All Chapters of Parting For Real: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

My mother, Marilyn Hester, ripped the corsage off her dress, slammed her hand on the table, and shot to her feet. "It's been five times now, and it's the same every single time! What could possibly be more important than your own wedding?"A hush fell over the guests.Natalie Knight coaxed her gently, "Marilyn, please don't be upset. Something came up at the company."Once my mother had calmed down, Natalie took the velvet ring box from the flower girl, a faint smile on her face. "Honey, I didn't mean to be late. Whatever you want to make up for it, it's yours."But something caught my eye even more than the sparkle of the diamond ring: the bandage on her neck.It was covering the bite mark Brett Morrison had left there."Is that so?" I suddenly laughed.She froze. Then, thinking I loved her enough to forgive her again and again, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.The next second, I charged over, landed a hard punch on Brett, and dumped a glass of red wine over his head.

Before I could say a word, my mother's shrill cries on the other end of the line cut off abruptly.It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I yanked the IV out of my arm and rushed to her old house.There she was, pinned beneath a bulldozer, barely breathing. "Nolan, don't go begging her for my sake anymore."An ambulance rushed my mother to the hospital, but the demolition crew kept tearing the place apart."Stop right now! Who sent you here?"The crew's foreman kicked me away. "Get lost! Ms. Knight called me herself and told me to do this!"Stunned, I pulled the marriage certificate out of my pocket. "I'm her husband! I'm ordering you to stop right now!"The crew crowded around to look at it. The next moment, their laughter was deafening."You've got the nerve to pose as Ms. Knight's husband with a fake certificate? You think we're idiots?"I picked the marriage certificate up off the ground. Only then did I notice it didn't have an embossed seal.So when Brett called himself he

The massive blast shattered the windows of the press conference hall.Everyone descended into chaos."What on earth is going on? Somebody call the police!"Natalie turned toward the thick smoke billowing outside, and for some reason, her heart sank lower and lower."It can't be..."Brett immediately cut her off. "No way. Knowing Nolan, he's bound to find some way to get back at us. For all we know, he set up the explosion himself just to blow off steam."Seeing the wounded, long-suffering look on his face, Natalie pushed her worry for Nolan completely out of her mind."Nolan isn't a bad person at heart. Maybe I've just spoiled him too much, and that's why he gets so jealous. As for us... let's not tell him for now."She knew better than anyone that Nolan treasured love and friendship above everything else.If he found out she'd slept with Brett, it would break him.On the surface, Brett nodded obediently, but he opened the view history on his post.In truth, he could guess t

In that critical moment, I saw a familiar face.Sophie Ellison dragged me out of the rubble and cast a regretful glance at my mother. "Nolan, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.All my burns had been bandaged. Sophie sat by my bed, her eyes red."You're awake?"From the way she hesitated, I could guess that my mother was beyond saving.The moment my tears fell, she gently wiped them away. "By the time I got there, she was already gone. If I hadn't seen the livestream of the press conference and rushed over to help you, I might never have seen you again."Sophie had grown up with me, and she'd long been in the habit of pulling me out of trouble.But after I got married, I'd never contacted her again.Seeing the wounds all over my body, a flash of hatred crossed her eyes. "Brett promised me he'd take good care of you. And now he's the one who did this to you! I'm not letting him get away with it!"As for that friendship