Semua Bab Opening My Eyes to Reality: Bab 511 - Bab 520

Tears blurred Natalie's vision as she stared at the sharp lines of Rowan's profile. Suddenly, she reached out and wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't a fierce embrace but just a light circle around his waist as she pressed her face against his back. She wanted him to know that she saw all the wounds he tried so hard to hide.They stood like that in silence, like two people seeking warmth from each other.After a long while, Natalie swallowed her emotions and whispered, "Rowan, my heart aches for you."His hand closed over her fingers as he pressed his thin lips together. "It's all in the past, silly. Now, I have you and our children. I never imagined my life could feel so complete."Thank you, Natalie. You gave my life meaning."He'd once been alone, but now that he had her, that in itself felt like a gift from heaven.Once he was soothed, they walked hand in hand into the yard. Not long ago, he'd told her that when spring came, he would plant a field of roses that belonged

Mabel's sudden outburst made Natalie's heart ache even more. But…Her gaze hardened, and her expression turned serious. She bent down, picked up the bank card, and looked at Mabel. "I know you blame me, but you have to understand that I didn't start the fire or set it to kill your dad."I didn't have to come here today or give you this five million dollars. I could've just waited for the court's ruling, and the compensation would undoubtedly have been much less than this, don't you think?"A young lady of Mabel's age was capable of adult reasoning, and Natalie believed she would understand.After a moment of silence, Mabel seemed to deflate like a balloon and sobbed quietly.Thea's eyes were red-rimmed as she walked over to Natalie and said, "I know you're a kind person, Ms. Sutton. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made an exception to hire Ryan all those years ago. We'll always be grateful for that."My daughter just can't accept it right now, so please don't take her words to heart

Natalie got up and excused herself. "I need to take this call, Mr. Stewart."Adam nodded, and she pushed open the door to slip out of the private room. Walking to a quiet corner, her thumb hovered over the answer button for three seconds before finally pressing it.The moment the line connected, that all-too-familiar, nauseating voice came through. Instinctively, she pulled the phone half an inch away from her ear."Natalie, I knew you'd pick up."Her gaze fixed on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and her voice was flat as she replied, "Jason, are you calling just to gloat?"Jason chuckled twice. "How could I bear to gloat to you? I'm calling today because I want to help you out of this mess."She let out a cold laugh. "That's ridiculous. Help me? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this problem in the first place."Jason was no fool and highly vigilant. "Trying to trick me into admitting something I didn't do won't work, Natalie. I simply am here just to offer help,

Natalie turned instinctively toward the voice and saw Rowan descending the stairs, taking two steps at a time.She stood up just as he reached her, and his eyes were full of surprise. "Did you miss me so much you came after me all the way here, babe?"Playing along, she replied, "Yeah. I missed you so much I couldn't sleep, so here I am, traveling a thousand miles to someone else's house just to catch you.""Can't live without me, can you?" Rowan teased.Natalie bantered back, "With your dashing good looks and charm, of course, I can't."After a few jokes, Rowan pulled her down to sit and instinctively intertwined his fingers with hers. "Babe, I know why you're here to meet Mr. Jackman."She'd been surprised to see him at first, but now, she had a good guess about the purpose of his trip. In short, their goals aligned perfectly."Did he agree?" she asked.It was obvious now that the distinguished guest the butler had mentioned was none other than Rowan. And the fact that he'd s

Hunter pondered Natalie's words and clearly had his doubts.Seeing this, she added, "Mr. Jackman, you may not fully trust me, but I have complete confidence in my friend's abilities. My grandma is alive to this day only because she's been taking the special medicine she developed. With her condition, she should not have lasted this long otherwise."She pulled out her phone and found Bella's contact. "This is her number, and you could give it a try if you trust me. After all, having another option is much better than continuing down a path that leads nowhere."Hunter seemed to relax a little. "Alright. Thank you, Ms. Sutton."He took a picture of Bella's number and personally saw Natalie and Rowan off. They'd barely gotten into the car when Adam called. "Ms. Sutton, I just received a call from Mr. Jackman, so I'll extend the deadline five more days. How does that sound?"They were all smart people, and Adam was no fool. Hunter's personal call could only mean Natalie had worked her