Chapter 5

She started to refuse, but then she spotted several bodyguards heading her way. James had a thousand different ways to force her to drink that wine, and she knew it.

Her hands shook as she took the glass and drained it in one gulp. Fire exploded in her stomach, and cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Sophie smiled, clearly satisfied with herself. "Natalie, you've been in these social circles for so long and you still can't handle your wine." She grabbed James' arm and pulled him toward another table.

Natalie pushed through the pain and made it to the bathroom, where she immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror and touched her face, only then realizing that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

She washed the blood from her lips and the tears from her face with cold water. As she was leaving the estate, she passed by the banquet hall again and heard Sophie's voice drifting out.

"James, have you actually fallen for Natalie? Why else would you still want to marry her?"

James' friends all started talking at once, trying to explain.

"Sophie, everyone in Northbridge City knows how much James loves you," one of them said. "After you left for overseas, he drank himself half to death every single night. Natalie followed him around like a lost puppy for four years, taking care of him better than any nurse could've, and he never once felt anything for her."

Another friend jumped in. "When we found out you had leukemia, James came up with this whole plan to save you. He had someone drug Natalie's drink at the party, but when it came down to it, he couldn't actually go through with betraying you. So he took some medication that would hurt his own body first, and that's how Natalie ended up pregnant."

A third guy added, "The wedding's just for show. I'm the one who got them the fake marriage license. James only did all this to make it up to Natalie somehow. Once he feels like they're even, he's walking away."

Natalie stared at James, her eyes red and burning. "James, is everything they're saying true? You never cared about me at all? You only got close to me so you could save Sophie?"

James' expression was complicated, and his gaze dropped to the hand that had been holding hers just moments ago.

Finally, he nodded.

So the night she'd almost been assaulted was his doing all along.

Every word hit her like thunder, making her ears ring. Grief and despair and betrayal churned together in her chest until she thought she might drown in it.

That first night they'd been together, James had whispered her name so gently. Every kiss he'd placed on her skin had felt tender and real.

Natalia had pushed away all her doubts and told herself she was just being paranoid in the heat of the moment.

That same night, James hadn't come home. Sophie's social media showed him making her soup at her place.

The next day, James picked Natalie up to go try on wedding dresses.

When she walked out of the dressing room wearing the main dress, she found Sophie sitting next to James with her arm looped through his.

"James, this dress looks so beautiful on her, but it doesn't really suit her, does it? Why don't you give it to me instead?" Sophie pouted.

James couldn't resist Sophie's pleading, and he nodded before turning to Natalie. "She's right. This dress doesn't work for you. Go try on a different one."

Natalie didn't say a word. She walked back into the dressing room and numbly took it off.

James had commissioned a famous designer to custom-make that dress to her exact measurements, but the stomach cancer and the C-section had left her nothing but skin and bones. The dress hung loose on her frame.

Later, James took her to pick out rings, and Sophie used the same manipulative tricks to take the diamond ring that had been designed for Natalie.

When James stepped out to take a video conference call, Sophie turned to her with a smug, triumphant look on her face.

"Natalie, I heard from Mom and Dad that you wanted to know where your baby was buried."

Natalie slapped Sophie's hand away, and her voice came out hoarse and raw. "Don't touch me."

Sophie's face darkened, her eyes gleaming with challenge. "You didn't know, did you? Mom and Dad had someone else handle it days ago. Even I don't know where they put your kid."

She lifted the diamond necklace at her throat. "The other day I said how sad it was about your baby, shed a few tears, and James bought me this."

As a mother, Natalie's grief shook through her entire body. Even her fingertips trembled. But more than the pain, there was rage. A rage that wanted to tear everything apart.

She swung her hand without hesitation and slapped Sophie hard across the face.

Sophie took the blow without so much as a flash of anger. She even smiled.

"Go ahead, hit me. It won't change anything. Your baby's gone. And don't even think about trying for another one. I'll make sure you never get pregnant again. Even if Mom and Dad find out, even if James finds out, they'll protect me. They always do."

The filth pouring from Sophie's mouth was more than Natalie could bear. Her hand rose again.

This time, before the slap could land, someone caught her wrist.

James stood there, his face dark with fury. He wrenched her arm aside.

The force sent Natalie stumbling. Her forehead struck the sharp corner of the counter, and pain exploded through her skull. Blood dripped onto the pristine white tiles.

The moment Sophie had been waiting for had arrived. Her expression shifted instantly to wounded innocence as she threw herself into James' arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"James, she called me a homewrecker. Said I should've died on the operating table. Why does she hate me so much?" She buried her face against his chest, sobbing.

James' expression grew darker by the second.

"Natalie, what the hell is wrong with you? Hitting her for no reason? Humiliating Sophie? Did you leave your manners in the gutter?"

Natalie forced herself upright, her eyes burning red with fury. Her voice shook. "No reason? There are cameras in this store. Go look for yourself. See exactly why I hit her. See what she really did."

Sophie's face flickered with alarm. She opened her mouth to explain, but James cut her off.

"I don't need to check anything. I know Sophie's character. You started this."

At his words, Sophie relaxed visibly. She shot Natalie a smug, triumphant glance.

Something in Natalie's chest tore in two. Half of it was the wound still throbbing on her forehead. The other half was the deeper, more devastating ache blooming behind her ribs.

James' eyes were ice. "I don't care what happened. You don't touch Sophie. Apologize. Now."