Reclaimed By My Ex-husband-Chapter 48: Twisted desire

Zara stiffened.

Her mind spun in a haze of doubt and dread. ’Was Nathaniel... with her?’ Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as the question echoed in her mind like a warning bell.

The possibility made her stomach twist, but she said nothing, staring back at Riya with simmering rage building in her gaze.

Riya held up her phone with a smug grin and turned the screen toward Zara. "See for yourself," she said coolly. "He was with me last night."

Zara’s eyes dropped to the screen, and her heart sank like a stone.

There was a clear image of Nathaniel draping his suit jacket over Riya’s bare shoulders. Her eyes blinked once, twice as she stared at the photo with disbelief.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she snatched the phone from Riya’s hand, needing to see more, needing to understand.

She swiped through the photos, her gut tightening with every frame. One showed them sitting at the bar counter—Riya leaning close, her hand resting on Nathaniel’s shoulder, their proximity far too intimate for Zara’s comfort. To an outsider, they would look like a couple. A woman comforting her beloved.

Zara’s face lost color.

Nathaniel. At a bar. With Riya.

But he had stopped going to bars long ago, ever since he had been diagnosed with stomach issues. Even when he did drink, it was in moderation and only at home or during business parties.

What had driven him there last night of all nights? Was it Riya who lured him out?

Zara’s stomach twisted. Her heart pounded with betrayal, confusion, and a sickening wave of doubt.

"He was upset last night. And it’s all because of you." Riya’s voice sliced through Zara’s turbulent thoughts. "Nathaniel told me everything—how this marriage is weighing him down, suffocating him. He is tired of trying to make something work when his heart clearly isn’t in it."

Zara stood frozen, her chest tight.

Riya wasn’t finished. She stepped closer. "He needs someone he can open up to, someone who truly gets him," she went on with confidence. "And that person is me. We grew up together. We understand each other so well. With me, he can finally breathe."

She snatched the phone back from Zara’s hand and looked at the glowing image of Nathaniel on the screen.

"He wants to restore peace in his life. He wants laughter, love, and a life that isn’t weighed down by obligations. And I... I can give him that."

Though Zara had sworn she wouldn’t let them hurt her anymore, Riya’s words pierced through her like icy needles.

She had told herself she no longer had expectations from Nathaniel, that she had let go, but the image of him with Riya stirred something sharp and bitter inside her.

Pain twisted her chest. Once again, his harsh words from her previous life echoed in her mind, throwing her off balance.

A disturbing thought crept in. Had Nathaniel been harboring feelings for Riya all along? Had she been blind for so long?

"Sooner or later, I’ll be his wife," Riya said with cruel conviction. "So stop clinging to a man who doesn’t love you. You are just humiliating yourself. Walk away while you still have some dignity left."

Zara pinned Riya with a look of contempt. Her fingers itched to slap the smugness off Riya’s face, to scream and release all the rage she had buried, but she didn’t. Though her heart ached and her mind was clouded with pain and doubt, she forced herself to stay composed.

"What I choose to do with my life is my decision," she said with authority. "You don’t get to dictate it. Stop concerning yourself with me and come back to reality. You are deluding yourself, thinking Nathaniel sees you as anything more than a sister."

The smirk on Riya’s face twitched, her confidence faltering.

"Yes, he likes you," Zara went on. "But not the way you fantasize. He sees you as a sister. That’s why he talks to you. That’s why he trusts you. But you, with your twisted obsession, have twisted that affection into something vile."

"You—!" Riya’s voice rose, but Zara didn’t let her continue.

"If he had ever loved you, he would have chosen you. But he didn’t. He chose Nora. And after she passed away, he didn’t turn to you either. He married me. He lived with me for five years. And no matter how much you wish it otherwise, I am still his wife. I am still the woman his son calls ’Mommy’. And you—you are just an adopted little sister who is crossing every boundary with disgrace."

Zara took a bold step closer, raising her chin with quiet pride.

"The family let you stay out of respect for what your father and grandfather did for them. But with each shameful step you take, you spit on their sacrifices. Keep going like this—and you’ll be the one they cast out without a second thought."

Riya’s face flushed with anger. She lost the last shred of her composure and raised her hand to slap Zara. But Zara was faster. Her hand shot up, catching Riya’s wrist mid-air with a sharp, unyielding grip.

Riya’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Let go!" she hissed, twisting her arm, but Zara’s hold only tightened.

"I’m not someone you can bully anymore," Zara seethed. "You won’t get away with hurting me, not this time."

And with that, she yanked Riya’s hand aside and delivered a sharp backhand slap across her face. The force sent Riya reeling. She staggered and crashed to the floor, clutching her cheek as pain bloomed across her skin.

Her expression turned venomous, but before she could leap back at Zara, the sound of footsteps made her pause. Gracie and Paulina had just stepped into the hall.

Gasps echoed as Gracie’s shopping bags slipped from her hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"What in the world is happening here?" Gracie rushed over, alarm flashing in her eyes. She helped Riya up gently, brushing her hair aside to examine her flushed cheek.

"She hit me, Mom," Riya wailed, burying her face in Gracie’s shoulder. Fake tears spilled down her cheeks as she played the victim.

New novel chapters are published on fr(e)ew𝒆bnov(e)l.com