Wow it's been a while since I've updated, almost a month. Hopefully now that Heavy Crown is on hold I can focus more on True Colors, updating often and finish it off quickly. Just see these long updates as me giving you (and myself) time to mentally prepare for more heartbreak lmao 😂

I've been waiting to write this chapter ever since the damn book started. I hope it's good, I'm not thAt satisfied but thas alright.

Enjoy and excuse errors x

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All my life, one page at a time

I'll show you my, my true colors

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   "You kissed Zayn?"

"It was just a peck! I threw up after that!"

"You threw up after that? Oh God Peach," Niall gasped in exasperation, making Harry roll his eyes.

It was the next day when Niall decided to pay Harry a visit in the morning to talk about his encounter with Adriana. Niall spent that night thinking about it, and came to the conclusion that Adriana was in trouble. He was worried that the man she's with was hurting her. But then he wondered if that was the case, why hasn't she reached out for help? Why is she still with him? Plus, she told Harry that he was good and he had changed. So why did she lie?

  He knew that if the man were dangerous, she wouldn't have her son anywhere near him. But Niall also considered other factors such as maybe he's manipulating her or she was too afraid. He tried not to jump to any final conclusions, but he thought he needed to let Harry know just incase she really was in trouble. He knew that maybe if Harry confronted her and saw the bruises, he'd really push to know what's happening or call the police.

"Yeah, Zayn was really nice about it though," Harry sighed heavily as he leaned back into his car seat. "So fucking embarrassing. Why did I even kiss him? It's because he's too damn hot that's why."

"Harry," Niall sighed heavily as he slowed down by the traffic light. "You still didn't tell me why you called Zayn and not me last night? I told you to call me if you needed anything."

"I know, Niall," Harry mumbled quietly, averting his gaze. "It's just that I ran into Dean in the bathroom, and then Adriana and we talked and it made me feel like shit that's why I wanted to leave. But then I did something stupid like getting drunk alone when you told me not to, and I wasn't looking forward to you scolding me so I called Zayn."

"Wait you ran into Dean and Adriana?" Niall gaped with wide blue eyes. "What happened?"

Harry inhaled deeply before explaining every single detail as to how he used to know Dean and how the guy recognized Harry in the bathroom. Then he went onto running into Adriana in the hallway and having a conversation about how she was doing better now with Dean's help and how her relationship with Harry was probably never meant to be. Niall listened to him with a deep frown etched onto his face, slowing down eventually when he reached Harry's mansion and pulled into his underground garage. Niall didn't say much because he was trying to piece this new information together with what Adriana said about how she was doing.

"You called Zayn instead because you thought I was gonna scold you?" Niall arched a brow at him, a bit disappointed, making Harry shrug and nod lightly. "I'm sorry you thought I'd do that, Peach. You know all I want to do is look out for you."

"Yeah I know, Niall, and I appreciate that immensely. But I'm tired now because it feels like you're babying me sometimes," Harry spoke honestly, even though he knew it would offend Niall a little bit. "Just sometimes, other than that I really really appreciate you being there for me."

"I suppose I can see where you're coming from," he sighed heavily in response. "I'm sorry, mate."

"It's fine you don't have to apologize. I just wanted to be honest. I'm sorry for not calling you instead of Zayn," Harry muttered in reply, glancing at him. "Where were you anyways?"

"I told you, we went to the Neon Demons, which is what I wanted to talk to you about actually," Niall began slowly, making Harry frown and look at him.

"What? She was there?" Harry arched a brow in questioning. "Did you talk to her?"

Niall turned in his seat and began explaining his encounter with Adriana, how he saw her at the bar and how she dropped her things and the bruises he noticed. He explained that he tried to reach out to her by grabbing her wrist, resulting in a very extreme reaction from her and her running away.

"I didn't even put that much pressure on her wrist, it was more of my touch that freaked her out? Does that make sense?" Niall frowned lightly, while Harry tried to make sense of it himself. "I know someone must've given those bruises, they almost looked like fingerprints or something. Like someone grabbed her wrist too tightly."

"I remember the night of Gemma's birthday bash, we had a fight and I didn't go home with her. But she had some hallucination that night and scared Mateo, who ended up calling me. When I showed up, I tried to reach for her but she kept moving away. Then at some point I touched her arm and she like shrieked at me not to touch her..."

"Just like she did to me," Niall murmured quietly. "I think Adriana's in trouble Harry."

