Chapter 10

"I don't need money. I only want my daughter," Natalie emphasized. Sarah was her hope for her future. "Unless you secure a stable job before the divorce, and can provide official salary documentation from your employer." Jasper thought for a moment before adding, "If you can also obtain evidence that your husband was unfaithful, your chances of winning custody will improve significantly." Natalie was fully capable of working. It was just that over the past seven years, she hadn't actually held a proper job at any company. However, she had been taking freelance clothing design commissions online, and each completed project earned her a decent income. Unfortunately, she had been foolish. The living expenses Scarlet gave her every month were never enough. She had spent all of it on household expenses, never saving anything for herself. As for evidence of Rowan's infidelity, given how deeply he loved Imogen and how desperate Imogen was to be with him, Natalie knew there would likely be opportunities to uncover it. After Jasper left, Natalie turned to Carmen. "Carmen, can you help me submit my resume and see if any companies are willing to hire me?" "Of course. I'll do it right away," Carmen said as she opened her laptop. "Back in school, every teacher called you a genius. Anything you wanted to learn, you could pick up in no time. Any company that hires you will be extremely lucky." That afternoon, after school let out, Natalie went to pick up the kids as usual. But after all the other children had left, she still didn't see Sarah or Roger, and when she asked the teacher, she learned that because she had arrived too late, a classmate's parent had already taken Sarah to their house first. The classmate lived in a residential complex just a short distance from the school. By the playground slide in the residential complex, two little girls were playing together. "Sarah," Natalie called out as she ran over. Sarah had just crawled into the slide tunnel with her classmate, Tamara Wolfe. At that moment, a young man approached Natalie. "Hello," the young man, Derrick Wolfe, said politely. "You're Sarah's mother, right? I'm Tamara's father." "Hello, Mr. Wolfe," Natalie greeted politely, shaking his hand. "Thank you for helping pick up my daughter." "You're welcome," Derrick replied. "If I'm late to school next time, you can help pick up my child as well." Derrick wore a white down jacket and had a refined, gentle demeanor. His manner was courteous and composed. "Sure," Natalie responded with an awkward smile. She usually picked up Roger and Sarah at this exact time and had never been late before. She didn't know what had happened today. Perhaps the school had dismissed early. She had seen Derrick at the school before, but had never interacted with him. She wondered why he would suddenly help pick up her child. "May I ask if my son, Roger, isn't here?" Natalie asked, since she had only seen Sarah. "He was probably picked up by his father," Derrick replied. Hearing this, Natalie's expression darkened instinctively. Rowan had come to pick up the children without telling her, and he only took Roger while letting someone else take Sarah. As Natalie was lost in thought, Derrick suddenly took off his white down jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "The gate of our residential complex connects to that alley, so the wind blows straight through. You must be freezing." "I… I'm not cold," Natalie said, startled, instinctively pushing his hand away. However, he held onto the down jacket, wrapping it around her firmly, and pulled her tightly into his arms. "It's below freezing, and you're dressed so lightly. There's no way you aren't cold." Derrick held her tightly, pressing her head against his chest. "Let go of me…" Natalie struggled, her strength no match for his. After a moment, she finally managed to push him away. She yanked off the down jacket draped over her shoulders and tossed it to the ground. When she turned, she saw three figures not far away. Rowan stood there, holding Roger's hand, his gaze filled with disdain as he glared at her. Beside him, Imogen held Roger's small hand with one hand while holding her phone in the other, recording the scene. "Mommy! What are you doing?" Roger shouted angrily. "How can you be hugging another man?" Before Natalie could respond, she heard Imogen's sarcastic voice again. "Natalie, the teacher said you didn't go pick up the kids today, so Rowan and I had to pause our meeting and rush to the school, but we didn't expect you to take only Sarah and leave Roger alone in the freezing wind." Imogen continued, "Now it seems you didn't skip picking up the kids at all. You just took Sarah and deliberately came here to meet this man in secret, didn't you?" Natalie glanced at the three people over there, then at Derrick beside her. In an instant, the doubt she had been holding onto vanished, and everything clicked into place. A moment ago, she had thought Derrick was refined and courteous. Now, he looked two-faced—a hypocrite hiding behind a polished exterior. "So you were all waiting for me here? How despicable," she muttered. "Natalie, are you really that desperate? Did you have to use the time meant for picking up the kids to hook up with another man? Sarah is your daughter, but Roger isn't your son? You don't even care about your children anymore, do you?" Rowan asked angrily, his face dark with fury. "Use your brain for once, or go get it checked!" Natalie snapped, refusing to explain another word. She turned and walked toward the slide to get Sarah. "Darling, don't go…" Derrick tried to cling to her, deliberately blocking her path. "Ah—" Before he could finish speaking, Natalie swung her hand and slapped him hard across the face. She spat, her words sharp with anger. "You're a monster in human form. You make me sick!" "Natalie, in front of your husband, you just turn your back on me? When we were dating, you were so playful, so charming…" Rowan rushed forward, grabbed the man by the front of his shirt, and punched him hard in the stomach. Derrick fell heavily to the ground, and Imogen walked over and gave him a look, signaling that he could leave. Natalie took Sarah by the hand and headed home, while Rowan and Roger's angry voices echoed behind them. The family of four returned to the villa, and Rowan took off his coat and angrily threw it onto the couch. Pamela saw this and didn't dare say anything, standing quietly to the side. "Watch the kids," Rowan ordered Pamela before grabbing Natalie by the arm and forcibly dragging her upstairs. "Daddy, don't hurt Mommy…" Sarah cried in fright. "Bad Mommy, she's the one who hurt Daddy," Roger shouted as he shoved Sarah onto the couch and stopped her from following their parents upstairs. Rowan dragged Natalie into the bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it behind him. He shoved her to the floor with force. Her elbows hit first, the pain shooting through her arms until they almost went numb. "You act cold and distant in front of me, but behind my back, you're seeing other men?" Rowan growled, barely containing his fury. "Who gave you the nerve to betray me like this?"