One year, one love by Aurora Miller

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Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Tears welled up in Laura's eyes, but instead of breaking down, she let out a hollow laugh. The sound was bitter,

full of disappointment.

“Waaaah!” Arianna burst into tears, her tiny voice trembling with fear. “Bad Daddy! You hit Mommy! | hate

Daddy!”

Sofia immediately pounced on the moment and scowled at Laura. “You see what you've done? You've poisoned

Ari against her own father! What kind of mother lets that happen? You don’t deserve to be a mother!”

Laura didn’t bother responding to Sofia’s accusations. Her focus was elsewhere. “Sofia, can you giveback

the things Doris bought for me?” she said firmly, her voice shaking slightly but holding its ground.

Sofia crossed her arms and sneered, “What's in this house is part of this house. It’s ours now. I'm not giving them

back. What are you going to do about it?”

Laura's fists clenched at her sides, her knuckles turning white. She locked eyes with Sofia, refusing to back

down.

Sensing the tension, Sofia taunted Laura further. “Oh, what? You wanna hit me, huh? Go ahead, Laura. Show

everyone what kind of daughter-in-law you are.”

Laura straightened up and turned toward the stairs, saying, “Fine. Then I'll go to your room and get them

myself.”

Sofia’s jaw dropped in mock outrage, and she yelled, “Matteo, look at your so-called good wife! Does she even

seeas your mother? You can’t even control her, huh?”

Matteo’s expression turned serious as he stormed after Laura. Grabbing her wrist roughly, he yanked her toward

their

bedroom.

Arianna, watching the scene unfold, screamed, “Mommy! Mommy!”

Trying to stay calm for her daughter, Laura forced a smile through the pain. “Ari, don’t worry. Mommy's okay.”

Arianna broke free from Sofia’s grasp and tried to run up the stairs, but Sofia blocked her path and threatened.

“Stay out of it, Arianna. Your mother’s getting what she deserves.”

“Letgo! | gotta help Mommy! I'll protect her!” Arianna cried, wriggling against Sofia’s grip.

Sofia glared at Arianna, her voice cold and harsh. “Your mother’s being punished for not listening. If you act like

her, your father will punish you too.”

“You and Daddy are bad people! | hate you both!” Arianna sobbed, kicking and flailing.

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“Ugh, stop crying! You're so noisy,” Sofia shouted. She scooped up Arianna, carried her to her room, and dumped

her on the bed. “Well, cry all you want. See if anyone cares!”

With that, Sofia locked the door and walked away. She crept to Matteo and Laura’s bedroom, pressing her ear to

the door to eavesdrop.

Inside, Matteo’s voice was like ice. “Laura, | work hard and raise you, and now you think you can stand up to my

mom? You've really gotten bold.” Matteo ripped off his tie and glared at Laura. “You need to learn what respect

means. | must teach you a good lesson.”

He grabbed her hair and yanked her down, throwing her to the floor. His fists and kicks chard and fast,

anger fueling every blow.

Laura wasn’t strong enough to fight back. All she could do was curl into a ball, using her arms to shield her head

as best she could.

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Chapter 29

She bit her lip so hard that it nearly Merd, and the did her best to corallone ber cries. She didn’t want Arianna to

hear her screams. Tears streamed down her face, silent but unstoppable

Eventually, Matteo grew tired. He stood over her parting “Listen, Laura, from now on, show my mom the respect

the deserves. If | catch you acting up again, | beat you twice as hand. Got it?”

Laura lay motionless on the floor, her body aching from head to toe. She didn’t have any strength to respond to

Matteo’s

warning

“Stop pretending Matteo sneered, kicking her one last time. He then ordered, Tm hungry. Go make dinner for

me.”

Laura couldn’t even move her fingers at all. Each struggle to stand up made her feel like her bones were falling

apart.

After venting his anger, Matteo left the room without waiting for a reply.

Downstairs, Sofia was already waiting at the dining table with a smug smile on her face. She had set out the

chicken soup Laura had prepared earlier. Once Sofia saw her son walking down, the immediately said, “Matteo,

con and drink ssoup,

Matteo sat down and grabbed the bowl Sofia passed to him. As he ate, Sofia beamed.

“You handled her perfectly, son. Women can’t be spoiled. If she doesn’t listen, you have to put her in her place.

