Irene moves around picking up the photos for a second time within in that day. Her eyes avoiding those of her husband.
"Babygirl what did you leave out." Irene stifled a sob as she turned around to further avoid him. "When Suho got angry ...he would beat me." Jackson's eyes widened as he looked towards her. "He would punish me for acts of defiance. He would torture me to make sure I stayed in line. It was a superiority complex, he tortured me because he enjoyed my pain, and the fact that I wouldn't give in, it made him love it more to the point he would tie me to a chair and shoot bullets at me." She heard Jackson take a sharp breath. "They would pour alcohol onto the wounds to make them burn. They would make me beg for forgiveness and a promise that I wouldn't do it again. But I did. Jackson I couldn't let those people die. So I continued to do it, and the punishments got worse..." she looked down to the floor. "He raped me." Jackson's eyes began to water. "He raped me constantly. And I got pregnant. And when my uncle found out he was scared that Suho would stop what he was doing, that maybe that baby would be his redemption, that it might soften the tyrant into a human being and so he killed my baby, he forced disinfectant down my throat and it washed my baby away in seconds nearly killing me at the same time, Suho never knew, he was adamant to keep it hidden and so that's what happened, it was erased from hospital files and the doctors were given money to keep their mouths shut, it was hard managing that and then the army life and it became to much. I had no one, the boys always knew there was something wrong and so I told them bits but never in full detail, Wends,Suel and Joy know bits but I couldn't bring myself to tell them, Dad doesn't even know what his own brother did, how together they both destroyed my life alongside the man who I was willing to marry at one point." She said the tears now flowing from her eyes openly. Jackson struggled to process what he had just heard, his mind realising that this was the past that she kept running from. This was what she had feared and now he understood, the way she would sometimes unconsciously tense when he held her, how fed up she would sometimes look with the dealings of life, how she struggled to sleep. It all made sense, the dots finally connecting. His eyes turned back to his wife his arm moving out to pull her closer. "No Jack don't..don't touch me I'm impure." His eyes flashed up angrily. "Don't you dare Irene. You are not impure. Your the purest thing in my life, in this world. Its them who are impure, they were ones that tainted you but that hasn't dimmed your colour one bit Babygirl. Your a warrior by heart, every single day you smile through the pain. Every day despite how much it might hurt you, you stand up and fight and I love you for it. You've been so strong. You've fought bravely Babygirl but you don't need to now. Let me fight for you. Let me do this." Irene looked at him. "No he will hurt you.." she choked out. "I can't let you." She continued. "Rene." He called out softly. "I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to do this Rene and I'm sorry but I'm going to do it even if you don't want me to. You have done so much Babygirl, you don't need to go through it again." He pulled her closer sitting up and pulling her into his chest as she sobbed against him. He ignored the pain that he experienced in his shoulder adamant to be there for her in the best way he could, he held her as tightly as he could, whispering softly into her ear and kissing her forehead. He felt her finally collapse against his chest falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion from everything that had happened in the couple of days. He sighed, looking down at her form that hung to him for dear life. How could she have gone through that all alone and still act like it was nothing? He finally understood her need to be better, the constant looking for acceptance made sense. This man had made her feel like she was nothing, he had broken her resolve over and over again. He had taken her love, her heart that she had willingly given to him and ripped it to shreds in front of her eyes. He had looked her in her eyes played her heart and tortured her to the point where she was numb on the inside. Jackson looked up at the ceiling his own eyes watering as he thought to about her pain, how hard it must have been to stare her own family, her own blood in the eyes begging for him to help her and receiving nothing but a cold shoulder in return. Her uncle, who was supposed to be like a second farther to her essentially tied her hands and watched as his brothers daughter undergone all the torture from a man who was supposed to be the one. The deep resentment that Jackson held for Suho had seemingly become deeper with each passing second, he cursed him in his mind over and over again thinking of a hundred different ways to kill this man, to satisfy not only his heart but the pain she had forcefully endured over the years even when Suho had left, he haunted her and Jackson didn't need to be told in order to work that out, he could see it in her eyes as she narrated the events to him, the scars that Suho had left on her heart were nasty but Jackson's promised to himself he would love them, every single part of her he would love her, even if she tried to push him away he wouldn't go, he would continue to fight, he would get justice for her years of suffering. Jackson wiped away at the tears looking back down at his wife. He was proud to call her his wife, he was proud to know that despite what she had gone through she pulled through for herself, she had continued to fight, to live even if she couldn't see the light or the hope anymore, she got up every morning brushed away the tears and the pain and stood in front of the world to take another serving, yet he could feel the bitter resentment at himself. How could he have put her through the shit he did for so many months? and she....she took everything silently. He cursed himself looking back at her. He would make everything right. He would love her wholeheartedly, he would cherish the broken shards of her heart and over time he would fix his mistakes. He would eradicate Suho's years of torment as best as he could. He would hold her when she fell, he would walk by her side and behind her to ensure that she was safe. He moved a lock of hair away from her eyes. He would love her.

He saw Wendy from the corner of his eye. "She told you?" Jackson nodded. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. "How is she still standing after everything?" "Because she is Irene. It's what she does Jackson, god almighty could come down himself to strike her but he crafted her. He made her into the strongest warrior ever and this is what she is known for. She takes everything, every blow, every punch, every kick and she will shake it off and resume life." Wendy looked at Irene smiling slightly. "But as much as she hides it, she is affected by the demons of her past Jackson, she built her walls so goddamn high that no one could climb them for so long. I'm just glad that she has finally opened up to someone." Wendy and Jackson smiled at each other. "How's the pain?" She asked. "Still quite tender but I'm more concerned about her." He said signalling to Irene. Wendy nodded smiling. "I'll give you a higher dose in an hour..." "Not going to Mark today..." he asked cheekily as Jackson wiggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed. "I will just a bit later, he is busy too, his best friend got shot at multiple times and then his sister has just dropped a past bomb on him, he needs time to process it and he knows I'll be there when he wants to talk." Jackson smiled at her. "Did you know about Suho?" He asked. "Me Seul and Joy knew fragments of it, not the extent of the torture but we knew the basics like the rape and the baby stuff. She didn't want to tell Yeri because she didn't want to expose her to that kind of stuff, she sees her like her little sister and she wanted to protect her as much as she could." Jackson nodded. "Thank you for being there for her." Wendy looked at him. "She's the one that's always been there for us Jack. We are sisters, the only thing I regret is not being part of her life sooner to hold her hand through this." Jackson smiled, grabbing her hand in his own. "Thanks wends. Mark better treat you right, if he doesn't let me know I can scare him a bit." She laughed squeezing back. "I'll hold you to that Jack." "Call me Kuya..." he said. "All four of you." He said as his eyes spotted the other three who had been listening in. Wendy's eyes softened as the other girls joined. "You said Irene is your sister. Well then that makes me your brother in law. So call me Kuya." The girls smiled at him as Irene moved slightly. "We will." They said with bright smiles. Jackson smiled at them. "We will leave you guys to it. And also Kuya..." Jackson smiled. "Give him hell from us too." They smiled at each other passing a look over to Irene who snuggled further into his chest. A silent promise between them all to protect this angel.

TBC

Authors note:
Hey guys. So that past has been uncovered. Lol, I hope it lived up to your expectations and if it hasn't I apologise I'll try to be better promise. Let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section below, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say. Lots of love and stay safe xx