Chapter 3
We hadn't shared a bed since Lily died.
We barely spoke anymore.
I'd never been much of a talker, and after this? I had nothing to say to anyone.
As for Nathan—after losing the woman he loved, he shuffled around like a ghost. Some days he wouldn't say a word to me.
I'd spent over two hours on my makeup hoping to cheer him up. For nothing.
Furious and heartbroken, I lay awake for hours. Finally, I got up and wandered the house.
I found Nathan in the study, hunched over his desk, writing something. His expression was both grief-stricken and determined.
While he was in the bathroom, I worked up the nerve to slip inside. There on the cherrywood desk was his will, bearing his signature.
He was leaving everything to Lily's daughter, Emily Carter.
The house. The cars. All his shares, funds, and cash.
He'd meticulously listed every bank card—account numbers, balances, passwords—like he was terrified of missing a single penny.
Even our kids' education funds. Gone.
I was livid.
He knew I didn't have a job. No parents. No savings. And he was leaving everything to Emily?
Was he planning to throw me and the kids to the wolves?
Wasn't it a man's job—as a son, a father, a husband—to take care of his family before he died?
Shouldn't he at least make sure we'd survive after he was gone?
Even if he was blinded by love, how could he be this cruel?
I tore the will to shreds.
Then I kicked open the bathroom door. "You want to die? Fine. Go ahead. But what gives you the right to hand over everything we built to some outsider? Or is Emily actually your daughter?"
Nathan looked shocked and furious, hastily scrambling to pull up his pants.
"What the hell are you saying? Lily's dead, and you still want to trash her name? She was your best friend—do you even have a heart?"
Say what he wanted about me, but I'd never lied to anyone or used anyone.
The real heartless ones were Nathan and Lily.
A married man, pining after another man's wife.
A married woman, fooling around with her best friend's husband.
Did they really think I was that stupid?
Furious, I slapped Nathan hard across the face.
"You're such a coward! Ready to die for her but too scared to admit you love her. No wonder she rejected you."
Nathan, who'd been yelling seconds before, went quiet. All the fight drained out of him. His eyes went dead.
He said, "You're right. If I'm not afraid of dying, why should I be scared to say I love her?
"I love Lily. She's the only one I've ever loved."
I'd pushed Nathan to finally tell the truth. And with that, I killed the last bit of hope I had left.
He never loved me. Not for a second. Not even a little.
I'd gone my whole life without ever being loved by anyone.
I told him straight up—I wanted a divorce, and I was dead calm about it.
"The kids, the house, the money—it all stays with me. You're leaving with nothing."
After what they put me through, I wasn't giving up a single cent.
Nathan flat-out refused.
"Emily just lost her mother, and her father's drowning in debt. If I leave her nothing, what's she supposed to do? You watched that kid grow up. Don't you feel anything for her?"
Feel for her?
Who the hell felt anything for me and my kids?
Even if the Carter family went broke, Emily wasn't going to starve or be homeless.
Did she really need him—a complete outsider—to save her?
"Are you really sure Emily isn't your daughter? Did you ever get a paternity test? I mean, her eyes look just like yours—maybe she's actually yours."
I wasn't trying to trash a kid, but the way Nathan was acting made me wonder who her real father was.
Who would go this far for someone else's child?
"Enough! Say one more word and I'll make you regret it."
Nathan's eyes bulged with rage, veins popping on his forehead.
His fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.
No doubt, if I pushed him any further, he'd come swinging.
We'd been together eight years, and Nathan had never been this angry with me.
I totaled his brand-new luxury car—he didn't even raise his voice. He was so worried I'd be traumatized that he got me the best therapist.
My mother scammed me out of an apartment—he never blamed me. When I was too upset to eat, he cooked all my favorites just to cheer me up.
But now? Just suggesting Emily might be his daughter, and he was ready to hit me.
How much did he love Lily?
A dead memorable crush. How could I compete with that?
I backed down. "Fine. I want half of everything."
Worried he'd still refuse, I added, "The kids are young. There's a lot they'll need as they grow up."
Even though the doctors said my son was fine after surgery, who could guarantee that?
Nathan still said no.