Whispers in the rain | charles leclerc *ੈ✩

Part 2 🩵 : Chapter 28 : Bad Blood

Jules
I ran after Bella as soon as I saw her disappear down the hallway

I couldn't let her think this was her fault.

The tension at the table had been too much for her—I saw it in her eyes, the way she flinched when Max raised his voice, the way her fingers nervously picked at the edge of her napkin.

It brought me back to my own childhood, to memories I've tried so hard to bury.

I swore to myself, back when I ran away from home, that my child would never experience that kind of fear.

But now, seeing Bella so afraid, it felt like history was repeating itself.

I couldn't let her go through what I did.

I found her in her room, hiding under a pile of pillows, just like she always did when she was scared.

I knelt down by the bed, moving the pillows gently. "Bells," I said softly. "Sweetheart, it's okay."

She didn't respond right away.

When I finally pulled the last pillow away, she looked up at me with those wide hazel eyes, red-rimmed from crying.

"I'm sorry, Mum," she whispered, "I didn't mean to make everyone fight."

Tears welled up in my own eyes, and I had to swallow hard to keep from crying.

She thought this was because of her.

My beautiful, innocent little girl thought she was the reason for the chaos.

"No, baby, no," I whispered into her hair. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault, okay?"

She clung to me, "But they were yelling... and... and then he came, and... I didn't want it to be like this."

"I know, sweetheart. I know," I said softly, "But none of this is your fault, okay? Grown-ups sometimes argue, and it has nothing to do with you."

I had promised myself I'd protect her from this, but here she was, hiding just like I used to hide when the shouting got too loud.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Bells. No one is mad at you. We love you, okay?"

She nodded, but she was too young to understand the weight of everything that was happening, too innocent to realize how complicated this all was.

But the last thing I wanted was for her to grow up thinking she was the cause of anyone's pain.

I kissed her forehead and held her close again.

I couldn't even begin to think about how Charles must be feeling right now.

Every inch of me wanted him gone from my life.

He had caused me so much pain.

But still, despite all of that, I felt bad for him.

As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't shake the look on his face when he saw Bella for the first time, or the way his voice cracked when he asked her name.

He missed it all, and now he was trying to catch up on seven years in a single dinner.

It was impossible, and I could see how much it was tearing him apart.

I didn't want to feel sorry for him. I didn't want to care.

But I did.

Later, after Bella had finally fallen asleep in my arms, her little breaths soft and steady, I carefully eased her onto her bed, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.