Chapter 369


    Nathaniel was a bit more patient than Brett and wouldn''t get pissed just because Bell Salotti didn''t


    answer his questions directly.


    He reached out and grabbed Bell Salotti, repeating the question he had just asked, "What are you


    scared of?"


    He felt something was off when she stiffened like a statue. He touched her calloused fingertips and


    asked, "Is it because of the violin?"


    Bell Salotti shook her head, nestled in Nathaniel''s arms, and dared not move. After sobbing for a


    while, she choked out, "Did you make me y the violin because of her? Did you want me to


    change my name to Izabe, not to start over but to rece her?"


    She wept sorrowfully. But Nathaniel couldn''t help butugh.


    "Who told you to snoop around my stuff? Isn''t it better to y dumb? Why are you making trouble


    for yourself?" Nathaniel''s voice was still gentle and nice to hear.


    Bell Salotti was powerless and naive; she unwittingly signed a contract with apany and became


    a meal ticket for capitalists.


    Nathaniel always looked down on her; if it weren’t for her face, he wouldn''t even spare her a nce.


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    Born lower than others, without even the right to talk about self-respect, Bell Salotti didn''t expect


    Nathaniel to admit it directly.


    She stared at Nathaniel nkly, tears falling down her face.


    Nathaniel pinched her face and said, "Stop crying; you don''t look like her when you cry; you should


    smile more." As he spoke, he even used his hand to pull up the corners of her mouth. "You should


    smile more; then you''ll look like her. Stop crying and continue practicing violin. I want to see how


    you''ve been doing."


    Choking back her sobs, Bell Salotti said, "I don''t want to y the violin anymore." What she really


    wanted to say was that she didn''t want to be a recement anymore.


    Nathaniel and Brett were cut from the same cloth; their characters were not exactly the same but


    simr. They were used tomanding respect, and it was rare for anyone to defy them.


    He grabbed Bell Salotti''s hand and said, "If you don''t want to y the violin anymore, then there''s


    no need for your hands. Why not be like the person in the video, with useless hands?"


    Bell Salotti''s legs went soft, and only then did she truly understand Nathaniel. He was a devil, and it


    wasughable that she had taken this devil as her savior.


    Nathaniel stroked her fingers, his movements gentle as he swept over her fingertips. Bell Salotti


    spoke in desperation, "I''ll y; I''ll y the violin for you right now."


    "That''s a good girl." Nathaniel patted her head as though rewarding a well-behaved puppy.


    He led Bell Salotti by the hand to the violin room. Bell Salotti had no choice but to follow him in a


    daze, then picked up her violin and ced it on her shoulder.


    Fear had a great impact on her; her ying was intermittent, and tears flowed down her cheeks


    onto the strings.


    After a grating sound, Bell Salotti put down the violin in her hand.


    She wasn''t Izabe; no matter how well she yed, she couldn''t be her.


    Nathaniel furrowed his brows and spat out: "Horrible."


    Then they went on with their lives as if nothing had happened, just like before.


    Bell Salotti still served Nathaniel like a servant. The only difference was that Nathaniel didn''t need


    her to share his bed; he never touched her. The closest they got was when he held her on the sofa,


    pinching her mouth to show her how to smile like Izabe.


    From the moment she changed her name, she gave up the life of "Bell Salotti".


    Bell Salotti began to study every move of Izabe, striving to be a qualified recement.


    When Nathaniel thought she had learned enough, he arranged for her to apany Brett.


    He used Bell Salotti as a recement for Izabe, not for himself but to keep Brett in check with this


    little substitute.


    For the past three years, Brett had been depressed because of Izabe''s death. Perhaps he would


    be grateful if he had a recement.


    Bell Salotti had always been obedient; even knowing that she was only a substitute, she quietly


    epted the arrangement without any resistance.


    She probably wouldn''t refuse to apany another man.


    Bell Salotti didn''t refuse; she just said quietly, "Once you give something away, you can''t take it


    back."


    When did she stop seeing herself as a person and start seeing herself as an object? An object that


    could be used by Nathaniel at will, something that could be given away casually.


    Nathaniel didn''t care at the time; did Bell Salotti really think she was that important? To him, she


    was expendable; he never truly cared about her.


    "If I leave, I won''te back." Bell Salotti spoke again, like a soulless doll, staring at him nkly.


    Nathaniel said, "Fine, as long as you go to Brett''s room tonight, whether youe back or not is up


    to you. But if you choose not toe back, don''t regret it."


    What he didn''t know was that the biggest regret of Bell Salotti''s life was meeting him and willingly


    being a substitute for a year.


    In the end, Bell Salotti did just what she said; once she left, she never came back. She blocked all


    his contact information.


    And Nathaniel took a long time to get used to life without Bell Salotti.