Chapter 5 – The Cursed Clause.
I woke up with a numb body and my spirit even more exhausted than the night before. The mattress had sunk slightly on my side. I immediately knew he was still there.
Gael.
I could hear his calm, steady breathing, as if he wasn't at all bothered by having spent the night beside someone he didn’t even know. I opened my eyes slowly, without moving. The soft morning light filtered through the curtains. For a moment, I felt trapped in a scene that didn’t belong to me. As if someone had written this script for me.
My body was tense. I hadn’t dared move all night for fear of touching him.
Not because I wanted to avoid his closeness—
But because I didn’t want to be reminded of how absurd this whole situation was.
I was married to a man who didn’t want me. Forced to share a bed that lacked warmth. Confined in a luxurious prison with invisible bars.
I turned carefully and saw him.
He was awake. Staring at the ceiling. As if he had been like that for hours.
“Good morning,” I said softly.
“Get up. Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes,” he replied, without even looking at me.
There was no "How did you sleep?" or even a hollow formality. Just orders.
I forced myself out of bed, grabbed my robe, and went into the bathroom. I washed my face with cold water, trying to erase the traces of the night. I looked at myself in the mirror and barely recognized the expression in my eyes. Frustration. Sadness. Acceptance.
When I came down to the dining room, Gael was already there, sitting upright, flipping through the newspaper as if it were a normal day. In front of him, breakfast was perfectly arranged: freshly brewed coffee, precisely sliced fruit, warm rolls.
I sat down in silence. Poured myself some juice. I had no appetite, only nerves. The tension in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe.
“You’ll see Bella today,” he said suddenly, without taking his eyes off the paper.
My hand froze midair, halfway to the cup.
“What…?”
“She asked to see you, this morning. Everything is arranged. The driver will take you in an hour.”
I blinked, surprised.
“And you won’t be there?”
“No,” he answered, without hesitation. “It’ll be better if you talk alone. But be careful. Don’t upset her. Don’t do anything stupid. Bella is still fragile… emotionally unstable.”
I felt my stomach twist with heat.
“What’s that supposed to mean? That I should act like I’m the guilty one?”
He finally looked at me. His eyes were cold.
“It means don’t make her regret asking to see you. If she gets upset, there won’t be another visit. Don’t ruin this.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying what I really thought. She was the one who chose to risk her life by racing. I didn’t want to marry him, and yet everyone treated me like I was the imposter. I was tired of carrying the burden of everyone else’s choices.
But I said nothing. Not in front of him.
He finished his coffee, stood up, took his jacket, and before leaving, he said one last thing:
“The car will be ready in half an hour. Don’t be late.”
And he walked out.
**
The ride to the hospital was silent. The driver—the same one who had taken me to the mansion—kept his eyes on the road. I stared at the floor. My hands trembled in my lap. I was going to see my sister. My other half. The woman whose life I had supposedly stolen. Or at least, that’s what everyone believed.
When we arrived, the nurse informed me that Bella was awake and that I could go in. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Her door was slightly ajar.
I knocked softly.
“Bella?”
She turned her face toward me. Her eyes were sunken, her skin pale… but her expression remained intact. Defiant. Wounded.
“Come in,” she said with a raspy voice.
I stepped in and closed the door behind me. My legs felt like paper.
“You look… better.”
“Better than when I was in a coma? Yeah, I guess.”
Her words were like knives.
“I came because… I needed to see you. I wanted to know how you were. And because I want to fix this. I know you’re angry, but if you want me to get a divorce, I can do it. I’m not interested in Gael.”
The room filled with heavy silence. And suddenly, from a corner, a shadow emerged.
“That won’t be possible,” said my father.
I turned around sharply. I hadn’t noticed him. He was there, as always, watching from the shadows. Controlling everything.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“That you can’t get divorced. Not without consequences. The marriage contract you signed—the one we all signed—prohibits the dissolution of the marriage for five years. If you—or Gael—break it early, the party requesting the divorce must pay a compensation of one hundred million dollars.”
“You’re joking.”
“Do I look like someone who jokes?” he replied, crossing his arms. “Gael protected his investment. You signed. That’s it.”
I looked at Bella. Her face showed surprise and restrained fury.
“You… didn’t know,” I murmured.
She shook her head slowly. Her lips trembled. Suddenly, she covered her face with her hands and started to cry. Or at least, it seemed like crying.
“Dad!” I shouted angrily. “How could you do that?! Without telling me!”
“It wasn’t necessary,” he said, without an ounce of compassion. “I signed it for you. As your legal guardian, I had every right.”
I went to Bella and took her hand.
“I’m sorry… I had no idea. I promise you. If I could, I’d get out of this today. But I have no way.”
She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, but there was something else in her gaze. A gleam. A hint of something I couldn’t identify.
“Don’t worry, Aurora,” she said in a shaky voice. “We’ll fix this. Together.”
I don’t know why… but those words chilled me more than the contract. More than the hundred million. More than the loveless night with Gael.
Because for the first time, I realized that Bella… wasn’t just suffering.
She was scheming.
And I was part of her game.