His Betrayal Made Me Stand On My Own

Chapter 4

Adrian had sworn that he would never let anyone hurt me.

Yet now, for the sake of another woman's unborn child, he had sent my wheelchair crashing into a wall with his own hands.

My surgery overseas was 7 days away.

Adrian had flown out of town that morning for a meeting, and the housekeeper had taken time off to visit family.

I sat alone in the study, organizing the last of my asset-transfer documents, when the doorbell rang.

I assumed it was a utility technician coming to inspect the gas line, so I wheeled myself to the door and opened it.

Sophia was standing outside.

Her pregnant belly was prominent, and she carried an insulated stainless-steel food container in one hand.

"Natalie, Adrian asked me to pick up a document he left behind." She stared straight at me. "You don't mind if I come in and sit for a while, do you?"

"There are no documents here for you." I looked at her coldly. "Get out."

Sophia covered her mouth and laughed.

Instead of backing away, she turned sideways and forced herself through the gap beside my wheelchair.

She walked straight into the living room and sat on the leather couch.

"This place is so old-fashioned." She looked around. "Everything is padded. It looks like a psychiatric ward."

I turned my wheelchair toward her.

"Adrian said that once the baby is born, we'll move into a larger house with a yard." Sophia leaned back against the couch. "Kids need room to run around. They shouldn't have to spend every day surrounded by a wheelchair and all this cold, clinical accessibility equipment."

I watched her smug display without reacting.

Sophia got to her feet and walked over to my wheelchair, staring down at my atrophied legs.

"You know, I don't blame Ryan at all for crushing your legs back then," she said in a low voice.

I raised my eyes to her.

"If you hadn't ended up unable to even get out of bed, why would Adrian have been so physically repulsed by you that he came to me to satisfy his needs?" Sophia bent closer. "He says every time he holds you, it feels like he's holding a dead body."

My fingers slowly tightened around the armrest.

"Natalie, don't you think it's pathetic to keep clinging to your place as Mrs. Hawthorne?" She leaned in with a triumphant smile. "I'm the one he loves now, and the baby I'm carrying is the Hawthorne family's eldest grandson."

Two sharp beeps sounded from the entryway.

The keypad lock clicked open.

Adrian, who was supposed to be away on business, walked through the door.

Sophia's expression changed.

The cruelty vanished from her face in an instant, and tears welled in her eyes.

She abruptly stepped backward and slammed her lower back against the edge of the coffee table.

The food container fell from her hand, spilling soup across the floor.

Sophia let herself fall to the floor beside it.

Clutching her stomach, she cried out in pain.

"Ow! Natalie, I know you hate me!" she sobbed. "But the baby is innocent. Why did you push me?"

"Sophie!"

Adrian dropped his suitcase and rushed over like a man possessed.

He shoved my wheelchair aside.

The force sent me rolling backward until the chair slammed hard into the wall.

My side slammed hard against the metal armrest.

A bolt of pain tore through my body.

Adrian didn't even look at me.

He dropped to one knee and carefully gathered Sophia into his arms.

He turned to glare at me with reddened eyes, his expression full of disappointment and accusation.

"Natalie, I thought your legs were the only thing wrong with you. I had no idea you could be this vicious too!" he shouted.

I fought through the pain in my back and looked at him coldly.

"She's pregnant! How could you do this to her?" Adrian held Sophia even tighter. "If you're angry with me, take it out on me. What kind of person attacks a pregnant woman?"

Sophia sobbed against his chest.

"You've truly disappointed me," Adrian lifted Sophia into his arms and strode toward the door. "When I get back, we're getting divorced. If you're going to be this cruel, don't blame me when you walk away with nothing."

The door slammed shut behind them.

Holding my throbbing back, I wheeled myself over to the broken food container.

I took my phone from my pocket, pulled up the full recording, and sent it to Daniel.

Then I called him.

"Daniel, Adrian just told me he wants a divorce."