Chapter Four
The light vanished from Natalia's face instantly, replaced by a deathly pallor; she staggered a step backward as if someone had pushed her forcefully in the chest, and she clamped her hand onto the edge of the sofa to catch what remained of her balance.
She felt a coldness invading her lungs, as if the air had turned into needles of ice.
As for Cedric, his body jolted like someone struck by an electric shock. His eyes widened in a bewilderment that paralyzed his movement, and the coffee mug fell from his hand to strike the luxurious carpet without him even blinking.
His heart was pounding violently behind his ribs, to the point that he felt the echo of the pulse in his throat, while a cold sweat poured from his temples.
Marilyn gasped and placed her hand over her mouth, her eyes darting in terror between her shattered daughter and her husband, for whom not a single hair wavered.
As for Stuart, he stood up suddenly, his hands trembling visibly, as if trying to find words to aid him, but Jonathan's overwhelming prestige bridled his tongue.
Jonathan did not move; he remained watching their reactions with complete coldness, as if observing a chemical reaction in his private laboratory, realizing that with this blow he had tightened the shackle completely, turning "six years" of possibilities into "twenty-four hours" of inevitable fate.
The words erupted from between Natalia's lips like the final gasp of a drowning person: "I will not marry, Father... I will not!"
Jonathan did not move; instead, his eyes remained fixed on her with a terrifying coldness: "This is not a decision you are putting up for discussion, Natalia."
Natalia tried to gather her scattered self, pressing her hand against her chest which was rising and falling violently: "Cedric hates me! He cannot even stand the sight of me... how can you throw your daughter into the hell of someone who loathes her? How can you do this to me?"
Cedric was watching the scene with a straight back, feeling Natalia's words strike the walls of the office in vain, and his hatred for her increased at that moment; for her attempt to portray him in the role of the "hater" before his uncle was nothing but additional fuel for the fire.
Jonathan turned his gaze toward Cedric, and his blue eyes narrowed with a sharp inquiry: "Cedric... do you hate my daughter? Tell me clearly."
Natalia's gaze hung on Cedric, and her lower lip trembled awaiting a single word from him that might end this nightmare.
Cedric swallowed his saliva, and his voice came out calm, resonant, and so fake it provoked her nausea: "Of course not, Uncle... why would I hate her? She is my cousin, and I hold nothing but appreciation and respect for her."
Natalia's eyes widened with a shock that paralyzed her limbs, then she exploded with a scream that tore through the stillness of the lounge: "Why are you lying? Tell the truth for once! Admit it in front of them!"
"Enough, Natalia!" Jonathan's voice boomed like a clap of thunder, and he stood up suddenly, making the chairs shake: "I will not allow you to overstep your boundaries any further."
But Natalia, blinded by despair, did not back down: "I will not marry! I cannot live with this stupid devil!"
Jonathan stepped toward her with heavy strides, the veins in his neck protruding in a frightening way: "Do you dare to oppose me, Natalia?"
Despite her body trembling like a larva in the wind, she whispered with a broken firmness: "I... will not... marry."
In that moment, the sound of a powerful slap rang out, echoing in the corners of the marble lounge.
Natalia's head jerked to the side, and she clutched her cheek, which immediately flared red, while tears poured from her eyes like a waterfall that could no longer be suppressed.
Stuart jolted from his place and took a step toward his brother: "Jonathan! You shouldn't have done this!"
As for Cedric and Marilyn, they remained in their places like stone idols, watching the scene in absolute silence.
Natalia raised her eyes, filled with brokenness, toward her father and said in a trembling voice: "Is this the price of my opposition... Father?"
Jonathan replied while wiping his palm with coldness: "Yes... and do not push me to do what is worse.
Tomorrow this marriage will take place, is my word understood?"
Natalia bowed her head and sank into a long silence before whispering: "Yes... understood." Then she turned, dragging her disappointment, with stumbling steps toward her room.
Marilyn tried to follow her, but Jonathan's firm voice bridled her: "Marilyn! Leave her." So Marilyn fell into her seat, squeezing her hand over her heart which was burning in silence.
Cedric slipped from the lounge coldly and followed Natalia's trail. And when she was about to close her room door, he pushed it forcefully and entered, locking the door behind him.
Natalia panicked and retreated backward, whispering in a choked voice: "Get out of my room!"
But he did not listen; he lunged toward her and pinned her against the wall cruelly, placing his hand around her neck, his eyes radiating a blind rage: "Because of your stupidity, you will force me to marry you tomorrow!"
Natalia began to feel the pressure of his fingers, and she tried hard to push his hand away, but his grip was like an iron shackle.
Her voice failed as she tried to gather air: "I... cannot... breathe..."
He pulled his hand away suddenly, so Natalia fell while clutching her neck, which burned with the marks of his fingers, and said in a panting voice: "Do you want to choke me, you animal?"
He pinned her again to the wall and rested his forehead close to hers: "Yes! Because you ruined everything! You made Uncle Jonathan rush this cursed marriage!"
Natalia saw in his eyes a version she had never known before; he was not just the arrogant snob, but a cruel monster without mercy.
She whispered while trying to regain her pride: "I was trying... to find a solution to the problem."
Cedric released her and began to clap with biting sarcasm: "Bravo, Natalia! You really solved it!" Then he approached her until his hot breath scorched her face: "If you had just kept your cursed mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this situation now."
Natalia raised her chin in defiance despite the terror: "At least I was brave... and I wasn't a coward like you."
Suddenly, Cedric punched the wall behind her head with amazing force, until his knuckles swelled and reddened immediately: "Your stupid bravery is what will make you my wife tomorrow!"
Natalia's limbs trembled; not just from the idea of marriage, but from her realization that she would become the property of this lunatic. She said in a trembling voice: "What do we do now? Do you have a solution instead of blaming me?"
Cedric laughed a booming laugh void of any material for mirth: "Now you ask for a solution? After you burned all the bridges?" He raised his finger in warning, and his voice dropped to a terrifying hissing tone: "I will make you live through hell, Natalia... I will make you pay a very expensive price for what you did."
At that moment, the door opened and Marilyn entered, saying eagerly: "Natalia, I...."
The words froze in her throat as she saw Cedric standing pressed against her daughter inside the dark room.
Cedric withdrew from her side without uttering a word and walked out past Marilyn with complete coldness.
Marilyn approached her daughter and examined her snatched face and the mark of the slap: "Nat... what was Cedric doing here?"
Natalia swallowed her lump and straightened her shirt with trembling hands: "Nothing, Mom... nothing."