Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free >>
Natalie splashed cold water onto her face to refresh herself, but it did no good. The dizziness was still there, and her body seemed to be getting even hotter. She had been drunk in the past, but on those occasions, she had only felt dizzy. This was the first time she had felt seriously unwell like this. She felt that something definitely wasn’t right. She decided to go home.
She rested her head against the cold wall of the washroom for a while, but that had no effect on her high temperature either. After resting like that for a while, she prepared to leave. At that moment, two men dressed in black suddenly barged into the bathroom. She was about to scream when something was put over her mouth. She did her best to struggle free, but she didn’t seem to have any strength left in her. She could only look helplessly at the two men, who looked hazy in front of her misty eyes. Then Natalie’s vision went black as something was put over her head, cutting out the light. Dizziness washed over her, and she passed out.
Some time later, she was woken up by a wave of heat even worse than the previous ones. She opened her eyes and realized that she was in a room she didn’t recognize. Although her body felt extremely weak and strange, her thoughts were very clear. She recognized this feeling—it was the same one she’d felt five years ago. Drugged. Damn it, drugged! When she realized that she had been drugged, her anger flared up. This was simply too dirty, too despicable, too shameless. Who would do such a thing? How dare they?
Natalie took a careful look at her surroundings and realized that she was in a hotel room. At least she was alone, and there was no one there to hurt or abuse her. She gritted her teeth, trying to shake off her torpor and start thinking about a way to escape, but the dizziness and fever made her unable to muster any strength. She was worried. Her body was covered in sweat.
Meanwhile, Mark Ellington had gone back to the Great Hall by himself. Seeing Howard teasing some female artists, Ellington walked over to him and whispered, “It’s done,” and slipped Howard a room key card. Howard gave a mysterious smile, then he laughed aloud with Ellington, got up, and left the room.
Tony Bovel, meanwhile, had been waiting for Natalie to return, watching the door closely, but she hadn’t reappeared. He was getting more and more anxious. So Tony went out of the hall and stood by the door of the women’s restroom. He called out her name, but there was no response from inside. Just then, a woman arrived to use the bathroom. Tony said to her nervously, “Please excuse me, but could you see if there is a woman called Natalie in there? I’m looking for her and I’m worried about her. Thank you.”
The woman looked at Tony and saw how serious and concerned he looked. She agreed without thinking. “No problem, I’ll go take a look. Wait a moment.” She pushed open the door and went inside. After a short while, the woman came out. She shook her head with certainty. “There’s no one inside. Not a soul. Sorry.”
Tony’s face filled with panic. He’d seen Natalie leave with his own eyes. Where had she gone? He decided to go inside and see for himself. Just then, Bryce came out of the adjacent men’s room. He’d vaguely heard her name mentioned while he had been inside. He felt displeased when he saw that it was this young man who was looking for her. Bryce grabbed Tony by the collar and demanded with a frown, “Why are you looking for Natalie?”
Tony was already worried about her safety. Now that this strong, aggressive guy mentioned her name, he became wary. “Who are you?” he asked.
Bryce didn’t answer his question. Instead, he angrily barked, “I said, tell me why you’re looking for Natalie.”
Bryce’s powerful personality and his grip on Tony’s collar intimidated him, so he told Bryce what had happened earlier. Bryce instinctively felt that Tony was genuinely very concerned about Natalie and that he was not a bad guy. When Tony had finished, Bryce had a bad feeling. He asked coldly, “Are you sure she hasn’t come out and that you haven’t just missed seeing her? Could it be that you made a mistake?”
Tony immediately shook his head. “No, I was worried about Natalie, so I kept my eye on her. She really didn’t come out. I’m certain.”
Bryce grimaced and let go of Tony’s collar before turning around and leaving. His strides were long and urgent.
Meanwhile, Natalie was gradually getting weaker due to the effects of the drug. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get out of the room—the door was locked. She looked around the room again. It was a high-class suite with glittering gold lights. There were no other exits apart from the main door, just a window. The window was open and unlocked. Her attention focused on the window, which might be the only way out for her. She still didn’t know who had locked her in here, so in order to protect herself, she had to leave as soon as possible.
She walked over and looked out the window. Crap, she thought immediately, that won’t work either. Looking down into the car park below, she counted the floors carefully. It was the sixth floor, so it was impossible to get down from there. She heaved a deep sigh of defeat and resignation. It was absolutely impossible for her to leave. All she could do now was wait and see what happened next. But somehow, she still felt that she couldn’t just sit there and wait, so she forced herself to keep looking for any other means of escape.