"We need to go to her, now,"

∙❧∙

The warm water rippled around Adriana's body as she shifted to pull her legs up to her chest. Her chin sat on her knees, dead, dark eyes gazing at water in the distance while a tear rolled down her cheek. It dropped down from her jaw and melting into the water below, causing tiny ripples. Just like that with every tear, she was melting away into nothingness. The darkness in her heart was taking over quickly; diminishing what little light there was left. After that encounter with Harry, the light in her heart had diminished immensely and now the only thing that kept it going was Mateo.

Her gaze flickered down to the circular plaster on her arm at the back of her elbow, where she did cocaine intravenously by injecting it. She wanted to regret it but she didn't, the feeling was absolutely euphoric, stronger than she had ever experienced. She needed it because the depressive, suicidal thoughts were at an all-time high yesterday night when she returned from running into Niall. Her fear of doing something irrational like suicide pushed her to do cocaine, to help her mind stay at ease for some time so that she wouldn't do anything stupid. You doing cocaine is stupid, Adriana.

Dean was livid when he found out the next morning. He hurt her, shoved her against the wardrobe and scolded her for doing cocaine again when she was on the path to recovery. Marks of his aggression and violence were dotted all over her body, mostly around her neck, forearms and wrists where he gripped her painfully hard and turned the skin there purple. She was so tired of icing bruises all the time, wiping tears away, and hiding her pain with a fake smile so that her son wouldn't suspect anything. There was no point. He could see right through her façade, but he didn't always bring it up. He'll just kiss her cheek and give her a hug and tell her how much he loved her, and those were the little things Adriana kept fighting for.

Adriana eventually had to leave the bath; the only time she had privacy and solitude. Dean was going out for the day to run some errands and said he'd be back by night. The water swished side to side as she stood up slowly, grimacing at the pain before she climbed out and reached for her towel. The make up she had used to cover up her bruises had faded away; she used a clean rag to wipe the excess off, grimacing at the hideous color of the bruises. She tightened the towel around her naked body before she exited the bathroom and headed straight for the bedroom.

Dean was dressing up in there, pulling his gray t-shirt over his head before sitting down on the bed to tug his shoes on. He looked over at Adriana, smiling lightly when he saw her hovering by the doorway. Her eyes rolled at him before her feet carried her over to the wardrobe where she pulled out a tank top and shorts to wear along with underwear. She changed quickly, while Dean finished off doing his shoes and packing his backpack. Dean stood up from the bed, clearing his throat as he parted his lips to speak.

"Why did you go to the hospital?"

Adriana sighed heavily at his words, dreading this conversation. Early that morning, before Dean had found out about her cocaine intake, Adriana forced herself to go to the hospital to get a check up. Finding blood between her legs when it was definitely not the time of the month worried her immensely. It turned out that she only bled a little due to friction during sex. She remembered being dry yesterday night during sex, so she was relieved it wasn't anything serious. She turned around to look at him, expression emotionless as she parted her lips to speak with a shrug.

"I needed a checkup," she told him, making him frown knowing that it was with the gynecologist.

"Was it...pregnancy related?" Dean asked slowly, making her look at him with wide eyes, shooting a strange look.

"No," she answered shortly. "But I'll have you know, I'm on birth control."

"Oh well I wanted to talk to you about that, I think you should get off it."

"What? Why?" Adriana gaped at him with wide eyes before it dawned upon her. "You want to have a baby? Are you fucking serious?"

"Why is that so surprising? We're a family now, with Mateo," Dean said seriously with a frown, making Adriana scoff.

"We are not a family," Adriana shook her head, gathering the folded clothes and standing up to put them away. "And you are not his father."

"Papá! Mamá!"

Mateo's shrill loud voice filled the room, stealing any opportunity for Dean to get mad at Adriana. His tiny self came bounding along, Simba toy in hand and a piece of paper in his hand. He ran up to Dean with a big grin, making Dean's hard, serious expression soften immediately. His strong arms scooped Mateo up against his chest, lips pressing against the boy's cheek lovingly before Mateo started babbling. He had drawn a picture of their 'family', Adriana, Mateo with his Simba toy, and Dean, all messily drawn but in a cute way.

"Also, mi sol!" Mateo added, making Adriana's heart drop and move to look at the drawing herself from between their heads. Mateo was pointing at the huge sun with green eyes he had drawn, hovering above the heads of the figures he had drawn.

"The sun, nice..." Dean trailed off with a frown. He still didn't like the idea of Mateo having an imaginary friend; he found it odd. Nonetheless, he smiled at his son and said, "it looks great, buddy."

