Ivan reached on time and held her hand, holding her back. And Natalie looked at him in shock. “What is wrong?“ “Carter is fine,” Ivan said seriously, looking at her face. “Tell me, what happened to him?“Natalie shivered. “He said that June did that to him. He had told me on the phone that he was being beaten, but you did not believe it when I told you…” she said and looked at him angrily. She felt like everything was his fault!If he had heard her and come to see Carter, she, Natalie, would not be here now. “I had to find my own means to come back. And he was hurt everywhere. His wounds were not even treated…” As she spoke up, she broke into tears and cried. Whenever the image of Carter's body appeared in her head, she felt so sad.Ivan held her and took her to take a seat. “Why didn't you take him to the hospital?“ He asked. “And why didn't you tell me about it yesterday?“Natalie fell silent, only tears continued falling from her eyes. How could she have told him about that over
Ivan held her face once again. “It is time we both put our pride away. I wouldn't force you to marry me if you didn't want to. But we have no choice. You have to be his real mom for all these things to make sense…”He paused and used his thumb to wipe away her tears. “You can sign it if you want. The document is dated five years ago, before Carter was born. This is to show that we have been legally married since then…”He stopped and looked at her to see her reaction. “Natalie… I really hope that you understand this. You cannot leave the place without proving that you are his mom, and that you can't hurt him. Carter needs you… but if you still can't consider it, I will have to wash my hands. I would have tried my best to help…”He looked at her and swallowed hard. “I know it is hard for you, but this is not a permanent thing. It is just a paper contract. You can just sign this and undo everything once you get out…”Natalie was silent, only tears continued falling from her eyes. She lo
But coming to her senses, she tried pushing him away. She did not want to be this close to him again. She did not want to be the one to suffer again.Ivan stared at her silently, a bit tense that she was not comfortable. A few days ago, they had reached a point where they were so comfortable with each other that she was used to being kissed by him.“What is wrong?“ He asked and held her hands, refusing to let go. He did not want her to be so distant from him.Natalie stopped struggling and looked back at him. She was silent for a while before shaking her head.Maybe she could just let the kiss go? She could treat it as payment for him helping her out. She froze more when she remembered that she had just signed the marriage certificates with him.Her face turned blank, but once again, she shook it. She knew that she did not have to speak about it right away. She had to wait until things had completely settled down.Ivan saw the changes of emotions on her face and sighed. He held her ch
Natalie's breath caught in her throat as her worst fears seemed to materialize before her eyes. Her trembling intensified, a mix of anxiety and concern flooding her being. She knew she had to see Carter, to be by his side during whatever hardship he was facing.Her voice filled with determination, Natalie looked into Ivan's eyes and said, "Ivan, I have to go to see him,” she said with determination.Ivan, who had not planned to take her to the hospital, sighed. “Natalie, you have just got home. What about your rest first?“ He asked.He was scared that his grandmother would cause trouble for her again. He did not want another strain on their relationship.However, Natalie became so stubborn. “No… I am going,” she said and took her jacket, ready to leave.Ivan sighed again and followed behind her, but he sent a quick message to his assistant before he began driving.They had just reached Carter's room when they saw the old lady waiting for them. “Huh! I thought the same!“ Old lady Dione
Natalie looked at Ivan in shock. She held onto his sleeves while trembling. How could he come up with that idea? They all knew very well that she was not Carter's mom! It would be so shameful if she went out. People would laugh at her and the old lady would be madder at her.Ivan held her hand and pressed it tightly in his. “Don't worry, everything is taken care of,” he said in a whisper.Natalie still did not relax. Was Ivan planning to interfere with the results? What if something happened and they were caught?However, seeing his determined look, she decided to relax a little. Was there anything that Ivan was incapable of handling?A group of people were already gathering at the entrance of the room. June, who had just come in when she heard a commotion, looked at Ivan in shock.Of all the people, she was the person who did not want the words that Ivan had said to be true!How could Natalie be Carter's mom? No! She could not! Only she, June, was supposed to be Ivan's wife. She was
Natalie was taken aback once again. When did she blame her? She had not mentioned June's name anywhere!But June kept on crying. “I was just coming to check up on Carter and you. I am sorry if I offended you. I did not know that you hated me like that,” she said and turned away to leave.And it was just then that something came to Natalie's head. She slightly froze, before a smile appeared at the corner of her lips. “Wait!“ She called to June.June stopped and looked at Natalie. “Do you want to continue cursing at me? I swear I did not want to stay with Ivan… it is just that the old lady…”“Is he behind me?“ Natalie asked, cutting June short. She was sure that Ivan must be behind her for June to change all of a sudden.June froze in place. She had not expected that Natalie would see through her. She wanted Natalie to curse at her so that Ivan was mad. Who knew that she had eyes on her back?Natalie chuckled and turned to look at Ivan, who was leaning against the door with his hands in
