Chapter 75: Please Don’t Leave Me

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Please Don’t Leave Me

~Reynold’s POV~

I stood there in the middle of the bedroom, staring down at the floor, completely unable and far too terrified to raise my head and look at him. I felt utterly stupid, a complete and helpless fool who had brought all of this upon myself.

Frederick remained completely silent for a long moment. He didn’t yell or storm across the room. He simply stood there, staring down at me with an unreadable, icy expression while my chest heaved and tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

After what felt like an eternity, Frederick finally broke the heavy silence. His voice was flat, devoid of the warmth or passion I desperately craved.

"I only came to check on you," he said quietly, turning his back to me. "And I can see you’re fine now. So I’ll head back."

He took a slow step toward the door.

Panic seized my chest, sharper and more terrifying than anything I had ever felt. Before his hand could reach the doorknob, a sob escaped my throat, and the dam finally broke.

"I’m sorry!" I cried, my voice breaking as the tears streamed down my face. "I was wrong! I was stupid! I’m sorry for lying to you and disappointing you. Please forgive me!"

I trembled from head to toe, wrapping my arms around myself as the truth spilled out in a ragged mess.

"I know you warned me to stay away from Julian... I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness after everything I’ve done, but please, forgive me. I know that if you walk out that door right now, you’ll never come back to me. I’m really sorry. I thought he was my best friend. I trusted him because he had helped me so many times in the past, and I never thought he would hurt me like this. I was just a blind fool."

Frederick stopped in his tracks. For a long moment, he didn’t turn around. His shoulders rose and fell slowly, as if he were trying to steady himself before finally facing me.

When he turned, his eyes were still filled with anger, but the hurt beneath it was impossible to miss.

"I need to leave," he said, his voice heavy with ache. "I feel like I’m doing everything I can for you, even things I shouldn’t be doing. So how could you lie to my face like that?" His voice cracked slightly. "What else do you want from me that I’m not already giving you?"

"Nothing!" I sobbed, shaking my head frantically. "I said nothing! You’re already doing everything for me. You give me everything..."

"Then why won’t you just listen to me? You think I’m trying to control you, but I’m not. I only want you to be safe. And now look where your stubbornness has gotten you," Frederick said, turning fully to face me. "Someone took a video of you, posted it online, and now it’s everywhere, with a caption claiming you were sleeping with four different men. Tell me, Reynold, how do you expect me to feel after seeing that?"

"I’m sorry!" I pleaded, taking a desperate step closer. "I didn’t sleep with anyone! You can check me yourself. I swear to God, I didn’t touch anyone. Nobody touched me—!"

Frederick shook his head slowly. "I don’t know what hurts more," he whispered. "The fact that you lied to me... or the fact that I trusted you enough to believe you wouldn’t."

"Please, Frederick, trust me!" I begged, tears streaming down my face. "I’m telling you the truth. Nobody touched me. I swear they didn’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, just believe me!"

"Does that even matter anymore?" Frederick interrupted, a bitter, painful edge cutting through his words. "For a man who claimed he loved me, who said he wanted me in his future... you still allowed yourself to walk right into a mess like this. How do you expect me to stay with you? You’re right, Reynold, I know you wouldn’t willingly sleep with anyone else, but you lied to me. You ignored my warning and put yourself in this situation anyway. How am I supposed to trust you after that? It’s over, Reynold. I’m done."

"No, please, I’m sorry!" I wailed, the ground beneath me feeling like it was vanishing. "If you leave me, I’ll have nobody! Please!"

"You should have thought about that before you lied to me and sneaked off to that kind of party behind my back," Frederick said coldly.

"Forgive me! Please, I promise I’ll never, ever lie to you again. I swear it!"

"It’s too late for that now," Frederick said, letting out a heavy breath as he looked away from my tear-streaked face. "You can stay in this house tonight. I’ll still send you money for—"

"Noooo!" I screamed, the word tearing raw from my throat.

Before he could turn away, I closed the remaining distance between us and desperately grabbed his wrists.

