Chatper 2


    Chapter 2


    When Natalie stepped out the door in the shirt, she noticed the wide–eyed stares of half the Howard


    family, their expressions ranging from shock to disdain as they watched her bare feet carry her out from


    within.


    The weight of their gazes felt like knives piercing through her, the pain so acute she thought her heart


    might split in two.


    Sadie was quick to react. She grabbed a nket and wrapped it around Natalie, ushering her back into


    the safety of her room.


    Natalie’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion as she sat in her bedroom, the muffled voices from next


    door barely registering. “Everyone has seen it, and you’ve got to be responsible for her, right?”


    “Responsible?” Brian snorted with derision. “Fine, I’ll give her what she wants!”


    By the afternoon, the Wright family had sent people over. And Natalie’s belongings were tossed out like


    trash at the Howard mansion’s gate.


    Sending Natalie back to her biological father was the Howard family’s final statement on the matter.


    It was pouring rain, but Natalie didn’t bother with an umbre. She looked at Brian with the cold. and


    hard expression standing under the portico, staring back at her.


    Her lips trembling, nearly blinded by the downpour, she made onest plea to him.


    She didn’t me him, but how could Brian be so heartless as to have pushed her away and made her


    leave? She didn’t want to return to the Wright family, and he knew that too well!


    But Brian was unmoved by her pleas. He turned his back and disappeared behind the door, the ornate


    iron gate closing with a loud ng in front of Natalie.


    The scandal of Natalie and Brian’s affair had spread like wildfire through Streamville in just a few days.


    The word on the street was that Natalie’s mother had run off with a fortune from the Howard family and


    a lover, leaving Natalie behind. Natalie had stooped to unspeakable acts to secure. her position and


    cling to the Howard name.


    A monthter, Natalie was sent abroad with little fanfare, and the Howard and Wright families quietly let


    the matter rest with no response. Given the Howard family’s status in Streamville, the incident faded


    from conversation.


    Three and a half yearster, at the Wright family, a servant whispered to Samuel Wright, “The chauffeur


    has gone to the airport to pick up Miss Natalie.”


    1/2


    18:45


    Chapter 2


    Samuel nced at the Audi parked downstairs but said nothing.


    Natalie shouldn’t have returned then. She had yet to finish her studies. But with her grandfather


    Matthew suddenly falling ill and insisting on seeing Natalie onest time, Samuel had no choice but to


    bring her back.


    It was yet another rainy day. Natalle stepped out of the Audi, holding a ck umbre.


    When she looked up, her gaze met Samuel’s for a second before she Indifferently diverted her


    eyes.


    It had rained the day when she left the Howard family and when she was sent away. And it was raining


    on her return. How ironic.


    “Wee back, Natalie,” greeted Gracia Wright, Samuel’s second daughter, with a sly smile at the


    door.


    “Mm.” Natalie responded curtly. Then, she strode past with her luggage without a nce as she


    entered the Wright mansion. On the way back, she had learned from the Wright family’s butler that


    Gracia had been epted into a prestigious film academy. Barely in her second year, Gracia could


    snag roles effortlessly, having just finished filming a period drama that was already generating buzz


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    before its release.


    Gracia’s opportunities had been secured with the Howard family’s direct involvement, as she was their


    chosen daughter–inw.


    Thoughts of the Howard family left Natalie feeling nothing but calm detachment.


    What was the rtionship between the Howard family and the Wright family? Would Gracial marry


    Brian, the man whomanded power in Streamville? Whatever had transpired, Natalie didn’t care.


    After visiting her grandfather in a small detached house at the back of the property, Natalie returned to


    the living room where Samuel waited, seemingly with something to say.


    “Now that you’re back, you might as well stay,” Samuel said to Natalie.


    Settling onto the couch with a leg crossed over the other, Natalie looked at Samuel and couldn’t help


    but smirk. “What’s the matter? Need a favor from me?”


    Samuel hadn’t seen Natalie in nearly four years and found her much changed. He frowned and replied,


    “You’re set up for a blind date at Mr. Foster’s dinner party tomorrow. Get some rest. tonight.”


    Natalie smiled, “Mr. Wright, who do you think would dare to date me? After everything that happened,


    aren’t you afraid I’ll tarnish the Wright family’s name?”


    Chapter 3