Lahat ng Kabanata ng Opening My Eyes to Reality: Kabanata 261 - Kabanata 270

The attending physician—Julian Hayes—was a man in his 40s with senior standing in Grendale's medical circles. Being publicly humiliated by a young woman barely in her 20s was not something he could let slide.He turned to Natalie and said, "Ms. Sutton, I understand you're eager to get Ms. Chamberlain into surgery, but you can't just trust anyone who says they can do it. A craniotomy isn't a routine, minor surgery. The tumor is in a tricky location, and one slip could cost her life."The clear implication in his words was that Zora wasn't fit for the job.Natalie stayed silent as her gaze slid toward Zora. In truth, she was eager to see how the latter would respond.But Zora didn't bristle or flare up. If anything, she looked almost unbothered. "Ms. Sutton, don't you want to know how confident I am about this surgery?""So? How confident are you, Dr. Ryder?""A hundred percent," Zora declared with a smile.Julian barked out a mocking laugh. "A hundred percent? Even for a minor ap

Susan's heart felt heavy with guilt, knowing she'd been far from competent as a mother. If she were in Natalie's place, she doubted she could have forgiven a woman like herself.Natalie reassuringly said, "It's all in the past, and you've paid the price for what happened. The Spencers are just reaping what they sowed. As for me, I'm doing just fine now, aren't I?"Susan knew Natalie was just trying to comfort her, and she sighed softly. Deep down, she vowed to treat Natalie better from now on and spend the rest of her life making up for the love she owed.…That evening, Natalie intended to cook dinner, but Susan refused to let her lift a finger. She snatched the apron over, tied it around her waist, and happily bustled into the kitchen.Natalie failed terribly in the argument and decided to let Susan have it her way.Before Vera was hospitalized, Natalie had been planning to start an art gallery in Grendale. She'd been scouting locations for weeks and recently decided on the per

Instinctively, Natalie lunged forward and grabbed Zora's wrist at the very last second.Dangling over the edge, Zora tilted her head back to meet Natalie's eyes. "Just let go."Natalie clamped her iron grip on Zora, but holding on with one arm while the latter's full weight dragged her down wasn't an easy task. Inch by inch, she could feel herself being pulled toward the edge.Letting Zora fall just like that would haunt her forever. There was nothing wrong with Zora trying to seek death, but it should never happen on her watch.She heaved and gathered all her strength to pull Zora back up. "Have you ever thought that maybe what you feel for Dr. Blackwell isn't love at all? It might just be admiration and respect."If I were you, I'd fall in love for real and find out what the truth is before throwing my life away just like that."Zora's eyes lit up with something almost like hope. "Are you saying that I don't love him?""Love comes in many forms, but no one gets a second chance

Susan glanced up. "A delivery guy dropped it off today. It had your name on it, so I figured it was from Zane."Natalie immediately knew that it couldn't be Zane. This was not his style at all, and she hadn't heard from him in weeks, either.Her expression tightened as the thought sank in.Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, froze, and sprang from the couch. "I'm turning in early, Mom. You should, too."She sobered up awfully fast from her drunken stupor, didn't she?"Careful," Susan called after her in concern. After rushing back to her bedroom, Natalie calmed her breath before answering the phone. A man's low, sexy voice sounded through the line, "Still awake, Ms. Sutton?"Natalie couldn't explain where her sudden nervousness came from, but she was certain she was feeling a strange mix of nervousness and anticipation."Yeah…"Rowan hummed a little before asking, "Did you get my gift?"Her mind went straight to the ring in the velvet box, and it finally da

The next second, Rowan slammed the brakes, narrowly avoiding the red light.A flush crept up his cheeks as strong, unspoken emotions shimmered in his sultry eyes. He looked at her timidly like a boy caught misbehaving."I didn't mean to."Natalie drew her hand back from feeding him the pancake and shifted her gaze away. "It's fine."Was it just her, or was this the longest traffic light she'd ever seen?While she shifted awkwardly in her seat, Rowan said, "The pancakes taste good.""Oh, my mom made it.""She's a great cook.""I guess she's alright."Then, silence fell over the car again. It was so quiet that she could almost hear his uneven breathing.After clearing her throat, Natalie fished a carton of milk from the bag and handed it to Rowan. "Have some milk."He took it over, only to watch her pull out another for herself and twist the cap. Then, she began sipping on it.Seeing that, the corners of his lips curved in a smile. The fact that she'd brought two cartons of m