Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 81

**Around ten years ago**

“Zak, come here. This is Natalia, my daughter. From now on, she’s your cousin. Isn’t it wonderful to have a sister?” Lucien said proudly to me as he introduced his newly acquired daughter.

Lucien just married this scrawny girl’s mother and now they are moving in to live with him which meant that they would be next door. This is my first time meeting her since my mother refused to attend their wedding, just like the other family members. I glanced at the girl’s mother; she looks so normal. Everyone says that she’s a gold digger and fooled Lucien into marrying her to get to his money. If you asked me, I think Lucien could have found a better-looking gold digger and one without an annoying-looking daughter.

“Hi…” I replied dryly without even bothering to fake a smile. I glanced towards my mansion hoping that my mother wasn’t watching this exchange. She had made it clear that she didn’t want me to talk or have anything to do with ‘that gold digger’s daughter’.

The girl, Natalia, was plain ugly. She was too thin. Her hair was a funny color and didn’t look well taken care of. Her face was common and…her eyes looked so lonely…

“Hi, my name is Natalia. Nice to meet you,” she said softly as she presented to me her best smile. I knew a fake smile once I see one because I’ve faked over a thousand of them over the course of my short life.

“Hi, I’m Zak,” I replied shortly without a smile.

I knew with certainty. This girl, she’s the same as me.

…

The first time that I met Zak was when Lucien introduced us to each other a few days after mother and I moved in to live with Lucien in his mansion. I felt very shy when I came face-to-face with Zak. Zak was already a very handsome boy back then. I wondered if all rich boys looked as wonderful and godly like Zak did. I could tell by the look of disdain in his eyes that he didn’t like me, and to be honest, I didn’t like myself much either. I tried to give him my prettiest and most friendly smile when I introduced myself, but he didn’t smile back at me.

“Hi, my name is Natalia. Nice to meet you,” I said as I gave him my best smile.

It would be great if we could become friends. After all, he’s going to be my cousin and my neighbor from now on. However, I didn’t get my hopes up. I was well aware of what I must seemed like in his eyes and also in the eyes of Lucien’s other family members. A poor and plain girl that the family had to take in because her ‘gold digger’ mother was able to fool Lucien into marrying her.

From the day I moved into Lucien’s mansion, I started a new life as a rich little lady of the Rosenhall family. Yes, I am Natalia Rosenhall now. I had nothing to complain about the comfort of the big mansion except that it could get lonely sometime being in such a big place with so few people. The worst was my new school, a private school where selected few heirs and key family members of elite families could attend. Frankly, the school was forced to accept me in because I was now Lucien’s stepdaughter, and therefore, a key member of the Rosenhall family.

The hateful and discriminating stares I received since the first day at school was enough proof that even if the school had accepted my enrollment, the students and teachers did not. Not surprisingly, I didn’t make any friends. Other students either ignored me or were outspoken about how disgusted they were that I was attending the same school as they are. I kept silent throughout it all. I could understand where they were coming from. I don’t blame them that they didn’t want me here, after all, I didn’t want to be here either.

Whenever my mother asked me how school was, I smiled my brightest smile and told her that it was amazing and that I had many good friends. I wanted mother to be happy with her marriage and have no regrets. So, what if school life isn’t going so well for me? If my mother could be happy after all this time that she spent dealing with the hardship of being a single mum, then it must all be worth it.

To my surprise, Zak also went to same school. Well, I guess as one of the main heirs of the Rosenhall family, it shouldn’t be surprising that he was here. What was surprising was that I was here too. He was two grades above me which made sense since he was two years older. Zak’s situation at school was the polar opposite of mine. Zak was the school’s ‘Prince’ and I mean that metaphorically and literally.

Although, I tried my best to zone out as much as possible from what was going on around the school, no one could ignore Zak’s presence. He didn’t just stand out, but everyone made sure that he stood out as well. There was a life-size portrait of Zak in front of the school gates showcasing him as the top and honorable student, no one could miss it if they walked past it every day. Everyone was his fan, both the girls and the boys. They all refer to him as ‘The Prince’. Whenever, I went to the toilet, girls would gossip about Zak and how bad they wanted to date him. When I walked pass the gym or the field, the boys would talk about how they wanted to be as popular, as good looking, as smart or as athletic as Zak. Zak was everywhere.

I didn’t know until much later how this overly excessive attention made Zak feel. However, what I did know for a fact was that the more they loved or admired Zak, the more they hated the fact that I was ‘related’ to him. I learnt that through harsh experiences…

I thought my first year at the new school was the worst. However, soon I quickly learnt that it was just the start of my journey through hell. It started with society completely ignoring me. No one spoke to me, people stared at me with hatred and disgust in their eyes, and no one wanted to be physically close to me. When I walked into a crowded room or hallway, it would immediately become silent, and people would part to the side to make way for me to get through. I didn’t let it get to me though, if they didn’t want to be friends with me, I didn’t want them as my friends either.

…

“You know that Natalia wasn’t born a Rosenhall right? I mean, how can she be here with all of us?” a girl said with disgust in her voice.

“Exactly. I heard her mother’s a prostitute and Natalia was born from one of her customers. Ewww!” another girl replied.

“That’s just disgusting. We better stay away from her, so we don’t get contaminated by her dirt. Hanging out with her is going to ruin our prospect of marriage to suitable partners,” another girl chimed in.

“I can’t believe she is sharing the same last name as our Prince. She acts all high and mighty just because she has the Rosenhall last name but, she’s just a fake! She’s a fake princess!” the first girl shouted while the others laughed.

I waited until the girls left and I was sure that no one else was in the toilet before exiting my cubicle. Lunchtimes are the worst, I thought, as I threw away whatever was left of my food. Today, as almost always, I ate in the toilet all alone and listened to many girls badmouth my mother and me. It was a common subject that they never tire of. Soon, I was referred to as the ‘Fake Princess.’

--To be continued...