Chapter 3 - Leaving the Party
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Ethan’s large, warm hand closed firmly around hers, anchoring her to the ground.
Natalie turned her back on her mother, faced the silent room of guests, and forced herself to take a deep, steadying breath.
“I’m incredibly sorry,” Natalie said to the crowd, her voice carrying a profound sadness. “But this engagement party is officially over.”
Diane immediately stepped forward, her maternal instincts overriding any sense of social decorum. “No one here blames you for a single second, sweetheart.”
That almost completely broke her.
Sweetheart.
Such a simple, common word. Such an incredibly gentle one. A word she had practically never heard directed at her by her own mother.
Marlene scoffed loudly, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “This is utterly ridiculous. You’re making a massive scene over nothing.”
“No,” Ethan intervened, finally letting his simmering anger show. “You made the scene, Marlene. And we are leaving.”
Marlene looked at Ethan as though he were a particularly rude, insignificant waiter. “This family matter doesn’t concern you, Ethan.”
“I’m marrying her,” Ethan replied, his voice hard and unwavering. “Absolutely everything that hurts her concerns me directly.”
Natalie felt his fierce words settle somewhere very deep inside her, in a hollow place that had grown terribly used to making room for constant disappointment.
Chloe shifted incredibly uncomfortably, pulling her expensive shawl closer. “Mom, maybe we should just go home.”
Marlene completely ignored her younger daughter. Her furious eyes remained intensely fixed on Natalie.
“What exactly did you mean earlier?” Marlene demanded, stepping closer.
Natalie knew exactly what she was asking about.
Now it’s your turn to lose everything.
The sentence hung heavily in the air between them, no longer shouted in anger, but still very much alive and incredibly dangerous.
Natalie calmly picked up her long wool coat from the back of a nearby chair. “You’ll know soon enough.”
For the very first time that entire evening, a flash of true, unadulterated fear crossed her mother’s face.
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It was brief. A mere fraction of a second. But Natalie saw it clearly. And judging by the way Chloe’s lips parted in sudden shock, Chloe saw it too.
Natalie turned and walked toward the exit, Ethan firmly by her side, leaving the shattered remains of her engagement party—and her toxic family dynamic—behind her on the floor.
