Chapter 20: The Begging Ex-Husband
Ethan shoved past the crowd, stumbling toward Natalie like a ghost.
“Natalie! Natalie!” he cried out, his voice hoarse and broken.
Security guards immediately grabbed him, pinning him to the ground in the rain.
“Let me speak to her! Please!” Ethan sobbed, his face pressed against the wet asphalt. “Natalie! Look at me! It’s Ethan!”
Natalie paused at the top of the marble steps. She looked down at the man lying in the mud. There was no hatred in her eyes—only a cold, hollow indifference, which hurt Ethan far more than any anger could.
“Release him,” Natalie instructed quietly.
The guards let go. Ethan scrambled up on his knees, crawling toward her feet.
“Natalie… I was wrong,” Ethan wept, beating his chest. “I was blind! I was foolish! I lost everything! My company, my reputation, my dignity… everything! Please, give me one more chance! Even if you make me a janitor in your company, I just want to stay near you!”
Natalie looked at him calmly. “Ethan, do you remember what you said to me on the night of our anniversary gala?”
Ethan flinched, unable to meet her gaze.
“You told me that you made Carter Group through your own brilliance. You called me a parasite and told me to know my place,” Natalie said softly. “You built your pride on stepping on my heart. Why are you kneeling now?”
“Because I realized I am nothing without you!” Ethan wailed, slamming his forehead against the stone floor. “I am the parasite! You were the queen who gave me life!”
“It’s too late for realizations, Ethan,” Natalie replied coldly. “The five years I gave you were my gift. The destruction you face today is your own creation.”
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