<h4>Chapter 424: 424-My Mate Suffered And I Had No Idea</h4>


    <strong>Clementine:</strong>


    "What happened? Why are you looking at me like that? It feels like I said something truly shocking," I asked in confusion, pouting as I kept staring at his face.


    He started to pull away from my chest.


    "Already? What is it? You’re scaring me now," I said as I followed him, trying to get up from the ground.


    He held his hand out to support me. My dress was heavy, so any help was appreciated. Once I was on my feet, I watched him scratch the back of his neck.


    "It’s about one of your mates," he started, and I frowned.


    "Is it Troy?" I asked, because Troy was the messiest one. He always managed to upset Ian somehow.


    "No, not really. It’s Yorick."


    As soon as he said that, I ced my hands on my waist, wondering what kind of trouble Yorick could have caused. Yorick was not known for getting into trouble, so that felt strange.


    Then Ian turned around and gave me a brief nce.


    "It’s about Yorick and Oriana."


    The moment he said their names together, I sighed and nodded, almost as if I already understood what he was about to say.


    "I mean, I get it," I started. "I just don’t think he should be with her. She’s too cunning for someone like him. I thought he would be upset that she yed him."


    The words kept spilling out. I wasn’t rambling without reason. I was trying to be understanding.


    I had already chosen my mate. I would never tell Yorick not to choose Oriana. But it would mean Yorick and I could never talk again, never even be friends, because he knew what she had done.


    While all of these thoughts were swirling in my head, Ian shook his head again. This time, I realized it was apletely different situation.


    I just didn’t know how bad it was until he spoke again.


    "She used him of forcing himself on her."


    The words hit me hard.


    I stared at his face for a few seconds, then raised my finger and squeezed one eye shut.


    "No. No. That can’t be," I said. "What?"


    I couldn’t even find the right words.


    Ian began to tell me everything that had happened and what Yorick had been used of. The minute he finished, I started to shake my head aggressively and began to pace around anxiously.


    "That’s not possible. Yorick would never do that," I said. "You know Oriana better than I do. She’s a liar. She has lied before. She tried to—"


    I stopped and took a deep breath to calm my nerves.


    "If anything, I don’t understand why she wasn’t punished for trying to force herself on them by hypnotizing them. You know that was wrong too," Iined, watching Ian look at me with guilt in his eyes.


    He instantly looked down and wrapped his hands behind his back.


    "And you took so long to tell me this," I added. "Ian."


    I did not understand why he hadn’t told me immediately.


    "Actually," he said softly, still not looking at me, "there was a witness."


    "Who?" I asked, crossing my arms and tapping my foot against the ground. "Who was it?"


    "Miss Rue."


    The name barely left his lips before he seemed to realize how bad it sounded. He bit his tongue, closed his eyes, and made a quiet sound of frustration.


    "Oh, fuck," he muttered, stretching his neck back and staring at the ceiling.


    "Exactly," I snapped. "I can’t believe this. That woman and Oriana should never have crossed paths. And look at the result. Oh my God. Poor Yorick."


    I pped my forehead.


    "We can go now," Ian started, but I raised my palm to stop him.


    "No, Ian. You should have told me already. We don’t know what they did to him over there. The amount of hatred, the shame, everything he must have gone through."


    I paused, cing one hand on my back and the other on my forehead.


    "Do you have the key?" I asked, straightening my posture.


    "Yeah. Oh, wait. I had the key," Ian said, patting himself down. When he looked up, he must have noticed how tightly I was clenching my jaw, because he lifted a finger. "Wait. It’s in my old clothes."


    He ran toward the room where he had changed.


    I continued pacing, my thoughts racing. If he had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted a second.


    I would have gone back and exposed Miss Rue. With her credibility destroyed, no one would have believed her or Oriana.


    I didn’t like questioning victims, but some people could not be trusted. Oriana was one of them.


    The fact that no one had even confronted her for forcing herself on others back then almost made my head spin.


    Ian returned, holding the key.


    "She—Miss Rue—gave me this," he started. "Rue gave me the key to open the fence—"


    I began walking past him before he could finish.


    "Okay. It’s fine," he said quickly. "You don’t have to talk to me. I fucked up."


    He kept talking behind me.


    I knew it wasn’t entirely his fault, but he should have told me. What if Yorick had already been punished? I couldn’t stand the thought of celebrating my wedding while someone innocent was being used of something so cruel.


    I walked faster, holding my skirt up. When I turned, I saw Ian grab the fabric from behind. I shrugged it free and kept moving.


    He ran after me.


    "He’ll be fine," he said.I didn’t answer. I went straight into the woods until I reached the fence. It was the same fence where Miss Rue had shot me before.


    I stepped aside while Ian went ahead and opened the fence. Just a few stepster, I was back on the maind.


    He quickly shut the fence behind us, and then we both stood there in silence. The air felt so fresh that I was surprised by the difference between just a few steps from one side to the other.