Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 81

**Around ten years ago**

“Zak, come here. This is Natalia, my daughter. From now on, she’s your cousin. Isn’t it wonderful to have a sister?” Lucien said proudly to me as he introduced his newly acquired daughter.

Lucien just married this scrawny girl’s mother and now they are moving in to live with him which meant that they would be next door. This is my first time meeting her since my mother refused to attend their wedding, just like the other family members. I glanced at the girl’s mother; she looks so normal. Everyone says that she’s a gold digger and fooled Lucien into marrying her to get to his money. If you asked me, I think Lucien could have found a better-looking gold digger and one without an annoying-looking daughter.

“Hi…” I replied dryly without even bothering to fake a smile. I glanced towards my mansion hoping that my mother wasn’t watching this exchange. She had made it clear that she didn’t want me to talk or have anything to do with ‘that gold digger’s daughter’.

The girl, Natalia, was plain ugly. She was too thin. Her hair was a funny color and didn’t look well taken care of. Her face was common and…her eyes looked so lonely…

“Hi, my name is Natalia. Nice to meet you,” she said softly as she presented to me her best smile. I knew a fake smile once I see one because I’ve faked over a thousand of them over the course of my short life.

“Hi, I’m Zak,” I replied shortly without a smile.

I knew with certainty. This girl, she’s the same as me.

…

The first time that I met Zak was when Lucien introduced us to each other a few days after mother and I moved in to live with Lucien in his mansion. I felt very shy when I came face-to-face with Zak. Zak was already a very handsome boy back then. I wondered if all rich boys looked as wonderful and godly like Zak did. I could tell by the look of disdain in his eyes that he didn’t like me, and to be honest, I didn’t like myself much either. I tried to give him my prettiest and most friendly smile when I introduced myself, but he didn’t smile back at me.

“Hi, my name is Natalia. Nice to meet you,” I said as I gave him my best smile.

It would be great if we could become friends. After all, he’s going to be my cousin and my neighbor from now on. However, I didn’t get my hopes up. I was well aware of what I must seemed like in his eyes and also in the eyes of Lucien’s other family members. A poor and plain girl that the family had to take in because her ‘gold digger’ mother was able to fool Lucien into marrying her.

From the day I moved into Lucien’s mansion, I started a new life as a rich little lady of the Rosenhall family. Yes, I am Natalia Rosenhall now. I had nothing to complain about the comfort of the big mansion except that it could get lonely sometime being in such a big place with so few people. The worst was my new school, a private school where selected few heirs and key family members of elite families could attend. Frankly, the school was forced to accept me in because I was now Lucien’s stepdaughter, and therefore, a key member of the Rosenhall family.

“You know that Natalia wasn’t born a Rosenhall right? I mean, how can she be here with all of us?” a girl said with disgust in her voice.

“Exactly. I heard her mother’s a prostitute and Natalia was born from one of her customers. Ewww!” another girl replied.

“That’s just disgusting. We better stay away from her, so we don’t get contaminated by her dirt. Hanging out with her is going to ruin our prospect of marriage to suitable partners,” another girl chimed in.

“I can’t believe she is sharing the same last name as our Prince. She acts all high and mighty just because she has the Rosenhall last name but, she’s just a fake! She’s a fake princess!” the first girl shouted while the others laughed.

I waited until the girls left and I was sure that no one else was in the toilet before exiting my cubicle. Lunchtimes are the worst, I thought, as I threw away whatever was left of my food. Today, as almost always, I ate in the toilet all alone and listened to many girls badmouth my mother and me. It was a common subject that they never tire of. Soon, I was referred to as the ‘Fake Princess.’

--To be continued...