“What’s the matter?” Bryce’s voice was cold, distant. Liam, on the other end of the line, was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected Bryce to actually answer the phone. He froze, unsure if the caller had hung up. Bryce looked at his phone, about to hang up, when Liam’s small, scared voice came out of the phone’s speaker.
“Dad, I’m so scared. That bad uncle just blocked the door and was bullying mommy. I’m scared.”
Bryce’s expression darkened, and an intense light filled his eyes. Immediately, he grabbed his jacket and left the villa. Michelle saw her son leave in a hurry. She was very confused and wondered what had happened. Why would Bryce be in such a rush to leave suddenly without saying anything?
Meanwhile, at Natalie’s place, she was relaxing. Her hair was still wet, and she was so tired she hadn’t bothered to dry it. She watched Liam, who was drawing pictures and occasionally looking up to check the time. Natalie was about to tell Liam to go to bed and rest when the doorbell suddenly rang. The bell startled her. The things that had been said about the Davidsons before he left were still fresh in her mind. Would they really come this late?
Liam’s eyes lit up when he heard the doorbell, but Natalie didn’t notice. She went to open the door. Bryce had an icy expression on his face. When Natalie opened the door, she stared at Bryce, her eyes wide, not knowing how to react. For a moment, he looked at Natalie. Her skin and hair were glowing after her shower. Her skin was like porcelain, he thought. Natalie blushed, noticing him staring at her, confused. She closed the door.
Bryce was still standing outside the door, but he wasn’t angry. Instead, thinking about her being so startled, he felt a surge of sympathy and affection for Natalie. Natalie went to the bedroom to change her clothes. Meanwhile, Liam opened the door and welcomed Bryce in. Bryce was able to size up the two rooms in front of him. Although the house was small, it felt very cozy and welcoming.
Natalie walked out of the bedroom, seeing Bryce sitting on the sofa. She couldn’t help but ask awkwardly, “What are you doing here?” Bryce asked bluntly, “Where is that guy? The one who was here.” Natalie immediately realized he was asking about Nick. She stuttered a reply, “He’s gone already,” then asked suddenly suspicious, “Hold on, how did you know he was here?”
Bryce looked at her but did not respond. She immediately thought, “Must be Liam again,” and said, “Look, everything is all right now. You… Did you really come all the way out here for that?” Bryce realized that Liam had tricked him and shot the boy a sulky look. He would help if Liam asked, sure, but that didn’t mean he would let himself be taken advantage of. But Bryce wasn’t able to be as stern and cold-hearted with this little guy as he was with other people. No one ever dared to take advantage of Bryce’s position. Liam could be considered the first to have tried.
When Liam saw Bryce’s dissatisfied expression, he got a bit scared and pretended to be sorry. “Dad, I didn’t lie to you. That bad uncle came and insulted mommy. He threatened mommy. He said he would come back and force mommy to marry an old man.”
“Liam, don’t say another word,” Natalie scolded him, starting to get angry. She really didn’t know why her little boy seemed to act up so much every time he saw Bryce. Liam, seeing his mother was angry at him, didn’t dare say anything more. He pulled on her sleeve, trying to placate her.
When Bryce saw the mother and son’s interactions, his eyes flashed with sudden emotion. He said with a preamble, “Natalie, would you be willing to marry me?” Natalie, shocked, almost choked.
She wasn’t sure if she had heard him correctly, so she asked, “What did you say?”
Bryce’s expression darkened. He had blurted out the question just then in the grip of his emotions, but he knew he couldn’t take it back. He looked at Natalie and said, “Well, your family wants you to marry that old man, so why don’t we get married instead? If you marry me, no one will dare threaten you anymore. And anyway, my family is pressuring me to get married. We would be doing each other a favor.”
Natalie frowned and said, “So that would be a fake marriage, and we’d not interfere with each other’s lives?” The marriage proposal was a huge shock to Natalie, and she still couldn’t believe what she had heard.
Bryce actually was considering marrying her. Is this person crazy? Or maybe he isn’t thinking clearly. And how can he be so casual when discussing his own marriage? But she had to admit that if she was with Bryce, her and Liam’s life would be better.
And yet, somehow, this did not seem fair to Bryce. She said, “Bryce, please don’t joke around.” Then, feeling confused, she added hesitantly, “Even if we were to get married, would your family agree to it? Don’t you have to take into account what they would think?”
The questions from Natalie made Bryce slightly upset. He didn’t like to see Natalie having all these doubts. But he got the feeling that this woman was not a bad person. Bryce said, “I’ve never cared what other people think or feel when I do something.
All you need to tell me is whether you’ll marry me or not. If you agree to my proposal, I’ll see you at the courthouse tomorrow.
Meet me there at noon, okay?” After he finished speaking, Natalie was even more surprised. Hat Bryce marrying her because he was sick and tired of his family pressurizing him? Or did he just want to help her?
Bryce stood up, ready to leave without waiting for her reply. But when he reached the door, he suddenly turned around. His face was expressionless as he reminded her, “If we get married, this marriage will only be a formal arrangement. You don’t need to fulfill all the duties of a wife. It’ll be mutually beneficial for both of us. Don’t just think about yourself but also about your child. If he gets kidnapped again, you’ll have no one to help you.” He didn’t say anymore, just glanced at Liam before turning and leaving.
C’est magnifique comme histoire
Interesting I enjoyed it