“Irene, if you have any self-awareness, you’d tuck your tail and run. If you wait until Mathias throws you out himself, things won’t be so easy for you.”
Her words made me pause.
“And what if I don’t leave?”
I never went looking for trouble, but that didn’t mean I had no temper.
Nathalia let out a laugh, richer and more condescending this time.
“You’re not still dreaming of becoming Mrs. Mathias, are you?” she scoffed.
“How ridiculous. Back when he had nothing, you sold everything to help him get back on his feet.”
Her gaze turned to pity, dripping with false sympathy.
“I even heard you sold the house your dead parents left you… all for him.” She clicked her tongue. “So devoted, so hopelessly in love.”
“But tell me, what did all that loyalty get you? Nothing. Mathias still doesn’t love you. The moment I so much as beckoned, he tossed you aside like garbage. He wouldn’t spare you a second glance even if you sold yourself.”
The mention of my parents’ house sent a sharp pain through my chest, so sudden it nearly stole my breath away.
Out of gratitude for saving his life and the love I once thought was real, I abandoned everything my parents left me and stood by Mathias through his darkest days.
We had endured hardships, suffered injustice, and weathered storms. But never, not even at our lowest, had I felt regret as bone-deep as I did now.
I had foolishly believed that love, tempered by trials, would only grow stronger.
The truth was crueler. My love had been misplaced from the very start.
Yet Nathalia wasn’t finished.
“Oh, you still don’t know, do you?” She tilted her head, feigning pity. “Those online rumors calling you a shameless homewrecker? Mathias orchestrated all of it himself.”
My breath hitched.
“He wanted to protect me,” she continued smoothly. “He didn’t want me to suffer any backlash, so he threw you to the wolves instead. He let the entire internet rip you apart… just so I wouldn’t have to endure a scratch.”
Something inside me snapped.
So that was the truth.
If I had a mirror in front of me, I knew exactly what I would see: bloodshot eyes, raw betrayal, and a woman who had given everything… for a man who had never deserved it.
The sharp clack of Nathalia’s heels echoed through the room as she strode toward me, her gaze dripping with malice. She reached out, tilting my chin between her fingers, her touch deceptively gentle.