Chapter 547

“Maria’s daughter falsely accused Kristin of hitting her, and in retaliation, you used your connections to get her disqualified from the competition. That’s why she went to the school and fought with her. Hamilton, I know I wronged you, but please, don’t drag my daughter into this.”
Natalie held her daughter tight, covering her ears to shield her from their conversation.
“The fact remains, your daughter hit Maria’s daughter. I’m just asking her to apologize. Is that so wrong?”
“I can apologize!”
“Your apology is worthless to me!”
“You promised just now that if I apologized to Maria and her daughter, you would let us go!”
“Well, I’ve changed my mind. I want your daughter to apologize, too!”
“Hamilton!” she yelled in fury, but what was the use? “Please, don’t do this. I’m begging you.”
Natalie hated Hamilton and Maria with every fiber of her being, but she was powerless. She couldn’t even fight back; she had to swallow her pride and apologize. She could endure that, but she couldn’t bear to see her daughter suffer the same humiliation.
Hamilton glanced in the rearview mirror, a flicker of pleasure crossing his face as he saw Natalie’s expression of helpless rage, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You owe us this.”
Natalie nodded. “Yes, I wronged you both. When your rivals were hunting you down, Maria was the one who found you, critically injured. She was the one who risked everything to hide you. After you were safe, you wanted to repay her, so you went to the film academy, but you mistook me for her
“You stole the watch I gave her! That’s why I thought it was you!” Hamilton roared.
Natalie’s heart clenched. Maria had been working as a tutor when she found the wounded Hamilton, but he was already hurt and didn’t see her face clearly.
In the rush, the only thing Hamilton could do was leave his watch behind for her.
But Maria had immediately sold it to a pawn shop. At the time, Natalie had saved up some money from a part-time job to buy a birthday present for her father She saw the watch in that same shop, and since the owner didn’t recognize its value, she bought it for a low price.
But her father passed away before she could give it to him.
To pay off his debts, her family had to sell their house and empty their savings, leaving her without enough money for tuition. It was then that Hamilton found her. She had wrestled with her conscience but when the debt collectors kidnapped her younger brother, she gave in and lied to Hamilton, claiming she was the one who had saved him.
Hamilton paid off her family’s debts, bought her mother a house, and funded her education. He became her benefactor, and she landed major roles before she e even graduated. She became a huge star, won awards, and was breaking into the international market when Maria reappeared.
Hamilton discovered the truth and began his punishment. He flaunted his affairs with other women to hurt her and diverted all the resources meant for her to Maria.
She apologized, but they wouldn’t forgive her.
She asked for a divorce, but Hamilton said he wasn’t done punishing her yet.
He was suffocating her. Desperate to escape, she… she slept with another man.
He had burst into the hotel room that day and seen her in bed with someone else. He went insane, his hands closing around her throat, nearly killing her.
“Just kill me,” she had whispered then. “Kill me and I’ll finally be free.”
At that moment, she wasn’t afraid anymore. She had nothing left to lose.
But fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on her. Not long after, she discovered she was pregnant.