Natalie swallowed hard and looked up at Trevor. “What is the result?“ She asked and unconsciously held tightly onto Ivan's sleeves.“Positive!“ Trevor said happily. He could not believe that whatever he saw was right. Now, his boss had a woman of his own!At the same time, June pushed the old lady into the room. The butler and a few other people walked in behind them.Natalie felt more tensed. Ivan, on the other hand, remained calm as he faced his grandmother. He held Natalie's little hand in his and pressed it, asking her to remain calm.The two groups looked at each other silently, none of them ready to start the conversation. But it was obvious that the old lady and June seemed mad. They did not like the results.“It looks like you still don't believe the results, grandma?“ Ivan asked, calmly. He felt mad every single time he recalled her slapping Natalie. “Do you want us to call a different doctor to conduct the test?“Trevor, at his side, looked at Ivan. “The test has been done t
He watched her blush a little and he felt like a winner. He was going to make sure that she submitted to him, that she became his by all means.“You are now my legally married wife, you are the biological mother to my son, you are the one that my heart wants…” he said.Natalie pursed her lips. “That is not true. Our marriage was just a plan, and I am not…”She had not finished speaking when the child on the bed moved. “Mommy… Mommy! I don't want to die!“ He cried and sat up with a start.Natalie hurriedly held him. “Honey, what is wrong?“ She asked as she looked at the child in fear.Ivan also moved closer and looked at the child. He was shocked that Carter would say those words in his unconscious state.“Mommy?“ Carter slowly opened his eyes when he heard the familiar voice of Natalie. “Mommy, are you back?“Natalie felt her heart ache and hugged the child. “Yes, I am back for my child! Didn't I tell you that I would come back?“Tears fell from Carter's eyes as he lay his face on Nat
Black and Ivan looked at each other before turning to Natalie. Ivan cleared his throat. “Honey, I recently found out that Black wasn't the person that killed my family. It was June and her accomplices!“Five years ago, Black really did have intentions of killing Ivan and the whole of his family. But his first aim was Ivan, and that was the reason why he sent Natalie to kill him. His family, back in the country, were out for a night. Black was prepared to attack, because Ivan was away and he would not be there to protect them. But an hour earlier, he received information that they were already killed.After gathering information, Ivan had recently realized that June was behind everything. Despite being around and pretending to be a naive and innocent girl, she had caused more havoc.She had killed, thinking that the company belonged to Ivan's dad. To her shock, it was Ivan who owned it. So she lost. She was not able to put her hands on the company.Luckily, she was now behind doors. I
The old lady chuckled. “I was so stupid! How could I not differentiate between someone with a good heart like you from those full of bad intentions? Instead of protecting him, I exposed all of us to danger. Please forgive me…”Natalie, who had never had any experience of an elderly person apologizing, did not know what she was supposed to say. She pursed her lips in fear.The old lady sighed. “I am not saying all this because you saved my life. I just think I was too blind in the past not to see the good in you. Please, take good care of my grandson, and my great grandchildren!“Natalie was just so shocked. She had not expected that things would be this easy after so much struggle. That meant that the old lady was blessing her marriage with Ivan, right?She lifted her eyes to look at Ivan, and seeing the broad smile on his face, Natalie relaxed. Everything was fine. They were finally going to be together without any difficulties.Ivan winked at her, and Natalie could not help but roll
The doctor sighed with disappointment. “You don't know it? That thing that healed you!“ He was not sure if the girl was just pretending or she really knew nothing about it.Natalie shook her head. “Wait… I think I was wounded! What happened? What is that Gello you are talking about?“ She asked.The doctor sighed. “When you were brought here, we all thought you were going to die! You had wounds, you had lost a lot of blood and you were almost losing your child. But… that thing they gave you… it healed you in less than ten minutes…”Even though Natalie was pretending not to know anything about Gello, she was shocked to hear that she was healed like that. “Doctor, are you sure about what you are talking about?“ “Yes… it happened… He just wrapped it around your hand…” The doctor had begun speaking when the door was pulled open and two men walked in. Trevor went directly to the doctor and held his hand. “Doctor, would you mind us having a small talk?“ He asked while pulling him out, not
