Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free >>
Natalie returned home, and she was not in a good mood. There had still not been any news from Kara. Liam put down his homework. When he saw his mom’s sour expression, he ran to her side affectionately and said, “Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you unhappy?” Seeing Liam, Natalie’s mood improved a little. She hugged him and smiled, saying, “I’m fine. I’m just worried about work. Don’t worry, Liam.”
Liam immediately puffed out his chest and vowed to Natalie, “Mommy, it’s hard on you. When I grow up, you won’t have to work so hard to earn money. I’ll look after you.” The little guy looked extremely determined, and Natalie was moved. She hugged him and gave him a kiss, feeling extremely happy.
Just at that moment, Mrs. Perkins arrived. She smiled and said, “That’s right, Mrs. Clare. Don’t work so hard. Can’t you just let Liam look after you?” As Mrs. Perkins finished speaking, Bryce happened to be walking down the stairs and heard what Mrs. Perkins said. He glanced at Natalie without saying anything. Natalie was embarrassed and quickly changed the topic.
“Liam, it’s getting late. Hurry up and go to bed. Be a good boy.” Liam nodded obediently, and Mrs. Perkins followed him up the stairs. Natalie stayed in the living room by herself and continued working on her laptop. She still didn’t want to give up this Kara opportunity. She wanted to see if she could connect with the cosmetics company.
Bryce came and sat beside Natalie. Seeing her working so intensely, he asked, “What are you so busy with? You should rest.” He was surprised by the caring tone in his own voice and looked at her with a complicated expression. However, she was so busy that she didn’t notice his strangeness. She sighed and then briefly recounted her recent attempts to boost Tony’s global social media profile and hook up with Kara. She couldn’t help but lament, “I just returned home and still don’t have any connection with Kara. I really don’t know how to connect with them.”
Bryce didn’t say anything, but his eyes suddenly turned darker. After a while, seeing that Natalie was busy, he said casually, “I have a party to attend tomorrow. Would you like to accompany me?”
Natalie didn’t react for a while. Then she looked at him in puzzlement and said, “You’re going to the City Gala, right? Why should I go?” After all, her relationship with Bryce was still a secret. Wouldn’t it create gossip and misunderstanding if she accompanied him to the gala?
Bryce’s face immediately turned cold. He stood up and snorted unhappily, “Okay, forget it.” He was about to head upstairs and didn’t even glance at her. Natalie was very alert. She immediately understood that Bryce had an ulterior motive in mind and immediately grabbed his sleeve, saying, “Uh, Bryce, who else will be at the gala?”
Sensing her hand pulling at his sleeve, Bryce surprisingly didn’t shake it off. He pondered for a moment and then said, “There’ll be lots of movie stars, sports stars, big business people, those kinds of folks.” Her eyes immediately lit up. If there were celebrities at the gala, she might find an endorsement connection there for Tony. Noticing that she remained silent for a long time, he gradually lost his patience. Feeling a little irritated, he shook her off and went upstairs.
She had no time to care about anything else. After thinking for a minute, she ran upstairs after him. She smiled at him and said, “Bryce, do you have a list of guests for the gala that I can look at?” Bryce grunted, his eyes cold again. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t go? I’m going to look for someone else to accompany me.” He pushed her away, intending to go back to his room.
She panicked and grabbed his arms, saying, “Don’t do that. I was just joking. Don’t be angry.” She definitely had to seize such a good opportunity. He was still unmoved. “You missed your one chance. Now get out of the way. I need to rest.” With that, he pushed her away again, determined to return to his room. Natalie pulled at his arm and refused to let go. “Bryce, please, let me take a look at the list of the names for the gala. Just one glance.”
“No,” said Bryce resolutely. Losing her cool, she sneered, “I bet you don’t even have a list. You don’t even know who’s going to the gala.” Then she recovered herself, feeling anxious. She gripped his arm tightly and tried to curry favor with him, saying, “I was wrong, okay? I shouldn’t have refused. Please forgive me.”
Bryce felt the pressure on his arm and her weight and warmth as she leaned against him. A feeling of gentleness came over him, even a little numbness. Damn it, he thought, remembering how he’d felt jealous about the pictures of her with Tony. He hated to feel so vulnerable and weak. He stiffened with resentment.
Natalie noticed Bryce’s change in mood. She quickly let go of his arm. She was too embarrassed to stay any longer, saying, “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” She was blushing with embarrassment. She was about to turn around and leave when Bryce stopped her. He said, “What are you running for? You don’t want the list of attendees anymore?” His voice was suddenly soft and warm.
Her face turned even redder. She did not dare to look at his face as she said, “Then give it to me, please.” Only then did he hand the document to her. She kept her head down and hurriedly said, “Thank you.” After that, she turned around and left quietly. Bryce watched her disappear down the hallway. He realized that he had been holding his breath, and he let it out in a sigh. He thought about the pressure of her hands on his arm and how he wanted to kiss her at that moment, but he felt too shy and vulnerable to do so.