After hanging up, Natalie slid down against the cold wall, utterly drained. She hugged her knees and stayed there for a long time, until she finally took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. She pulled herself together and called a few of her closest friends out. Shopping spree. Retail therapy. Spa day. Then, straight to the hottest club in South City. Her friends watched her\u2014still dazzling and beautiful as ever, but somehow different now. One of them couldn\u2019t help but ask worriedly, \u201cNatalie, the Fletcher family has such strict family rules. You haven\u2019t been out like this in forever. If they find out you\u2019re here, what\u2019ll you do?\u201d Natalie downed her shot in one gulp. The burn scorched her throat, and it seared her heart\u2014a heart that had already been shattered a thousand times over. She gazed out at the crowd on the dance floor and, as if it were nothing, dropped a bomb: \u201cThey won\u2019t find out. I\u2019m divorcing Ethan.\u201d \u201cWhat?!\u201d Her friend almost knocked over her drink. \u201cBut\u2026 didn\u2019t you always love him most? You went through so much just to win him over. How\u2014how could you\u2026\u201d \u201cNot anymore,\u201d Natalie cut her off. \u201cI won\u2019t ever love him again.\u201d The moment she finished, the club\u2019s pounding music cut off with a jolt. Every light snapped on, blindingly bright. Dozens of bodyguards in black suits poured in, moving with silent, practiced coordination as they cleared the place out. \u201cAll unrelated guests, please leave immediately.\u201d Amid complaints and confusion, guests were escorted out one by one. Even Natalie\u2019s friends were politely but firmly shown to the door by the security team. In an instant, the bar was deserted\u2014eerily silent. The Fletcher family\u2019s butler walked straight over to Natalie. He gave a polite little bow, but his eyes were cold and his tone left no room for argument. \u201cMrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Margaret requests your presence.\u201d Natalie lounged on the couch, swirling the drink in her glass, not even bothering to look up. \u201cNo. Tell her I\u2019m about to have nothing to do with Ethan Fletcher. The Fletcher family\u2019s rules don\u2019t concern me anymore.\u201d Without a word, the butler gestured. A bodyguard moved in soundlessly and, with a single precise strike to the back of Natalie\u2019s neck, knocked her out cold. Her world went black, and she lost all consciousness. When she came to, she found her hands bound behind her. She was forced to her knees on the hard floor in the main hall of the Fletcher family\u2014a grand, oppressive place that sucked the air from her lungs. Margaret Fletcher sat at the head of the hall in a high-backed authority chair, regal and commanding in a dark purple gown, her hair perfectly done, her gaze sharp as a hawk\u2019s. \u201cNatalie Bennett, just how wild are you planning to get?!\u201d Margaret snapped. \u201cAll these years, not the slightest news from your womb. We told you to do IVF, but you refused. Not only that, you smashed up the hospital? And now you\u2019re running off to clubs like this! You\u2019re the daughter of a top family\u2014this is the best you can do? Even Vivian, who came from a middle-class background, has more class than you!\u201d Natalie stayed on her knees, listening as Margaret, compared her to Vivian. She felt a stabbing pain inside. So this was Ethan\u2019s plan? Turn her\u2014his legal wife\u2014into nothing but a backdrop to show off Vivian\u2019s gentleness and virtue? What a joke. She was Natalie Bennett, South City\u2019s most dazzling and uninhibited rose. So many men would do anything to be with her\u2014and yet, in Ethan\u2019s eyes, she still wasn\u2019t enough. Instead, she had to be put through all this, all for that woman? Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Natalie forced herself to look up. Her face was utterly blank as she asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s Ethan? I want to see him.\u201d Margaret gave a harsh snort. \u201cEthan is busy with work. He doesn\u2019t have time for you! You\u2019re only acting out because he\u2019s too soft on you! He\u2019s the best heir our family has. Instead of helping him, you cause trouble, distracting him from his work. When have you ever done anything for him?\u201d For him? Natalie almost laughed. She\u2019d spent years worrying about him, afraid to make him choose between her and his family. She\u2019d done her best to fit their mold, tried to become the perfect Mrs. Fletcher\u2014even when it meant losing herself completely. And where had that gotten her? Nothing but the punchline to a cruel joke. Now that she didn\u2019t love him anymore, who could control her? \u201cI want to see Ethan!\u201d she repeated, struggling to stand up\u2014only to be pinned back down by the guards behind her. \u201cYou\u2019re out of control!\u201d Margaret thundered. \u201cTake her to the family chapel and make her kneel! She stays there until she admits her mistake!\u201d \u201cI won\u2019t kneel!\u201d Natalie fought back, hands and feet tied, ramming into anyone who tried to come close\u2014throwing, kicking, sending anything she could crashing to the floor. Porcelain smashed, furniture toppled. The chaos only grew. \u201cDisgraceful! Absolutely disgraceful!\u201d Margaret shook with rage as the mess piled up. When her favorite antique vase went crashing down and shattered, she nearly exploded. \u201cSo you refuse to cooperate? Fine! Drag her out, enforce the family discipline! She can be punished until she\u2019s willing to do IVF!\u201d A few hulking men dragged Natalie to a side hall for her punishment. The heavy stick cracked down on her back, her legs, again and again. The burning pain instantly spread through her, cold sweat soaking her clothes. Still, she clenched her teeth and refused to make a sound\u2014her eyes stubborn and fierce, like a wild animal that wouldn\u2019t be tamed. She held out as long as she could. When the pain finally went beyond what any human could take, her world went black and she passed out. When Natalie came to, she was face-down on a hospital bed, the sharp smell of antiseptic in the air. Her wounds had been cleaned and treated, but every movement sent a dull, aching throb through her body. Through the cracked door, she could just make out Ethan Fletcher and Vivian Grant\u2019s voices murmuring outside. \u201cEthan, thank you so much for helping me,\u201d Vivian\u2019s voice was shaky, full of relief and gratitude. \u201cBut\u2026 for your mother not to be mad at me for breaking the statue, you let Natalie take the punishment instead\u2026 You know what she\u2019s like. When she wakes up, won\u2019t she blame me?\u201d Ethan\u2019s voice remained as calm and cool as ever. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. With me here, she won\u2019t do anything to you.\u201d He paused, then went on, \u201cNatalie\u2019s temperament is wild, but she isn\u2019t unreasonable. These past years, it\u2019s Lucas who was in the wrong\u2014he took things too far and let you suffer. As his brother, I failed to keep him in line. I owe it to you to look after you now.\u201d Vivian\u2019s eyes filled with tears, and she finally broke down in soft sobs. For the first time, a trace of genuine sympathy flickered in Ethan\u2019s usually steady, cold gaze. He pulled out a perfectly folded gray handkerchief and handed it to her. \u201cDon\u2019t cry.\u201d His voice lowered, carrying a warmth Natalie had never heard from him before. \u201cIf you have any trouble at the Fletchers from now on, just come to me. I\u2019ll protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After hanging up, Natalie slid down against the cold wall, utterly drained. She hugged her knees and stayed there for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-woke-up-and-left-the-cage-of-my-marriage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}