Zara stayed silent, her expression unreadable. She just stared at Riya, watching her, studying her. She wanted to see just how far Riya could go.
Riya, mistaking her silence for defeat, carried on.
"You know, Nathaniel is the reason I’ve co this far," she said with a proud tilt of her head. "It’s he who has been supporting my career. I’m already a successful model. After this show, I’ll be a na people rember. He even promised to introduce to top movie directors—said he’d help launch my acting career."
Her voice turned sweeter, smugger. "He is going to invest in my projects. He’ll do anything to make happy. This proves just how much he loves , how much I matter to him."
Then, like a knife wrapped in silk, she added, "But what about you? What has he done for you in five years? Nothing. Your career is dead. You have wasted years playing housewife."
She folded her arms, her stance growing sharper, more condescending.
"The world has moved on. You are stuck in the past. No one will give you a second chance, even if you want to start over. You are too far behind now."
She had said that because she had heard Zara’s designs were also going to be displayed in the show.
"But ? My future is glowing. I’ll be on every billboard, every screen. And you?"
She sneered coldly. "You’ll fade into nothing. Everyone in the family will see my worth, even Nathaniel. Sooner or later, he’ll realize marrying you was a mistake. A marriage without love, a wife who never achieved anything—he’ll eventually understand you were never right for him. It’s only a matter of ti before he kicks you out."
Then, her gaze drifted to Zara’s stomach, a cruel satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
"And now that you have lost the baby," she added contemptuously, "there is nothing left tying him to you."
Zara’s face darkened. The mont Riya brought up the baby, any composure she had left was shattered completely. She threw the covers back, swung her legs off the bed, and stood, her movents sharp and furious.
"There is nothing left binding you to Nathaniel," Riya kept going with smug cruelty. "You should just walk away and find soone who actually gives a damn about you. Stop clinging to a man who doesn’t love you."
Zara struck her across the face with a resounding slap.
Riya stumbled back a step, stunned. Her hand shot up to her cheek, eyes wide in disbelief and rage. "How dare you hit ?!"
Zara’s voice was like fire. "Keep spewing that garbage, and I will hit you again."
Riya’s fury flared. "What are you so proud of, huh?" she spat. "What do you have to act high and mighty? Your family is a bunch of parasites—always sucking money out of Nathaniel. And your father?" She sneered, curling her lip in disgust. "He kidnapped his own daughter for a quick payout. How can a family like yours even show their face in the Grant household? You are nothing but a disgrace..."
Before she could finish, Zara slapped her again, this ti with all the strength she had.
The blow sent Riya stumbling backward, crashing onto the floor in a heap. Shock and humiliation washed over her, her eyes burning with unshed tears as she looked up, seething.
"You—"
"Don’t even speak," Zara snapped, her voice shaking with rage. "You call a disgrace? There is nothing filthier than a woman who secretly lusts after her own brother."
Riya trembled, fists clenched, rage pulsing through her veins.
But Zara went on, her eyes burning. "And yet you are the one pointing fingers. You say Nathaniel doesn’t love , but he is the one who ca for . He didn’t stay back in his house, sitting in comfort, waiting for soone else to handle it. He ca himself. He fought for and risked everything to get back."
She stepped closer, her voice rising. "He doesn’t need to say he loves . His actions speak for him. I’m soone he was willing to face danger for. That’s more than enough."
Riya let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Don’t fool yourself, Zara. Don’t mistake duty for affection."
Her smile vanished as she stood, her tone turning cold and cutting. "He didn’t do it for you. He did it for the family’s reputation. The Grants couldn’t let so low-life thugs make a fool out of them. That’s all."
She leaned in slightly and tapped a finger on Zara’s head. "Use your brain for once. If he actually cared about you, he would have agreed to the ransom. He would have arranged the money imdiately. But he didn’t. He chose to challenge them instead. Why? Because he didn’t want to give your greedy father a single di."
Zara’s defiance wavered. The words hit a raw nerve, digging into the doubts she thought she had buried. Her expression faltered for a fraction of a second.
And Riya saw it. She saw the flicker of uncertainty in Zara’s eyes and smiled victoriously.
This was exactly what she wanted.
She pressed on, twisting the knife deeper. "If he had just agreed to pay what they asked, maybe they wouldn’t have tortured you so. Maybe you wouldn’t have lost the baby."
Zara’s mind buzzed with questions and doubt, but she shoved them aside. She wasn’t going to let Riya’s poison take root.
She knew exactly what Riya was doing—twisting facts, manipulating emotions, trying to wedge herself between her and Nathaniel. But she saw through it.
Most importantly, she knew those kidnappers had no intention of letting her leave alive. Isaac had already told her himself—they planned to kill her even after getting the ransom. So whether Nathaniel agreed to their demands or not, it wouldn’t have changed anything. They had already decided to end her life.
"Get out," Zara hissed dangerously, her tone threatening.
Riya blinked, taken aback. "What?"
Zara’s glare sharpened. "Are you deaf?" she snapped. "I said, get out." She pointed to the door.
Riya raised a finger, ready to lash back, but sothing in Zara’s eyes made her hesitate. She swallowed her words, lowering her hand with a bitter glare. "You’ll regret this."
She stomped and stord out.
Zara sank back onto the bed, her breathing uneven. Tears blurred her vision as her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
The baby was gone. But the ache it left behind still hollowed her out from the inside.
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