Chapter 5
Chapter 5
He ignored his mother’s sarcastic remarks, Ilis voice hoarse, he asked, “Mom, why did you insist I marry her in the first place?”
At his question, Margaret fell silent for a moment.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “Nathan, do you remember who saved you when you were kidnapped as a child?”
“He was an undercover officer who rescued you from the border, but his entire family was killed in retaliation.”
“His wife was pregnant when she escaped with her family’s help, but she was severely injured. She died from hemorrhaging after giving birth, and her baby was found and taken to an orphanage.”
“When I finally tracked down that child, she was already five years old. Your grandparents wouldn’t let me adopt her, so I could only secretly support her. That child was Ashley.”
“I once showed you her photo and asked if you would marry her. You told me definitively that you liked her.”
By this point, Margaret was in tears. She had wanted to properly care for me, but never imagined it would end up hurting me so deeply.
Nathan’s bloodshot eyes
swelled with tears, his face showing despair as he struggled to ask, “Did she know about this?”
“I never told her. I felt too guilty about what happened to her parents, and even more guilty towards her. How could I face her with this truth?”
Hearing this, his whole body trembled, tears silently rolling down his face.
“Mom, she’s gone. She’s lost all faith in me…‘
As he spoke, he finally noticed the baby in her arms. The words he wanted to say became incredibly difficult. “She… she left the baby too? But she was so protective of him before…”
When he first learned of my pregnancy, he had tried several times to make me get an abortion.
-Once, he’d even forcibly taken me to the hospital for the procedure.
But I refused. Even when I was put on the operating table, I struggled to escape, running barefoot all the way home while protecting my belly, seeking refuge with Margaret.
“You dare to talk about this? I’ve never seen anyone as cold–blooded as you,” Margaret shouted hysterically. “If I had known you would become like this, I would never have let Ashley marry you. The biggest mistake of my life was bringing you two together! You never deserved her love!”
As she yelled, her outburst scared the baby, who started crying. Margaret immediately composed herself, softly soothing him.
She didn’t spare Nathan another glance as she took the baby back to their room.
Tears fell on the back of his hand, burning hot, making him feel an unprecedented despair and helplessness.
“Ashley, I’m sorry…”
He had thought I had convinced Margaret to force him into marrying an orphan.
So he had taken out all his resentment on me.
Knowing I yearned for a happy family, he deliberately neglected me.
The better I treated him, the more disgusted he felt.
So he got involved with other women, trying to get revenge through these affairs.
For five years, he became increasingly reckless, yet never saw me make a scene or ask for divorce.
He thought I couldn’t leave him, that I needed him desperately.
Only now did he realize that my silence meant I no longer cared for him.
Ac Hearts Grow Cold
57.1%
Chapter 5
No matter how wild he acted, it couldn’t stir any emotion in me.
But sadly, by the time he woke up to this truth, I had already completely withdrawn from his life.
Meanwhile, following the address the orphanage director had given me, I arrived in a small city.
As soon as I reached the police station, before I could even ask anything, an older officer walked out.
When he saw me, his eyes widened in shock. “The resemblance… it’s incredible. You must be James Stewart’s daughter.”
I didn’t know my father’s nam
so I shook my
head. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
He collected himself and led me to his office.
As soon as I walked in, I noticed a framed photograph on his desk.
One of the men in the photo caught my attention.
He noticed my gaze and picked up the frame, carefully wiping it as he spoke with nostalgia, “This is James Stewart. Your eyes look exactly like his.”
He was right. My eyes were indeed just like his.
So this was my father?
