Chapter 3
James had seen her bleeding knees and the raw skin on her palms, and his eyes had filled with worry. He'd pulled her into his arms, and his voice had trembled slightly when he spoke. "I don't need you doing things like this for me. I just want you and the baby to be safe and healthy."
She'd smiled and fastened the lucky charm around his wrist. "The priest said a blessed charm like this can protect the person you love and keep them healthy for a hundred years."
Life was so uncertain, and she'd wanted her loved one to never suffer from illness.
He'd leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I'll wear it for the rest of my life."
But now he'd put that lucky charm on another woman's wrist, and he'd trampled all over everything Natalie's heart had held sacred.
His promise of forever had been nothing but a lie.
Tears blurred her vision, and she pressed her hand against the wound that was screaming with pain. Her steps were unsteady as she walked away.
She spent the next few days in the hospital, and her parents and Andrew never visited once. Not once did they ask if her wound still hurt.
James showed up every day like it was just another item on his to-do list, and he'd eat meals with her in silence. But every single night, he'd leave to be with Sophie, and he'd hold her close.
On the day Natalie was discharged, two bodyguards dragged her to Sophie's hospital room.
Sophie was leaning against James' shoulder, and she lifted her tear-filled eyes to look at him. "James, I don't blame Natalie for making fun of my hair falling out. Please let her go."
Natalie's eyes widened in shock, and she rushed to defend herself. "She's lying. I've never even seen her before."
James cut her off with a sharp voice. "Shut up. Sophie never lies."
He picked up a pair of scissors and tossed them at the bodyguards' feet, and his face showed absolutely no emotion. "Cut her hair off."
Natalie stared at James in disbelief, and she felt like she was drowning in the deepest part of the ocean.
Painful memories crashed over her like a tidal wave.
When she'd first arrived at the Bennett family estate, she'd been wearing work clothes that had been washed so many times they'd faded and wrinkled. Her cloth shoes were falling apart at the seams.
Sophie had been dressed in an expensive gown, and the moment she'd laid eyes on Natalie, she'd covered her nose. "Mom, Dad, she smells awful. And her hair is so messy. My friends all say kids from the countryside get lice in their hair."
One sentence, and her biological parents had immediately called someone to shave off all of Natalie's hair.
She'd hidden in the garden behind the Bennett Estate and cried, and James had stumbled across her while looking for Sophie. He'd handed her a handkerchief and offered her some polite comfort. "It'll grow back," he'd said.
After Sophie had mentioned that James liked girls with long hair, Natalie had never cut hers again. Not once.
When they'd gotten together, James used to hold her every night before bed, and his voice would go soft as he said, "I love your long hair, baby. Don't ever cut it."
All those tender moments had been nothing but smoke and mirrors.
One bodyguard pinned her down while another took scissors to her hair, hacking at it wildly. Thick strands fell to the floor in clumps.
Sophie watched with barely concealed triumph, and then she turned to James. "My head hurts. Will you stay with me while I sleep?"
James ordered the guards to stop. "Take her home," he said.
Natalie watched helplessly as James wrapped his arms around Sophie, the same way he used to hold her. Sophie acted all sweet and asked him to sing her a lullaby, and he agreed without hesitation.
That lullaby was the one Natalie had sung to him when he couldn't sleep because of his blindness. Now he was using it to comfort the girl he actually loved.
The irony was almost too much to bear.
When Natalie got home, she saw the handwritten wedding invitations on the table alongside the bouquet James had made. She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, and the tears came pouring out.
She cried until she had nothing left. Then she dragged herself to her feet and threw everything in the trash—the invitations, the bouquet, all the wedding favors.
She pushed open the door to the nursery she and James had decorated together, and soft blue and pink greeted her eyes.
She'd asked James once whether he wanted a boy or a girl.
James had wrapped his arms around her from behind and buried his face against her neck. "I'll love any child of ours," he'd whispered.
His fake affection had fooled her so completely.
Natalie dragged the crib out of the nursery, along with the stuffed animals and baby clothes, everything. She threw it all away.
After she'd finished clearing everything out, her phone kept buzzing. She pulled it out and saw a message from Sophie.
It was a family photo.
In the picture, Sophie wore a birthday hat and stood in the center, surrounded by her parents and James on either side.
Sophie: [So what if you're the real daughter? Everything you have belongs to me. You only deserve my leftovers.]
Sophie was right. The only reason Natalie had gotten those four years with James was because Sophie hadn't wanted him. Now that Sophie was back, it was time to return what had never really been hers.
Another message popped up, this time from James. [Make a mango cake and bring it to the hospital.]
The word "mango" hit her like a punch to the gut.
He knew she was allergic to mangoes, but he was still making her bake Sophie's favorite cake.
Natalie's fingers trembled as she typed out a reply. [Okay.]
If James hadn't given her that bread all those years ago, she might have ended up a criminal.
If her biological parents hadn't paid that 150 thousand dollars, she'd still be trapped in those slums with no hope of escape. Once she finished this cake, she wouldn't owe any of them a damn thing.