Husband With Benefits
Chapter 111: Hate Her-Trigger Warning

Chapter 111: Hate Her-Trigger Warning

As Gabe sat alone in the room, the air seemed to carry the echo of her departure. He glanced at the files she left behind, a tangible reminder of the trust she had placed in him. His heart, however, lingered on the unspoken moments that passed between them. The weight of her unexpressed emotions hung in the air, leaving Gabe torn between the urgency of the files and the desire to comfort her.

His fingers traced absent-minded patterns on the couch, unwilling to see the things that has caused Arabelle so much pain. But then his inner voice spoke up, "Unless you know what her enemy is, how are you to protect her."

With a newfound determination, he picked up the topmost file and started to read it. However, the first page itself was enough to tilt his world upside down...The heading read...Juvenile Incident Report...

It was a police report attached with copies of court proceedings and certificates as well as medical analysis. However, what seemed to be jumping at him was the Juvenile information that held her name and the Victim information which held a name he was sure he had heard somewhere but could not place... Jenny Kavanaugh.

According to the incidence report, a teenaged Arabelle had been bullying another young girl called Jenny Kavanaugh. This had taken such a serious turn that the girl had lost the will to live and committed suicide. She had, however, tried to punish her with her death by naming Arabelle responsible for everything and even gathering evidence.

Gabe frowned, trying to remember something like this happening in their school. But it had also been around that time that they had been thrown into the boarding school while Arabelle’s parents had moved away. Now, he also understood the reason for their sudden shift.

He turned the page with trembling hands as he ached for her. How would she had been able to go through such accusations and carry the burden of someone’s death? Yes, Arabelle could be rude and arrogant but as far as he knew she had never been mean... Hopefully, the case had been dismissed by the judges.

However, he was in for another shock as he read the incident report. Arabelle had not just confessed to attacking the girl but also something much more horrifying. She’d pleaded guilty and confessed to being mentally unstable.

From there on, she had been subjected to repeated psychological analysis and monitoring. Once a few independent psychologists had confirmed that she was indeed unstable and not capable of understanding the consequence of her heinous actions.

Since she was a juvenile offender who was willing to accept her guilt and take her just punishment, she had been ordered to enter a mental institution where she would be subjected to constant monitoring.

Next up, he saw the pictures of the deceased girl and his heart thundered. How could this be? This was the girl that Arabelle had saved during the party all those years ago. That girl had accused Arabelle of hurting her? Even with everything written in black and white, he was sure that there had been some mistake. He refused to believe a single word of the confession that Arabelle had given to the police. It must have been taken into coercion.

He wanted to rush inside and question her, but he forced himself to continue to sit. There were still a few pages to go through and understand the situation.

He read through the transcriptions of many hours of counselling sessions that she had gone through and the doctor’s comments. At the end of the year, even though the doctor agreed that Arabelle suffered from mental ability lapses, she had indeed not been responsible for the death of the girl. The confession that she had given to the court had been under legal advice as well as fright. Due to the final analysis, she was released from the mental institution and her juvenile record was sealed.

However, the instant seemed to have left a deep mark on her and she still needed constant therapy to sometimes go through the day.

With a heavy heart, Gabe closed all the files. He knew he needed to sort out his own tumultuous feelings before he went inside to talk to her. If she felt that he did not believe in her, then she might feel even more vulnerable in the future.

After a few minutes, he finally walked into her room, ready to console her. The cautious look and the tentative smile she sent his way, hurt him more than anything else.

Unable to stop himself, he quickly gathered her in his arms and tried to reassure her," First thing I want you to know is that my feelings for you remain unchanged. Secondly, I remember that I’m here for you, no matter what. Your past doesn’t define you, and it certainly doesn’t change anything for me."

Her stiff shoulders relaxed, and he could feel her shuddering as she cried, "I didn’t want anyone to find out," she confessed, her voice trembling.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. Mental health struggles are a part of life for so many people, and it doesn’t make you any less amazing or deserving of love and support. If anything, it makes you even stronger in my eyes for overcoming it. As for what happened with Jenny, maybe she was also suffering. What happened was a tragedy but you need not carry the guilt for it."

Her lips quivered as she tried to speak. "Thank you, Gabe. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I was so scared that you would hate me for all this..."

He wiped away her tears with his thumb and smiled softly. "You’re not alone in this, and you never will be. I’m here to support you, to listen, and to love you for who you are, past and all. I could never hate you."

As Arabelle clung to him softly with gratitude, he failed to see the expression on her face...

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