?Chapter 818:


    A married status would bind Natalie to Linden forever.


    Elyse’s eyes zed with anger. “Well…”


    “What?” Nina appeared out of nowhere, her lips curled in a mocking grin. “Are you suggesting that Natalie’s rtionship with Linden isn’t genuine? That they have no ns to marry? Mom, I’m quite confused. What’s the purpose behind all this?”


    No sooner had she finished speaking than Elyse fixed Nina with an intense re, her teeth clenched as she hissed a warning. “Nina, have you lost your senses? Utter another word, and you’ll regret it.”


    Nina remainedposed. “I’ve long been dead.”


    Her emotional death hade the day Elyse forced her into Linden’s bed and the public disgrace she endured on her wedding day, kidnapped and disyed throughout the city.


    Natalie stumbled out of the hotel after Linden had his way with her. Her eyes were full of shame, telling a story that words could never express.


    There was nothing more humiliating than being forced to sleep with someone she found utterly disgusting.


    As Natalie stepped out, she caught sight of Elyse. “When is Dani going to pay you? What else does she want?”


    Elyse appeared distressed. “Dani mentioned you need to marry Linden.”


    Natalie’s eyes grew wide in shock. “What? Is she insane? Marrying Linden would destroy my life.”


    She had indeed been intimate with Linden, but what of it?


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    She could have her hymen repaired and pretend to be a virgin. But to marry? To someone like Linden, who would never easily agree to a divorce?


    How would she ever climb the social ranks again?


    Natalie clenched her teeth. “I absolutely refuse!”


    Linden, who was picking his teeth, stepped out of the hotel and overheard Natalie’s words. He let out a quietugh.


    He pulled Natalie close and kissed her forcefully. “Still as stubborn as ever, aren’t you? Soon, you’lle crawling back to me, just likest night.”


    As Linden walked away, his words still lingering in the air, a look of sess spread across his face.


    Natalie turned sharply to Elyse, her tone full of me. “Mom, you don’t understand how horrible Linden is! He tortured me all night long! He’s even more rotten than Doug.”


    As she spoke, Natalie rolled up her sleeve to reveal numerous marks.


    Even Elyse, experienced as she was, couldn’t suppress a gasp.


    She examined the marks on Natalie’s arm, then stared off into the distance, falling silent for a long while.


    Eventually, she spoke. “Natalie, darling, there are only two ways out of this mess.”


    Natalie looked at her eagerly. “What are they? Mom, I can’t endure another day without money.”


    Linden had even made her pay for the motel, leaving her penniless.


    He had brought her to a run-down motel, its walls heavy with the smell of musty cigarette smoke, almost suffocating her.


    At that moment, Natalie truly grasped the full extent of the terror that came with poverty.


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