A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Natalie was stupefied. In all her years growing up, this was the first time Cora had ever hit her, and it was a straight-up slap across the face. Judging from the strength Cora had used, she hadn’t held back in the slightest. The sting on her cheek she could endure, but the crack that opened in her heart wasn’t something she could accept.

“Did you actually hit me, Mom?” she asked in disbelief.

Seeing the hurt in Natalie’s eyes made Cora feel like she’d gone a bit too far. However, her gaze stayed sharp as she stared Natalie down. She reached out to touch Natalie’s cheek, but the latter flinched and dodged her.

She asked coolly, “What did I tell you before sending you to your father? If he doesn’t come back, you and your sisters aren’t allowed to come back, either. I wanted you to bring him home. He has issues with me, but he wouldn’t have made things hard on you girls. And what did you do? You come back alone.

“Secondly, I’m the one who gave birth to you. Could anyone possibly know better than I do who your father is? Get this into your head-Joseph Hart is your father.”

Natalie wanted to argue, but the force of Cora’s presence was overwhelming. She couldn’t summon the courage, and she felt wronged after being scolded. Still, she clung stubbornly to one last thread of defiance. “But… but there’s a paternity test result. It says I’m not biologically related to Joseph.”

“That’s fake.”

“You’re saying the test result Joseph gave me is fake?”

“Of course. You were a complete fool for falling for it. Think about how well he’s always treated you-he’d give you the best of everything if he could. And you actually question whether you’re his daughter? You’ve really let him down. You’ve let me down, too!”

Once Cora saw that Natalie had been cowed, she stopped lecturing her. She told Natalie to stay home, then headed to the hospital to pick up Selena and Kimberly. Unbeknownst to her, Natalie only grew more indignant as she simmered. Finally, she stormed off to Bernard and Helen’s home to complain.

When she arrived, her tears burst forth like a dam and poured down her face uncontrollably. She sobbed so hard she could barely speak, and the sight of her in such a state made Helen’s heart ache.

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