When She Rose From the Ashes

Chapter 41 A New Face

He remembered how, even in the middle of surgery, Natalie had murmured Jensen’s name over and over again. The thought made his chest blaze with fury, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

Natalie noticed the shift immediately and rushed to explain. “That’s not what I meant. I-”

“Enough,” Baron interrupted. “Whatever you meant to say, whatever you think you’re feeling-let it go. If you want to fully recover, it’ll take a long time. Rest and surgery. I’ve already contacted Witch Doctor. Once your body’s stable, he’ll perform the skin grafts. Your face might not look the same afterward. But if you want it to, Witch Doctor might be able to restore it.”

Natalie paused.

She raised a hand instinctively, trying to touch her face-but she stopped halfway and let it drop again.

Her skin couldn’t handle the pressure. Even a light touch could cause damage.

What is she now, really?

A monster? A child would cry just looking at her.

If she’d survived, it was only because of Baron.

She owed him her life.

But since the fire hadn’t killed her, she wasn’t going to let what Sharon and Jensen did slide.

The old Natalie was gone. Whether her face could be restored or not didn’t matter anymore.

“Baron, I want a new face.”

Before she turned eighteen, she was the misidentified daughter of the Summers family. After that, she was the gilded canary Jensen kept under lock and key.

relied on Jensen for support-and even sacrificed everything for him-in the public eye, she was

fire at twenty-three severed her from Jensen

on, she would belong to no

the determination in her eyes and finally

reconstruction are painful. The process is long and grueling. Are you sure about

it’s all I have to offer. Witch Doctor never helps anyone without a price. You can

knew the rules Witch Doctor

“We’ll deal with that later. First, focus on healing

“Okay.”

1/3

Natalie nodded.

need right now. If the pain becomes unbearable, tell me. I’ll have someone bring you pain relief

She shook her head.

want to remember this pain. Every single moment of

when she looked at Baron again, there

something to thank you. It

He froze.

her mentioning a gift last time they’d met-but he had assumed it was just

did you

anticipation bloomed in his chest-mixed with a flicker

A gift?

been years since

from the things he

had created herself-just

focused, that Natalie felt like

smile a little, even though it hurt. There was a warmth