Chapter 1 chapter 1
Chapter 1
Natalie, excited, carried the pregnancy report and hurried to the location her husband, Jason, had shared with her.
They had been married for three years, but they were not able to conceive. Natalie had been feeling bad because she couldn't give the man she loved a complete family.
She had not been feeling well lately, and she thought that it was due to the changes in the weather, so she went to the hospital for a normal checkup. She never imagined that she would receive the biggest news of her life.
“Congratulations, Natalie, you are pregnant.” The doctor said with a wide smile on her face.
Natalie’s eyes widened in shock. She looked at the doctor with a face full of bewilderment and asked, “Doc, are you sure? Are you certain that you got it right?”
“Yes, dear, you are eight weeks pregnant.”
Natalie stood up and hugged the doctor, tears already flowing down her beautiful face.
The doctor could understand her sentiments, so she hugged her in return.
She had been Natalie’s doctor for the longest time, and she could understand why she was feeling so emotional.
Natalie had been trying to conceive, and just when she had almost given up, God blessed her womb with a baby.
…
Natalie stood in front of the private hotel room, her hands shaking from excitement. Her face was rosy and her eyes were glassy. Just a single look and you could tell that she was in a great mood.
She was about to knock on the door when she heard muffled voices inside the room. It seemed that there were people in the room, and they were in the middle of something serious.
Natalie thought that she had gotten the room number wrong until she heard her husband’s familiar voice.
The room was slightly open, so she could hear everything that was being said.
“I am tired of pretending, Viv. I have already told my lawyers to draft the divorce papers, and once they are done, I will get rid of her for good.”
Natalie’s expression turned pale after hearing that.
She thought that she had heard wrong, but the next voice made her feet turn cold.
Vivian, her husband’s college friend, spoke up, “Are you certain? I don’t want Natalie to think that I came between you two. I don’t want her to misunderstand our friendship.”
Natalie felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of cold water all over her body. Her excitement died there and then, and she clutched the bag in her hands until her knuckles turned white.
So, it really was true that Vivian and Jason were back together? So, the person who had been sending her anonymous pictures of Jason and Vivian was actually right?
When she had first received the photos of Vivian and Jason holding hands, she had confronted the man, but the man just called her insecure. He had said that the photos were probably created using AI by his enemies, so that they could destroy their marriage.
And Natalie, being a loving and understanding wife that she was, had actually believed the man.
So, every time she received such photos, she just assumed that they were created using AI.
But now, could the people in the room also be an AI creation?
Natalie felt like laughing, but she couldn’t. Only tears flowed down her beautiful face.
“I also don’t understand why my father insisted that I get married to her. My father will be handing me over the responsibilities of the company soon. He would be retiring. And once he is done, that bitch will be out of our lives for good.”
Although Vivian was thrilled and she could literally fly if she had wings, she had to keep her emotions in check.
She hugged Jason and looked towards the door. She seemed to have done everything on purpose, because when Natalie lifted her head, she saw the victorious smile on the woman’s face through the gap in the door.
Natalie’s heart stilled. So, this was what has been happening behind her back, huh?
Her husband was having an affair with his college girlfriend, and he was even planning on divorcing her!
She clutched her handbag as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.
So, her husband called her here just so he could show off his relationship with his mistress?
Natalie did not know how she managed to reach home, but by the time she did, her entire world had been shattered.
She did not even have dinner and headed directly to bed. Her mind was a mess as she thought about her relationship with Jason.
Jason Thompson!
The Thompson family and the Wilson family had been family friends for decades. When Natalie was born a few years after Jason, the elders decided that the two would get married once they came of age.
Natalie had always loved Jason since she was a little kid. At first, she just saw him as an elder brother, but as they grew up, and she understood her feelings, she realized that she was in love with her childhood friend.
She was even happier when she learned that the two were set to get married when they came of age.
The young Natalie couldn’t stop confessing her love to Jason every chance she got. Seeing Jason blush every time she called herself his wife filled her heart with so much joy.
After high school, Jason went to Northveil University in Northveil City, and he rarely came home, only once in a while. But even so, Natalie was excited, even if she managed to see him just once a year.
After completion of his studies, Jason came back to Sterlin City, but with him was a woman he claimed to be his university friend, and the two had been dating for the last two years.
Natalie could not believe it. She had just turned eighteen, and she was waiting for Jason to come back, so that the two could get married, but now, he was telling her that he was in a relationship with someone else?
Although Jason did not say whether he was in love with the woman, Natalie had definitely been heartbroken.
She went to Jason’s father and cried her heart out.
Leo, Jason’s father, promised her that he would definitely get her married to Jason, no matter what.
The two conspired to send Vivian back to Northveil City. But Vivian could not barge. She said that it was Jason who brought her to Sterlin City and only he could make her leave.
Leo offered her five million dollars, but Vivian refused to leave. He had no choice but to drag her out of the city by force.
When Jason heard what had happened, he was so furious and refused to marry Natalie, but his father threatened him with the inheritance. He would only get the family business if he got married to Natalie.
Jason was just twenty-two years old. He was at the prime of his youth, and he was not ready for the responsibilities of being a married man.
On the day they signed their wedding certificate, he looked at Natalie and said, “You have succeeded in trapping me into this marriage, but I am going to make sure that you hate yourself so much that you will come begging for me to divorce you.”
Natalie did not take his words to heart. They had been friends since they were kids, and she only knew that it would be a matter of time, and Jason would be head over heels in love with her.
The first few months of their marriage were okay. Natalie could tell that Jason was not enthusiastic about it, but he did not treat her coldly either. They had even been made out a few times.
But six months into their third year of marriage, Jason suddenly changed. He became so cold and emotionless towards her that Natalie failed to recognize him.
And that was when she started receiving pictures of Jason and Vivian together. She had confronted Jason, not once but so many times, but every time, he downplayed it to AI.
Natalie did not doubt him, but when she received an anonymous message that Jason was renting out an apartment for a woman, Natalie did not hesitate to confront the woman, but when she realized that it was actually Vivian staying in that house, she could not hide her shock, and everything clicked in!
Natalie did not even realize that her pillow was wet.
She said in a muffled voice, “Jason, all I ever did was love you. Do I really deserve all this pain? Maybe I should really grant you your wish and set you free.