Chapter 10: Zara, a gold digger?
On the other end, Zara sat frozen, the phone still in her hand, her expression blank as Nathaniel’s cruel words echoed in her mind. A dull ringing filled her ears, and her face turned pale with shame.
"So, that’s what he thinks of me," she whispered with disbelief and sorrow.
A bitter sting welled up in her chest. Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. All those years—every sacrifice she had made, every time she prioritized his needs over hers, every little effort to keep their family together meant nothing to him. He saw her as someone a gold digger.
She swallowed hard, trying to push away the growing lump in her throat. Memories flickered in her mind—how she had stayed up late tending to him when he was sick, cheered him up when he was stressed, packed his bags when he was going on business trips, and smiled through loneliness just to keep things peaceful. She had hoped he would one day see her love, feel it, and return it.
"I never wanted your money. All I wanted... was your love."
A single tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, forcing herself to breathe, though her heart was aching.
She set the phone aside and focused on her sketches.
Ring-Ring-Ring...
Zara’s phone vibrated again. She glanced at the screen—Dad. A sigh escaped her lips before she answered.
"Hello?"
"You ungrateful brat!" her father’s furious voice thundered through the phone. "Because of you, Jaxon is in the hospital. We can’t even live in peace in our own home. Get over here now. I want to speak with you."