Rejected and Abandoned, Until the Right Man Found Me

Since that was the case, there was no point in wasting another breath on her. I turned to leave.

But before I could take another step, Nathalia’s voice drifted from behind me, laced with mockery.

“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.

"Honestly, I don’t care whether you leave or not," she murmured, her lips curving into a slow, venomous smile.

"Because what I really want… is to ruin you completely."

Before her words could even settle in my mind, she suddenly tore at her own blouse, sending buttons scattering to the floor. With swift, practiced movements, she mussed up her hair, then seized my wrist and forced my hand to strike her again and again.

Then, as if on cue, she crumpled to the floor, her body trembling, tears spilling down her cheeks in violent torrents.

"Miss Hale," she sobbed, her voice breaking. "I know you hate me, but how could you force me to do something like this?" Her fingers clutched at her chest as she gasped out her next words.

"I’d rather die than agree to it!"

With a sudden, dramatic lunge, she grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table, angling it toward her throat.

Instinct took over. I surged forward, reaching to stop her.

But before I could even touch the blade, a brutal force slammed into me, sending me crashing backward.

"Nathalia!"

The next moment, Mathias had her wrapped tightly in his arms, his voice thick with desperation.

Nathalia let the knife slip from her fingers, collapsing against him as she sobbed uncontrollably, her entire frame quivering like a fragile bird seeking shelter in his embrace.

"Mathias, you finally came."

"If you hadn’t, Miss Hale would have already sent me to President Liam’s bed!"

I had slammed into the corner of the table, pain searing through my already bruised lower back, leaving my vision swimming. The agony threatened to pull me under, but I bit down on the pain and forced out a hoarse, desperate rebuttal.

"I didn’t!"

"How could I possibly do something like that?"

"Mathias, after everything we’ve been through, do you really believe something this absurd?"

For a fleeting second, something in his expression wavered. His brows furrowed ever so slightly, hesitation creeping in.

But before that moment could solidify, Nathalia whimpered, tightening her grip on his sleeve, her fragile form quivering against him as though she might shatter at any second.