Bound by freckles (Sebastian Sallow x Garreth Weasley x f!MC modern AU)

53rd Chapter - Fear

"He drove us south to his home," Gwen continued, "Once there, I got abdominal pains and panicked. Yvain put me in his bed, and called his cousin, who recently had a baby, what we should do now.

He spoke French and I thought it was so incredibly sweet that, despite this terrible situation, I couldn't help laughing a little.

He brought me a cup of tea and took me and Henny in his arms.

I remember exactly how he put his head against mine and said that everything would be all right now. Afterwards he jumped up and took a photo of the three of us. As a marker for the beginning of our new life together.

That night, Merfyn broke into the Weasley house. He beat Yvain unconscious, and punched me. Over and over again he kicked and beat. And after that, he raped me more brutally than he ever had before," Gwen said quietly. Her voice was getting shakier.

Arwyn was pale and looked like he was struggling not to faint.

Garreth stood up and took his mother in his arms.

"Shall I go on talking, darling?" asked Yvain. After Gwen nodded, Yvain took over, "After he raped Gwen again, he was about to drag her outside.

My dad, who had called the police, and I, when I was awake again, tried to rescue Gwen and you, Henny, from his hands. But in his hand, on whose arm he was carrying you, he had a gun. Neither I nor my dad had any guns at home and so were defenceless.

He actually let go of Gwen, but he took you with him. When the police arrived, nothing happened. Officially, they recorded our reports, but nothing ever happened again.

Two days after that, Gwen had a miscarriage. Triggered by Merfyn's beating and kicking as well as the mental torture.

He sent us another letter saying that being separated from her child was punishment for her behaviour, and that her son would grow up with a real man so that he would learn how to behave properly. And that we would face outrageous punishments if we even tried to contact you.

Since Gwen got pregnant again right after the miscarriage, we couldn't risk messing with him.
It wouldn't have been fair to drag Gary into this shit. And we knew you'd be fine. We assumed he was going to cripple you emotionally, but as an emotional cripple you don't bother yourself. And as a future wealthy duke, you'd have no trouble finding a wife even as a narcissist, so we had to act in the best interests of the kid who's going to have a harder time in life."

"It's never like I chose to give you away, Henny. I have nothing of you except this one photo of the three of us, which I've kept hidden all these years. It's like a little treasure to me. I beg you to believe me," Gwen said and stood up.

Arwyn next to me was crying silently. When he noticed me looking at him, he leaned towards me and buried his face in my hair.

A moment later, Gwen came back with a small photo in an equally small picture frame. And sure enough. Yvain looked like Garreth then, Gwen looked like Gwen only younger, and between the two of them a dark-haired kid with a mole under his left eye grinned broadly at the camera.

"Why didn't you contact me after my father died?" asked Arwyn quietly.

"We didn't know. We never forgot you, but we didn't investigate because we assumed you were just as brutal and dangerous as your father.

When your letter arrived about Garreth, we saw that you were the Duke, but we were too scared."

"And why did you try to threaten me in court in the first place?" asked Garreth, suddenly looking a little angry.