Marrying the Man in the Dark

“Mom hid her illness from us…”

Beckham lifted his gaze, his eyes drawn to the woman behind the glass isolation door.

It was the first time he’d seen her since their painful separation nineteen years ago.

He had yearned for her return for nearly two decades, clinging to the belief that she still loved. him, but he couldn’t understand why she’d leave him.

Beckham had always believed Charisa was under duress, forced to leave by some unspeakable circumstance, and that she would one day return.

But…

When he learned about Charisa from his father, a wave of guilt, helplessness, and regret washed over him.

Beckham ached for a reunion with Charisa, to make amends for the sacrifices she’d made over the past nineteen years, to embrace the daughter they’d created together.

His father mentioned her tarnished reputation, hinting that Charisa wouldn’t be accepted and regarded as Mrs. Tanner again, even if they reconciled.

It was no secret that Charisa had been involved with several men in the past, back when she was still a Miles.

care about her past.

knew Charisa had been coerced, violated, and mistreated.

it was

an unyielding force, resilient against the

setting foot in Adania, Beckham had painted countless reunion scenarios, envisioning them locked in a tearful embrace, their hearts pouring out

such dire circumstances, with Charisa lying unconscious behind a glass barrier. At the same time,

gazed upon the woman

flood of memories from their shared past and youthful days washed over him, back to their innocent

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had expressed her preference

and aspirations of becoming an independent musician and devoted himself to the Tanner family business.

But she….

ever expressed except for shielding

and now, what

there be any

father’s devastated form, Cherise’s hands clenched into tight

her pulled her into a

by the unexpected gesture, but