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Chapter 1 Natalie Bennett and Ethan Fletcher’s marriage was the hottest topic in South City’s high society. One was the heiress of the Bennett family—reckless, rebellious, and possessed of a beauty so lethal it felt like a trap. The other was the stoic patriarch—reserved, clinical, and holding the reins of the Fletcher family fortune. Two extremes, bound together for three years. In their first year of marriage, the Fletcher family presented Natalie with a manual of the Fletcher Mandates. Three thousand rules to memorize and obey. Natalie flipped through a couple of pages. Right before the family elders, tore it into pieces and let them scatter across the floor. “What century is this? You’re still doing this?” Her eyes were full of raw defiance. The consequence? She was banished to the family chapel—a cold, hollow fortress—and locked away in silence for three days. By the second year, the chains tightened. No more clubs, no more parties. Natalie responded by grabbing her Ferrari and smashed right through the iron gates of the family estate—the very gates mean to symbolize ‘order’. The roar of the engine echoed through the whole manor. “You want to stop me from going out? Only if I’m dead!” Back then, she was locked in solitary confinement for half a month,completely cut off from the outside world. Third year—time for children. Margaret Fletcher, the mother of Ethan Fletcher, delivered an ultimatum. Natalie was dragged off to the hospital for a round of fertility testing before IVF. Cold instruments. Doctors talking in a flat, businesslike tone. It all made her sick. When a nurse approached with a needle, Natalie snapped. She flipped the tray, knocked aside the bodyguards, and sprinted straight out. She got in her car and drove straight to the Fletcher Group headquarters. Enough was enough! She’d hidden her claws for three years, trying to play the role of Mrs. Fletcher. What did she get in return? Even tighter chains. She wanted Ethan Fletcher to
