Chapter 5

Natalie's POV

I was nearly finished packing when I received a call from my professor.

"Natalie, the senior simultaneous interpretation position at UN headquarters in Geneva. They're very impressed with your credentials. If you're willing, you can fly over next week to sign the contract and start. This has always been your dream. What do you think?"

I looked at the empty wardrobe, utterly resolute.

"I'm willing to go. Please help me reply to them that I'll report on time next week."

After hanging up, a long-lost sense of relief surged through me.

These three years, I'd given up too much to be a good Mrs. Foster.

Now I was going to reclaim Natalie Sullivan's life, piece by piece.

The next afternoon, I was organizing an extremely important rare German manuscript on the living room table.

This was a unique copy I'd spent half a year restoring and translating for an old professor. I had to submit it tomorrow.

In the time it took me to get water from the kitchen, a sudden "crash" came from the living room.

My heart lurched as I rushed back.

Aria stood by the coffee table, holding an empty coffee cup.

And that precious German manuscript was now soaking in a pool of dark brown coffee, the text rapidly bleeding and blurring. Completely ruined.

"Oops, I'm so sorry."

Aria covered her mouth, but her face showed no trace of remorse. Instead, it carried a provocative sneer.

"I thought this was just a pile of waste paper. My hand slipped and the coffee spilled. Miss Sullivan won't mind, will you?"

Looking at my destroyed work, blood rushed to my head.

I walked forward and raised my hand. "Crack!" I slapped Aria hard across the face.

I used all my strength in that slap.

Aria's head snapped to the side, five clear finger marks instantly appearing on her pale face.

"How dare you hit me?!"

Aria clutched her face and screamed.

Just then, the front door opened and Ethan strode in.

Seeing the scene before him, his expression instantly darkened to the extreme.

"Natalie, what are you doing?!"

Ethan quickly stepped forward, pulling Aria protectively behind him and shoving me hard.

He hadn't used much force, but I felt that shove push me straight into an abyss.

I staggered back two steps, my waist hitting the hard edge of the coffee table. I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

But I didn't cry out. I just stared fixedly at Ethan.

"Ethan, I just accidentally dirtied a few pieces of her waste paper, and she hit me..."

Aria hid behind Ethan, tears streaming down her face.

Ethan looked at the manuscript on the floor, his brow furrowed, then turned to glare at me furiously.

"Natalie, have you lost your mind? It's just a few pieces of scrap paper. If they're ruined, they're ruined. How dare you hit someone?"

Scrap paper?

I laughed bitterly.

That was half a year of my heart's blood, an invaluable academic treasure. To him, it was just scrap paper.

He'd never respected my profession, never respected my soul.

All he wanted was an obedient shell with Aria's shadow.

"Ethan, that was half a year of my work."

I said.

"She deliberately destroyed it. One slap is what she deserves."

"Enough!"

Ethan cut me off sharply.

"How much could a translation manuscript be worth? A hundred thousand? A million? I'll compensate your client! Now apologize to Aria immediately!"

Using money to measure my heart's blood, using authority to force me to bow my head.

Looking at this unreasonable man before me, I suddenly felt utterly exhausted.

I straightened my spine.

"I will never apologize to her. Ethan Foster, you disgust me."

With that, I walked past them and went straight upstairs, never looking back once.