Forgive the Knife, Not the Lie

Natalie Harrington never expected that less than a year after remarrying, Adrian Brown would cheat on her again.

As the design director of Brown Group, she had worked late into the night once again. When she returned home, she saw the servants standing in a row at the foot of the stairs, blocking the way.

The moment they spotted her, their faces turned deathly ashen.

"Mrs. Brown… why are you back? Didn't Mr. Brown say you'd be working through the night and wouldn't be coming home? I… I'll go upstairs and ask him to come down."

As the servant turned and went upstairs, Natalie heard the sounds coming from above.

"Ah… that feels so good! Adrian, slow down, I can't take it…"

"Go on. Louder. Natalie isn't home anyway. You can scream all you want."

"You're so bad… ah!"

Seeing Natalie's expressionless face, the servant asked nervously, "Mrs. Brown, I'll go tell Mr. Brown right away that you're back."

"No need." Natalie turned and walked toward the dining room, her voice calm. "I'm hungry. Prepare a late-night meal for me."

"That's it?" The servant froze, staring at Natalie in disbelief.

"Did Mrs. Brown just say she was hungry?"

"If this were before, she would've stormed upstairs and dragged that woman down for a beating."

"Yeah. Three years ago, Mrs. Brown beat that woman so badly she nearly ended up in the hospital. If Mr. Brown hadn't stopped her, that woman might've died."

"Maybe she's completely disappointed now. After all, Mr. Brown once promised he'd never cheat again."

......

Their words all reached Natalie's ears, yet she showed no reaction.

Three years earlier, when Adrian cheated for the first time, Natalie beat the woman mercilessly, then immediately demanded a divorce.

No matter how he begged, she never wavered.

Less than a year after she left, Adrian searched the entire world and finally found Natalie.

To beg her to come back, he lashed himself ninety-nine times right in front of her.

With every strike, he said, "I'm sorry."

After ninety-nine apologies, Natalie finally softened.

After they remarried, Adrian treated her well, as if he wanted to give her his entire heart.

He canceled every unnecessary social engagement and came home on time every day to be with her.

He even cooked for her himself, making her favorite ribs.

Knowing she loved white roses, he personally bought a hundred acres of land and planted an entire field of them, just to make her smile.

What Natalie never expected was that in just nine months, he cheated again.

After she finished eating, the sounds upstairs still hadn't stopped.

Even the servants couldn't help complaining, "Why isn't Mr. Brown done yet? That woman is unbelievable. Every time she comes, it drags on until midnight."

Only then did Natalie realize this wasn't the first time Adrian had brought that woman home.

She wiped her mouth and stood up, heading upstairs.

It wasn't her first time catching Adrian cheating, but this time, she was far calmer.

When the door opened, she saw two bodies tangled together on the bed at a glance.

"Adrian, you're amazing! Are you this intense with your wife in bed too?"

"Natalie is fragile. I'd never treat her like this. I love her. Do you understand?"

"That's awful. So you don't love me? You even use a whip on me. Why don't you do that to her?"

"Because… I can't bear to hurt her…"

Watching the two figures entangled together, Natalie was reminded of her past with Adrian.

The Harrington family and the Brown family had been close for generations, and the two of them had known each other since childhood.

When Natalie was very young, her mother had already told her that she would marry Adrian one day.

She had feelings for him and never thought about refusing.

Adrian was two years younger than Natalie and loved to play from a young age.

He disliked studying and had no interest in learning the family business.

Natalie was like an older sister to him, patiently teaching him how to study and how to manage the family business.

Whenever he made mistakes, she stood in front of him and took the blame.

The words Adrian said to her most often were, "Natalie, what would I do without you?"

Later, they got married.

On their wedding night, Adrian kissed her brows, her eyes, her nose, her lips with tenderness.

Knowing how afraid of pain she was, he was as gentle as possible when he took her.

The moment she shed tears, he pulled her tightly into his arms and promised, "Natalie, I love you. I'll love you for the rest of my life."

That night, Adrian was as happy as if he had the whole world.

Natalie believed they would be happy like that forever.

But what was meant to come always did. A year ago, Adrian still cheated.

She thought forgiving him once meant there wouldn't be a second time. Less than a year later, he cheated again.

And this time, Natalie knew their relationship had reached its end.