Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
All the color drained from Ethan\u2019s face in an instant. The hand holding the ring froze midair. Terror-raw and unmistakable-flashed in his eyes as he stammered, \u201c\u2026I\u2019m not putting on a show\u2026 I mean it\u2026 I love you\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMean it?\u201d 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. \u201cThen 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 \u2018sincere\u2019 for her sake?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan\u2019s entire body jerked, as if struck by lightning. He froze, his pupils contracting in shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie straightened, her voice clear and ringing as she made sure everyone in the gallery could hear her. \u201cSo what now, Ethan? You forgot the most important thing-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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, \u201cWhat I, Natalie Bennett, hate most\u2026 is being played for a fool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guests gasped. The sound of sharp breaths filled the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie swept her gaze across the stunned crowd before finally resting it back on Ethan\u2019s devastated face. She went on, \u201cDo 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?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause\u2026 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it hurt?\u201d she asked softly, then answered herself, \u201cThis doesn\u2019t even compare to what you did to me back then. Not even a fraction. But you deserve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As her words faded, the doors of the gallery were suddenly flung open from the outside!\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was Derek Lawson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Right in front of Ethan\u2019s almost breaking stare, Derek slipped an arm around Natalie\u2019s waist and pulled her close-protective, familiar, and claiming her as his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s gaze was icy, openly mocking, with no effort to hide his\u00a0<\/p>\n
contempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie leaned into Derek\u2019s warm, steady embrace. She lifted her gloved hand and let it sway\u00a0<\/p>\n
ever so slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On her ring finger gleamed a platinum ring-edgy, modern, the complete opposite of Ethan\u2019s so-called \u201cHeart\u2019s Prison.\u201d The light caught it, sending out a cold, silvery shine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked straight at Ethan, her red lips curling. She delivered the final blow:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan, allow me to formally introduce-Derek Lawson. My fianc\u00e9.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused, watching as the last spark of hope finally went out in Ethan\u2019s eyes, leaving nothing but emptiness behind. Then she added, slow and merciless:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting married next month. Sorry, but your \u2018Heart\u2019s Prison\u2019-there\u2019s just no place for\u00a0<\/p>\n
it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026 that can\u2019t be\u2026\u201d 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\u2019s dress. \u201d You\u2019re lying\u2026 you just want to hurt me, right? There\u2019s no way\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek frowned and, without hesitation, kicked Ethan\u2019s hand aside. He drew Natalie even closer behind him, his voice cold as steel: \u201cMr. 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?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t bother to look at Ethan again. Instead, he glanced down at Natalie, and his eyes went gentle, his tone soft. \u201cBaby, are you done? Let\u2019s go the plane won\u2019t wait. Didn\u2019t we say we\u2019d honeymoon in Iceland and watch the Northern Lights?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie tilted her head up, her smile bright and real-so different from the cold mockery just moments ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded. \u201cMm, let\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she took Derek\u2019s arm, and together they walked out. In the midst of dead silence and\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
blinding flashes, they left the gallery behind, poised and unhurried.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Woke Up and Left the Cage of My Marriage 26 Chapter 26\u00a0 All the color drained from Ethan\u2019s face in […]<\/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-20192","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\/20192","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=20192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}