He Said He Married Her To Protect Me Novel by ElaraThorne _ Novel



He Said He Married Her To Protect Me Novel by ElaraThorne _ Novel

He Said He Married Her To Protect Me Chapter 01

I had been in a long-distance relationship with Nathaniel Linley for five years, and every single day, he called me to take care of his physical needs.
Whenever he reached his peak, he would murmur, completely insatiable, "Lilah, I'm losing my mind without you..."
So I grabbed a last-minute flight back and hid in his closet, planning to surprise him.
But what I saw broke my heart.
The moment the bedroom door opened, Nathaniel carried my best friend, Serena Aldrich, onto the bed I had bought for us.
She flipped over and straddled him, unbuttoning his shirt as she cooed, "Five years have passed, Nate. That idiot Delilah still hasn't realized we've been together. It's honestly boring.
"She's already proposed to you 99 times. Why don't we give her a surprise at our wedding next week?"
I clenched the engagement ring in my palm, and my mind went completely blank.
Nathaniel's hand slid under her skirt as he replied, his voice languid, "What's the rush? I've already sent her off to Northern Europe. Are you still worried?"
Through the thin wooden door, the wet sounds and moans were painfully clear.
Curled up inside the closet, I pressed a hand over my mouth as something inside me finally broke.
***
Through the cracked door, I saw Nathaniel and Serena lying naked on the bed, locked in a heated kiss.
Tears fell on my phone just as a message from Nathaniel lit up the screen.
"Delilah, how about we video call tonight instead of just talking on the phone?"
Serena glanced at the chat and let out a scornful laugh.
"Nate, letting her listen in is one thing, but are you really going to livestream this today?"
Nathaniel caught her underwear between his teeth, grinning.
"Do you think she'll pick up?"
Before I could decide, the incoming video call flashed across my screen.
My hands shook so badly that it took several tries before I finally managed to decline it.
They used to care for me and even saved my life. Nathaniel shielded me with his own body in the ruins of an earthquake, risking his life to keep me safe.
Serena stood alone in front of a gang back in school, protecting me when someone tried to slash my face.
Now, they were tangled together on the bed I had bought.
The sight hit me so hard that even by the time they'd emptied an entire box of condoms, I still hadn't snapped out of it.
Nathaniel lit a cigarette and slowly turned his gaze toward the closet.
Our eyes met.
My heart constricted.
In the next second, he exhaled a ring of smoke and raised a brow with a faint smile.
"Delilah, do you have some kind of voyeurism kink? How much longer are you planning to stay in there?"
Serena's face turned pale, and she immediately ducked under the covers.
Three seconds later, I stumbled out of the closet, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "I-I wanted to surprise you..."
Nathaniel sat up at an unhurried pace and blew a stream of smoke straight into my face.
"Surprise me? I already got the notification about your flight booking. What exactly were you planning to surprise me with?"
He reached between Serena's legs and tossed a damp little rabbit tail to me.
"See? This is what a real surprise looks like."
I had proposed to him 99 times, each time trying something new, all because I wanted to repay him for saving my life.
Now, every bit of that effort felt like a joke.
"W-Why would you do this to me?"
Seeing my puzzled look, Nathaniel spoke up with mild indifference.
"Why? Don't tell me you thought you could have me all to yourself. Isn't that a little selfish?
"Besides, every time I called you, Serena let out a few quiet moans. Don't tell me you never noticed."
As it turned out, every time he said he missed me, he had actually been with her.
My body trembled, and my stomach churned violently.
Serena calmly pulled on my pajamas, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Delilah, didn't you always say you were willing to share everything with me?
"You're so busy with work, so I kindly helped Nathaniel take care of his needs. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
I shoved her hard and grabbed the nearest photo frame, hurling it at her.
"Get out! Both of you, get out!"
The cruelest part was that the photo inside the frame, which used to be of Nathaniel and me, had already been replaced with a picture of Serena in a bikini.
Nathaniel had told me every day that when he missed me, all he could do was look at the photo.
That was the photo he meant.
A startled cry rang out as Nathaniel stepped in front of Serena without hesitation.
The frame struck his forehead, and blood immediately began to run down.
"Delilah, can you stop acting so crazy? It's not like I'm abandoning you.
"And it's definitely not my fault I'm not marrying you. You're just not good enough for me.
"Serena and I are just having a wedding. As long as you don't make trouble, our relationship doesn't have to change."
I lost control and started throwing everything within reach at them.
"Our relationship? Are you expecting me to be the other woman?
"Get the hell out of my house! You're both disgusting!"
The door slammed shut with a deafening crash.
Standing in the wrecked bedroom, I hurled the engagement ring out the window.
Then, almost as if I weren't in control of my own body, I picked up a shard of broken glass.
Just like I had when I was younger, I pressed it against my wrist and dragged it down.

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