Reclaiming Her Heart

Aria was gasping for air, her hands frantically slapping at his arm. For a second, she really thought she was done for.

Her face turned beet red, eyes bulging like they were about to pop out.

Nathan had a death grip on her and shoved her into the water.

The water by the shore was shallow, and Aria fell in, getting drenched. She stared at Nathan, totally shocked. She never thought he'd actually do it.

A few minutes later, Aria tried to back away, but she stumbled into deeper water. She freaked out, flailing around, trying to grab onto something, almost drowning. Nathan didn't even glance at her; he just kept watching the boats dredging the river.

Aria struggled to crawl back to the shore, her eyes red with anger. "Nathan! Are you out of your mind? You almost killed me! What the hell are you doing?" She cried, wiping her tears away in a messy, frantic way.

Nathan took a step back from her.

Aria, feeling totally wronged, squatted down and started bawling. "Are you mad at me because of some girl? You promised Mom you'd protect me forever!" Her cries were almost hysterical.

Nathan stayed silent, feeling a sharp pain in his chest, his hands shaking.

"Nathan, when I killed Betty's parents not long ago, you didn't say a word. But now, for Ann, you're losing it. Are you tired of Betty and into Ann now?"

"Shut up." Nathan's face didn't even change.

He just kept staring at the river, calm as ever.

Aria kept cursing, but her voice got quieter.

Two hours later, the rescue team came back with news.

One of the rescuers said, "Ms. Anderson might've been dragged down by something and sunk, or maybe she got washed somewhere else. This river's huge. The person who disappeared last year still hasn't been found; they might've been eaten by the animals in there."

Aria was still crying, but when she heard that, she realized the dead person was Betty.

She stopped crying and stood up. "That bitch had it coming! She messed with me!"

The rescuers gave Aria a complicated look, then glanced at Nathan. "Leave this to the body retrievers; we gotta head back."

Nathan had his guys keep searching the river, but there was no news.

His mind was a mess, and he didn't even get mad at the rescue team.

Aria clung to his arm, acting all spoiled. "So it was Betty who died. You must've felt something after all those years with her. She probably still dreamed of marrying you. What an idiot, getting played by you."

The sound of a slap echoed, and Aria's head snapped to the side, her cheek swelling up.

Aria cared most about her face now, so after realizing what happened, she tried to grab Nathan.

Nathan looked at the bodyguard next to him, "Take her back. Don't let her out without my orders." Aria couldn't believe it, "Nathan, are you gonna put me under house arrest?"

Nathan didn't look at her and sat down nearby.

The grass was soaked, and his pants got wet, but he didn't seem to notice, just waiting for some news.

In the distance, Selena put away her binoculars and told the driver, "Let's go to the hospital to pick up Ann."

Selena had seen Nathan and Aria's fight through the binoculars, not knowing what it was about, but Nathan cared about Betty, and Aria relied on Nathan. Now that they were at odds, neither had the energy to deal with her. Selena's eyes were cold. Then she went to the hospital to pick up Ann.

Ann had been brought there last night and checked by a doctor. She was fine and had just finished the discharge procedures.

Selena and Ann exchanged a look in the car, and Ann asked first, "When is Betty leaving the country?"

Selena replied, "Tonight at midnight."

Ann asked, "Ms. Fair, Aria is a madwoman. She really won't make another move?"

Selena sneered, "She's a madwoman, but Nathan's even crazier. He'll keep Aria in check. He can't find Betty now and has already had Aria taken back. She won't be let out for a while. Plus, Aria borrowed people from Nathan last night, basically using Nathan to kill Betty. He can't do anything but go crazy trying to find her."

The best way to make a mad person feel sorrow was to let them experience complete and utter pain first.

Only then would they understand what they had lost.