Chapter 26

Music Recommendation: Lovely by Billie Eilish ft. Khalid~

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The next day, Amelia woke up earlier. She wanted to see Cullen before he left. Swiping through her gallery, she swiped through the thousand photos she had taken after his domestic abuse.

Her eyes tinged with bitterness as she scrolled through the pictures and videos she saved immediately after being abused.

She wants to crush Daniel beyond imagination, and she would use everything in her to fight him. His deceiving call last night fueled her fury, and she saw no reason why she shouldn't accept Cullen's offer.

To hell with being a married woman. He fucked her best friend so many times right before her eyes. She won't bring herself so low to do the same but at least, she can show him how it feels being devalued.

Hearing the soft downpour of water from the cloud, she looked at her mirror and smiled softly when she caught sight of the rain. "Rain," she muttered softly and dropped from the bed. 

She hated the rain, it rained on her wedding night and ever since then, the thunder did nothing more than trigger her. She hopes it doesn't show itself today.

Getting downstairs, she scanned the whole place and was disappointed not to see Cullen. Somehow, she was tempted to climb up to the third floor to check in on him.

Remembering her position as just a guest, she decided to respect his command and stay away from that floor. At that moment, her eyes caught sight of his briefcase resting on his usual seat comfortably.

She pulled softly and felt proud of herself. Her effort to see him did not go in vain. She took quick steps towards the kitchen.

Amelia had plans to make him hot chocolate to pay back for the unexpected coffee he had for her that morning when she needed it. If he goes to work under weather like this, this would go a long way.

She was so engrossed with what she was doing that she did not notice the figure leaning at the door and watching her with keen interest.

Cullen expected her to be clumsy in the kitchen but she wasn't. Contrary to what he expected, she was a professional.

Amelia placed his mug in a coffee tray. About to turn with it and walk toward the door, something triggering distracted her.

There was a mighty clap of thunder. Its sound resonated through the house, and Amelia trembled as a result of it. The hot chocolate mug she was holding dropped to the floor and split into a thousand pieces, wasting her effort.

The chocolate scaled a part of her hand and leg in the process, but she felt no pain. She stood transfixed, trying to push the bad memory away, but ended up giving in to it.

Cullen froze where he was standing.

In fury, Amelia reached for a glass on the kitchen island and smatched it hard on the floor. An explicit pain-filled scream tore out of her lips in pain.

"Amelia?" Cullen called but Amelia's mind was too far away from her body to hear him. 

She picked up another glass, smacked it to the floor, and screamed again. Tears filled her eyes, and she sobbed loudly.

"What did I do? What did I do to deserve all of these? Honestly… ouch…," she exclaimed painfully in tears when she stepped on the glass pieces splattered on the floor.

Standing there, Cullen tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't. The cold light in his heart broke and he rushed towards her.

He paused in horror when he saw the glasses on the floor, covered with her blood. He paused to observe her.

"I_" Amelia turned pale as if she just met a ghost when she saw him. "I can't breathe…" she confessed in tears, "I can't… continue this way, the next days are harder than the past,"

Cullen looked at her legs standing on the broken glasses. "Amelia calm down," he begged.

Amelia shook her head aggressively. She raised both hands to her hair and gripped it angrily. "Everything is gone… I lost myself," she cried, "I lost myself… I don't know who I am anymore," she trembled.

The cloud trembled again as if playing with Amelia's misfortune. Amelia raised her face to the ceiling, terrified.

She cried hard and bent down to her knees. She sorrowfully wrapped her hand around her stomach and cried her eyes out.

"Please make it stop," she begged, crying loudly, "I can't take it anymore,"

Cullen felt chills. She was beginning to scare him, and he could tell that she was in so much pain. Tension filled his eyes, and he rushed towards her.

On her miserable bent-down position, he bent to her size and cradled her into his arm. "Amelia calm down,"

Amelia wrapped her arms around Cullen the moment she felt his arms around her. Her heart broke into a thousand pieces more when she felt his presence.

She cried into his shirt, "Please make it stop…" she whimpered.

Cullen's heart shattered. He remembered his mother once having a breakdown like this where she lost all hope but kept on hoping. 

He pressed her head into his chest, trying his hardest not to cry with her. Her tears crushed him beyond repair.

Amelia hugged him tight. She raised her face to his shoulder, buried her face into his shoulder, and cried her whole soul out.

Cullen pressed her into himself and dropped his head over her shoulder. She might not know this, but she helped him to be free from the guilt in his heart.

He said nothing more and allowed her to open her bottle lid. She has been strong for too long, it's time for her to realize that she's still human.

Amelia's heartbreaking sobs slowly reduced to the sound of whimpers, and slowly, she made no sound again. The only sound that left her was her slow tired breathing.

Cullen gently placed a hand behind her head and pulled her away from his shoulder like a baby. He smiled bitterly when he saw her eyes closed, with tears stained all over her cheeks.

Even when fast asleep, she remained a stunning beauty without stress. He honestly wishes the best for her.

After the deal, he prays she can move on. And when she does, he prays she finds a man who would burn the world down just to make her feel safe, rather than burning her for the world.

Nestling her protectively into his arms, he avoided the glass pieces on the floor and walked towards the second floor. 

Another angry thunder resounded in his ear. As a result of the thunder, the woman in his arms jolted in response.

Her hands flew to his neck, gripping him tightly. She held on like her life depended on him. Tears left her eyes, and the next words that left her lips were so unexpected.

".... Please don't hurt me too, please be different," tears rolled down her eyes from her sleep.

Stunned, Cullen paused and stared at her face. Her unexpected words pierced his heart.