Chapter 4The Curse of Betrayal

Someone brave enough to get close knelt, checking the hem of her gown. Then, with a terrified shriek, he collapsed back onto the floor. “Blood. So much blood…”

They scrambled, rushing Natalie to the hospital. The wedding was over, a chaotic, bloody spectacle.

But the curse? It was just clearing its throat.

I spared a glance at Dylan, still frozen on the stairs, his face a mask of shock. In that split second, Dylan could have caught her. But he’d chosen himself, not just letting go, but shoving her away when her hand instinctively reached for him.

“Ethan Sterling, was this your doing?” Dylan’s accusing voice cut through the stunned silence behind me.

I ignored him, simply turning and walking away.

After Natalie was discharged, she ordered me to the hospital. “You think by taking my child, you’ll make me believe your Sterling curse? I’m telling you, you can’t trick me!”

I gave her a cold, hard stare. “What in God's name are you babbling about?”

Beside her, Dylan, his face a shade of sickly green, trembled with rage. “Ethan Sterling, I had people investigate! You drugged Natalie's water, making her legs give out! She fell, she lost the baby, she almost lost her life!”

“It was my fault,” he added, his eyes brimming with tears. “I panicked. I didn't grab her. Natalie, I'm so sorry…”

Natalie shook her head, clutching his hand. “Dylan, I don’t blame you. Everything happened so fast.”

Then, her gaze snapped to me. “Ethan Sterling, you killed my child. You owe a life for a life.”

“But don't worry. I won't take yours.”

“Cut off Ethan’s father’s imported medication. It’s time he learned a lesson.”

My breath hitched. I lunged forward, desperate to stop her. “No! Natalie, you can’t! You want to hurt someone, hurt me! Not him!”

“My father was injured saving you! If you stop his meds, he might never wake up!”

Her eyes, cold and sharp, cut through me. “Spare me the theatrics. You ruined my wedding with Dylan! You killed my baby!”

I pulled out the freshly printed divorce papers from my bag. “I told you it’s the curse! If you sign these, none of this will happen again!”

She laughed, a harsh, brittle sound, and ripped the papers to confetti again. “Ethan Sterling, you think I’m a fool? Still peddling that curse nonsense?”

“Divorce? Out of the question!”

Then, she had me dragged back to the Hayes mansion, thrown once more into that suffocating room.

I pleaded with the guard outside the door. “Please, open the door! Let me out! I need to see Natalie!”

“Open up! I have to save my father! How much? How much to open the door?”

The guard's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “Mr. Sterling, please don't make this harder on us.”

For three days, I screamed until my voice was a raw, useless rasp. I hammered on the door until my hands were pulp, stained crimson with my own blood.

Just as despair began to consume me whole, Natalie finally opened the door.

“It’s Grandfather’s eightieth birthday. You’re coming with me. Don’t you dare try any of your tricks again.”

“Get him cleaned up,” she ordered the guards. “We leave in thirty minutes.”

The moment I got my phone back, I powered it on. A barrage of missed calls from the hospital. My hand trembled as I dialed back.

“Mr. Sterling, why did it take you so long to answer? Your father… he passed away last night.”

I was a phantom, numb and hollow, as I was led to Natalie. She slid into the car I'd bought for her, Dylan already nestled beside her. She rolled down the window, looking out at me. “This car’s full. You’ll take the other one.”

With a nod, she ordered the driver to leave.

I stared at the death certificate the hospital had sent to my phone. Hatred, cold and bitter, surged through me, eclipsing everything else.

At that exact moment, an out-of-control semi-truck veered directly towards the sedan Natalie was in.