Woke Up and Left the Cage of My Marriage 26
Chapter 26
All the color drained from Ethan’s face in an instant. The hand holding the ring froze midair. Terror-raw and unmistakable-flashed in his eyes as he stammered, “…I’m not putting on a show… I mean it… I love you…”
“Mean it?” Natalie cut him off, her smile turning even colder, almost wicked. She slowly bent down, bringing her lips close to his ear. She spoke in a low, icy whisper-each word like a poisoned icicle stabbing straight into his heart. “Then tell me, Ethan. Back then, when you orchestrated that so-called rescue, tricked me into the prison of marriage, and made me your shield to protect Vivian Grant-the one you really cared about-did you also think you were being ‘sincere’ for her sake?”
Ethan’s entire body jerked, as if struck by lightning. He froze, his pupils contracting in shock.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out: A tidal wave of fear and regret crashed over him, nearly drowning him where he knelt.
Natalie straightened, her voice clear and ringing as she made sure everyone in the gallery could hear her. “So what now, Ethan? You forgot the most important thing-”
She paused, savoring the shattered look in his eyes-the pieces of his hope breaking, falling apart. Then, with a quiet kind of cruelty, she spoke, “What I, Natalie Bennett, hate most… is being played for a fool.”
The guests gasped. The sound of sharp breaths filled the room.
Natalie swept her gaze across the stunned crowd before finally resting it back on Ethan’s devastated face. She went on, “Do you know why I gave you this past year? Why I let you hope? Why I watched you follow me around like a dog, groveling, wagging your tail, acting pathetic?”
“Because… three years ago, you gave me nothing but humiliation and despair. So now, I want you to experience it, too-fully, personally, again and again.”
“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, then answered herself, “This doesn’t even compare to what you did to me back then. Not even a fraction. But you deserve it.”
As her words faded, the doors of the gallery were suddenly flung open from the outside!
A tall figure strode in, outlined against the light. He wore a sharp, dark-gray suit-relaxed but still perfectly tailored. No tie, the collar open, two buttons undone. He exuded a lazy ease, but nothing could hide his sharp presence.
It was Derek Lawson.
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He didn’t look at anyone else. His eyes went straight to Natalie. He walked with long, confident strides through the crowd and stopped right at her side.
Right in front of Ethan’s almost breaking stare, Derek slipped an arm around Natalie’s waist and pulled her close-protective, familiar, and claiming her as his own.
Only then did Derek finally look down at Ethan, who was still kneeling on the floor as if his soul had been sucked out. Derek’s gaze was icy, openly mocking, with no effort to hide his
contempt.
Natalie leaned into Derek’s warm, steady embrace. She lifted her gloved hand and let it sway
ever so slightly.
On her ring finger gleamed a platinum ring-edgy, modern, the complete opposite of Ethan’s so-called “Heart’s Prison.” The light caught it, sending out a cold, silvery shine.
She looked straight at Ethan, her red lips curling. She delivered the final blow:
“Ethan, allow me to formally introduce-Derek Lawson. My fiancé.”
She paused, watching as the last spark of hope finally went out in Ethan’s eyes, leaving nothing but emptiness behind. Then she added, slow and merciless:
“We’re getting married next month. Sorry, but your ‘Heart’s Prison’-there’s just no place for
it!”
“No… that can’t be…” Ethan seemed to wake from a nightmare at last. His voice was raw, shaky as he shook his head over and over, desperately reaching out for Natalie’s dress. ” You’re lying… you just want to hurt me, right? There’s no way…
Derek frowned and, without hesitation, kicked Ethan’s hand aside. He drew Natalie even closer behind him, his voice cold as steel: “Mr. Fletcher, please have some self-respect. Natalie agreed to play along this year only to help you let go and end things. Did you really think you still had a chance?”
He didn’t bother to look at Ethan again. Instead, he glanced down at Natalie, and his eyes went gentle, his tone soft. “Baby, are you done? Let’s go the plane won’t wait. Didn’t we say we’d honeymoon in Iceland and watch the Northern Lights?”
Natalie tilted her head up, her smile bright and real-so different from the cold mockery just moments ago.
She nodded. “Mm, let’s go.”
With that, she cast one last look at Ethan, collapsed on the floor-lost, hollow, as if his entire world had crumbled. Her gaze was steady and calm, with not a shred of regret.
Then she took Derek’s arm, and together they walked out. In the midst of dead silence and
Chapter 26
blinding flashes, they left the gallery behind, poised and unhurried.
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