Her fury rose. Her eyes burned like wildfire. "I hate you, William. I hate you! I wish I could—"
Bury you in concrete and let you rot for eternity.
Though the words never left her lips, the hatred radiating from her was enough to make William flinch.
Panic flashing in his eyes, he tried to backpedal. "I'm sorry, okay? It was my fault."
"I shouldn't have drugged you or sent you to him. But what's done is done. Let's turn this into something useful. That way, your sacrifice won't be in vain. Don't you think?"
Natalie inhaled sharply, forcing herself to calm down. "What do you want me to do?"
William's eyes lit up. "Just say that Logan forced you."
Natalie narrowed her eyes. "And what makes you think people will believe that?"
"You're my fiancée, Natalie. If Logan laid a hand on you, it'll destroy his image. No one will want to work with a man who preys on engaged women. He'll be isolated. Without support, what can he possibly use to compete with me?"
He was clearly proud of himself. But the moment his eyes met hers, he toned it down and softened his voice.
"Natalie, I promise. Once this is over, I'll devote myself to you. No matter what happened, you'll always be pure to me."
She stared at him in silence, wondering how she had ever been fooled into thinking this man was her happily ever after. She had given up everything for him—her reputation, her fortune, her time. And for what?
William misread her silence as agreement and smiled in relief.
"Let's get it over with, for the sake of our future."
"What process?" she asked coolly.
He beamed and opened her bedroom door. "Come here." He set up his phone on a stand. "I'll hit record. All you need to do is cry on camera and say Logan forced you. Add some details—like the mark on your neck. I'll get a close-up."
"Oh, and did you shower when you came back? Any marks elsewhere? What about your underwear—did you wash it? That could be crucial evidence…"
Each word he uttered made her blood boil. Without thinking, her hand moved on its own.
Smack!
A sharp slap echoed through the room, silencing everything.
Natalie rubbed her stinging palm. It hurt—but it felt so satisfying.
William's carefully cultivated mask of gentleness cracked. He stared at her in disbelief. The sweet, docile Natalie had hit him? Where had she found the courage?
Just as he raised his hand to retaliate, she held up her phone.
"William, I recorded everything. You admitted to drugging me and sending me to Logan's bed. What do you think will happen if this video reaches the media?"
William's raised hand froze in mid-air.
A second later, his fingers twisted as he snatched Natalie's phone.
Natalie didn't resist. Her eyes remained calm and steady.
"I've already synced it to the cloud. Taking the phone won't help you."
William's fingers trembled with anger as he gripped the device.
Natalie added casually, "If you like it so much, you can keep it."
William's face darkened as he stared at her. "What do you want?"
Natalie took the phone back and dropped a document in front of him.
"I want to break up."
William's gaze swept over the bold header: Breakup Agreement. He scoffed, thinking it was a joke.
"You're serious? You want to break up?"
"A man who sends his fiancée to another man's bed—do you think I'd want to stay?"
"Natalie!" His voice dropped, trying to intimidate her.
But she didn't give him the chance. She handed him a pen.
"Sign here. And transfer ten million dollars to my account as a breakup fee. After this, we go our separate ways."
"You still want a breakup fee? Are you insane?" William barked, incredulous.
Natalie's expression remained frosty.
"One minute. If I don't see that money in my account, I'll upload the video."
William narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand what this breakup means for you?"
"Fifty-seven seconds left," Natalie replied coldly.
"Breaking up with me means you lose the Parker family's protection. You'll have no standing in the Roberts family either. Do you get that?"
"What does that have to do with you? I earned my place in the Roberts family through my own blood and sweat. Forty seconds left."
"Natalie!" William's voice rose. "Do you even know what you're doing?"
"Thirty-five seconds. If I don't receive the money, the video goes live."
Only then did William realize she was serious. Dead serious.
He thought about the contents of her phone—the footage that could destroy everything.
If that video went public, his carefully constructed image as the charming and respectful William Parker would be shattered.
Worse, Parker's Corporation, which had just regained stability, would once again face chaos. Logan's influence in the company had been growing, especially after saving it from the brink of disaster. If William's image took another hit, Logan would naturally rise in power on the board.
He couldn't risk that. Not now.
Grinding his teeth, William pulled out his phone, opened his banking app, and began the transfer.
As he hesitated one last time, he looked up at Natalie.
"If you want money, I can give it to you. But Natalie, think about this. Once we break up, you—"
"Ten. Nine. Eight…" Natalie began the countdown like an emotionless machine.
With hatred simmering in his eyes, William clicked the transfer button.
"Sign!" Natalie slapped the document in front of him.
"Natalie!" William growled, his glare sharp as knives.
But she was unmoved. She simply held up her phone.
"Sign, and I'll delete the video. Otherwise…"
Left with no choice, William signed the agreement.
Natalie kept her word. She deleted the video from both her phone and the cloud in front of him.
She had already achieved her goal. Keeping the video would only taint her peace of mind.
Seeing how decisive she was, William's fury reached its peak.
"Fine, Natalie. Remember this! You said it yourself—breakup. Don't regret it!"
Natalie tilted her head toward the door and smiled faintly.
"I won't regret it. Now, please leave."
William clenched his fists, barely holding back the urge to strike her again.
William: "???"
She actually had the nerve to throw him out?
He had never been treated like this by Natalie before. Seething, he slammed the door and left.
Downstairs, Hailey rushed over. When she saw the red finger marks on one side of his face, she froze.
"Is Natalie insane…?"
William pushed away her outstretched hand, his heart boiling with rage. As he saw Ashley's worried expression, his voice was cold and filled with resentment.
"I want a divorce!"