"Te gusta, Mamá?" Mateo questioned with an adorable smile. Do you like it, Mamá?

"Sí, es incredible!" Adriana spoke with a nod, mirroring his smile and leaning in to peck his cheek. Yes, it's amazing.

"Mateo, you do know this mi sol thing isn't real, right?" Dean began to say to him, making his face fall while Adriana's hardened.

"Qué?" Mateo frowned with in confusion, wondering if Dean was trying to say that Harry didn't exist anymore. "No! Mi sol es real"

"Mateo-"

"Dean, stop it, don't upset him," Adriana said with a tight scowl on her face, immediately reaching out to take Mateo from him. "Look, you've made him cry!"

Mateo let out a sob, making Dean sigh in irritation, handing him over to Adriana. He had a scowl that matched hers; rolling his eyes when Adriana reassured Mateo that mi sol was real.

"I don't want my son to turn out retarded because he keeps thinking his dumbass imaginary friend actually exists," Dean spoke in irritation, making her widen her eyes at his crass language. Mateo cried harder at Dean's harsh tone, burying his face into Adriana's chest.

"Dean! Don't you dare speak that way in front of him," Adriana snapped back quietly, holding Mateo close to her chest. "Just leave already, don't you have somewhere to be?"

Dean glared at her quietly, not appreciating his tone before he turned to leave. Adriana sat down on the bed with her crying child in arms, flinching when she heard the door slam shut in an aggressive manner. Her lips parted to let out a heavy sigh, before looked down at Mateo who was staring at his drawing, specifically at the bright, happy sun. It hurt her heart immensely, immediately moving to hug her baby to her chest and kiss his hair.

"Don't listen to him, cariño. Mi sol is real," Adriana whispered against his soft, brown hair, sponging a kiss onto his hairline before tucking her fingers under his chin to make him look at her.

"Mamá, why did Papá say mi sol no es real?" Mateo sniffled sadly, looking at Adriana with his teary brown eyes and wet cheeks. Mi sol is not real.

"Papá hasn't met mi sol, that's why he thinks mi sol isn't real. He hasn't met him like we have," Adriana explained to Mateo, making him pout hard.

"M-Maybe, Papá should meet mi sol," Mateo suggested, making Adriana frown and shake her head. "W-Why Mamá? Why?" He began crying again.

"Papá won't like mi sol, and I told you baby, mi sol isn't coming back," Adriana told him with a sigh while he cried sadly.

"Mamá I want mi sol!"

Adriana managed to get him to stop crying soon enough by putting on Lion King and making some crêpes for him. They sat together and ate their crêpes together, while Adriana started getting sad because this reminded him of the mornings they spent with Harry this exact same way. She hated how emotional she got just by watching the movie, specifically the part Nala and Simba reunite and they play one of her favorite songs ever: Can You Feel The Love Tonight. She just missed Harry, so terribly, and wished that she could tell him that she still loved him.

Her thoughts quickly dissipated when she heard the doorbell go off. She mumbled for Mateo to stay where he was, but he barely heard, far too engaged with the movie. Her feet carried her to the door, assuming that it was Donnie because he was supposed to stop by today to discuss their plans of escape from Dean. When she opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise and her lips parted at the sight before her.

  It was Harry, standing there with this strange look on his face. He didn't say anything, his gaze had immediately gone straight to the bruises on her body that were fully exposed, the hand print on her neck, the ones on her wrist and arms. It confirmed a lot of his suspicions and filled him up with mixed feelings of dread, anger and fear. Adriana panicked internally, immediately parting her lips to speak.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned in a hushed tone, not wanting to alert Mateo.

"Adriana, you need to tell me what the hell is going on," Harry uttered lowly, taking a step forwards, causing her to step back. "Why the fuck are you covered in bruises?"

"I-It's nothing, honestly," Adriana denied with a shake of her head, but she was falling apart on the inside. "Everything's fine."

"You're lying," Harry deadpanned with a shake of his head. "You need to tell me the truth, he's hurting you, isn't he?"

Adriana's face contorted with frustration and sadness at the question he had just asked, giving away a lot of what she felt towards that question. Harry frowned deeply, stepping forwards and reaching out to touch her arm, and she immediately flinched. His gaze met hers, sympathetic and knowing as she sighed heavily, almost in defeat. He knew. He just couldn't understand why she didn't reach out to him, or the police or anyone at all. Even if it was because she feared Dean, she could've somehow told Harry. But he didn't understand how dangerous Dean was, and the ties he had to the police.

