Chapter 2

"Will you let Evelyn go now?" Nathaniel asked.

His face was deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Even so, he forced himself to stand tall.

"Let her go. Take me instead. Do whatever you want to me. Kill me if you have to."

The kidnapper burst out laughing.

"So you really do love her! All the more reason to kill her! Let's see how you like losing someone you love!"

He raised his knife to stab Evelyn, but before he could strike, the guards waiting nearby rushed in and overpowered him.

Evelyn broke free and ran to Nathaniel, throwing her arms around him as she sobbed.

"Nathaniel! Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You could've died!"

Nathaniel struggled to raise a hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Don't cry... It doesn't hurt…" he murmured.

"You're bleeding so much! How can you say it doesn't hurt?"

Furious and frantic with worry, Evelyn snatched the bloodstained dagger off the floor and slashed her own arm. Blood poured from the cut.

Nathaniel grabbed her wrist, horrified. "What are you doing?"

Evelyn looked at him through her tears, her voice breaking. "It hurts, doesn't it? Nathaniel, don't you understand? When you're in pain, I feel it right here."

She pointed to her chest.

"It hurts me just as much! So don't ever risk your life like that again. If you won't take care of yourself for your own sake, then do it for me."

Nathaniel stared at the gash on her arm, then at the determination in her eyes. Tears welled in his own.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice thick with emotion. "Okay. I'll be more careful. I promise."

An ambulance arrived shortly afterward, and the paramedics carried Nathaniel out on a stretcher. No one noticed Rosalie standing in the shadows at the back of the warehouse.

She stood motionless, her face deathly pale. All her strength seemed to drain away, leaving her chilled to the bone.

What was really going on between Nathaniel and Evelyn?

She couldn't forget the way he'd looked at Evelyn. He'd stabbed himself without a second thought to save her. And Evelyn had cut her own arm just to show him how much it hurt her to see him suffer.

Whatever they felt for each other, it was so powerful that there seemed to be no room for anyone else.

Questions and terrible suspicions crowded Rosalie's mind until she could hardly think straight.

Just then, a shadow fell across her. Rosalie looked up to find Evelyn standing right in front of her. She hadn't even noticed her approach.

Without warning, Evelyn slapped her so hard her head snapped to the side. Her cheek burned from the blow.

Rosalie's temper flared. She'd never let anyone hit her without hitting back. She raised her hand to strike Evelyn.

"Go ahead! Hit me! Kill me if you want!"

Evelyn lifted her chin and closed her eyes, as though she were ready to die. Her voice shook with hatred as she fought back tears.

"Your family has ruined both our lives! Nathaniel and I can never be together, and I don't even want to live anymore!"

Rosalie's hand froze in midair, trembling. Her cheek still stung, but the ache in her chest was far worse.

She glared at Evelyn and demanded through clenched teeth, "What the hell is going on between you and Nathaniel?"

Evelyn gave her a sad, bitter smile. Then she began to explain.

Two years earlier, Evelyn and Nathaniel had been deeply in love. They'd even talked about getting married.

Then Evelyn was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Her only hope of survival was an imported drug that was nearly impossible to obtain.

Rosalie's father, Edmund Quinn, was the only person in all of Nelmora with the connections to get it.

Desperate to save Evelyn, Nathaniel had begged Edmund for help. But Edmund had demanded something in return.

Rosalie was spoiled, headstrong, and impossible to control. Edmund wanted someone who could keep her in line.

If Nathaniel agreed to marry Rosalie and have a child with her, Edmund would get him the drug.

And so, to save Evelyn's life, Nathaniel had married Rosalie, sacrificing any chance of a future with the woman he loved.

Rosalie could barely believe what she was hearing. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.

So that was it.

No wonder Nathaniel had been so determined to marry her. She'd done everything she could to drive him away, but he'd refused to give up.

No wonder he'd indulged her every whim after the wedding, yet been so insistent on sleeping with her.

She'd mistaken his patience and affection for love. Now she knew he'd only been putting up with her for Evelyn's sake. The humiliation and heartbreak were almost too much to bear.

Rosalie fixed Evelyn with an icy stare. "If you're lying to me about any of this, I'll make you wish you were dead."

She paused. When she spoke again, her voice was close to breaking, but her resolve was unmistakable.

"But if you're telling the truth, I'll make things right for both of you."

Without another glance at Evelyn, Rosalie turned and headed straight back to Quinn Manor.

When she arrived, she found her rakishly handsome father having dinner with her meek stepmother, Patricia Flores, and several of his illegitimate children. He doted on every one of them.

They looked like one big happy family.

"Edmund Quinn! I need to ask you something!" Rosalie called, her voice cold.

Edmund scowled and set down his fork.

"Watch your tone! You're married to Nathaniel now. Can't you learn a little self-control from him? And since when did you stop calling me Dad? You're getting more disrespectful by the day!"

Rosalie didn't answer. She just stared at him, her eyes red.

Then, without warning, she stepped forward, seized the heavy tablecloth with both hands, and yanked it off the table.

Plates, bowls, and glasses crashed to the floor, shattering and sending food and soup everywhere. Patricia and the children screamed.

Rosalie stood amid the wreckage, glaring at Edmund.

"Are you ready to talk to me now?"