Natalie froze up. She waited for the excruciating pain, then maybe, death. She had been so sure that June had shot her straight in the chest. She would be dead in just a few seconds.However, after a few seconds, nothing happened. She did not get any pain either. Confused, she opened her eyes.“Natalie…” Someone called her. All she could hear and see were the movements of people here and there.But her eyes caught one person who was running towards her direction. “Natalie… are you okay?“ Ivan asked as he pulled her into his arms.Due to the pressure he applied, Natalie winced in pain. Her body was covered in several wounds due to the torture that these people had inflicted on her. She saw June lying on the ground, her gun some distance away from her.“You are hurt! Quickly, call an ambulance!“ Ivan ordered as he tried to untie her. Trevor and a few other men were checking up on the old lady.“Ivan… you came…” Natalie said in shock. She had not expected him to be back that quickly. But
Carter opened his eyes when he heard Natalie's voice. “Mommy…” he called between cries as he struggled. His mommy was finally there to save him.Natalie hurriedly untied him and pulled him into his hands. “You are fine now…”“Mommy…. Save great grandma. She is in the backyard. Auntie June has a gun…” Carter said the moment he remembered what had happened.Natalie shook. “It's okay,” she said and carried Carter to the room where she had locked Melan. “She will protect you,” Natalie whispered to Carter.She handed Carter to Melan. “Melan, don't open the door until I come back. Don't make any noise,” she said while trembling.“Sister… will you be safe?“ Melan asked in fear. Natalie hurriedly nodded and locked the door behind her, leaving.She ran upstairs to Ivan's room and took out her phone. Luckily, Ivan hurriedly picked him up when she called him.“Natalie…” Ivan called. “Did something happen? I am done here. I am taking the plane soon…”“Ivan… hurry up! Grandma is in danger!“ Natal
When Black came back to the room, Natalie wanted to keep her distance from him. If this man could send his wife away without blinking, what was he not capable of?Black sighed seeing her action. “Daughter, I sent her away to make up for what we caused you to go through in the past,” he spoke up. “Please, forgive me…”Still, Natalie could not fully understand if the man had changed or he was just pretending. “Why did you bring me back?“ She asked at last. She wanted to end things as fast as possible. She wanted to go back to Ivan and Carter.Black took a seat beside her. “I heard about your break up with Ivan… that man has wronged you. I am your father. I had to come for you. I will help you carry out revenge if you want to…”Natalie pretended to be really heartbroken. “But… why are you two fighting?“ She asked. She was still mad that the man had pretended that the break up had nothing to do with him.Black was silent for a while. “ We were fighting in the past, not anymore. I won't li
…Natalie's eyes widened when she woke up on an unfamiliar bed, her mind finally connecting the dots. The room she found herself in was lavish and spacious, a real contrast to the small, cramped space she had been forced to inhabit in the past in this house. The memories of the mistreatment she endured flooded her mind, making her feel annoyed and anger about those two people that called themselves parents.She moved, and her body ached. She could not help but wince in pain. She had expected to be taken away by Black, but the fact that they had sedated her before bringing her here spoke volumes about their intentions. It was as if they didn't even want to give her the chance to fight back or escape.Her thoughts were interrupted as the door was pushed open, and a woman around forty years old stepped inside the room. The woman's eyes widened in disbelief as they landed on Natalie, and she let out a horrified scream."Aaaah!" the woman shrieked, her hands flying to her mouth as if to st
Natalie tried to sit up, her concern immediately shifting to the boy who had accidentally knocked her off her feet. "The boy who just knocked me off... Is he okay?" she asked, showing her compassionate nature even in her own moment of distress.Ivan scanned the crowd and locked eyes with the worried boy. He noticed the blood on the boy's hand and pursed his lips. "Someone check up on the boy," he instructed, and the people around quickly rushed to help him.Still feeling disoriented, Natalie held onto Ivan's hand. "Can you help me up?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly."Of course," Ivan replied hurriedly, carefully assisting her to her feet. He guided her away from the gathering crowd and led her towards the car, where they could have some privacy.As they distanced themselves from the scene, Ivan noticed Natalie's expression changing. Her eyes turned red, and sadness enveloped her face. He gently helped her into the car, his heart aching for her."Are you feeling hurt anywhere?
Ivan woke up with Natalie in his hands, a broad smile appearing on his face as he looked at her sleeping face. He brought his hands to her face and gently caressed her, feeling the sense of peace that he had missed for days.Natalie's eyes fluttered when something kept moving on her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes and met a man's warm gaze. She snuggled closer to him, a smile on her face. "Good morning, beast," she greeted him jokingly.Ivan smiled and pinched her nose. "You look so happy today. Did that mean that I satisfied you well last night?" He joked back.Natalie buried her face into his chest to hide away her embarrassment. "Can't you just talk like a normal person?" She asked and pinched his waist playfully.Ivan hurriedly held her hand. "Stop messing around unless you want to awaken the beast again," he said, and kissed her lips lovingly.Natalie smiled, her cheeks flushed. She seemed to have thought of something and sat up. "Um... Black will be taking me today, right?" She