Natasha glanced indifferently at Natalie, who was on the ground, and then at Joshua, who stood nearby with a grim expression.She was not being ruthless toward Natalie because she wanted to see her reprimanded or abandoned. She simply did not want a woman like her to marry into the Grayson family. She did not want the Graysons to be ruined in her hands, nor did she want Lorelei's condition to worsen due to her actions. That was why she had not spared any mercy.Natasha's eyelashes trembled as she chose to turn and leave, refusing to cause any more unnecessary misunderstandings.Lorelei's condition should be stable by then. And with Joshua back, he would surely take good care of his mother. She no longer wanted to worry about anything unnecessarily and decisively turned to leave.Meanwhile, Natalie sat on the ground and remained silent for a long time. Her heart was pounding, and she did not dare to lift her head to look at the man before her.The Grayson residence was si
Natalie's heart suddenly tightened, and her face became paler. Her explanation had not worked. Instead, it only made the man angrier.Then, she made up her mind to admit her mistake. With her head lowered, she said, "Josh, it's all my fault. I was wrong."After hesitating for a moment, she choked up and continued, "I was afraid that you'd worry, so I didn't tell you the reason I went abroad back then."Actually, my family went bankrupt, so we had no choice but to go overseas."Joshua's brows remained tightly furrowed."My mom and I spent these three years abroad with no money and home. My mom even fell ill due to excessive worry. "I had to do part-time jobs to earn extra cash. That little money was barely enough for our daily expenses and to treat my mom's illness…"Natalie's tears continued to fall as she spoke, recalling the agonizing times overseas."The medical expenses for my mom's treatment were too high. "I wished I could split every penny in half to spend because
Joshua first met Natalie at a grand outdoor banquet. At that time, the Graysons not only ruled the roost in Oceanville but also had a prominent position among the numerous aristocratic families in Topola. Because of this, they were also invited to this banquet.At the age of 12, Joshua accompanied his grandfather and brother to the event. He had long forgotten about the family that hosted the banquet, but he remembered the extravagance of the venue, the expensive clothes of the guests, and the luxurious array of food. All the elites were gathered there. Even though he had attended many banquets at a young age, he still appeared timid at this one.With a smile on his face, his grandfather was busy conversing with the gorgeously dressed people around him.Joshua was naturally reserved and somewhat reclusive, unlike his outgoing brother, who had unsurprisingly made a bunch of friends as soon as he arrived at the event. They sat together at a table, chatting and laughing away.
It was he who failed to protect her and stand by her during difficult times.Seeing Joshua's regretful expression following the sight of the pendant, Natalie knew what he was feeling, but she pretended not to notice and slowly picked up the pendant.She gathered the items into her bag and began to walk away.Furrowing his brows, Joshua said in a deep voice, "Stop."She did not halt her steps, clearly having made up her mind. As she was about to leave the gates of the Grayson residence, Joshua signaled to the bodyguard anxiously.Following his orders, the bodyguards promptly stood up and intercepted Natalie.She pretended to be annoyed, saying, "Let me go. I'm too ashamed to stay here."Joshua strode toward her, reached out, and gently pulled her back into the house.She had her gaze lowered. Staring at the woman before him, Joshua sighed and said, "Natty, stop being stubborn."She remained silent and refused to look at him.After a moment of silence, he said softly, "You've
Joshua stood up when he saw Lorelei. "Mom, you're here."Natalie stood up as well, looking obedient as she remained by Joshua's side.Lorelei snorted. "I thought you'd forgotten I existed."Joshua accepted a cup of coffee from Greg and placed it by Lorelei's hand. He didn't get angry at her words. "What's that supposed to mean, Mom?" He continued with concern, "Have you taken your medication today? How are you doing?"Lorelei pointed at Natalie. "Ask her what I mean. Ask her what just happened!"Natalie didn't say anything. Joshua glanced at her, then said, "It's my fault for not telling you about Natalie's return to the country. "I didn't have time to tell you because it happened too recently, but you can't take out your resentment on her."Or perhaps Natasha said some things to you about Natalie, making you prejudiced against her. Natalie's a great woman, though. She's not like what others say…"Lorelei sneered. "Do you know why Natalie is back in the country, then? She ch
Joshua said grimly, "Don't blame yourself for this. Mom's the unreasonable one. Don't worry, though. I'll have a proper conversation with her when I have the time."Honestly, I have no idea when she became like this. She can't even control her emotions anymore! "I'm sorry about this, but it seems you'll have to tolerate her after you've married me."Natalie played with her fingers. "Well, are you gonna spend the night with me, Josh? It's already so late."She and Joshua hadn't slept together since they met each other, and it wasn't for the lack of trying. None of her past attempts had succeeded; she wanted to give it another shot.Once she was pregnant with Joshua's child, Lorelei wouldn't be so adamant anymore. She would have even more reason to marry Joshua."I'll be sleeping at the company tonight. I'll drop you off at the apartment first," Joshua said calmly. There had been too many issues at the company. The research for the new drug they were developing had plateaued,
Herb Valley in Topola was the only place where licorice roots grew. Did that mean these herbs had been delivered from Topola? Who was behind them? And if they knew what drug Natasha was researching, were they watching her?She couldn't make heads or tails of it. She took the herbs out of the box and scrutinized them. Growing up in the Sullivan family had made Natasha know herbs like the back of her hand. It was obvious these herbs hadn't been tampered with. In fact, they seemed to be of premium quality.She raised an eyebrow. Since someone had delivered such quality goods to her, it would be rude for her to make their kindness go to waste. She wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth—it'd be a tragedy not to use such premium herbs for her research.As for whoever was watching her, it didn't look like she could pinpoint whether they were friend or foe for the time being. And even if the mastermind tried to do something to harm her in the future, she had her ways of findi
An idea occurred to Natalie as she took in Joshua's perfect face. She got up to make coffee. Then, she carefully brought it over to Joshua's desk. For some reason, she lost her grip on the mug and accidentally spilled some coffee on her skirt. She yelped.Joshua hurriedly grabbed some tissues to wipe the coffee away. "Why were you so careless? Did it scald you?""I didn't do it on purpose. I only wanted to make you some coffee; I don't know why I lost my grip on the mug. Don't get mad at me, please…" Natalie shook her head as she spoke. "I didn't get scalded. I waited for it to cool down a little before bringing it to you."Joshua couldn't tell whether she was actually injured because she was fully clothed, so he was worried. He pulled his phone out and made a call. "Have a doctor come to my office right now."Natalie shook her head. "I'm fine, really. There's no need to go to such trouble. It's just that I can't wear these clothes anymore."Joshua caressed her head and