Ariana informed Samantha that she had a doctor's appointment. Samantha insisted on joining her but she had a meeting with the head coordinator for a charity event.
Ariana took a cab to the hospital. She made her way inside the building.
She knocked gently on the door. "Come in" The doctor said.
Ariana enters the room. "You know I was surprised when you booked a session Mrs Gonzalez"
Ariana sat calmly on a chair. "How's life on the other side of your beautiful castle?" The lady asked.
Ariana sighs. "You ain't gonna let this go now would you, Mrs Smith?"
"I guess my invitation to the wedding got delayed in the north pole" Mrs Smith said.
"I apologize.... The preparation was hectic" Ariana said.
"Yeah, if you mean getting engaged to one of the most powerful man in all of Mexico..... Or running of to China leaving your fiancee behind. And becoming a wanted fugitive.... Then yes it was hectic" Mrs Smith said.
"Look I didn't mean to..... I never intended to accept his proposal that night but I was drunk and there were a lot of people and cameras. He pleaded with me to accept.... For a split second the alcohol took over and I agreed"
"Is that so?" Mrs Smith said. "I know you're probably asking why I didn't call off the wedding"
"I never said anything" Mrs Smith said.
"I knew it was a terrible idea getting involved with the Gonzalez but he made me an offer I could refuse but I took it anyway" Ariana said.
"How much did he offer you that made you sell your freedom?" Mrs Smith asked.
"Half his fortune if the marriage doesn't work out within an entire year" Ariana said.
"I accepted it not because I needed the money... I knew once I became close to the Gonzalez, they'd offer me protection"
"Now you see after that night, we finally picked a date for the wedding. He asked me to move in with him to make everything more believable. The first night, his friends came for a visit.... I heard him tell them he didn't love me. He only asked me to marry him just to get rid of his ex fiancee"
"How did that make you feel when you heard that from his mouth?" Mrs Smith asked.
"I was hurt by that. It made me believe I was never worth loving..... Few days later I got to meet his parents who ended up adoring me. It broke my heart to know that non of this is real"
"We finally picked a date and making preparations was the most stressful and nerve-racking situation for any bride to experience. Two days into the preparation, Sunny got kidnapped. Melissa and I flew to China to save her"
"I knew it was wrong of me to leave without any explanation but I thought since he said he never loved me and that everything was just pretense, he wouldn't actually mind my absence"
"We got to China..... I believe you must have seen the news" Ariana said.
"You mean how you ruined the presidents party and how you had a gun pointed to your head" Mrs Smith said.
"That was the scariest moments of my life. Anyway, Cheng Xing had the country on lockdown.... We got out by a miracle. Returning back to Mexico, Melissa was taken hostage by a dude we've never seen before"
"We returned to the Castello's, where Abuela promised to protect us. Anyway I went to meet Roberto to explain everything. I never expected to meet him in a fucked up state. He kept telling me how he loved me and how he was willing to invade China just to come get me" Ariana said.
"Do you really believe he loves you?" Mrs Smith asked.
"I don't know.... I think that man has bipolar disorder or something. Because he'll confess his feelings to me then the next day he'd ignore me like we're strangers. Then he'd wake me up with breakfast in bed and flowers..... I really wish I could understand the things going on in his head" Ariana said.
"After the confession, you got married.... Then what?"
"Our honeymoon was the worst.... We acted like strangers.... It felt like we were walking on eggshells around each other. Then we always have to pretend to be a loving and adorable couple Infront of everyone..... Honestly most times I can't tell the line between the truth and the lie any longer"
Ariana laughs awkwardly.
"I know I'm boring you with my problem" Ariana said.
"Not at all..... Please continue" Mrs Smith said.
