His Unwanted Bride ~Editing~

Chapter Twenty Five: Alexios

    I looked at my watch. I had exactly 39 minutes left before Dr. Mason came to grab her file. This seemed to be a violation of her privacy, but I needed to know more.
     I took a deep breath and opened her file. Her most recent information was on the top sheet. So I turned the pages until I reached the back. There was a list four pages long of prior hospital visits and a brief summary.
    Broken bones, bruises, lacerations,  they'd all started a few years back. Some of the small notes suggested abuse, others claimed it was self harm. I quickly wrote down the dates of each reported message so I could obtain the original records. It appeared he had been abused for four years after her parents died in another city, and then was moved to live in her current household only to be abused further. I wiped away a stray tear as I read through a couple of the most recent appointment notes.
    She had been confirmed pregnant. She was pushed down the stairs by someone she had not seen, and lost the child. She had arrived back shortly after with a report of rape, a rape kit was not done, and her guardian picked her up, claiming she had a history of lying for attention.
    That bastard, her step father must be involved some how. I slammed my fist into the table, I only had ten minutes left with her file. There were reports of wounds and other broken bones.
     "Pain is all I've known," her words echoed in my head. "I'm only here for her."
     I quickly wrote down the dates and reference numbers for each of the other cases. I then closed the slim file, sensing I'd gathered all I could from it. I took a deep breath and began to call the head of my security team and one of my closest friends, Rufus.
     "Hey boss, how is the Mrs?" Rufus asked.
    "She isn't doing very well, but she will be much better once the drugs are flushed from her system. I need a favor, Rufus. I also need your discretion."
    "How can I help?"
    "I need you to track down these records," I spoke and relayed the dates and numbers.
     "Got it boss, I'll have these as soon as possible," Rufus replied hanging up.
     She'd cringed and flinched from me so many times. Had she been shown any tenderness at all since her parents died? Tears started to fall from my eyes as I wondered what other horrible things may have happened to her.
   "Are you alright?" Dr. Mason asked reentering the room. "There isn't much in there, only what was reported to my hospital, St Joe's, but what was in there was pretty intense."
     "I'm sorry," I sniffed wiping my face.
     "For what?" She asked, sitting across from me and plucking a tissue from the box beside her and handing it to me.
    "Thank you. I don't usually have moments like these. I just, I don't understand how someone could do this to her. I am just as guilty, I mistreated her because I assumed that what I knew was the truth. I never imagined it would be like this in actuality."
     "So then do what you can to make it right," she stated simply. "Tabitha is a very forgiving woman. You simply need to give yourselves the chance to grow stronger together. I'm not sure how you two came to get married, however, now that you are, you need to learn to be in a relationship together and grow and support eachother."