Chapter 4

It seemed Luke didn't expect me to bring it up so directly. The speech he had prepared was stuck in his throat.

He frowned, clearly irritated. "Natalie, are you trying to push me onto someone else?"

"Queenie grew up together with you, and I trust her to take my place. Besides, look at my legs. Even if I wanted to go through with the wedding, I…"

I lowered my head, allowing a heartbroken expression to cross my face.

Luke immediately felt distressed and pulled me into an embrace. He comforted me for a long time before finally making an excuse to leave.

Once he was gone, I took a short nap.

Then, I recalled that there were still things to clean up in my mother's room. As I peeked through the crack in the door, I saw Luke and Queenie hugging each other.

Queenie was wearing the diamond heels.

"Do you like the gift I gave you, Queenie? Your legs are beautiful, so the heels suit you perfectly. I also prepared 999 pieces of expensive jewelry as wedding gifts for you."

Queenie eagerly kissed him. "These were designed by the top designer, July, right? I heard there's only one pair in the world! They're priceless! Luke, I love you so much."

Luke whispered seductively in her ear, "You say you love me, but those are just words. Why don't you show me a little action to prove it, hmm?"

"But this is Melanie's room. She's dead. Isn't it wrong to do this here?"

Queenie blinked her large eyes and pretended to resist, even placing her hand on his shoulders to do so.

The veins on Luke's forehead bulged, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed Queenie's waist and pulled her toward him.

"Doesn't that make it more exciting? Maybe that woman's soul is here, watching me make you feel like you're in paradise."

Disgust overwhelmed me, and I pushed my wheelchair out into the backyard where I gagged uncontrollably.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but when I lifted my head, I saw Queenie standing before me with a malicious grin.

She gripped my chin harshly, her eyes gleaming with triumphant, vengeful satisfaction.

"You still don't know, do you? Luke lied to you. Your mother isn't in the ICU. She's dead—has been for a while. Right before she died, she kept calling your name. Oh, what a beautiful bond between mother and daughter, don't you think so?

"Luke gave your mother to me so that I could carry out my medical research. I cut her open while she was still breathing, you know? I didn't bother with anesthesia. She was in so much pain, and she struggled like some rabid, dying dog."

Queenie snickered, then added, "Oh, by the way, I have your mother's ashes here. I brought them just for you."

She pointed in disgust at the jar on the floor. "That's Grandma's urine pot. It's as filthy and stinky as your mother."

I stared at the jar, hate bubbling inside me.

But before I could do anything, Queenie's expression shifted. She suddenly grabbed my wheelchair and shoved it into the nearby pool. Then, she jumped into the pool and let out a piercing scream that shattered the air.

Without legs, I couldn't do anything but struggle helplessly in the water.

When Luke heard the noise, he rushed to the pool. However, he didn't spare me a glance. Instead, he dove into the water and headed straight to help Queenie.

Just as I thought I was about to drown, Michael pulled me out of the water.

Before I could even cough up the water in my lungs, a slap, full of anger, struck me across my face.

"Are you out of your mind, Natalie?! How could you push Queenie into the pool? Don't you know she's terrified of water?!"

The slap was hard enough to knock me off balance. Blood filled my mouth, and my face swelled immediately.

Before I could speak, Queenie threw herself into Luke's arms, sobbing. "Luke, I was just trying to comfort Natalie. She was crying, and I tried to help her, but she called me a wretch and told me to leave this place!

"I didn't want to, so she pushed me into the water. I was so scared!"

Beatrice was enraged and slammed her cane against my head. "Good lord! What did we do to deserve a curse like you in this family? How dare you try to kill someone under our nose!"

Luke looked down at me from above, his voice as cold as ice. "So, you're the same as ever. You act all generous before others, but you're still selfish and vile to the core. You're disgusting! Hurry up and apologize to Queenie!"

As I looked at their hypocritical faces, I clenched my teeth and roared, "I'm disgusting? Luke, how did I lose my legs? Where's my mother? Don't you think you should explain all of that to me?"

Luke looked annoyed. "You and your mother were too blind to avoid the accident. What do you expect me to say?

"Where else can your mother be? She's in the hospital. Queenie even found someone to care for her. She's not like you, you heartless and vile woman. You deserve to lose your legs!"

The cruel words were like a knife that repeatedly pierced my heart.

Luke shot me a look of disgust, then picked up Queenie in his arms. Then, he coldly ordered, "You don't apologize, huh? Fine. Take her wheelchair. Let her crawl back into the house on her own. Don't give it back to her, ever!"

With that, he left with Queenie.

It wasn't until late at night that I managed to return to my room, holding my mother's ashes in my arms. The white bandages were soaked through with blood, and my severed limbs had long since gone numb.

I pulled out my phone and signed the final document to erase my identity.

From now on, Natalie Johnson would no longer exist in this world.

In the days that followed, Luke didn't return home. Instead, he was busy preparing for the wedding. It wasn't until the day before the wedding that I heard from him.

He had made headlines by buying Queenie an entire island, named after her, on the ocean.

That was when he called me.

"Tomorrow's our wedding day. Even though you won't be on stage, I've bought you a wedding dress. You can wear it and wait for me backstage. That way, it'll be like you're marrying me in person."

I stared at the cheap wedding dress that was on the table, and I cut it into pieces without a trace of emotion on my face.

"Alright. Goodbye, then, Luke."

This was goodbye for real.

We would never see each other again.

Luke chuckled warmly, then corrected me, "It's see you tomorrow, Natalie. We're seeing each other tomorrow."

After hanging up, I packed up all of my mother's belongings and finally left the place where I had lived for over a decade.