Goodbye, My Once‑Upon‑a‑Time

"Natasha Santoro, did you call Jonathan away again?"

"If I'd known back then, I would've killed you."

"You should've never gotten out of there, you bitch!"

"Don't let me see you, or I'll kill you myself!"

Kelsey's messages came one after another, and the notification tone sounded shrill in the empty mansion.

I thought I was past caring, but reading them still made the scar on my face ache faintly.

The first message from Kelsey had arrived three years ago, at my birthday party.

It had been a photo of her and Jonathan in bed. Two naked bodies appeared on the screen, forced into my vision without warning.

I'd lost my mind and gone looking for her, slapping her hard across the face the moment I found her.

She'd shoved me viciously into a hotel vase, shards of porcelain cutting into my skin. Unsatisfied, she'd grabbed a piece and slashed my face with it.

Blood splattered across the floor.

Amid the staff's screams, I staggered up and tried to fight back, only for Jonathan to seize my wrist. His voice had been cold, stripped of emotion.

"This is what you get for laying a hand on Kelsey. Stop causing a scene whenever you please, or you'll be the one paying for it."

My nails dug into my flesh. The pain in my palm felt the same as it did back then.

I smiled and sent Kelsey a photo of Jonathan and me, our fingers tightly intertwined.

Laughing aloud, I blocked her number and called Jonathan. The line was noisy, and I could faintly hear a woman crying.

"What is it now?" he asked, clearly impatient.

My eyes were cold, but my voice stayed gentle. "Did I interrupt you? I'm sorry. I just wanted you to take me to the auction the day after tomorrow. You know what that day means to me."

"The day after tomorrow?"

His tone softened immediately, every trace of his earlier irritation gone.

Kelsey's sharp voice cut in, "That's our wedding anniversary! You promised you'd be with me, Jonathan!"

My gaze turned icy, and the hatred in my eyes hardened into something sharp.

The day after tomorrow wasn't just their anniversary. It was also my birthday, and the day Jonathan had sent me into the water dungeon.

"Nat, being with Kelsey is just to get the governor's support," Jonathan said. "Everything I'm doing is for you. You have to understand that."

Three years ago, on the eve of my birthday, I caught him cheating again. He'd begged me in anguish, as if I were the one betraying him.

I'd been foolish and hopelessly in love, so I believed him.

The next day, I woke up in the water dungeon.

It wasn't until Theodore Romano appeared that I learned the truth.

Jonathan had planned everything. To marry Kelsey, he'd offered me up as a bargaining chip and personally delivered me into that living hell.

"Nat, I'll come pick you up the day after tomorrow."

He ended the call there.

The dark screen reflected my reddened eyes.

How could I ever forget that pain?

Jonathan could pretend nothing had happened, living with one arm around each woman, but I would never let him have his way.

…

When Jonathan came to get me the next morning, he was holding a mask.

"I know you care about how you look. The doctor won't be here for a few more days, so use this for now."

He adjusted it carefully, his expression tender, as if the scar had nothing to do with him.

The mask covered the scar perfectly. He ruffled my hair lightly. "Nat, you're still so beautiful."