When She Rose From the Ashes (Natalie and Jensen) novel Chapter 562

562 /610

**HereSelf 562**

**562 He Had to Get Sick**

James inhaled deeply, but the sharp ache in his chest remained relentless, a constant reminder of the turmoil that engulfed him.

With a voice choked by emotion, he said, “Mr. Baron, let’s be honest here. People like us… we’re merely tools in the grand scheme of things, pawns in the boss’s game to rake in profits. It’s our ability to generate income that keeps us tethered to him. But the truth is, we’re not easily controlled, so he resorts to manipulating our families to ensure our compliance.”

His words hung heavy in the air, a bitter truth that he had come to accept.

“I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I don’t even know who my parents are. The director of the orphanage raised me, but I was never academically inclined and lacked any discernible skills. All I could do was wander the streets, falling in with the wrong crowd. I thought that was the end of my story until I met Beth.”

A soft smile flickered across his face as he recalled her.

“She was my beacon, the one person I wanted to shield from the world’s harshness. When she chose to abandon everything—her family, her past—to be with me, I made a vow. I would turn my life around, provide her with the best life imaginable, and prove to her parents that choosing me wasn’t a mistake!”

As the memories flooded back, tears streamed down James’s cheeks, each drop a testament to his regrets and longings.

“In my desperate rush to earn money, I was introduced to Rachel, one of the boss’s subordinates. She dangled the promise of a job in front of me, saying that as long as I wasn’t afraid to face death and was willing to grind hard, I would surely find success. To keep my promise to Beth, I threw myself into work as if my very life depended on it. When I finally amassed some wealth and the boss instructed me to bring them over to share in my fortune, I was over the moon. Little did I know, it was all part of a sinister trap.”

Baron listened intently, his suspicions brewing beneath his calm exterior.

James’s gaze grew distant as he relived the painful past.

“When Beth came to me with our son, I was overwhelmed with the desire to give them everything I had ever dreamed of. But in that moment, the boss sent a woman to me, claiming it was a celebration of my achievements, a banquet in my honor. I let myself get swept away in the festivities, drank too much, and when I came to, I found myself entwined with that woman, naked and exposed. The reality of what had transpired hit me like a freight train.”

“I was consumed with rage; I wanted to kill her. But the boss merely shrugged it off, saying since I had slept with her, she was now mine. I vehemently refused, insisting that I had a wife and a son. He laughed and told me that every successful man had multiple wives, that it was the only way to earn respect. It was in that moment that the truth sank in—I had been set up.”