Chapter 9

Neither Natalie nor Cheryl could swim, and the icy seawater slowly engulfed them completely.

Natalie stared at the glimmer of light above her head. Her mind was completely blank.

She recalled falling into the water once when they had only just gotten together. Back then, Damian had been so anxious and worried about her that he jumped into the icy creek in the wintertime without any hesitation to save her.

And when he finally realized that she was safe and sound, his eyes turned so red it looked like he was bleeding.

That had been the first time she'd ever seen him cry for her. He hugged her so tightly and told her that he thought he was going to lose her forever.

He said that the one thing he was most afraid of in his life was losing her.

The second time she saw him cry was when she told him that she was breaking up with him. He had never stared at her with such a small, helpless expression on his face before.

He wouldn't stop asking her if it was something that he did and behaved like a child when he begged her not to leave him or abandon him.

Now that the situation was different, would he still come to save her?

Natalie didn't know, and she didn't feel confident whatsoever.

The seawater gurgled in her ears, but she couldn't hear anything.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the light, but it rushed toward Cheryl next to her instead.

At the very least, she didn't end up drowning in the sea. The yacht staff pulled her back onboard, and the first thing she saw was Damian tenderly hugging Cheryl in his arms. He anxiously checked her body for any injuries.

He happened to turn around and look at Natalie, who'd just been fished out of the sea in a bedraggled manner. She also happened to meet his gaze then.

Natalie's eyes were hollow and looked like shattered stars in the sky, making his heart clench inexplicably.

Damian averted his gaze and looked away.

"Don't look at me like that. Cheryl is now the love of my life. Saving her was the right thing to do.

"I've already stopped loving you a long time ago. Did you really hope that I would still save you like how I used to in the past without a care in the world?"

Natalie sniffled softly and nodded, saying, "It's fine. This is fine. It's good that you don't love me anymore."

It was really a good thing that he didn't love her anymore.

After getting back, Damian threw the mansion's property deed in front of Natalie and said, "This mansion reeks of you, and it's not suitable for me and Cheryl to continue living here anymore. I'll buy a new mansion for her with brand-new everything.

"I don't want this place anymore either because it's too disgusting for me. You can have it.

"Cheryl and I are having our wedding tomorrow. Pull yourself together and make sure you're there for the ceremony. After that, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. It won't have anything to do with me anymore!"

Natalie didn't reject his offer and simply nodded.

"I wish you a lifetime of happiness from the bottom of my heart, Damian Abbott."

He trembled slightly as he walked out of the mansion, but he still never looked back at her.

Natalie had been sincere about her well-wishes for his happiness. However, she wouldn't be able to make it for the wedding tomorrow.

She had only just received word from her direct supervisor that the date of her staged death would be tomorrow, and she was expected to report back for duty on a new mission. So, Natalie couldn't attend the ceremony anymore.

On the day of the wedding, Natalie stood in the mansion that once belonged to her and Damian and looked at her phone. Damian had been sending her countless text messages since a while ago, urging her to hurry up.

"Natalie Underwood! Do you know what time it is? Why aren't you here yet?

"You have exactly 20 minutes to show yourself right now!

"I dare you to try and go back on your word again, Natalie!"