell her the truth about her own father.

His hands went to his hair in frustration, messing up the neat style he had maintained throughout their golf game. He pulled at the strands like he was trying to pull the right words out of his head.

"Mia," he whispered with a pleading tone of his own.

He didn’t want her to know. He didn’t want to be the one to destroy the last good image she had of her father.

Samuel Meyer had been a complicated man who had done terrible things. Stefan didn’t want to be the one to break her heart all over again.

"Please, Stefan," she said again, choking on the words. "Did what Elena said... is it the truth? Was my dad responsible for all of this?"

She was sobbing now, her whole body shaking with the force of her tears. She looked like she was about to collapse.

"Did Mose nearly lose his life just trying to protect me?"

Elena and Mia were both crying so badly now that their words were barely understandable. The sound of their grief filled the room like smoke, making it hard for everyone to breathe. It was suffocating.

"Mia, what I said wasn’t the truth," Elena tried desperately, reaching out toward her friend with trembling hands.

"I’m sorry. Please forget about what I said. I was just angry and hurt and I said terrible things. Please don’t listen to me."

But Mia didn’t even spare her a glance. She acted like Elena wasn’t even in the room. Her gaze was focused entirely on Stefan, waiting for him to either confirm or deny what Elena had revealed.

Stefan stood there with his eyes locked on Mia’s, saying nothing. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. His lips moved but no sound followed.

He didn’t know what to say. How could he tell her the truth without causing her more pain than she was already in?

How could he admit that yes, her father had ordered a hit on a Santiago family member, and yes, Mose had almost died because of it?

The silence stretched between them like a wire pulled too tight, ready to snap at any moment.

Then Elena noticed something that made her blood freeze.

"Mia, you’re bleeding!" she suddenly screamed.

Everyone’s eyes immediately went to where Elena was pointing. Mia looked down at her legs and realized there was blood running down her thighs, soaking into her white pants.

That was when she felt it. A sharp, stabbing pain in her lower stomach that made her double over. She screamed out in agony, a sound that came from deep in her chest.

Stefan was by her side in a heartbeat, moving faster than anyone thought possible. He caught her as she started to fall, his arms wrapping around her protectively.

Elena tried to move closer to help, but the look Stefan gave her made her stop dead in her tracks. It was a look of pure hatred, the kind of look that could kill.

His eyes were dark and dangerous, and there was a promise in them that if she took one more step toward his wife, he would make her regret it.