Chapter 4
Through the gap in the door, Riley saw an unthinkable scene: Victoria and Nathaniel entangled on the sofa. She gripped his tie tightly as they passionately kissed.
The man who had been watching movies with her just hours ago showed no resistance. Instead, he held Victoria’s waist firmly, completely absorbed in the kiss.
Suddenly, Nathaniel’s deep voice carried through the room: “Stick out your tongue.”
The spacious living room was quiet except for their intimate sounds and the unmistakable noises of their passionate kiss.
BOOM!
Riley felt as if she’d plunged into an icy abyss. Watching this scene, she felt her internal organs being torn apart by invisible hands, pain making her entire body tremble.
She almost believed it was a hallucination. How could the man who swore eternal love to her be kissing another woman with such obvious desire? And not just any woman–the person responsible for her amputation, who had destroyed her life!
Like being thrown from clouds into freezing water, she was drowning in overwhelming despair.
‘Before she could recover, the couple on the sofa seemed to sense something and began turning toward the door. In that
moment, Riley fled, pushing her wheelchair away as quickly as possible.
She stopped on the roadside after leaving Lakeside Manor.
The scene kept replaying in her mind. Riley sat numbly in her wheelchair, clutching her chest. Though the pain was excruciating, no tears would come.
She realized that when pain reaches its zenith, tears become impossible.
Never had she imagined Nathaniel would betray her.
Since childhood, his world had revolved entirely around her:
At seven, he nearly broke his leg climbing a peach tree because she mentioned wanting one.
At ten, he ran across three neighborhoods to buy her favorite dessert.
At thirteen, he brought his parents to her home declaring he would marry her.
At fifteen, he chased away every boy who came near her.
At seventeen, he wrote her countless love letters.
At nineteen, he pressed her against a sycamore tree for their first passionate kiss
He had promised to love only her, forever.
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Chapter 4
He could fall out of love or change his heart–but why did he have to lie?
The pain crashed over her like a tidal wave, pulling her into an endless abyss.
Riley thought she must be trapped in a nightmare. She pinched herself repeatedly, trying to wake up.
But the sharp pain only confirmed this was real. All of it was real.
With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone and reread the anonymous thread, connecting all the details.
When he claimed to be in meetings, he was dining with Victoria.
When he said he was on business trips, he was sleeping with Victoria.
The reason he wouldn’t “release” Victoria wasn’t punishment–it was love.
He had wrapped himself in a web of lies so tightly that she never suspected.
Rain began falling, soaking her clothes, but Riley didn’t seek shelter.
She sat motionless in the downpour, her body shaking as if it no longer belonged to her.
She didn’t go anywhere–from dawn until dusk, she remained at the roadside.
By sunrise, her drenched clothes had dried. Pale–faced, she saw Nathaniel racing toward her in the distance.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept all night. Finally finding her, he ran from his car and embraced her tightly.
“Riley, you scared me to death! Where have you been?”
Seeing him, she remembered yesterday’s scene and felt nauseated. Her body shook violently as she instinctively tried to push
him away.
But the emotional shock, combined with a night in the rain, overwhelmed her system. After barely struggling, she lost
consciousness.
When she awoke, she was in a hospital bed.
Nathaniel sat beside her, looking equally exhausted, clutching her hand as if afraid to let go.
He trembled as he held her, his voice filled with fear: “Riley, are you angry because I left during our movie? I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I deserve to be punished. Hit me, scold me–whatever happens in the future, I promise I’ll never leave you again, okay?”
“Please forgive me. Don’t shut me out.”
He apologized desperately, humbling himself completely.
Riley lay motionless in his embrace as tears finally flooded out.
She could feel that Nathaniel’s anxiety, panic, and fear were genuine–his love for her was real.
But his passionate kiss with Victoria was also real.
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Chapter 4
Oh, Nathaniel.
I only have one heart, with room for only you.
How can you manage to love two women at once?
She cried harder and harder, eventually struggling to breathe. Terrified, Nathaniel apologized more frantically, even dropping
to his knees.
But she shoved him away, hiding under the blankets, refusing to speak.
Nathaniel didn’t understand what had happened or what he’d done wrong. He responded by watching over Riley even more vigilantly, 24 hours a day.
Still, she wouldn’t speak or interact with anyone.
Six months earlier, after losing her legs, she had gone through a similar phase.
Back then, she experienced phantom limb pain daily. The unbearable agony made her cry and rage, destroying everything in
her room.
Nathaniel had stayed faithfully by her side, helping her through it.
So now, he assumed Riley was having another emotional breakdown about her disability.
He stayed with her in the hospital for three days while she refused to speak to him.
Finally, Nathaniel’s body gave out and he collapsed from exhaustion.
As James brought doctors, he looked at Riley resentfully:
“Miss Morgan, please stop torturing Mr. Blackwood. He truly loves you. The night you didn’t come home, he went crazy searching the streets for you all night. These past days, he’s never left the hospital. Even a robot couldn’t endure this.”
“If you keep ignoring him, he might actually die!”
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