Believe Me

Believe Me is a novella in the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi, narrated by Aaron Warner and set two weeks after the fall of The Reestablishment, a fascist global regime. Warner, a former commander who defected to join the resistance, is engaged to Juliette Ferrars, known privately to him as Ella, the superpowered young woman who helped topple the regime. They live at the Sanctuary, a rebel compound protected by invisible sight-and-sound barriers maintained by Nouria, the camp's co-leader.

The novella opens on what is supposed to be Warner and Ella's wedding day. The couple is at a Supply Center shopping for replacement outfits after their friend Kenji Kishimoto accidentally destroyed Ella's handmade wedding dress and Warner's suit the night before. Warner seethes while Ella tries on a factory-made gown of polyester tulle, criticizing its quality before catching himself, embarrassed by his privileged upbringing. The wedding, originally planned for the morning, has been pushed to the evening. When Kenji arrives promising to fix things, Ella warns him that Warner will kill him, and she will help.

The group returns to the Sanctuary in a bulletproof SUV, navigating crowds of civilians who gather daily hoping for a glimpse of Ella, now a global figure. Warner uses his supernatural ability to sense others' emotions to scan for threats. Adam Kent, Warner's half-brother, meets them at the entrance and performs a power deactivation as a security precaution. Kenji turns invisible, extending his ability to shield the group as they pass through.

Inside the Sanctuary, Warner reflects on Ella's decision to reclaim the name Juliette, wanting to honor who she was when the world came to know her. Warner alone still calls her Ella, a private bond between them. Their friend Lily arrives carrying a small rescue dog. Ella takes the filthy animal into her arms and cries with joy; it is the first time she has ever held a dog without fear that her lethal touch might harm it. She passes the dog to Warner, who holds it without complaint because her laughter makes him happy.

Castle, the former leader of a previous rebel base called Omega Point, and his daughter Nouria pull Warner away for a private meeting. Warner reveals a debilitating new anxiety: After their return from Oceania, Ella was carried off the plane nearly dead and spent 10 of the past 14 days unconscious. Now, whenever Warner cannot see her, his mind convinces him she is dead. He forces a smile and walks away with trembling hands. On the path, Kenji reveals he has obtained the custom wedding rings Warner designed, having tracked down a jeweler while Warner refused to leave Ella's hospital bedside. Warner opens a dark blue velvet box to find an engagement ring with an antique diamond on an ultrathin gold band and a wedding band shaped like a fine golden branch bearing two tiny emerald leaves. Overwhelmed, he snaps the box shut and uses borrowed invisibility to walk away.

In the war room, Nouria argues that the Sanctuary desperately needs outside civilian workers. Warner refuses, insisting his empathic powers are fallible and that admitting strangers is reckless. Then Nouria delivers devastating news: The wedding must be postponed. She cites a sewage emergency, insufficient manpower, and the inability to spare the generator on a freezing night when children need heat. When Warner asks how long, Nouria is evasive, suggesting they wait until things calm down. Warner accuses her of using the postponement as leverage. Nouria, visibly guilty, reveals that the postponement was Ella's idea.

Warner retreats to a boulder overlooking the Sanctuary's graveyard, clutching the ring box. Ella finds him there, breathless from searching, and his body unclenches in her presence. She confirms the postponement is "technically true" but explains she discussed a contingency with Nouria days earlier and planned to tell Warner herself. She insists she has not changed her mind and wants to do it right, believing it matters more to him than he admits. Warner says he does not care and just wants her to be his family. They kiss until Kenji interrupts, needing Ella for a mysterious errand. She and Kenji leave. Warner stands alone as the sun sets with only the stray dog for company.

That evening, Warner gives the dog to Yara, a young woman at the Sanctuary who volunteers to care for it, then buries himself in work. In the dining tent, Sam, Nouria's partner and co-leader, confronts him: People across the continent are rioting against them, and Ella must tour the country to give people hope. Warner refuses. Sam tells him he is holding Ella back, revealing that Ella will not do anything risky until she is sure Warner can handle it. She calls him a callous narcissist. Warner absorbs the insults and leaves.

He lies awake on the hospital room floor that night when Ella returns past midnight. He senses her relief at finding him apparently asleep, interpreting it as happiness at not having to speak with him. He fingers his jade ring, a childhood gift from his mother and his only memento from that time, carrying memories of his father's beatings. The next morning, Warner wakes from nightmares to find Ella's bed empty. Winston, a friend, knocks at the door, his guilt and fear palpable, insisting he has a surprise. When Ella returns with coffee, they reconnect physically and emotionally for the first time in weeks. Afterward, she whispers that there is something she wants to show him.

They emerge to find their friends waiting. Ella grows nervous, rambling about wanting everything to be a surprise. Kenji finally shouts the truth: They are getting married today. Warner is stunned. He begins laughing, overwhelmed with disbelief and relief. Kenji congratulates him with quiet sincerity, and Warner senses clearly that Kenji wants him to be happy. Their schedules have been cleared; the entire event was orchestrated for days.

As the group moves ahead, Warner gives Ella the rings. Intensely nervous, he slides the engagement ring onto her finger. She gasps, then studies the wedding band's emerald leaves with tears in her eyes, saying they remind her of his green eyes. He explains the leaves represent the two of them, growing toward each other from opposite sides of the same path. Ella leads Warner to a residential street where one fully renovated house, painted white with pale sage green shutters, stands among decayed homes. Nouria expanded her protective barriers to encompass this formerly unregulated territory as the first phase of building a campus. Ella tells Warner she sees him, that she knows he needs quiet and privacy, and wants to give him peace and a home. Kenji announces the house next door is his.

Warner prepares for the wedding in a dark green suit Winston stayed up all night to make. James, Adam's younger brother, hugs Warner, who awkwardly pats the boy's head, shocking everyone. Warner realizes with quiet astonishment that he has acquired friends. In the backyard, a wildflower-draped wedding arch stands at the end of a petal-dusted aisle. Sam approaches to apologize, explaining that Nouria's deception was a security measure: News of the wedding was spreading, and Warner needed to believe it was cancelled so his communications would not be intercepted. Yara arrives with the stray dog, now clean and wearing a red collar tagged "DOG," the name Warner inadvertently gave it.

Warner takes his place under the arch. The collective emotions of the audience crash over him, triggering a panic attack. Kenji, standing beside him, talks steadily to fill Warner's head with manageable noise, and the tactic works. Sonya and Sara, Sanctuary members and former child prodigies, begin playing Pachelbel's Canon in D on recovered violins. Ella appears at the end of the aisle in a glittering gown, the Supply Center dress transformed overnight, its bodice shimmering with hand-sewn beads, her hair arranged beneath a long veil. Warner describes her as luminous, a spark of light separated from the sun. As she glides toward him, Warner smiles. "Believe me. I do," he whispers.