Love You, My Kidnapper

Chapter 9: The Truth

Chapter 9 The Truth

 I watched as Bryon’s normally calm expression turn into one that was truly grave. He turned towards the door and walked through the threshold, with me trailing closely behind. The light wasn't on in the cottage, but the full moon from the window casted a bright silhouette around Bryon, giving him a surreal brilliance.

He opened his mouth, and I noticed the slight tremble of his hands by his side. The quivering of his lips and the beads of sweat that was forming above his temple were not missed. In that moment, Bryon looked ten times his age.

The time slowly ticked by, each moment more nerve wrecking than the next. The tense atmosphere only grew thicker and soon I felt like I was suffocating under the suspense. Just as I was about to open my mouth to tell Bryon to hurry the hell up, he took a breath and said:

“My sister was raped by your father… That soulless fool. After he sullied her, he never once looked back. Of course, what kind of rapist would? And then he tried getting me to cover for him? Trying to get me to defend for his innocence, when in reality it was my sister he had raped?”

Bryon was staring intently out the window as if something had caught his attention. Although this information wasn’t new, it felt like someone had splashed cold water over my face to bring me to reality. Before, I could always deny that what had occurred hadn’t been real, that Bryon had misunderstood. But now looking at his face, and how serious his voice was, I didn’t feel that there was any room for reasonable doubt.

I slowly made my way up to Bryon, and before I knew what I was doing, I hugged him from the back. His breath caught in his throat, and I knew that he was just as surprised as I was by my actions. Normally, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to hug a person, not to mention, a man, willingly. Bryon slowly turned around, and I lifted my head to catch a sight of his maddening eyes. I could never imagine what he was going through, nor could I ever erase the memories of what had happened. But I knew that I could only be there for him as best as I could.

Bryon pulled back slightly, but still keeping his arms around me, continued with his story.

“Your father, he came into my office one day, telling his story. He said, “Mr. Delestre, I hope you can defend me in my case. I was allegedly accused of raping a woman. The young lady was someone who had jumped me in a bar and yelled “RAPIST!” after promptly yanking down her dress. Of course, right away people started yelling at me to let the poor girl go, but I didn’t even have my hands anywhere near her at the time. How absurd that people would jump to conclusions like that! I heard you’re the best in the business Bryon Delestre, if you are able to defend me in the courts, I will pay you handsomely.” To think I was such a fool for falling for his stories. I spent many a sleepless nights trying to crack the truth behind his case. As I delved deeper, I noticed something suspicious about his case, but I didn’t question it. You could imagine my surprise when at the first meeting I walked into the courtroom to find my sister on the prosecution stand. I was stunned. So stunned that I stopped walking and just stared. The worst part was probably the look in my sister’s eyes when she realized that it was I who would be defending her worst nightmare. When she saw me, I could tell that something inside her broke. I had never lost a case before this, and even with your father’s suspicious actions, I had enough evidence that I could win this one as well. Perhaps it was your father’s words that did it, but I think it was really my own pride that drove me to win. I was Bryon Delestre, the famous lawyer who graduated from law school at 18 and had never failed to win a case. Although I knew that my sister would never lie about something like that, I still fought my hardest and pretended to ignore the pain in her eyes. Did you know that there is a term for when a rape victim is attacked and accused of being the one at fault for the rape? It’s called Second Rape. Your father may have broken my sister, but I was the one who completely shattered what little strength and pride that she had left. After the case was over, your father kept his word and awarded me with a sum larger than what any normal lawyer could make in a year. I took all that money and put it towards starting my sister’s dream of owning a jewellery business, but my apologies were useless. The trauma of the case had taken a huge toll on her, and my sweet and independent sister slowly deteriorated into somebody who could barely leave the house without going into a nervous breakdown.”