Chapter 03

 

Natalie's pov

"No more salt for you, hero."

I pulled the bag of chips away from Thunder's nose. He looked up at me with big, sad eyes.

"Do not look at me like that. Keep eating this junk and you will go bald. Then no lady dogs will ever look at you."

He sighed and dropped his head on his paws.

I laughed and went back to the punching bag in my garage. My arms were shaking. My shirt was wet with sweat. Ten minutes of hitting and I was already tired.

"Pathetic," I said to myself.

In my old life, I learned to fight the hard way. I learned after the floods, after people broke into my shelter, after I lost everything. This time, I would be ready before the first drop of rain.

"I need to train twice as hard."

I hit the bag again. And again. And again.

My phone buzzed on the bench. It was Evan.

"Thinking of you, babe. Can't wait for the wedding. Sleep tight."

I wiped my face with a towel. Six months ago, a message like that would have made me smile all night.

Now it made me want to throw up.

I typed back. "Tired tonight. Talk soon."

Then I called Ruby.

She picked up on the first ring, like she had been waiting. "Natalie, honey! Evan told me you have been acting distant. What is wrong?"

I made my voice small and shaky. "It is just… does he love me, Ruby?"

"Of course he does! Why would you ask that?"

"He never touches me. When I try to hold his hand or kiss him, he pulls away. Like he is scared of me."

She laughed. "Oh, sweetie. He is just respecting you. He wants your wedding night to be perfect."

"You think so?"

"I know so. And honey, do not be so desperate. It is not ladylike."

I squeezed the phone so hard my fingers hurt.

In my old life, I found out the truth too late. Evan never touched me because he was busy touching her. My best friend. The girl who slept on my couch when her parents kicked her out. The girl I paid rent for.

"I guess you are right," I said. "I am just overthinking."

"That is my girl. Get some sleep."

"Thanks, Ruby. You are my best friend."

"Always, babe."

She hung up. I tossed the phone on the bench and looked down at Thunder.

"Human relationships, boy," I said. "So messy."

He thumped his tail on the floor. He agreed with me.

The next morning, two big trucks pulled into my driveway.

A man with a clipboard jumped down. "Delivery for Natalie? I have one hundred and twenty water tanks and sixty heavy-duty steel shelves."

"Bring them to the garage, please."

"All of them? Lady, they will not fit in there."

"Just bring them in. I will handle the rest."

It took his team three hours. When they finished, he handed me the clipboard. "Sign here, miss."

I signed. As soon as the trucks drove away, I touched each tank and each shelf. One by one, they disappeared into my stone.

My garage was empty again. And my space was getting full.

At noon, I met Hannah at a small coffee shop downtown. We had not talked in two years. In my old life, she was the only one who warned me about Evan. I did not listen. I called her jealous and cut her out of my life.

She died in the second year of the floods. Alone.

This time, I would not make the same mistake.

Hannah sat down and pushed a folded paper across the table. "Here. I got what you asked for."

I opened it. A room number. A date. Two names.

"The only reason I am doing this," she said, "is because my family owns that hotel. And I hate cheating dogs." She looked at Thunder under the table. "No offense, buddy."

Thunder did not seem offended.

"Room 715," Hannah said. "They checked in yesterday. They booked it for three nights."

My stomach turned. Evan and Ruby. In a hotel room. While Evan texted me "sleep tight."

"So," Hannah said, leaning forward. "Are we going to storm in there? Film it live? Pull her hair out?"

"No."

"No? Natalie, they are making a fool of you!"

"If I make a big scene, the Hartfields will bury it. They have money and lawyers. They will say I am crazy and jealous. Then they will freeze my parents' shares forever." I folded the paper and put it in my pocket. "I need something cleaner."

Hannah sat back. She looked at me for a long time. "You have changed."

"I have had a lot of time to think."

"Okay. So what do you need?"

"Hannah, I need your help to end them. Both of them. Completely."

She smiled slow, like a cat. "I am listening."

That night, I sat on my couch with Thunder's head in my lap. I scrolled through my phone until I found the name I wanted.

Grandma Hartfield.

Evan's grandmother. The real boss of the Hartfield family. A strict old woman who went to church every Sunday and hated liars more than anything in the world.

She was also the only person in that family who had ever been kind to me.

I pressed call.

"Hello?"

"Grandma? It is Natalie."

"Natalie, darling!" Her voice was warm. "What a lovely surprise."

"I miss you, Grandma. Can we go for a drive tomorrow night? Just you and me. I have a surprise for you."

"Oh, how sweet. Of course, darling. I will wear my favorite silk scarf."

"You will look beautiful."

"Where are we going?"

I looked at the paper on my coffee table. Room 715.

"I hope you do not mind a little detour to the Grand Crest Hotel, Grandma.”