The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 5

The boy didn't seem to register the explosive anger in the adult's voice, nor did he understand the vicious threat. He simply continued doing his homework in silence.

Hassan closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, his breathing was heavy. "You want a divorce? Fine. But we are absolutely not doing it looking like this. What do you want people to say? That the Carlson family abuses you?"

Natalie lowered her head, her blazing rage suddenly extinguished like a bucket of ice water dumped over a fire no one cared about.

Even now, his only concern was his family's pristine reputation.

She listened as he calmly ordered the driver to start the car, then instructed Zeke to call the housekeeper to prepare first aid supplies and fresh clothes for her.

The housekeeper hesitated over the phone. "But... we don't have any of Mrs. Carlson's clothes left here."

Hassan paused, his gaze slowly shifting to her.

Natalie spoke up. "I had a friend move my things out."

She told the driver to stop the car and offered Hassan a dry, brittle smile. "I'll make sure I'm dressed to the standards of the Carlson family when we sign the papers."

No matter how bad their past arguments had gotten, it had never come to this. Something had fundamentally shifted.

"Suit yourself," he replied, his tone perfectly flat, a flicker of faint mockery in his eyes. "If you step out of the car right now, do you know what tomorrow's entertainment headlines will look like?"

Natalie glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the paparazzi tailing them. The media had endless ways to twist a story, dragging people into a storm of devastating public opinion.

Of course, Hassan cared about preserving his family's dignity, not hers.

Half an hour later, she followed him into the sprawling house they were supposed to share.

Their actual marital home was a massive estate in the suburbs, but they had only spent their wedding night there. The very next day, Hassan moved into this luxury penthouse downtown by himself.

Unable to bear the separation, she had eagerly followed him, even though she vastly preferred the quiet freedom of the suburbs.

Ever since she moved in, he was always working late, sometimes not coming home at all. Even their intimacy was strictly initiated by her.

He was naturally reserved and intensely analytical. She had grown used to it, completely intoxicated anytime he threw her even the smallest crumb of affection.

Could a man so logical he bordered on emotionless treat a child with absolutely no blood relation as his own, merely out of love for the mother?

Impossible.

The photo gave Natalie her answer.

The boy was six years old, and she had only been married to Hassan for four...

A sharp ringing pierced her ears. She started trembling uncontrollably, desperate to cry but unable to shed a single tear. A wave of physical nausea and sheer suffocation threatened to pull her under. Fragments of memories crashed into her mind.

Over the last four years, why had he always come home so late? Why was he always so busy? Why had he never wanted a child with her?

Thinking back to just a moment ago, when she had postured and refused to let Gardenia inside—Gardenia must have been laughing at her in secret.

How pathetic! She had clung to an empty shell of a marriage, still brimming with hope. There was no one on earth stupider than her.

Thankfully, she was finally going to be free.