"Please Harry, just leave," Adriana told him quietly in a pleading tone, eyes silently begging him to do what she said.

"I'll leave, but I will call the police to report him," Harry said, making her heart immediately drop in her chest.

"No, you can't do that."

"Adriana-"

"I said no, Harry," she snapped a little loudly. "You can't do that, he'll find out!"

"Yeah he'll find out when he goes to fucking jail!" Harry exclaimed back with wide eyes, confused as to why she was acting this way. "Baby, please let me help you. Tell me what's going on."

"Harry, I-" Her words were cut off by a shrill voice crying out loud in excitement.

"Mi sol!"

Mateo thought he had recognized the voice coming out of the front door. When he had made his way to where his mother was standing, to see whom it was; words couldn't describe how happy he was to see his sun. The little boy pushed past Adriana, immediately running into Harry's jean-clad legs and wrapping his small arms around them with a gleeful giggle.

  Harry felt like he was seeing his own son after such a long time, so his heart was combusting in his chest at the sight of sweet Mateo all giggly and happy, hugging his legs. Harry reached down to pull Mateo away from his legs before he crouched down quickly and hugged him snuggly to his chest. Adriana was watching the two embrace with literal tears in her eyes, the two people she loved the most in her life were reunited.

"Mi sol I missed you so much!" Mateo pulled back and pouted at him. "Mamá said you left because you don't love her anymore."

"Mateo!" Adriana scolded him, making him stare at her with wide eyes and parted lips, noticing the tears and heavy emotion in her tone. She spoke again, voice breaking midsentence. "Don't...say that."

"I'm sorry, Mamá," Mateo pouted at her, while Adriana sighed heavily as she rubbed her eyes harshly. "Oh no, mi sol, Mamá is crying."

"Mateo, sweetheart, your mamá and I need to talk," Harry told him slowly, making the small boy frown.

"But I wanna talk to you," Mateo mumbled with a shake of his head, clinging to Harry.

"Mateo, no," Adriana shook her head, collecting herself and reaching out to take him. "Go inside, Harry was just leaving."

"No!" Mateo mumbled firmly, wrapping his arms around Harry and trying to climb onto him. "No! Mamá no!"

"Mateo, I think it's best if you go to your mother," Harry muttered a little awkwardly, heart aching when he pulled away from the child and pushed him a little towards Adriana who scooped him up in her arms.

He started crying again, and Adriana felt like crying too in frustration because Harry had suspicions and was never going to leave her alone unless she tells the truth. Even if she did tell the truth, he'd still stick with her and try to help her, which was dangerous because Dean would practically kill him if he found out who Harry was to Adriana.

"Mi sol, don't go!" Mateo cried loudly, making Adriana grimace before telling Harry to come inside since Mateo was going to attract attention. He threw his hands in Harry's direction, wanting him to carry him. "Por favor, Harry."

"It's alright, sweetie. I'll come back again soon," Harry told Mateo, making his crying cease for a moment. "Don't cry; I'll be back."

"Lo prometes?" Mateo mumbled with teary brown eyes. Promise?

"Lo prometo," Harry told him with a smile, making both his and Adriana's eyes widen a little because he spoke Spanish. "I-I was learning it for you guys when we were...together." I promise.

"Beso?" Mateo looked at him with pouty pink lips, making Harry frown, not understanding what he was saying. Kiss?

"He's asking for a kiss," Adriana mumbled, adjusting him on her hip.

"Aw," Harry smiled that adorable, dimpled smile of his and Adriana felt like she was kicked in the stomach. "Of course baby. Kissy for me too?"

Mateo giggled and nodded when Harry leaned in and pecked his cheek before Mateo returned the kiss. Adriana couldn't help but smile a little at the endearing moment, cold, dead heart warming up at the sight. Harry bid Mateo goodbye and Adriana carried him back inside to put him back down so that she could come back and talk to Harry in peace. Her mind tried to conjure up a thousand excuses that she could give Harry to assure him that she was fine, but she knew that none of them would work. What other reason could she give for the bruises on her body?

"Niall told me about yesterday night," Harry spoke as soon as she came back. "He explained how you reacted a bit differently to what he'd have expected, and well when he told me about it, it reminded me of those other times you'd be scared of me and not let me touch you."