"Months passed and the pretense became even more confusing. Not as confusing as Roberto's weird behavior.... He usually goes into the basement at night and stays there for a long period of time"
"I didn't pay much mind to it.... I mean the man is a mafia boss, it's normal for him to have a creepy basement. Unfortunately the screams kept me up for days and I just couldn't take it any longer. I decided to investigate myself.... I was informed I wasn't allowed inside"
"Don't ask me how I got in.... What's important is that I got inside. That was when I found Jessica.... Roberto's ex. She was tied up with chains like a dog"
"How did that make you feel?" Mrs Smith asked.
"I felt disgusted... That place was unsanitary.... I hid inside a closet just to witness the most horrific sex known to mankind. I watched him cut her and dug his fingers inside her while having sex..."
"He.... They.... One hour.... They did it for one hour till she passed out. I waited patiently for thirty minutes before leaving. That was when nature decided it was a good idea for it to rain cats and dogs"
"I walked under the pouring rain..... Everything felt like deja Vu.... Memories kept flooding in..... I couldn't stay under the same roof with him. I found myself at my in-laws place"
"I woke up the next morning just to find Roberto sitting beside me. I felt uncomfortable when he touched me.... I felt disgusted just by looking at him. I couldn't believe he would do that to a woman. The part that makes me sick is the fact that Jessica seemed to enjoy it"
"Anyway, he eventually left the moment I promised to return home but instead I booked an appointment with my nosey therapist" Ariana said.
Mrs Smith chuckled. "Being nosey is part of my job. It's not everytime a client gets to wed the son of the Gonzalez family" She replied.
"Talking to someone makes it bearable" Ariana said.
"You mentioned having a sense of deja Vu while witnessing everything. What did you mean?"
Ariana sighs in exhaustion. "There are past that are meant to be buried in the past" Ariana said.
"Keeping it bottled up isn't going to solve the problem" Mrs Smith said. "It's better than reliving the trauma" Ariana said.
"A problem shared is a problem half solved" Mrs Smith said.
"Some problems are meant to be hidden so people don't classify you as a weakling" Ariana replied.
"Your friends would never judge you.... I think your insecurity has gotten the better of you" Mrs Smith said.
"Don't you dare sit there and judge me.... You have no idea half of everything I've been through" Ariana said.
"If you never wanted to be judged then why book a therapy session?"
"I'M NOT BROKEN!!!" Ariana said.
"I never said you were"
"You don't understand.... How do I tell them? How do I tell them.... I WAS RAPED BY FIVE MEN?.... I WAS so powerless... They all took turns hurting me. I was treated like an animal, like a sex toy. Tell me HOW??"
Mrs Smith fell silent.
"You have no idea how many times I took a shower just to feel clean... Yet I felt dirty. It's been seven years, yet no one knows how that scarred me for life..... So when I watched Roberto do that to her..... It reminded me of how hard I pleaded for them to let me go. When he sat next to me all I saw was a monster"
"Up till this day my friends have no idea... I've tried to pretend to be happy my entire life but I still have nightmares of that night. Most nights I want to end it all but then I remember my friends, Sofia, Mr and Mrs Gonzalez...."
Ariana wipes the tears from her eyes.
"I'm not broken but I'm not okay... I just.... Sometimes it's too much.... Pretending to be fine when you're not. Always having a bright smile on your face but your heart is darker than a black hole. My chest feels heavy.... It's like I'm carrying this heavy weight that refused to leave"
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that..... Have you tried talking to your friends?" Mrs Smith asked.
"No I'm scared of being judged" Ariana said. "Honey... Your friends would never judge you..... Try having a word with them"
"I'll think about it" Ariana said. "As for Roberto. Like it or not, he's still your husband. You can't avoid him forever... You live under the same roof. Confront him about your discovery"
"The problem is I can't look him in the eyes knowing everything he has done" Ariana said. "For your peace of mind talk to him about it" Mrs Smith said.
Ariana left the office, she went to see Sunny. "Boo!!! I've missed you" Sunny said in excitement.
"How're you?" Ariana asked. "Good.... I can see he's taking good care of you" Sunny said.