"I don’t want your money! All I want is you..." My voice broke as fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. "I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!"

"If... if it were Lily, would you just abandon her like this? You know me too well, Frederick. You know I would never do any of this—not even if someone put a gun to my head. I love you, and I’ve been patient because I’ve always hoped that one day, you would love me back. And I know... I know that if someone else ever touched me, if another man slept with me, that dream would be gone forever. So tell me, why would I ever allow another man to sleep with me, let alone four of them? I could never do that! Please... please forgive me."

Frederick stared down at me, his breath hitching slightly at my words. The raw desperation in my voice seemed to pierce through his walls. He searched my face, looking for any trace of deceit, but all he could see was the pain in my eyes.

"Then," Frederick whispered, his voice low and serious, "tell me everything that happened from the very beginning. And this time, be honest with me."

Without hesitation, I poured my heart out, sobbing as I explained every detail. I told him about going to Julian’s house for the assignment, how Julian had tricked and manipulated me into coming to the hotel, and how Julian and I became separated in the chaos of the party. I confessed that I had taken a drink from a server because I was desperate to calm the burning sensation in my body, how someone offered to help me get to a quiet room when I could barely stand, and how I eventually blacked out.

"I swear to you, when I woke up this morning, I was naked," I wept, pressing my forehead against his arm. "But trust me—I wasn’t touched anywhere. I must have torn my own clothes off because of whatever drug was in that drink! Please... please believe me."

Without caring about my pride or anything else, I dropped completely to my knees in front of him. I wrapped my arms tightly around his legs, looking up at him through a blur of tears.

"Please forgive me," I choked out, my voice trembling against his trousers. "I’ll accept any punishment you want. You can lock me in this room. You can do whatever you want with me... just please don’t leave me alone. I want you. I’m so sorry..."

Frederick stood frozen above me for a long, agonizing moment. Then, slowly, a heavy, shuddering sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at me, still kneeling at his feet.

"I might not survive it if you leave me..." I choked out, my voice trembling with fear. "I’m scared. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just an innocent boy who trusted the wrong friend. I don’t even know how to fix this or make things right..."

I looked up at him, despair filling my eyes. "Even if I never mean anything to you after this, please... just don’t leave me. Stay in my life. If my father gets his hands on me after this video goes viral, he’ll beat me to death. I don’t want to die, Frederick. I just want to live with you beside me."

My voice trembled as I continued. "No one else in the world will believe me, but I know you do. That’s the only reason you were sitting here waiting for me to come back. If you didn’t trust me at all, you would have left before I even walked through that door. So please... Daddy, punish me however you want, but don’t leave me. I’ll accept whatever punishment you give me."

Frederick stared down at me, his expression unreadable, a mixture of emotions flickering in his eyes. "And what if I still choose to leave?" he asked quietly.

"Then..." I sobbed, another wave of tears spilling down my cheeks. "Then I’ll have to accept that I brought this upon myself. But please... just don’t leave me. Please stay?"

Frederick let out a long, heavy breath, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Fine. Stand up."

I shook my head frantically, clutching tighter to his legs. "No. Not until you tell me you’re not leaving."

"Alright," he said, his voice softening just a fraction. "I’m not leaving. But I’m going downstairs to have a conversation with my friends."

I scrambled to my feet, wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. "Let me come with you—"

"You don’t trust me?" Frederick interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

I looked directly into his eyes and shook my head. "I do trust you."

"Then go take a shower," Frederick ordered, his tone returning to its usual commanding authority. "I need to make a few calls and have that disgusting video taken down from everywhere online. More importantly, I need them to find the source of the video. I want to know who recorded it, why they recorded it, and who posted it. But remember this, Reynold—when I come back, I’m going to give you a punishment you will never, ever forget."

I swallowed hard and nodded through my tears. "I’ll take it all. I’ll take whatever you want."

Frederick gave me one final, intense look before turning and walking out of the room. He closed the door softly behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut and I was left alone, my legs finally gave out. I collapsed onto the floor...