Divorce: The Fugitive Wife

Chapter 3 Suspicion

After Jayden left,Natalie lay on the bed,her eyes blank and unfocused.The soreness in her limbs was overwhelming,but she barely noticed.The image of the wild wolf dying in front of her deepened her fear of him.Jayden was far from a normal person—he was nothing short of a madman.

Yet he hadn’t always been this way.

Natalie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.In her dreams,the happy moments from the past seemed to come alive again.She could still remember their wedding night,Jayden holding her hand tightly,gently promising he would cherish her forever.And in the early days of their marriage,he had kept that promise.

Natalie was afraid of the dark,and no matter how stormy it got,Jayden would pick her up from work every night.During her painful cramps,he would patiently make her ginger tea and rub her stomach until she fell asleep.When she tried dieting,he would cook creative low-fat meals for her.No matter how busy he was,he never missed their morning kisses or bringing her a glass of warm milk at bedtime.

For a long time,those thoughtful gestures were genuine,and Natalie had once felt incredibly lucky to be married to him.

But later,it was Jayden who had pushed her into an abyss.

The look of utter hatred on his face was unforgettable.“Natalie,I will never forgive you.Just wait for your place in hell!”

After that,she spent three agonizing years in prison.On the day the verdict came down,Natalie’s world shattered.Desperate,she tried to plead with Jayden to listen to her explanation.But he pried her fingers off one by one and shut the car door with a cold smirk.

“This is what you deserve.Spend your time in prison making up for what you did.”

“No...it wasn’t me.I’m innocent...”

Tears soaked her pillow as a profound sense of helplessness washed over her.Trapped in her dreams,she tossed and turned,shivering one moment and burning the next,unable to find peace.

When daylight flooded the room,Natalie’s eyes snapped open.The unfamiliar surroundings disoriented her.Only then did she realize she’d been thrown out of her room sometime during the night and was now lying in the wolf’s den.The body of last night’s wolf had been taken away,but the thick scent of blood still lingered in the air.

She tried to get up,but the cage’s latch was locked with heavy chains.Before long,the sight of a servant caught her attention.

Her eyes lit up as she waved,trying to get the servant to let her out.The servant opened the door just to throw a bowl of plain porridge at her,rolling her eyes in disdain.“Stay put!You want to get out?Forget it.”

With that,the servant locked the cage again and walked away with a smug look.

A wave of humiliation washed over Natalie.It wasn’t hard to guess that this was all Jayden’s doing,another way to torment her.But in her current state,she had no means to resist.Her only hope was to escape and uncover the truth from years ago to clear her name.

Having not eaten for a day and night,and after barely surviving a wolf attack,she calmed herself and swallowed her hunger.Feeling weak,she picked up the bowl and finished the oatmeal as fast as she could.

Unbeknownst to her,this scene was witnessed in full by Lucy.

“Well,look who it is.Isn’t this our famous Dr.Smith?Eating like a dog in a cage and not even leaving a drop behind!”Lucy sauntered over,her voice dripping with mockery.Her beautiful face was full of arrogance and disdain.

Natalie bit back her anger,unwilling to respond,but Lucy only grew bolder.

“My brother still has a soft spot for you,considering you’re still alive.If it were up to me,you’d pay with your life for murdering our parents!”

“Enough!”Natalie finally snapped back.“You keep accusing me of hurting your parents—where’s your proof?Don’t forget,I wasn’t the only one there that night.You were too!Are you telling me you know nothing about what really happened?So tell me,what were you doing in your room when the fire started?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?Who else could it have been but you?They were my parents.How could I harm them?I...I was asleep in my room...”Lucy’s voice wavered as she stammered through her response.

“You slept so soundly you didn’t even smell the smoke?”

“Of course not!”

Lucy denied it immediately,but a fleeting hint of guilt crossed her eyes.She thought she’d hidden it well,but Natalie saw through her in an instant.

What had started as a jab turned into a revelation.Natalie began piecing together the details of that night.It was an ordinary Saturday.Jayden had taken her home,saying his parents wanted to see her.The dinner table was laden with carefully prepared dishes,and they chatted comfortably while eating.

After dinner,Jayden left for work,leaving Natalie to keep his parents company.It was during this time that Lucy returned,looking unusually shaken,her face tinged with panic.When Natalie asked her what was wrong,Lucy brushed her off.

The next thing Natalie knew,she had woken up coughing,surrounded by uncontrollable flames.The Roberts parents perished in the fire,while she and Lucy were taken to the hospital and narrowly survived.

The old house burned to ashes,leaving no evidence behind.Back then,she’d believed it to be an accident,overcome by grief.But now,looking back,there were too many inconsistencies.

Why had she suddenly fallen asleep while talking with the parents?And Lucy’s alibi—full of holes.

But for now,the truth remained buried,and Natalie had no choice but to press on through the fog,determined to find the light.

“Whatever.Stay here and think about what you’ve done!”Lucy snorted,but there was an edge of panic in her retreating figure.

Natalie’s eyes narrowed,already forming her next plan.

When evening came and the servant brought dinner,Natalie cleverly unlocked the cage.Under the cover of night,she slipped into Jayden’s study.It was where he kept important documents,and she hoped to find clues there.

She sifted through papers carefully,not wanting to miss anything.She was so engrossed that she didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until it was too late.

There was only one person who’d be returning at this hour—Jayden.

As the footsteps grew louder,Natalie’s heart raced,and sweat dotted her forehead.The moment the doorknob turned,she quickly ducked under the desk.