The butler looked apologetic. “I didn't mean to offend you. It is just that he said you are not allowed to leave,” he explained.He could clearly remember his boss's words in the morning. “If she leaves this house, I should not find you here either,” Ivan had said in the morning.The butler trembled a little. No! He could not lose this job. He had depended on it for so many years. He would better do as his boss wants.Natalie felt frustrated. “Why doesn't he allow me to leave? I am a grown up!“The butler just sighed. But he was very determined not to open the gate for her. He was not letting her leave.Natalie hungrily called Ivan. Was he a fool? She needed the freedom to go out and do her own things.Actually, she had not thought that he would pick her up. But he did! In fact, he picked up the call just on the third ring.“What is it?“ The man asked from the other side. His voice was no longer cold. But Natalie still trembled. She had not thought that he would want to talk to her.“
She tightly shut her eyes then opened them again. Her heart was beating so fast and her body was covered in sweat.But she felt stupid with her own reaction. Why did she clutch onto Carter like that? The baby that had been taken from her was probably not him.Ahh! Who said that all those dreams were real? Maybe she was just dreaming, right?But, the events seemed so real! And her dad who had ordered the child to be taken away… wasn't he the same man that she had read about in that diary?Seeing the two people look at her in confusion, she felt like slapping her head. She should not have reacted like that.“What happened?“ She asked. Even though she was awake, she was still muddle-headed. She could not think straight.Ivan looked at her face that was covered with tears and sighed. Who knew what was going on with her? He took his handkerchief and gently wiped away her tears and sweat. “Are you okay?“ He asked.Natalie quickly nodded her head with a blush. She was sure that she must hav
She looked up at him so that she could understand his intentions. But all she saw was his serious but caring expression.“What do you mean?“ She asked. Was there really something that happened that she did not know about?Ivan sighed and held her face. “I mean, I can help you find your child that was taken away from you and help you take revenge on all those people that hurt you.“Natalie was silent for so long, her emotions getting the better of her. Ivan did not interrupt her lines of thought. He knew that this was not something that he could keep away from her for so long.Since it seemed like she was not going to believe him whenever he told her that Carter was her biological son, then he would try using another means to make her believe.And who knows? Maybe once she knew that Carter was her and his son, she would agree to marry him and be in his life forever.“Do you know something that I don't?“ Natalie asked after a while. It just looked like there was so much happening that s
Ivan shook his head immediately. “This is not a joke, Natalie. I saw you first on the tenth of February five years ago…” he said, and his eyes turned red all of a sudden.He could still clearly remember everything that had happened that night. He felt quite emotional about this.Natalie was stunned again. “Tenth of February? Wasn't that the date you told me about earlier?“ She asked in confusion. He said that that was the day that something good happened to him. At the same time, he had lost his family.Ivan pursed his lips and looked at her. “You actually remember it?“ He asked. He had thought that she would forget it immediately.Natalie nodded her head. “Of course! I remember. I remember everything that you told me,” she said. How could she not remember such a major date?Ivan felt his heart warm up when she said that. So did she still care about him? He felt happy! It wasn't bad meeting her that day.“Mmh,” he nodded. He had the urge to pull her closer and kiss her as a gift. But
She quickly ran her eyes over the words, she she froze. “Did I really write this?“ She asked.Ivan smiled and waved an old note bill in front of her. “I wouldn't fake your handwriting, right? And what was your payment for that night? But you did not come to find me like you had promised. I had to find you instead,” he said.Natalie sighed. “Since I don't remember, it does not count, okay?“ She said. Why was she so stupid? She even paid this rich man after he had taken advantage of her? “Can I get my bill back?“Ivan chuckled and put the note into his pocket. That was something he had preserved for five years. He would not give it out. He looked at Natalie with an affectionate smile. Her face was flushed and she looked embarrassed. “Do you still want to call the police?“ He asked.Natalie shook her head hurriedly. “There is no need for that… After all, I am just a woman! Quick, tell me what happened after that,” she said.Ivan smiled and pulled her back to the bed, hugging her. He cou
Natalie, who was crying, froze in place. She trembled a little before looking at Ivan and shaking her head. “Ivan, you don't understand it… it was killed! That man was so evil…”Ivan held her hand and looked into her eyes. “ I can't lie to you, Natalie,” he said, feeling bad. She must have suffered a lot when the child was taken away. “I managed to rescue the child that day. I saved it and brought it back home with me…”“Um…” Natalie was completely confused. She did not want to imagine that what Ivan was saying was the truth. At the same time, she wanted to believe that it was.Ivan sighed seeing her like that. He gently wiped away her tears. “You don't believe me?“ He asked.“Where is the child then?“ Natalie asked in confusion. Nothing really made sense. And… was it really possible that her child was still alive?Ivan felt stupid. He looked back into Natalie's eyes with some regret. Then he held her shoulders and slightly shook her. “Natalie, Carter is four years old! Can't you unde
Ivan contemplated his words in his mind before he spoke them out. It was better to say them now. Was there any other thing they could do apart from getting married and raising their kid?“Settle and raise our kid… together,” he said and looked back into Natalie's eyes. He wanted that!Natalie was stupefied. Together? Did he say that? She felt her heart beat so loud. Did that mean that he still had her in his thoughts?“Aren't you planning to marry?“ She pretended to be stupid and asked. What if he met another woman he loved?Ivan felt annoyed. He held her nose and pinched it. “Are you crazy, Natalie? We are already married! I can't take care of him alone. We have to be together…And, don't you remember? I said that my son can't be raised by a stepmother!”He did not care about all the other things now, all he wanted was have her his whole life. He did not plan on letting her go.Natalie looked at him in shame. “What if you find out that you don't love me?“ She asked. She was afraid of
Black was startled by those words. His lips moved for a few seconds, not sure about what to say.He creased his brows and looked at Luca. “Do you even know my daughter?“ He asked in confusion. “That girl is not even eighteen years old! I cannot hand her over to you…”Just how much did this young man know? He was very sure that very few people knew about her. He had tried his best to keep her away from the lime light!Ever since the tragic occurrence five years ago, he had been scared of exposing his family. Until now, he did not know if that elder daughter of his was still alive or dead. Even though she was never his favourite daughter, he only came to his senses when she was gone.But she was not someone he would want to talk about now. Only his heart knew his thoughts well. And there was no way Luca would know about her.Luca was a bit taken back. What did he mean by not eighteen years old? Natalie was almost twenty-four now.However, a smile appeared at the corner of his lips when
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