Tom was nonplussed for a moment. He knew that it must have been Natalie who called the cops. He faked a smile and said smoothly, “Officer, I’m sure that you can see there’s been any misunderstanding.
This is my daughter’s home, and I’m here to visit her. How could I be trespassing?” The two cops looked at each other, confused. Bryce hadn’t told the police dispatcher that the trespassers included the woman’s father. What was going on?
Natalie heard the conversation taking place near the doorway. She understood what was going on and somehow found the strength to break free from The Bodyguard. She ran to the doorway, desperate, shouting, “Officers, please! These are bad people! Please help me!”
The force of Natalie’s emotional appeal meant that nothing Tom said would sway the officers. The cops issued Tom a warning, and he had no choice but to angrily leave his daughter’s house, taking his two bodyguards with him.
But as he left, he gave Natalie a warning stare. His eyes were filled with a monstrous rage. Unable to look at him, she closed her eyes in dejection. She hadn’t realized her father despised her so much, but now his contempt for her was clear.
Although the tension in the room gradually faded after Tom left, her face was pale as she held Liam in her arms. Luckily, Liam was a strong-willed boy, and this nasty experience hadn’t affected him too much. Natalie knew that without such resilience, Liam would have had a terrible childhood.
And she also knew that if anything were to happen to Liam, she wouldn’t be able to survive. She was immensely grateful that Bryce had helped them this time. Natalie shook off her churning emotions and decided to take Liam to see Bryce. If she thought about it a bit more, she might have changed her mind, but she was really afraid something might happen to Liam, and that overrode everything else.
Bryce had just arrived near Natalie’s home. He was struck when he saw Natalie. It seemed like her face was glowing in the morning sunlight. Bryce suddenly realized how attractive he found her.
Although still in a daze, Natalie noticed Bryce’s ostentatious Cadillac. She went over and hustled Liam into the car. Bryce looked at Natalie expressionlessly. “Did you bring all the documents?” Bryce asked, straight to the point as ever.
Natalie felt uncomfortable under his stare. She could only nod and reply, “Yes, I brought them all.” Bryce didn’t say anything else; he just drove Natalie to the courthouse to arrange their marriage certificate.
As it was still early, there weren’t many people at the courthouse. When Natalie and Bryce walked in, they didn’t have to wait long before it was their turn. A woman in charge of marriage registrations looked admiringly at Bryce’s distinguished appearance. But when she looked at Natalie, there was hostility in her eyes.
Natalie felt very awkward being stared at, and she was dispirited to realize how much charm and power Bryce exuded. She somehow seemed to foresee their future. If she married Bryce, other people would most likely think Bryce was a miserable partner in the marriage. After all, she wasn’t as prominent as Bryce and couldn’t match his worth.
Noticing Natalie’s nervousness, Bryce frowned. He held her hand to reassure her. He said, “What’s on your mind? Are you regretting getting married to me?” He was smiling, and his eyes were beaming as he leaned close to her.
She could feel his breath on her neck. Natalie blushed, lowered her head to hide her embarrassment, and quickly pushed him away. She said, “No, of course not! Come on, let’s go and get our picture taken.” She dragged Bryce to the area where the photographers took snaps of the newlywed couples.
While they were posing for their picture, Natalie felt awkward with Bryce so close to her.
But gradually, the dispirited feeling she’d had was slipping away from her. After a short while, they emerged from the courthouse with the marriage certificate. “So that’s it,” thought Natalie. “We got married just like that.”
Liam, who was waiting outside, was really excited and happy to see the marriage certificate in his mom and dad’s hands. He said, “I’m so happy! Finally, you guys have married. This is great! Now I can live with Daddy.”
Liam saw his mother was still in a daze. He quickly went to her side and pulled her sleeve to get her attention. “Mommy, aren’t you happy? We’re not alone anymore. From now on, no one will dare to bully us.”
Natalie gave him a hug. She felt content seeing him so happy. Bryce’s heart swelled when he saw this. He reached out his hand almost automatically and gently stroked her hair. Natalie, surprised, looked at him with a perplexed expression and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Bryce flinched and drew his hand back, but he quickly regained his composure. He said, “I’ve already arranged for someone to pack up all your stuff so you can move in with me today.” She nodded. She knew it was natural for them to live together since they were married, even though it was just a formal agreement. And she knew that she couldn’t live at her old place anymore now that Tom knew where she lived.
She knew that Tom wouldn’t just let this go. She nodded gratefully and said, “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. This is the least I should be doing,” Bryce replied. Then he took out a prepared contract from his bag and handed it to Natalie. “Here, look through this.”
Natalie took it suspiciously. There were quite a few provisions in it, but at the same time, Natalie secretly admired Bryce’s thoroughness. She began to read the clauses one by one. The contract was extensive.
It stated that they would not interfere with each other’s lives during their marriage and that they were only to maintain the illusion of a normal marriage when they were outside their home. Bryce also highlighted a few clauses that made it clear that either party could terminate the agreement at any time.
The agreed distribution of interests and properties between the two parties was also clearly stated.
After Natalie finished reading the contract, she felt relieved. At least everything would be very clear in advance, meaning that there would be no awkwardness or arguments later on.
Even though she never had any intention of taking advantage of Bryce, checking the contract once more, Natalie realized there wasn’t a clause stipulating that there was no need for the parties to carry out the full duties of husband and wife.