Reclaimed By My Ex-husband

Riya stood frozen, her face drained of color, eyes darting anxiously as though searching for an escape. The truth was out, and there was no place left to hide.

Zara stood tall, her posture radiating dignity and quiet triumph. The undeniable truth had lifted the weight of accusation. Her innocence was proven. And Riya's lies had been dragged into the light for everyone to see.

"Now you have all seen what really happened," Zara said smugly. "I told you the truth, but none of you believed me."

She cast a wounded glance at Nathaniel, disappointment clouding her eyes. She had believed he had changed, but she had been mistaken.

Riya wasn't completely wrong after all. Nathaniel had believed her word without a second thought, without bothering to seek the truth.

It was painfully clear. He didn't fully trust Zara, and perhaps, she held no real place in his heart.

"You believed every word she said," Zara said with a tinge of hurt in her voice. "You didn't even stop to ask me what happened. You just assumed I was the one in the wrong and demanded I apologize."

Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat. Shame burned through him. He had judged Zara hastily, blindly siding with Riya. He hadn't even questioned why the fight started. Now, as the truth played over and over in his mind, all he felt was guilt.

Zara didn't hold back. "You have no idea what she says to me when no one is watching. Do you want to hear what she said today?"

Riya's stomach dropped as dread surged through her.

"Zara—" she interrupted quickly, almost desperately. "I know I made a mistake. I'll apologize. Please don't stretch it."

Zara tilted her head, a sly smile curving on her lips. "Why? Are you afraid now?"

Riya shot a seething glare at Zara. Beneath that panicked look, rage bubbled. She wanted nothing more than to lash out, to punch Zara and break her face. She wanted to punish her.

But before she could move, Gracie said, "She has apologized. Why are you still dragging this out?"

Zara's gaze was sharp and unforgiving. These were the people who had rushed to blame her, who hadn't cared to question anything before throwing accusations. Gracie had threatened to make her kneel and apologize to Riya, all without knowing the truth.

Now that the truth had been laid bare, they wanted to brush it off with a simple apology?

Zara was not interested in her fake apology. "This matter, I'll not forget." With that, she turned and walked out.

"Zara—" Nathaniel followed her out.

Silence fell over the room as the door closed behind them.

Riya remained rooted in her place, her composure crumbling. Her eyes darted toward her parents, hoping they would listen to her and support her. "Mom… Dad…"

She stepped toward Gracie and reached out to hold her hand.

But Gracie recoiled, pulling her hand away. She didn't meet Riya's gaze.

Riya's heart clenched. She had never imagined Gracie would turn so cold toward her. She always believed her mother would stand by her side, no matter the situation. That was how it had always been. But now, all she met with was silent indifference.

Wounded and shaken, she turned to Vincent, clinging to the hope that he would still be on her side.

"Dad…"

But Vincent turned away and avoided her gaze entirely.

"It's late. Let's go to bed." He walked out.

Desperation clawed at Riya as she turned to Gracie again. "Mom, please… just listen to me—"

But Gracie didn't even let her finish. "You shouldn't have lied. I never imagined you'd stoop to something like this."

She gave her a disappointed look before storming out of the room.

Riya didn't move, her face contorting with a mix of fury and shame. Her face twisted—first in disbelief, then in rage. Humiliation burned hot in her chest. She had never felt so exposed, so abandoned.

She felt an overwhelming urge to scream, to destroy everything in sight. For the first time, her foster parents hadn't taken her side. They hadn't defended her. They hadn't even listened.

The sting of their rejection cut deep, leaving her both enraged and wounded.

She had wanted to show Zara that no matter what happened, the family would always choose her. She had wanted to remind Zara of her place, to crush her spirit.

But everything had backfired.

Though it was her own reckless actions that led to this moment, Riya refused to acknowledge her fault. Instead, she shifted all the blame onto Zara.

"This isn't over," she hissed under her breath. "I'll make you pay. I'll return every ounce of this humiliation tenfold."

Zara burst into the room, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She had kept a brave face in front of everyone, swallowing her pain and pride. But the moment she was alone, her emotions crashed over her like a wave. She could no longer hold back her tears.

"Zara…" Nathaniel followed her in. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, but she instantly yanked her hand away.

Undeterred, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Zara struggled against his hold. "Let go of me."

But he only held her tighter, unwilling to let her slip away.

"Nathaniel," she snapped with rising frustration. "I'm warning you—leave me alone."

"No," he said adamantly.

Exhausted, she eventually stopped resisting, her body going still in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have believed her easily. I should've listened to you and tried to find out what happened."

Zara let out a bitter scoff. "This isn't the first time. She has always provoked me, always pushed me to the edge until I snap. She manipulates the truth and twists every situation to make me look bad. And you know what? I used to stay silent because I was scared—scared that no one in the family would believe me, that they'd just blame me like always."

She shoved his hands off her and turned to face him, fury burning in her eyes. "No one stood up for me—not even you. I told you I didn't slap her, but you still chose to believe her without question."

"Sorry," Nathaniel said, regret written all over his face. "I know I messed up. Can you please not stay angry at me? I swear I won't make the same mistake. I'll make sure she never bothers you again."

He reached a hand out to her, but Zara turned away, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she grunted. "I learned something from today's incident. You will always choose her over me, no matter what."

Riya had taunted her, claiming Nathaniel would defend her, and painfully, she had been right. Nathaniel had trusted Riya without hesitation.

"That's not true," Nathaniel quickly interjected. "I only believed her because I saw it with my own eyes. I saw you raise your hand and slap her. I didn't take her side just because she said it."

Zara turned to face him, her expression sharp with hurt. "Oh, you saw it? No, you saw exactly what she wanted you to see. And you fell for it. You didn't even try to look into it further. You didn't hear me out. You didn't trust me."

Her voice trembled with the sting of betrayal.

"If you hadn't seen the footage," she continued bitterly, "you would have kept believing her lies. You would have asked me to fall at her feet and apologize—just like your mother did."