I Lost My Baby, He Became Her Hero Chapter 04

I Lost My Baby, He Became Her Hero Chapter 04

I looked up to find Adrian’s car parked sideways across the road.

He climbed out and yanked open my door. “Get out.”

I didn’t move.

He grabbed my wrist and dragged me from the car.

Pain tore through my reopened wounds.

A small cry escaped me as I stumbled upright.

His voice was cold enough to cut. “Did you upload that video?”

“No.”

“No? Who else would do something like this?”

I held my phone, too exhausted to defend myself. “Were they wrong? You’re a cheating bastard, and she’s your mistress…”

His palm struck my face, leaving my ear ringing and one cheek burning as I stared at him in shock.

Years ago, we’d taken a pottery class together.

A spinning wheel had barely scraped my hand and left a red mark.

Adrian had panicked and searched everywhere for ointment.

Back then, I thought being loved that fiercely was the greatest happiness in the world.

Now he’d hit me for another woman.

Jack rushed from the car and stepped between us.

“Mr. Cole, Ms. Bennett didn’t post it. I was with her the entire time. She never touched her phone.”

Adrian’s hand froze in the air.

Guilt flashed in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I…”

He paused, clenched his fist, and buried the moment of guilt.

“I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. I only need you to clear things up. Post a statement saying our divorce was amicable and Vanessa wasn’t the other woman.”

“Never.”

I laughed as tears ran over my swollen cheek.

“I’d rather die than help you clear your mistress’s name.”

I turned toward the river as if I meant to jump.

Adrian’s pupils widened as he stepped back.

“You’re insane…”

I ignored him.

The moment he gave me space, I turned and got back into the car.

As soon as the door shut, my control broke.

Tears poured down my face.

It was dark when I reached home.

Before I could react, a crowd surged from the end of the hallway.

Eggs and rotten produce struck my clothes and hair.

Some people took pictures while others recorded, camera flashes firing so rapidly that I could barely keep my eyes open.

“Manipulative liar! Shameless bitch!”

“You broke up their relationship, then pretended to be the victim!”

I stood frozen.

With shaking hands, I opened my social media account.

Twenty minutes earlier, someone had posted a long confession under my name.

It claimed I had been the mistress all along.

“Get out, you lying bitch! We don’t want you living in this building!”

Another egg broke against my head.

I curled into the corner and tried to speak.

“Stop!”

My mom’s voice came from behind the crowd.

She spread her arms in front of me, shoved people back, and pulled me inside.

“I told you to stop making trouble. Why won’t you listen?”

I looked up at her. “Did you use my account to post that statement?”

She wiped my face with a towel and sighed. “Adrian posted it, but he had no choice.”

“You’re leaving the country anyway. You can endure a little humiliation. Vanessa and Adrian still have to live here. Millie is only a baby. Endure it for their sake.”

My eyes burned.

The television switched automatically to the local news station.

Adrian entered the studio with Vanessa and their daughter.

When the anchor mentioned the scandal, Adrian took Vanessa’s hand.

His voice was low and steady.

“Vanessa and I were each other’s first love. She suffered for years and waited quietly for me.”

“Natalie was Vanessa’s best friend. I only paid her extra attention because I was trying to look out for her. I never expected her to twist that kindness into lies.”

Vanessa’s voice broke. “Natalie… she just loved Adrian too much. That’s why she did those things. I don’t blame her…”

Comments from the station’s livestream rolled across the screen.

[So that’s what happened. That woman is terrifying.]

[She tried to steal her best friend’s man, then played the victim. What a manipulative bitch.]

Abuse flooded every platform.

Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.

Years earlier, Adrian’s first company had failed.

Without telling him, I worked three jobs and slept four hours a night.

When he found out, he held me with tears in his eyes.

“Natalie, may I rot in hell if I ever betray you.”

He’d sounded so sincere that I believed the promise would last forever.

Now, before the cameras, he reduced our ten years to a little kindness.

I stumbled forward and struck my knee against the nightstand.

The drawer slid open, spilling its contents across the floor.

I crouched to pick them up.

Then I saw an old metal keepsake box.

Inside was a neatly folded note in Adrian’s handwriting.

[My little girl, Daddy is sorry.]

[Aunt Vanessa has waited for me a long time. She’s fragile and can’t handle stress. Your birth would hurt her.]

[When Vanessa and I have a child, we’ll name her Millie too.]

[That way, it will feel like you’re still beside me.]

I read every word twice, my entire body shaking as the truth settled over me.

No wonder those men had found our home so easily.

No wonder Adrian had ignored every call that day.

My daughter’s death hadn’t been an accident. Her own father had known something was wrong and chosen to look away.

I crouched on the floor, unable to force out a sound.

It felt as if someone had closed a hand around my throat.

Tears struck the paper and blurred the ink.

I didn’t know how long I stayed there.

Eventually, I rose and opened my laptop.

I downloaded every backup I had.

I downloaded the messages, transfer records, prenatal reports, timeline, Instagram screenshots, and the handwritten note.

Then I called my attorney.

“Daniel, I’ve changed my mind. I want to sue Adrian over the affair and the marital assets he transferred, and I want him investigated for murder…”

After the call, I opened Instagram Live.

“Hello. I’m Natalie Bennett, Adrian Cole’s former wife. There are truths everyone needs to hear.”