The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

Sierra reached up and covered her eyes with her hand, careful not to touch the

bandages on her cheek. But the tears still kept falling, soaking into the fabric until

it stung. The pain only made everything worse.

"Sierra, are you okay?" Sophia asked, her voice full of concern.

Hearing Sierra bring up their childhood made her think back too. They were two

little girls, curled up on her big bed, whispering secrets in the dark until they fell

asleep in each other's arms. Those were the moments that made her feel safe.

Sierra took a few deep breaths to calm herself before finally lowering her hands.

She forced a smile and looked at Sophia, saying, "I'm fine, so don't worry. Sophia,

I want to divorce Samuel. Even though I wasn't actually assaulted, in his eyes,

any girl who's been through something like that is beyond saving.

"You're his biological sister. Yet, he still treated you like that. What about me? I

have no blood ties with him. We only got married because we'd been together for

years, and it just felt like the next step. Sophia, this is the first time I've realized....

that maybe I never really knew who Samuel was."

She picked up her coffee and took a sip. Then, she looked up at Sophia and

smiled again. "Sophia, I'm going to divorce him. Whether he agrees or not, I'm

done with this marriage. Back then, he never said anything bad about you or your

mother in front of me.

"Not until we got to Dithoria State and visited Ms. Walker's home, that is. We

asked her parents to help us arrange a meeting with you and your mother. But her

parents politely turned us down."

Sierra continued, "I still didn't know why at the time. It wasn't until we got back to

the car that Samuel finally said something, and my dad became furious. He told

my mom they were leaving, and I didn't feel safe letting them go alone, so I got

out of the car with Samuel.

"Then, Samuel got a call and left me there. That call was to meet you and you

know everything that happened after that. He ended up getting his leg broken by

Mr. Holden's men. I rushed over right away and even yelled at Mr. Holden's

bodyguard.

"But thinking back on it now, I realize I was yelling at the wrong person. That

bodyguard wasn't wrong. Samuel has no empathy, no gratitude. We'd lived

abroad for years in peace, never really facing anything serious, so I never saw

just how selfish he really was."

As Sierra spoke, her lips pulled into a bitter smile. "On the ride to the hospital, I

heard what he said. I was stunned. I couldn't hold it in, so I argued with him-but I

didn't want to fight. So, I told the driver to stop, paid him to take Samuel to the

hospital, and walked away alone.

"That's when everything happened. Even though someone saved me, I kept

thinking-if Samuel found out I'd really been assaulted, would he feel sorry for

me? Or would he say something cruel, like he did to you?

"That's why I decided to test him, and now, you've seen the result for yourself.

Sophia, whether you believe me or not from the beginning, I never thought of

you the way Samuel did. I'm a woman, too. I know exactly how much it hurts

when something like that happens to another woman.

"Even if it were a stranger, any decent person would feel some compassion. But

your own brother? I'm disappointed. More than that, I'm heartbroken. It pains me

to realize that the man I loved for years is actually so selfish and rotten inside."

Seeing Sierra's tears begin to fall again, Sophia quickly grabbed some tissues

and handed them to her. She said softly, "Sierra, don't be sad. Sometimes,

walking away at the right time isn't a bad thing. But honestly, I'm still thankful you

didn't go through what I did."

Sierra stood up and walked over to sit beside Sophia. Then, she wrapped her

arms around her. "Sophia, do you think it's only us women who truly understand

each other? Is it only us women who can genuinely feel compassion for one

another?"

"Everything's going to be alright," Sophia whispered as she hugged her back.

"Trash like Samuel? We don't need him. Let him figure out life on his own."

She added, "He acts like the whole world owes him something, but has he ever

thought about what would've happened if he'd never been sent overseas? Julia

would've destroyed him."

Sophia gritted her teeth. She had

suffered more than enough at Julia's

and Ruby's hands. Ivan had been a

total failure as a father, always

siding with his mistress and

illegitimate daughter while treating

Sophia and Samantha like garbage.

He did not just ignore them. He was

outright abusive.

Sophia hissed, "Samuel got to live peacefully abroad all these years because of

me. It was my sacrifice that gave him that life, but instead of being grateful, he

used my trauma to stab me where it hurts most. I want nothing to do with a

brother like that!"

She added, "And I'm not giving him Sinclair Group either. Sierra, if you're

divorcing him for your own reasons, then I fully support you. But if you're just

upset for my sake and still have feelings for him, then I think you should really

take your time to think it through."

Right now, Sophia did not feel any resentment or judgment toward Sierra

anymore.

"Sophia, if I had to choose between you and Samuel, I'd choose you," Sierra said

as she wiped her tears away.

"I still remember the day Mom brought me to the Sinclairs. The first person to

show me kindness and warmth was you.

"I'll never forget how you held my hand, took me to your room, ran a warm bath,

showed me how to use body wash and shampoo... How you helped me get clean

and cozy, then gave me your new clothes to wear.

"Sophia, what Samuel did broke my heart. My biological parents are wealthy, but I

don't want a single dollar of my father's money going to a man who has zero

compassion for women. Sophia, we're women and women always look out for

each other."

Sophia looked at Sierra, her eyes red, and her face pale. But her voice and

expression were firm as she asked, "Sierra, are you really sure about this?"

Sierra nodded without hesitation. "I

am. I've been thinking about this

since that fight with Samuel. The

robbery, the couple who saved me...

All of that just added fuel to the fire.

It gave me the final push. Sophia,

you're strong and brave. And as your

older sister, I refuse to be any

weaker than you."

Sophia did not say anything else.

Instead, she just held Sierra tighter.

"As for Samuel, we'll let him live his

life alone. My parents still feel

indebted to Mom for saving me all

those years ago. And with some of

the Remingtons eyeing things back

in Amberton, they've decided to

relocate and retire in Dithoria State.

"They said that even though I'm their biological daughter, they could never forget

the kindness Mom showed them and everything the Sinclairs did to raise me.

"If they're moving to Dithoria State, they want to be close enough to help take carenoveldrama

of her too. Sophia, if you're willing, I'll talk to them about merging all of the

Remington assets under your name."