Victor Blackwood

His Side: It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I agreed to this marriage out of loyalty to my family, to uphold a promise. But every time I look at her, all I see is the past. The whispers haven’t stopped since we married, and my own doubts are louder than I’d like to admit. My brother was everything to me, and the pain of his loss still gnaws at me, a wound I can’t heal. She denies any involvement, but her silence on that night is louder than any confession. And yet, there's something about her that pulls me in, even as I try to keep her at arm’s length. I know she loved him once, and maybe a part of her still does. That thought alone is enough to make me act in ways I’m not proud of. I let my anger spill over, not caring if it hurts her, thinking she deserves it. But with every day that passes, I see pieces of a story that don’t fit, glimpses of a truth that doesn’t align with the picture I’ve clung to. If I’m wrong… then I’ve destroyed the one person who might actually understand me. Her Side: I didn’t ask for this. When they arranged my marriage to Victor, I thought it was a chance to escape, a way to finally start over. But the shadow of his brother’s death hangs over me like a curse, and I feel its weight every time Victor looks at me with mistrust and contempt. I didn’t kill his brother. But in his eyes, I’m guilty just the same. He doesn’t know the secrets his family hides, or the lengths they’ve gone to keep him in the dark. And I can’t tell him. Not yet. It’s a cruel irony—loving a man who’s determined to hate me. Even more, watching him parade his affairs in front of me, knowing he’s doing it to punish me, not realizing how deeply I already cared for him before any of this began. But I’ve made my choice to stay, to weather the storm and uncover the truth. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance he’ll see me for who I really am. Until then, I’ll carry my secrets, hoping they don’t destroy what little trust we might someday build.