Waiting for a Heart Long Dead

On the couch, the usually cold and distant Nathan had the damp rosary beads in his grip. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Lily…"

In past messages with Sabrina, I had complained that he wouldn't even let me touch his rosary beads. But now, he let Lily defile them however she wanted.

Lily turned her head, her cheeks flushed as she huffed, "You're the worst." She then added, "Nathan, I don't want to wait anymore, okay?"

Nathan's breathing grew ragged. He chuckled deeply, and there was a burning desire in his gaze I had never seen before.

I stood at the door, a sudden chill running through me.

"Willow, how could you be into something like this?" Lily suddenly screamed and buried her face in Nathan's chest.

Nathan quickly pulled the clothes under himself to cover Lily. Then, he stood and yelled at me, "Who let you in?"

So, changing the passcode was to keep me out.

Whenever Nathan shut me out in the past, all I'd do was beg for his love. However, now that I no longer remembered how I felt about him, there was only indifference in my tone.

"I'm sorry. I should have knocked before coming into your house."

Nathan sensed something was wrong and frowned. "You were out there getting tangled up with another man, and now you're saying this isn't your home after just one morning?" He growled.

He added, "Willow, if you have so little self-respect, then maybe it's time someone taught you a proper lesson!"

As he spoke, a housekeeper came out of the room carrying a box of revealing lingerie I had once bought because of him. They were promptly thrown across the floor.

"Burn these shameful things yourself!" Nathan yelled.

Just like that, my little secret was put on full display.

Lily lifted one piece of lingerie with a finger, her expression full of disgust. "You sure are wild, Willow. Did you try something out at the hospital with Luke too?"

But I had no memory of the lingerie. Embarrassed, I denied it right away. "Please don't make things up, Lily. Those aren't mine."

Nathan grew angrier and snarled, "You're still lying?"

He had the household staff force me to my knees to face my mother's photo. He then ordered me to stay there until I admitted my mistakes and apologized for them—no matter how long it took.

I struggled to get up, but Nathan shoved me down and slammed my face to the floor.

"Nathan! We're not even related. What gives you the right to treat me like this?" I yelled.

Upon hearing that, Nathan snapped and lost all his usual calm. "Because I promised Jessica I would keep you in line!" Then, he grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my head into the floor again and again.

The thuds echoed for what felt like forever. When he finally let go, he picked Lily up and carried her upstairs.

Meanwhile, I'd hit the floor, shaking all over. The bandage on my forehead slipped off, and blood quickly soaked into the carpet.

In an instant, pieces of memory came rushing back.

At my mother's funeral that year, Nathan saw how lost I looked and pulled me into his arms. He said he would take care of me for the rest of my life, and I believed him. I just didn't realize he only meant he would be like a brother to me.

The care he once showed had now turned into anger.

In a daze, that feeling of heartbreak tore through me again.