"I know I was naive before, I couldn't read the signs then but...I can now," he looked at her, trying to read her expression but it was indecipherable. "Please, I'm worried about you. If you don't tell me, I have to go to the police so they'll at least conduct an investigation or something."

"No please just- whatever you do don't go to the police," Adriana sighed in frustration. "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."

She bit her lip and pondered, wondering when she will be free to go talk to Harry. Dean was coming back in late that night and it was currently the afternoon. She figured that she could go out right after lunch, get Jazmín to watch Mateo and come back by evening before Dean returns. Even if he returned early, she could make an excuse. Adriana told Harry when she'd come over, and it was a set plan.

She couldn't believe she was doing this; that she was going to tell him everything that was happening to her. She didn't even know if she was ready or not to talk about it, about the rape that's been happening. But she knew that she was tired of suffering, she needed help. Maybe she could convince him to help her come up with a plan, instead of rushing to the police irrationally and risking Dean finding out.

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Adriana's palms had turned clammy as she tucked them between her thighs while she sat in a very tense position on Harry's couch. Harry sat opposite her, grimacing a little at how awkward the situation was. She swallowed thickly, looking down at her hands. They were trembling. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip, pulling it into her mouth as she clenched her hands before she noticed the bruises on her wrists. The fucking bruises that gave it all away.

  She knew Niall must've been the one who put two and two together and told Harry to visit her; he was always a smart guy. Her lips parted to let out a sigh, silently telling herself that she needed to tell Harry everything. She felt like she owed it to him, after spending all this time hiding in the dark and never revealing her truest colors.

"How about we start by me asking a few questions?" Harry spoke up slowly, looking at her with soft eyes, when she didn't say anything at all. "Will that make it easier?"

"I-I guess so," Adriana muttered in response, making him nod.

"Alright, umm is Dean hurting you?" he asked before grimacing at his own question because it was obvious.

"You know what, I think I'll start from the beginning. From when I first met Dean," Adriana said instead of answering his question, making Harry nod at her words. "Dean actually went to the same school as the one we went to."

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I talked to Dean yesterday night," Harry suddenly brought up, making Adriana's face go pale. "He didn't recognize me from that...morning. He recognized me from school. He used to mentor me."

"Oh, so you know what he was like then," she said, slightly relieved that the encounter was just friendly and nothing more. "How nice and charming he was."

"He still seemed like that when I talked to him," Harry found himself saying, making Adriana's expression darken.

"I was exactly like that when I first met him, naïve and innocent. The boy I met then seemed like this incredibly charming, sweet guy on the outside. I fell in love with that guy, until later in our relationship he showed his true colors," Adriana said with a sigh. "I met him in freshman year of high school, back when I used to live with my father. Dean...he always tried to protect me from my father. When I turned 18, he bought an apartment for us because he didn't want me living with my father anymore. He saved me from him...but ended up being another monster altogether."

Adriana explained to him how the relationship was all sunshine and rainbows at the start. He was her knight in shining armor, always there for her when her father would abuse her. But there were signs of their relationship turning abusive, and she was too naïve to notice them. There was no one there for her to point it out for her too. She just felt like after such a long time she finally had someone who was there for her, so a part of it was her also ignoring the signs because she loved him. It was all emotional abuse at the start, with his possessiveness and jealousy, as well his constant habit of guilt-tripping her into doing things and staying with him. He'd always bring up the times he saved her from her father, and how he paid for her ballet classes and supported her dream of becoming a ballerina.

"I was such a stupid girl," she whispered with a shake of her head.

"Adriana, don't say that," Harry moved to sit next to her, but he still kept a little space between them. "Majority of the time people don't know they're in abusive relationships. It's so hard to get out of one too."

"Well I was stupid for believing that he was there for me, and that I wasn't alone anymore," she muttered bitterly, looking at her shaky hands again.

"You aren't now," Harry mumbled quietly, looking at her with soft, green eyes. His words made her heart ache in her chest, looking away out of uncertainty. She didn't believe him.

"Anyways," she continued awkwardly. "I lived with him until I turned 20, got pregnant and left. He didn't know that I was pregnant, and I tried to sneak out because I thought that because of the way he is, he'd never agree to breaking up with me. But he caught and weirdly enough, he let me go and to this day I still don't know why he did that. He never came looking for me after that. Getting pregnant was the final straw for me; staying with him meant I had to keep the baby. At the time, I wanted to get an abortion. But after I left I changed my mind. It was too hard, and I'm glad I didn't do it."

