Bye-bye Trash! Hello Queen! novel Chapter 2

Nathan froze, stunned that she had agreed so readily.

Joanna was equally taken aback. In the past, Natalie would have begged for forgiveness, making their father despise her even more. But this time, she was calm and compliant.

“Please don’t sign,” Joanna pleaded, tears streaming down her face. “It’s all my fault. I’m the one who took your place, your identity. That’s why you were so angry with me. I won’t press charges, really. I forgive you. Please, don’t leave us.”

Natalie watched her, disgusted by the most nauseating display of crocodile tears she had ever witnessed.

She smiled serenely. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted, Joanna? For me to agree to the divorce and leave the Scott family?” she said, her voice dripping with irony. “You claim you stole my place, so why don’t you do the decent thing and leave? You say it every time but never do. Who are you putting on this show for?”

Joanna was speechless. Natalie had changed. When had she become so composed?

Seeing Joanna at a loss for words, Natalie turned her attention to Nathan. “Mr. Scott, when Sebastian had that car accident and went blind, Joanna fled the country. That’s when you brought me back, to marry him in her place. Consider my debt for raising me paid in full.”

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, terrified for a moment that she was about to reveal the whole truth. Joanna, too, felt a wave of relief wash over her. There was no way Natalie could have known.

Natalie took the disownment papers from her father’s hand without a glance. She’d already read them in her past life. Without a moment’s hesitation, she signed her name.

She was the Scott family’s biological daughter, a fact they had never acknowledged. Because she had grown up in the small town, they considered her an embarrassment and told everyone she was adopted.

The document was in duplicate. She tucked one copy into her handbag, which she had picked up from the floor, and quickly sent a text message.

[I need to come home. Joanna Scott framed me. Get me the evidence. You have twenty minutes.]

“Sebastian, for two years, I took care of you with everything I had. I never did a single thing to betray you or our marriage. My conscience is clear.”

Sebastian flinched. He remembered her tireless care during those dark years. Her desolate smile stirred an unfamiliar agitation in his heart. But she was too vicious, hurting Joanna time and again. He found the sight of such a malicious woman repulsive.

“Hmph. You’d better mean it, Natalie. Don’t try any tricks. Every other time I’ve tried to divorce you, you’ve found some excuse to refuse. What you did this time was unforgivable. I’m only letting this go because of the care you showed me and for Joanna’s sake.”

Natalie let out a cold laugh as tears welled in her eyes. The pain was sharp, immediate. How could she still be crying over a scumbag like him?

“I don’t need your pity,” she spat. “You never had me in your heart. You never believed me, not even once. A bastard like you is perfect for Joanna. Since you two are so deeply in love, I’ll get out of your way.”

Sebastian’s face contorted with rage. He was about to lash out when he saw her sign her name on the divorce papers without the slightest hesitation.