Ch4: Please, let me go

Ivan stood at the door, hesitant to enter the room where Natalie was. For some reason, whenever he saw her, he felt so guilty.

There was just so much in his head, so much that he needed to tell her, but he did not know how to do it.

The past held a lot for them. But he was just so confused that she did not seem to have any idea about it.

He hesitated for a while longer, still wondering whether to get in or just walk back. Maybe he could send Auntie Bella to ask Natalie to tell her whatever she wanted.

But when he heard her cries through the door, he knew he could not ignore her call. She had asked to see him, not any other person.

He slowly pushed the door open and saw Natalie curled up on the bed, tears streaming down her face. She looked up when she heard the door open and her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Ivan.

She had waited for a long time, and she had almost lost hope that he would come.

Ivan was shocked by the way she looked. Her eyes were swollen, and there were lines of tears all over her face.

He quickly walked towards her, bending closer to take a look at her. "Natalie... What is wrong?" He asked.

"Sir... you are here," she said, her voice choked with sobs. It was funny that she felt relieved seeing the man.

She did not know who he was, but she felt a certain kind of relief when he was around. She felt like he was someone she could rely on.

Ivan put his hand on her shoulder gently. "Yes, I am here," he said. "Will you tell me if something is wrong?"

He felt bad seeing her cry like that. His heart was aching for her, and he had the urge to pull her into his embrace and comfort her, just like he could do to Carter.

But he held himself back. He had never done anything like that in his whole life.

And more, everyone knew him as the most heartless person on earth. They knew that he was that one person that never cared about humanity, about anything.

So, no matter how she looked, he did not have the reason to do that. He could just try to understand whatever she wanted.

"Please, please let me go. I need to see my family. I do not know if they are okay or not," Natalie said as more tears fell from her eyes.

Yes, she did not know how they were, but that only applied to her dad and brother.

She knew exactly how her mom was. She knew that she was dead! She knew that she would never see her again.

Ivan's heart sank at the sight of her tears. He knew that she was in a difficult situation, but he could not just let her go like that. He walked over to her and sat on the bed beside her.

"Natalie, I understand that you are worried about your family, but I can't let you go right now. It is too dangerous," he said, trying to soothe her.

But one thing was obvious. Ivan had only heard that Natalie was in danger and rushed to save her yesterday.

He did not know about anything else. He thought that it was just a mere kidnapping, and that rescuing her was all he could do.

And when she mentioned her family, he assumed that they were at home, only worried about her because she was missing.

"But Sir, I have to know if they are safe. I can't just sit here and do nothing," she cried, clutching at his arm.

Even if her mom was dead, she needed to ensure that her brother and dad were safe. She could not lose them either!

But she did not know that Ivan did not know anything that had happened to them. He was very clueless about everything.

"Listen to me, Natalie," the man said to her. "Just stay here for now. You are safe here. I will let you go when everything has calmed down..."

Natalie felt like giving up. She wiped away her tears and went to her knees. She knew that she could not escape from here. In fact, she had tried, but it was impossible.

Ivan tried to hold her back. He did not want her to kneel before him.

But she put her hands above her chest, as if she was begging. " Sir, I am very grateful that you want me to be safe even though we barely know each other. But... My dad and brother... Those people might... They might kill them..."

Ivan creased his brows when he heard that. Why did it look like things were a bit complicated?

However, he froze in place when he heard her next statement.

"And... My mom... I should at least see her before she is buried. I only want to say goodbye..." Natalie said and buried her head in her hands once again,tears falling off continuously.

It was one thing seeing your mom being killed in front of you. But it was another thing to be begging someone to allow you attend her burial, even if they had good intentions for you.

"What... What did you say?" He asked in a trembling voice. Had she just mentioned her mom being buried?

Natalie cried even more. She could not just speak anymore. It hurts more than just thinking about it.

"Please..." That was all that she could manage to say.

Ivan held her hands and looked into her eyes. " What happened to your mom?" He asked in confusion. Was it him that had overlooked the situation?

"They... They killed... They killed her..." Natalie said as her sobs turned louder. "I ... Only want to attend her burial... Okay?" She begged.

Ivan felt like his heart had stopped beating. Like what the hell was he hearing?

"Who killed her?" He asked. It was crazy that he was shocked by the news of death. Normally, he would never faze while killing anyone.

But for some reason, this reminded him of a certain scene, some years ago when the same happened to him.

That one fateful night that had turned him into whoever he was today, the beast, the animal that he was now!