He Swore To Protect Me Novel by Lilith Grey _ Novel




He Swore To Protect Me Chapter 01

For the crime of intentional homicide, Tatiana Byrd spent a full decade in prison.
During that time, she endured endless humiliation and abuse. The other inmates beat her so viciously that her uterus prolapsed and her ankles broke. The only thing that kept her heart beating in that hellhole was a single, burning question she needed to hurl at Patrick Garza: "Why?"
Patrick had once been Tatiana's most loyal knight.
When she was in eleventh grade, a girl tried to bully her. The very next day, that girl's compromising photos were broadcast on the school's giant screen. Her reputation collapsed overnight.
Later, a senior obsessed with Tatiana attempted to drug and assault her. Patrick beat him so brutally that the boy was left paralyzed.
From then on, anyone who dared to hurt Tatiana faced Patrick's ruthless vengeance.
He did all of it because he had made a vow before her parents' graves.
"Mr. and Mrs. Byrd, I swear I'll protect Tiana forever."
From the time Tatiana was ten until she was nineteen, Patrick kept that promise.
He was her shadow, always trailing behind her, always watching, always guarding.
But when she turned nineteen, everything changed.
Patrick fell for Veronica Barrett, a dazzling, flamboyant heiress. Once, Veronica held a cigarette between her fingers and said, "If you can prove you love me to the absolute extreme, I'll be with you."
So Patrick stabbed her fiancé again and again, leaving him bleeding to death.
When the police arrived, Patrick shoved the knife into Tatiana's hand and accused her of murder.
Before she was dragged away in handcuffs, he gave her only one word: Sorry.
***
The day Tatiana was released, heavy snow blanketed the world in white.
Standing at the prison gates, she felt as though the world had become unfamiliar. And yet, she immediately recognized the man standing in front of the Rolls-Royce. Patrick wore a sharp black suit beneath a wool overcoat. At his side stood a beautiful woman, clinging to his arm.
"Tiana, I'm here to take you home."
Before she could fully process his voice, Patrick was already walking toward her, his fingers intertwined with Veronica's.
She stared at him without blinking. Ten years had erased his boyishness, replacing it with the composed gravity of a grown man.
"Patrick, why?"
Her voice was incredibly soft, without a trace of resentment.
Years ago, her parents had died shielding him from his enemies. Afterward, he took ten-year-old Tatiana and began a life of wandering. They had lived under bridges, fought rats for food, and huddled together in the snow to keep each other warm.
Later, to pay her tuition, Patrick worked three jobs a day until he coughed up blood from exhaustion.
She had cried for him, but he just wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I'm already ruined, Tiana. But you still have a future worth fighting for."
She couldn't understand. They had been the closest people in the world. Why would Patrick put her behind bars for ten years for another woman?
A flicker of guilt crossed Patrick's eyes. "I'm sorry, Tiana. Back then, I was head over heels for Vera. I'd never seen anyone so radiant, so dazzling. Every little thing she did made my heart race. Even if she had asked me to die, I would have done it gladly.
"I couldn't stand the way those men leered at her. I knew that if I went to prison, she would definitely marry someone else.
"Tiana, I couldn't take that risk. I know it was unfair. I'll make it up to you."
As he spoke, he tightened his arm around Veronica's shoulders.
Veronica shot him a coy, playful glance. "I only said that on a whim back then. I didn't expect you'd actually stab my fiancé for me. You know what? That was exactly when I fell in love with you."
Then she turned to Tatiana, her tone dripping with condescending charity.
"Don't look so miserable. Ricky set aside a nice house for you, plus 2 million dollars in cash. Ten years in prison for that is quite a bargain. Plenty of people would jump at the chance. Honestly, you should feel lucky."
But these "compensations" meant nothing to Tatiana.
She had terminal esophageal cancer, and she had only one month left.
In the end, she whispered just one word, "Okay."
"It's too cold, Tiana. Let's get you home first," Patrick said.
Then he led Veronica away, the two of them laughing and chatting, completely oblivious to the fact that Tatiana was limping behind them. Every step she took was a feat of agony.
The Rolls-Royce glided toward the Barrett's mansion.
It was a sprawling, opulent estate, teeming with bodyguards and staff. It was the kind of life Tatiana and Patrick had once dreamed about. But he had already been living it for years.
In these ten years, she was the only one who had suffered.
When they stepped out of the car, Veronica suddenly blocked her path at the entrance.
"Tatiana, stay right there.
"I'm a bit of a germaphobe. You're fresh out of a filthy prison, so you need to wash yourself clean before you're allowed inside."
Tatiana knew this was just another way for Veronica to humiliate her.
The temperature was nearly twenty degrees below zero. A cold shower in this weather would be a death sentence for her frail body.
So she managed a polite smile. "Actually, I don't have to get in."
Veronica mistook it for defiance and scowled.
"Stop playing the victim. Didn't you shower with cold water in jail?"
Tatiana realized Veronica had misunderstood.
She glanced instinctively at Patrick and found him looking back with a faint apology.
"Tiana, I've spoiled Vera rotten.
"It's just a shower. Bear with it, okay?"
Seeing Patrick defend Veronica, Tatiana felt dazed for a moment.
Then, she realized that the man in front of her was no longer the boy who would always protect her.
"Since I'm not going in, I suppose there's no need for the shower.
"Thank you for the kind offer."
With that, Tatiana turned to leave.
"Tatiana, are you still blaming me?"
Patrick's voice barked out, stopping her. "I told you I'd make it up to you. What more do you want?"
Tatiana stopped and asked in a calm voice, "Did I kill someone? Did I make you serve ten years? Did I beg to enter the mansion?"
Her three questions hit him like physical blows, turning his guilt into a defensive, explosive rage.
"Today, you must wash yourself clean."

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