The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 43

Natalie's temper flared. "Then why don't you talk about how close you are to other women? Cora asked me to come, what's your excuse? Did Gardenia's dead husband rise from the grave and ask you to take care of his woman?!"

The next second, the car slammed to a halt in the middle of the road. Hassan pressed a hand against the back of her neck and crashed his lips over hers, his tongue aggressively invading her mouth.

He had never been this feral before, and Natalie was entirely caught off guard.

His heavy breathing filled her ears. The sudden kiss was so violent that the root of her tongue went numb, and the body he had slept with for four years seemed to involuntarily awaken with a shudder.

Regaining her senses, she planted her hands against his chest, right over his racing heart, and shoved hard.

Outside, a chorus of honking horns blared, urging them to move.

But the usually rational man seemed completely deaf to it, pinning her down as he deepened the kiss.

Unable to push him away, Natalie clamped her sharp teeth down. The metallic taste of blood instantly bloomed in her mouth, yet he still refused to let go.

He kept kissing her relentlessly until a traffic cop knocked on the window.

He slowly released her, staring at her wet, swollen lips. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously hoarse. "Natalie, can't you just behave and listen to me?"

She gave a weak, breathless laugh. "Have I not been obedient enough? What exactly constitutes 'listening' to you? Haven't I been perfectly behaved all these years?"

The knocking on the window grew more urgent. "Illegal parking!"

The cop's voice muffled through the glass.

Hassan pressed a button to roll down the window, turning his visibly bruised and swollen lips toward the officer as he handed over a parking pass.

It was a top-tier clearance pass, stamped with a 'Priority Access' insignia.

She was slightly taken aback. Hassan always kept a low profile; she had never seen him blatantly flaunt his privileges in public like this.

The man remained utterly silent, his entire demeanor radiating a chilling aura.

After inspecting the pass, the cop handed it back and gave a slight bow. "Apologies, Mr. Carlson. How much longer will you be stopping here?"

With a click, Hassan unbuckled his seatbelt and leveled a predatory gaze at her. "Can't you tell? I want you. Right now."

Slap!

Gritting her teeth, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

A stark red handprint quickly welled up on the man's handsome, pale cheek.

"Hassan! When I said I wanted a divorce, I meant it," she said, her voice raspy. "Are the divorce papers ready? I can sign them right now."

His lips pressed into a tight line, his eyes freezing over. "Natalie, if you divorce me now, you won't get a single cent. Will the Thornton family give you money? Can your grandparents support you? How much do you actually make from that dance troupe of yours? Is it enough to survive? Can you even maintain your lifestyle without me?"

"That's none of your business. I'd rather be homeless than stay married to you. At least if I was on the streets, strangers would show me some pity. I was a devoted wife to you for four years—did you ever pity me? Did you spare a single thought for me when you were with Gardenia? Did you pity me when you tricked me into sponsoring Adrian? Did you even worry about me for a second when you couldn't reach me on the night of our anniversary?!"

That night, she had been forced into a car, drugged, threatened, and locked in an abandoned factory crawling with rats and insects.