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All Chapters of I Married the Man Who Loved Her: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Natalie's POV"Everyone besides Maddy puts down a finger!"Madeline Rothsford looked apologetic before she suddenly turned to me with a hint of delight in her gaze. "Nat, looks like we're the only ones who haven't been eliminated yet!"I held up my last remaining finger, but a faint, bitter smile tugged on the corners of my lips. I couldn't say a single word.Someone across the table spoke up, "Theo still has a finger up, too!"Then, he ran to pull Theodore Crawford back.Theodore, before taking a seat, seemed to pause for a moment, his gaze flicking toward Madeline.Madeline then lifted her head and smiled gently. "Thanks for the pizza, Theo. I never thought that after all these years, you'd still remember I have a tomato allergy."Theodore was pushed down into his seat. "Come on, hurry and sit down! You're the only one who hasn't gone yet!""I…" Theodore drew out the word, and everyone looked at him expectantly.I was the only one staring fixedly at the salad I had half-pic

Chapter 2

Natalie's POV"Theodore, I've got something to tell you. Will you stay and talk with me for a bit?" Madeline asked.From where I stood, I couldn't see Theodore's expression, but he made no move to refuse.Ryan and the others watched on curiously and gossiped among themselves."Madeline's staying at this hotel lately. Looks like Theo won't be going home tonight.""What's the point of going home? The person he's liked for 20 years just got divorced! He's probably dying to stay! How else is he going to rekindle things?"Hearing their discussion, I chewed on my lip.Eventually, everyone else left, and I was the only one still standing at the hotel entrance.Last night, the light in the bathroom at home had broken. While using my phone as a flashlight to fix it, I slipped and fell, resulting in a bruised knee and a shattered phone.Theodore had said he would bring me to buy a new phone tonight, then go home and fix the light. I knew that getting the light fixed wasn't a big deal, a

Chapter 3

Natalie's POVAfter Theodore and I got married, his nerves were always tightly strung, and he was rarely this relaxed. Now, he was even smiling as he talked to me. If I was being honest, it seemed I was the one benefiting from Madeline's presence.After putting on my shoes, I didn't respond to Theodore's invitation and headed straight to the cafe. I'd put a lot of effort into this collaboration. I had only pitched half of it to the client, Leonard Foster, when he decided to sign.I let out a breath of relief and took the contract out of my bag. But as I did so, I was interrupted by someone calling out to me."Nat? What a coincidence!"Madeline and some of our college classmates walked over. Seeing the contract in my hand, she smiled brightly. "Is this the project about the supermarket? Don't worry about it. I've already put in a word for you. It'll definitely go through."I froze for a moment, not quite understanding what she was saying.This project had taken me months to gri

Chapter 4

Natalie's POVTheodore looked at me and said, "Nat, you—"But I pushed past him and fled out the door.When I got home, the lunchbox was still on the table. A sticky note was attached to the side. "You should start drinking less. It's not good for your health. Theo."It was clearly meant for Madeline.The tears I had held back the whole way finally slid down my cheeks. I crouched on the floor and sobbed quietly.On Madeline's wedding day, Theodore had suddenly barged into the bridal dressing room. The two of them had talked behind closed doors for ten minutes, and then, when Theodore finally emerged, he left with his head hanging low.On the table of the dressing room, only a couple of bruschetta with the tomatoes picked off remained, and Madeline sat there with a complicated expression.She pulled me aside and asked, "Nat, Theo wants me to leave with him. What do you think I should do?"In that instant, I went stiff all over. I remembered that when Theodore left, he had indee

Chapter 5

Natalie's POVWhen I left the house with my suitcase that morning, Theodore was already gone.He had left in a hurry, and the bedding in the study still hadn't been put away. In the past, he would also leave early and return late because of work, and most of the time, I was the one who tidied up for him. But from now on, it probably wouldn't be my place to interfere in his life anymore.I looked away and went out to hail a cab.I had asked a friend to help me rent a small apartment last night. It was move-in ready.On the way, I was just about to text Ryan to tell him I wouldn't be going to the school anniversary celebration today when I received a call from one of our classmates. It was Nina, the one who'd called me heartless back at the cafe yesterday.The moment the call connected, Nina launched into me without preamble. "Natalie, what exactly are you doing? Maddy invited you to the gathering! Why did you ignore her?"I lowered my head and rubbed my temples. It was true tha

Chapter 6

Natalie's POV"We're here. Do you need help with the suitcase?" the driver suddenly asked.I stopped typing, suddenly remembering that Theodore would be busy preparing for his proposal to Madeline tonight.I smiled bitterly, forwarded his contact to Jennna, and then blocked Theodore across all social media platforms. I had already wished him all the best. Why should I bother him any further?...Third-Person POVOver with Theodore, he heard the automated message telling him his call wasn't answered, and in the messaging app, a red exclamation mark popped up in the chat box too.Confused, he turned and asked again, "Where's Natalie?"All his classmates exchanged puzzled looks.Madeline was stunned. She stepped forward and reached out to tug his fingers. "Theo, do you need something from Nat? How about you tell me, and I'll pass it on for you?"Theodore frowned and took a step back, still unwilling to give up, and continued calling Natalie.Seeing Theodore's reaction, Ryan s

Chapter 7

Third-Person POVEveryone suddenly understood what was going on. When they turned to look at Madeline, their eyes were full of shock and suspicion.Nina grew even more terrified. She stammered, "S-So you were planning to propose to Natalie three years ago? But didn't you say there was someone you liked for 20 years? Was that Natalie, too?"Theodore realized the gravity of the situation. If all of them had misunderstood what was going on, then Natalie would have misunderstood as well.What else had she misunderstood? What had led her to block him and hire a divorce attorney to get a divorce from him?Theodore pulled a ring box out of his pocket. The ring was the one he had meant to give Natalie three years ago, but in the end, he had used his grandfather to guilt-trip her into marrying him, without ever having dated.He had thought that once the three-year term was up, their marriage would be set in stone. Tonight, he would finally be able to openly confess to her and make up fo

Chapter 8

Natalie's POVI immediately ended the call with my parents.Theodore, his cheeks flushed and his forehead covered in sweat, seemed to have run here. Without another word, he tried to put the ring on my ring finger.I was startled and stepped back again and again. "What do you mean by this? Did Madeline reject you again? I haven't seen her this whole time. It has nothing to do with me."Theodore's lips were dry and cracked. He shook his head while breathing hard. "I never liked Madeline, and I never proposed to her. It was all a misunderstanding."Listen, I only found out on the school anniversary how many lies she had told. In the four years of college, I have never pursued her. I have only ever liked you. That hug on graduation day was so I could hug you."Also, I only organized the alumni gathering because I wanted to keep in touch with everyone. I want to make our relationship public after our third anniversary. And… And about crashing the wedding—I never crashed her wedding!

Chapter 9

Natalie's POVWhen Theodore saw the change in my expression, he hurriedly said, "I never told him he had to give you the project. I just passed your proposal along, the same way I did your résumé. "Natalie, I understand you want to rely on yourself. That's why I didn't tell you. I was afraid it would make you feel bad!"I pursed my lips.Ever since childhood, I'd always been the most unremarkable person in the room. My grades weren't bad, but they weren't particularly good either. My looks were ordinary too, hardly enough to be called beautiful.I wasn't close to any of my classmates and had no real friendships. I relied on myself for everything. Yet by my 20s, my most successful and proudest achievement had turned out to be something I'd accomplished only because of Theodore."Theodore, if you had told me, I could have avoided it. But you chose to let me know now, right as I'm approaching success. That's what really hurts."I pointed at the door. "You should go. I want to be

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