Chapter 241


    Bradley had only learned the full extent of the Howard family’s situation after graduation, finally


    understanding the rtionship between Natalie and Brian.


    Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    Before that, Brian had never shown any disdain for Natalie. Bradley recalled that Brian had always


    been protective of her dignity. Once Brian went to pick Natalie up from school and overheard some


    guys talking smack about her, he threw punches without hesitation, and when he returned, his knuckles


    swelled, a testament to the severity of the fight.


    Bradley didn’t know the reason at the time, butter, through an offhandment from Robert, he


    learned Brian had defended Natalie against some troublemaking punks.


    Brian wasn’t one to fight, but the one time he did in college was for Natalie. It just showed how


    important she was to him.


    Natalie and Bradley exchanged looks, her eyes flickering slightly.


    After the tragic ne crash that took Robert’s life, Bradley had be Brian’s closest friend and had


    graduallye to understand the dynamics between him and Natalie. He felt he had the right to say


    something about it.


    After exchanging a few words, Natalie nodded in understanding. “I get what you’re saying.” Bradley


    thought she might be feeling ufortable because of Madelyn’s presence.


    Natalie and Rosie had just about finished their ice cream as Bradley showed them out the


    door.


    As Natalie was about to leave, Bradley called out to her again.


    “What’s up? Something else on your mind?” Natalie stopped in her tracks and looked back


    at him.


    Bradley thought it over and softly said, “You know how much he loves Nate, but he can’t always make


    time to have dinner together. But you, every weekend when you came home, he’d clear his schedule to


    be there punctual for dinner.”


    “He was worried you’d wait for him and go hungry or that you’d struggle to break the habit of saying


    goodnight to him and wouldn’t be able to sleep. Did you know any of that?”


    “Natalie, Brian sent you to boarding school not because he disliked you but because he didn’t want you


    to worry on nights when he couldn’t make it home. Do you understand?”


    Natalie stood still, looking at him, silent.


    Brian was never the type to bare his emotions for all to see, instead, he always pushed his feelings


    down and held his tongue.


    Natalie would never have known if Bradley hadn’t told her. She had always thought Brian


    Chapter


    sent her away because she was a nuisance.


    “I do,” she finally replied calmly after a pause.


    “Go on. You’re busy,” Bradley said, waving her off.


    Then, seeing Rosie waiting for Natalie not too far away, he called out leisurely, “Hey kid, feel free to


    swing by for free ice cream anytime, all–you–can–eat!”


    Rosie, already twenty–five, couldn’t help but frown at being called a ‘kid.‘


    “That’s just his way, acting all old and wise,” Natalie said as she walked back to Rosie’s side.


    Natalie rummaged through her bag, realizing she had lost her gingerbread man–shaped USB drive.


    She was sure she had attached it to her car keys and couldn’t have mistaken it. After searching every


    corner of her bag and the car, she still couldn’t find it.


    Thest time she had used the car was before a trip abroad, with the USB still on the keys. She


    vaguely remembered seeing it after returning home.


    But she hadn’t paid it much mind with everything going ontely.


    “Is that USB drive that important?” Rosie asked curiously after helping search for a while.


    “What’s on it?”


    “Family pictures,” Natalie replied with a stern face.