“If you had fought to the death or run away with Chloe, what could I have done to stop you?”
Nathan’s expression turned sour, his voice faltering. “Back then, how could I have taken care of Chloe? I couldn’t even take care of myself…”
I burst out laughing–this was Nathan in a nutshell.
On one hand, he relentlessly pursued me to marry into the Carter family’s wealth and influence; on the other, he was full of tender affection for the poor, delicate Chloe.
In the end, he shifted all the blame onto me, claiming I was the villain who had torn apart a pair
of star–crossed lovers.
I fixed him with a cold stare and sneered.
“Nathan, don’t you think you’re just like a whore–wanting to play both sides?”
Before the words had fully left my mouth, Chloe suddenly lunged forward and slapped me hard across the face.
“Sis, you can treat me however you want, but I won’t let you humiliate Nathan like this.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at me with wounded indignation.
“True love has no right or wrong. I know I’m just an orphan taken in by the Carter family, and I know Nathan needs your support. I can’t be the one to ruin him.”
She wiped her tears, straightened her posture, and turned to Nathan with a tragic resolve.
‘Nathan, don’t make things harder for yourself. As long as your feelings for me are real, I’ll have no regrets, even if I die. From now on, you and my sister can grow old together.”
Before either of us could react, Chloe suddenly ran toward the wall.
Bang! Her body crumpled to the floor.
A piercing cry ripped through the air.
‘Chloe, no!”
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Nathan rushed to her side, cradling her in his arms.
With a frail hand, she touched his face, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.
‘Nathan, I don’t want to be married off. If I can’t remain pure for you, I’d rather die.”
watched her theatrics with an icy gaze. If she truly loved Nathan to the point of life and death, she wouldn’t have divorced six times in my previous life.
Nathan held her close, his voice trembling.
‘Chloe, I don’t want you to die. I’ll protect you, and I’ll never let you be hurt again.”
He carried her to the sofa, then turned to me with a dark, stormy face.
‘Apologize to Chloe. Bow to her!”
From beginning to end, Nathan saw me only as the bully and Chloe as the victim. He didn’t care that I had been struck, thrown to the ground, and had my head split open; he didn’t care that Chloe had been the one to hit me first.
In his eyes, there was only the fragile, pitiable Chloe.
Shanter A
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3:23 pmD
I met his gaze with cold detachment, my eyes stripped of any trace of affection.
He hesitated for a second, retreat flickering in his eyes, but then his glance fell on Chloe’s tear–streaked face and he seemed to find renewed determination. Grabbing my shoulders, he shoved me toward her.
“Kneel and apologize to Chloe.”
A sharp pain ripped through a hidden place in my heart, but I stared straight into Nathan’s eyes and enunciated each word.
“I will not apologize to a whore.”
His face twisted with cruelty. With a swift kick to my knees, he sent me crashing to the floor in front of Chloe. Before I could react, he yanked my hair and forced my head down–Bang!-my skull hit the floor.
Bang! Bang!
Nathan kept his grip on my hair, slamming my head against the ground over and over again, forcing me to kowtow more than ten times to Chloe.
Finally, Chloe, still curled up on the sofa, spoke in a pitiful voice.
“Nathan, don’t… she’s my benefactor. If you do this, I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life.”
