A Love to Die For (Nathaly) novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Nathaly had only fainted from low blood sugar and emotional exhaustion, but Elijah summoned every doctor in the city for her.

Watching the all-too-familiar scene unfold, Nathaly felt nothing but contempt.

For the next two days, Elijah barely left her side.

When Nathaly ignored him, he forced Nicole to come and apologize.

“Nathaly, I’m sorry. I was just joking around with Eli that day,” Nicole said, her voice reluctant and insincere.

Nathaly shot her a cold glance and walked straight out to the car.

Elijah didn’t dare stop her, so he simply followed in another car.

Nathaly sold all the jewelry Elijah had given her for anniversaries, pawning it off for cheap.

Casper had told her, on the day she’d fake her death, she couldn’t take anything that could link back to her current identity-so she needed cash.

As Nathaly sold each piece, Elijah trailed behind, buying them back one by one.

It wasn’t until he saw the engagement ring he had designed two years ago in the hand of a beggar that he finally real- ized something was wrong and blocked Nathaly’s path.

“Honey, are you short on money lately?”

Nathaly replied coolly, “Charity work.”

May it bless me with a life in which I never have to see you again.

Elijah breathed a sigh of relief.

“Perfect timing. There’s a charity gala tonight at seven at Blue Mountain Resort. I’d canceled your invite, but some of your close friends will be there. Do you want to go catch up with them?”

Nathaly wanted to refuse, but those women were among the few who’d been kind to her since she entered high soci-

ety.

She owed them a proper goodbye.

That evening, Nathaly and Elijah arrived at Blue Mountain Resort together. During the ride, Nicole sent Elijah hun- dreds of messages.

He glanced at Nathaly’s face, ignoring Nicole’s texts.

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06:58

At the gala, Elijah stuck to Nathaly’s side, completely disregarding Nicole, who watched him from across the room with silent tears.

Nathaly didn’t care; she went straight to her friends to reminisce.

The event ended late, and on the way home, Elijah got a call from the resort staff.

“Mr. Tuckett, there’s trouble-Ms. Fridley got drunk and fell into the pool. She’s unconscious!”

Elijah’s expression changed instantly.

“I’m coming right now.”

He hung up, turning to Nathaly. “Honey, I’ll send another driver for you. Wait here for a bit.”

He reached to help her out of the car.

Nathaly stared at him. “Is there really no room for me?”

A flicker of guilt passed through Elijah’s eyes, but he remained firm.

“You’ve never liked Nicole. She’s drunk now, and I don’t want her to throw up and upset you. Another driver will be here in five minutes. You go home and rest.”

With that, he forcibly pulled Nathaly out of the car, shut the door, and sped away.

Nathaly stood there, her eyes full of bitter irony.

He thought he was being discreet, but half an hour earlier, Nicole had sent Nathaly a taunting message from a burner

account.

“Eli only pretends to care about you to keep me safe from your bullying. Tonight he’s working with the resort staff to ditch you halfway and come back for me-our first anniversary.”

Attached were dozens of intimate photos of Nicole and Elijah kissing, tangled together.

“These past few days, Eli only comes to me when you’re asleep. Sometimes we even do it right by your bed after you take your sleeping pills… You’re so lifeless in bed, only I can make him lose control.”

Seeing these messages, Nathaly felt nothing but cold amusement and disdain.

But in the next moment, a tall masked man grabbed her, clamped a hand over her nose, and dragged her into the tow- ering bushes nearby.

He was ruthless-before she could cry out, he raised a hammer and brought it down on her swollen belly.

The first blow left Nathaly speechless with pain, hot blood gushing under her skin.

But the man didn’t stop. He kept swinging-13 times in all.

By the end, Nathaly’s stomach was nearly caved in, broken ribs puncturing her skin. Only then did the man seem sat- isfied.

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06:58

He leaned close to Nathaly’s lifeless face, laughing maniacally in her ear.

“I was the one who ran down your old man years ago. Now I get to crush the little bastard in your belly myself-what a rush, hahaha!

“I’m letting you live as a warning. You were born poor, born to suffer. You’ll never be a society wife, and you’ll never steal my sister’s man. The Tuckett family’s heir will only come from her!”

Through the haze, Nathaly heard sirens and frantic voices, growing louder and fainter all at once.

She was rescued by a passerby and rushed to the hospital.

She didn’t know what the doctors said-only Elijah’s hysterical screams echoed in her ears.

“…Save them both! The baby and Nathaly!”

His face was wild with panic, sweat soaking through his perfectly styled hair.

Nathaly hadn’t seen him so desperate in years.

When Elijah saw her looking at him, his eyes reddened, and he moved to check on her, but a bodyguard rushed in and blocked him.

“Bad news, Mr. Tuckett-Ms. Fridley was so distraught after hearing about Mrs. Tuckett that she overdosed in a sui- cide attempt!”

Elijah’s face changed again. He didn’t hesitate-he turned and ran.

As soon as he was gone, Nathaly grabbed the doctor’s coat with all her remaining strength and whispered, just before slipping into darkness, “No… I don’t want the baby or my uterus… Take them both…”