Ariana gave a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. "What's up?" Sunny asked.
"We need to talk" Ariana said with a serious tone. Sunny sat down. "What's with that tone? Is everything alright?"
"This involves Melissa as well" Ariana said. "I could video call her if you want" Sunny said.
Ariana looks around. "Are we alone?" She asked. "Yeah... Olivia had to visit her grandparents. Is everything alright? You're scaring me" Sunny said.
Ariana tried to pull herself together. She tried to put words together but nothing came out.
"Just call Melissa" Ariana said In a whisper trying hard not to cry.
Sunny searched frantically for her phone. When she finally found it, she called Melissa.
Melissa answered with the first ring. "Hey bitch what's up?" Melissa asked.
Sunny looks at Ariana who's trying to control herself. "Nothing much... I just wanted to hear your ugly ass voice" Sunny replied.
"You're not alone are you?" Melissa asked. "How'd you?..... No I'm here with Ariana" Sunny said.
Sunny pulled Ariana into the video. "What's up? You look terrible" Melissa said squinting her eyes to look at Ariana properly.
"Oh least I forget baby's birthday is in two days. Would you be able to make it?" Sunny asked.
"Well my flight leaves tomorrow afternoon so I'd be there by morning" Melissa said.
"There's something I have to tell you guys" Ariana said cutting them off.
"We're listening" Melissa said. "I met a therapist today" Ariana said.
"Therapist? You haven't been married for three months yet you went for therapy" Melissa said.
"Is everything alright at home? Does he hit you?" Sunny asked. "Does he make you take coke?" Melissa asked.
Ariana shook her head. "What's the problem then?" Melissa asked.
"Do you remember our trip to California?" Ariana asked. "Who could forget?" Melissa asked.
"Oh when we had to hide from Vasago....." Sunny said.
"Do you remember when I called you guys and said I'd be working... Over time?" Ariana asked again.
"Yeah, you came back the next day pretty exhausted..... What's with the questions?" Melissa asked.
"I lied" Ariana said as tears fall uncontrollably.
"You lied? Why would you lie?" Sunny asked. "That night.... I was coming back from work and I was abducted"
"What?!!!" Sunny and Melissa asked in unison. "I was kidnapped and raped by five men"
Sunny hugged her tight. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell us?" Sunny asked. "I didn't want you guys to judge me" Ariana replied.
"Judge you? Why would we do that? We're family.... We stick together no matter how rough and bumpy the road gets. I can't imagine how you kept this bottled up for so many years" Sunny said.
"I was scared..... I reported it to the police but the men were never found" Ariana said as she cried her eyes out.
"Melissa you're awfully quiet" Sunny said in suspicion. "I've known for the past seven years..... Why do you think the police were unable to find them?" Melissa asked.
"What did you do?" Ariana asked in fear.
"I tracked down each and everyone of them..... I ended their entire generation from the oldest to the youngest. Two days later multiple families were declared dead..... All of them were either blood related or family friends of the culprits" Melissa said.
"I don't know if I should be grateful or scared" Sunny said. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ariana asked.
"You didn't bring it up so I decided it's fair we swept everything under the rug till you're ready" Melissa said.
Sunny held Ariana's head as she cried as well. "I would do anything to protect all of you. Even if it means killing anyone" Melissa said.
"I thought I was alone. I thought I would never get justice" Ariana said. "Justice was served that very night" Melissa said.
"Sometimes I forget you're creepy" Sunny said. "Oh.... I have to go. Kenji wants me to accompany him to the movie set" Melissa said.
"Who's Kenji?" Ariana asked as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I'll call you guys once I'm done" Melissa said as she hung up.
Sunny tugged Ariana's hair behind her ear. "Don't ever think that we'd judge you..... Everyone has flaws, even families. Just know we love you, flawed and all" Sunny said. Ariana hugged Sunny.
"Too tight..... Can't breathe" Sunny said.