Trust me, a few beatings, and she’ll behave. Without you, she wouldn't even survive.”

Upstairs, Laura lay on the floor for a long time, her body trembling with pain. Through the ringing in her ears, she

thought she heard Arianna’s cries. Slowly, painfully, she forced herself to her feet and staggered toward her

daughter's room.

She turned the lock and pushed the door open. Arianna’s tear-streaked face lit up when she saw Laura Arianna

cried, running toward her. “Mommy!”

Laura tried to catch Arianna, but her strength gave out, and they both tumbled to the floor.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Arianna asked, her small hands holding onto Laura's shoulders for support.

“I'm fine, sweetheart. Mommy's fine. Laura pulled her daughter close, gazing into her innocent face.

Arianna’s big eyes studied Laura’s bruised forehead, and her expression twisted with worry. “Mommy, does it

hurt? | can make it better. Letblow on it.”

She leaned in, her tiny lips puffing out gentle breaths onto Laura's forehead. “Mommy, it won't hurt anymore.

See? Just like magic.

Laura gave Arianna a soft smile, her heart aching and warm all at once. She wrapped Arianna in a tender

embrace and replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Thank you, Ari

In the darkness of her life with the Webb family, Arianna was Laura's only source of light.

“Mommy, Arianna said firmly, “I'll eat properly and grow up to be strong. Then | can protect you.”

Laura’s eyes stung with fresh tears. “Good girl.”

“I love you, Mommy.”

“Mommy loves you too.”

Meanwhile, Doris was on the subway, her thoughts swirling with everything she had witnessed. Sofia’s cruel

behavior toward Laura weighed heavily on her heart. She couldn't stop wondering how she could truly help her

sister.

When she finally got home, the apartment was dark. Lewis wasn’t back yet, yet her stomach was growling.

Giving in to

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Chapter 29

hunger she made herself a quick hot dog and scaffed in down.

Just as she finished. Lewis werktesh in. Be took a seat on one of the bar stools, his face calm but curious. “You

went to see

Laura Howe is she?

She’s not okay. Not even close, Doris said with a heavy sigh. “I dated Ryan for three years, and then he went

behind my buck and got engaged to someone else.

Maneo promised to wet Laura lie queen, but now look at her-she quit her job to focus on the family, and all she

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gets in return is disrespect. Manee’s mother treats her like garbage, throwing insults like she’s nothing.

Don’t even getstarted on my dad. He never respected my mom, not once. His word was law, no matter how

unfair it

Honesty, what do women even get out of marriage? It’s like poison-no, worse, it’s toxic waste! | swear, all | want

now is to work hard, make a million dollars, and retire early”

Lewis could tell Doris had been deeply angered. He leaned forward to ask in a gentle voice, “Does Laura need

my help? If she’s being mistreated. I'm here for her. I'm your husband now, so she’s family. If someone’s giving

her trouble, we must stand up for ben.”

Doris bunked at him, momentarily taken aback. She knew Lewis had no obligation to involve himself in her

sister's mess, yet he offered his support without hesitation. She felt a flicker of gratitude for his sense of

responsibility.

Laura and Mameo need to figure it out themselves. It’s their business, anyway,” she finally replied. “Marriage is

complicated. Even as her sister, | can’t just step in.”

She sighed. Tm tired. I'll head to bed. At least | can get a day off tomorrow.”

Doris had barely started enjoying her long-awaited chance to sleep in, yet a loud, urgent knock shattered her

peace early the next morning. She groaned, fumbled for her phone, and found it was only 8 a.m.

“Coming,” she replied groggily while shuffling toward the door. When she opened it, something furry and fast

launched itself at her, clinging to her pants.

Doris let out a startled scream, nearly falling over. “Oh my! What the-? You again?!” She looked down to see that

familiar corgi gnawing at her pants.

“Biscuit, chere. Lewis's voice called from the hallway. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom, gesturing at

the little dog

Biscuit immediately let go of Doris and trotted over to Lewis, wagging his tail like he'd just found his best friend.

He rubbed his head against Lewis's leg, clearly very pleased with himself.

Lewis crouched down, scratching Biscuit behind the ears. “Good boy. You know she’s not a dog person. Don’t

scare her.”

As soon as Biscuit left her room, Doris slammed the door shut, leaving only a tiny crack open. She peeked out

and asked, “Why is he even here??

Las

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