"Harry, he made me do a lot of things I didn't want to do, like cocaine," she sighed heavily, keeping her gaze averted because she was getting to the more difficult parts now. "His father was a drug lord, so he got access to a lot of cocaine. He loved doing it, but he never got addicted to it like I did. The first time I did it was at a part he practically forced me to go, and there in front of everybody he offered me some and I refused. I guess I was eventually peer-pressured into doing it by the other people at the party, including him."

"I loved that it helped me escape, Harry. From all the pain," she murmured, shuffling in her coat because it was too hot. She decided to take it off. Harry noticed the plaster on her arm, frowning with his lips parting to speak for a moment but he stopped himself. "That's how he found me, by the way."

"He took after his father in the drug business I guess, and the guy who beat you up, Donnie my dealer, he works for Dean. Donnie must've mentioned Mateo and I to him, and since Dean didn't know I was pregnant..." she trailed off, making Harry's face contort sadly.

"He came looking for you," Harry muttered with a sigh. "But I still don't understand. What happened that night he came? And why didn't you reach out to me or-or at least someone if he's still hurting you?"

Harry's words made Adriana's lips part to let out a sigh. She didn't really blame him for not understanding. Harry still thought that it was her father who raped or sexually abused her, not Dean. He was confused, everything in his mind was jumbled up and he needed answers. She didn't tell him that Dean raped her back when she was young so he didn't think that it was Dean that caused her to always flinch when another man touched her. Her explanation of her past only made it seem like he emotionally abused and manipulated her, which was the truth but not the whole truth. Harry knew that there was still something she wasn't telling him, and she could see that in her eyes when he looked at her with a reassuring look.

"Baby, don't cry," he whispered in a sad tone when he saw her dark eyes glistening with tears, hands trembling. "But I need to know what's happening so that I can help you."

"If I tell you," she started to say in a broken voice, looking at him with an incredibly pained expression on her face. "It'll hurt you, and I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"Oh Adriana," Harry looked at her with sympathetic eyes, shaking his head at her words. "I don't care if it'll hurt me, I just want to help, love."

She squeezed her eyes shut, throat tightening and hands turning sweaty. Her mind couldn't comprehend how she had the strength to stand up to Dean and accuse him of raping her, but at the same time have it all drain away when it came to telling someone else. Deep down inside, she felt ashamed, ashamed that it had been happening for over two years, and now currently occurring as well. Her mind would sometimes convince her that it was her fault that this was all happening to her, that she deserved it. It was her fault for trusting Dean in the first place, and giving him her all. Her heart was just filled with so much shame and guilt, she didn't want to ruin Harry by finally revealing the ugly truth about her: her true colors.

She felt like if she talked about how much she has suffered in Dean's hands, her words were giving him power. Her mind would crumble as a result of finally speaking up about what she's been through, and the only one with the upper hand at the end would be Dean. The emotions were all bubbling in the acidic juices at the pit of her stomach: guilt, shame, embarrassment, fear, and sadness. She felt like she was going to throw up. But she sucked in a breath and pulled herself together. You need to do this now, Adriana.

"I never cheated on you that day, Harry," Adriana mumbled ever so quietly, looking down at her hands because she didn't have the strength to look at him as she spoke. "I-I didn't cheat, but something did happen."

"If you didn't-" Harry began to say with a frown, before it dawned upon him. Tears sprung to his eyes when she finally looked at him, and he saw the answer written in her broken eyes. "No."

Her heart ached when he said 'no', because he realized but he was in denial because he needed to hear her say it to confirm it. But she felt her heart caving in when she formulated her next few words in her head, still unable to believe that she was going to say it. She didn't want to because of how hard it was, but she knew she had to because it was time. It was time for her to reach out and get the help she needs and deserves because if she were to continue carrying this secret on and suffering like this any longer, she wasn't going to make it. It was time for her to be strong, to gather up whatever courage she had left and let her voice be heard. It was time for her to speak up, for herself, for her sisters and brothers whom have all suffered the same way that she did. Time was up.

"Harry, I was raped."

≫≫≫

∙ she finally told him ): how was it you guys?

∙ sorry it took so long for me to post and with the chapter being too short for my liking. I just wanted to get this perfect, like portray Adriana's struggle with speaking up and everything. She goes more into detail in the next chapter tho!

∙ rape will forever be one of the cruelest things that can happen to a person. I have major respect and love for the survivors and victims, those who've shared their stories and haven't let the event reduce them.

Until we meet again...

Thiora ❤️