Filed to story: The Return Novel (Natalie & Bryce) PDF Read Online Free >>
CH 61
When Natalie got home, Mrs. Perkins came over and asked, worriedly,
“Mrs. Claire, is everything alright?”
She had already heard gossip about what had happened at the school gates. Natalie hadn’t expected the news to travel so fast. Her heart was in turmoil. She nodded indifferently and said to Mrs. Perkins,
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Perkins. We’re fine. Everything is fine.”
Even so, Natalie still looked upset as she went to her room. Mrs. Perkins was upset too; Liam must have suffered so much.
Meanwhile, Pam was fuming with rage. She had never been treated like this before. After Natalie had pushed her back, Pam had been in a state of stunned disbelief. It wasn’t until the pain in her wrists and the whispers of the people surrounding her woke her up that she realized what had just happened.
She had originally wanted to run after Natalie and fight her, but it was obvious to her that she was no match for Natalie physically. But Pam wouldn’t let this go so easily. No way. For now, Cheryl could only console Pam with a smile. The Davidson family was linked tightly to the barnyards, and relations needed to be kept in good shape.
Pam vented her anger all the way back to the house. When they finally got back to the Barnard family home, Pam immediately sought out her father, Charles, sobbing as she hugged him.
“Dad, your precious daughter has been insulted today. You have to help me get justice,”
Pam told Charles all about what had happened with Natalie and about the dean’s attitude. Her sobbing tore at Charles’s heart. Pam’s parents had always doubted her, and she knew how to play them.
Outraged, Charles said,
“She has the nerve to bully my daughter. The audacity of the woman and the presumptuousness of the dean. Good grief.”
Seeing her father’s anger, Pam felt pleased with herself, but she maintained the external appearance of being deeply upset.
“Father,”
she said,
“I feel like I’ve really lost face today. No matter what. I need Natalie to show me the respect I deserve, the respect our family deserves,”
Charles said.
“Pam, don’t worry. If she doesn’t show us the necessary respect, I will definitely make her suffer,”
Charles’s wife, Elaine, also consoled their daughter. Cheryl watched Pam’s performance from the sidelines. Although she was pleased that Natalie would be in a lot of trouble in the future, she maintained a humble appearance and said apologetically to Elaine and Charles,
“I am sorry to say that this is all my sister’s fault. I apologize on her behalf and on behalf of the whole family,”
Elaine said.
“This isn’t your fault, Cheryl. If your sister was half as considerate as you, things wouldn’t have ended up like this. She’s brought all these troubles on herself,”
Pam’s father nodded. He looked at Cheryl, and his expressions softened a little. Then he called Nick over, who had been silently watching all this.
“Nick,”
exclaimed Charles,
“please can you get that damned woman yourself and ask her what she means by this insult? This matter cannot just be let go.”
Nick nodded as if he agreed, but his lowered eyes hid other emotions. He regretted the fact that Natalie had turned out like this, his one and only love. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Bryce had gotten off the plane and was on his way to the hotel when he received a call from Mrs. Perkins. She told Bryce about what had happened to Natalie and Liam at the school gates. This all left Bryce feeling anxious. He asked about the general situation and then said,
“Missus Perkins, do what you can to help Natalie. We can’t let anyone bully her and Liam. As for the rest, wait for me to get back.”
Mrs. Perkins hung up, relieved. Bryce had wanted to give Natalie a call after dealing with his business matters, but he got so caught up in urgent company business that he worked late into the night. Meanwhile, Natalie was sitting in her room by herself when she thought of Cheryl’s words earlier. She felt so uneasy that she couldn’t relax. After a while, she decided that she couldn’t just sit there and wait. After checking that Liam was asleep, she went quietly out to her car and drove off.
Mrs. Perkins, who had been worried about Natalie, saw Natalie sneak out. What if something happened to her? After thinking for a while, Mrs. Perkins decided to arrange for two of the clear family bodyguards to follow Natalie and protect her. But Mrs. Perkins was still worried. She tried to call Bryce several times, but he didn’t pick up his phone. Mrs. Perkins was panicking now. Ultimately, she sent Bryce a text message detailing Natalie’s situation. Then she sat and prayed that nothing would happen to Natalie.
Natalie drove to the vicinity of the Davidson family mansion and parked her car in a concealed position, but still handy if she needed. To make a swift exit to avoid the mansion’s security systems, she sneaked through the undergrowth towards the backyard. She knew that there were no monitoring systems installed back here. The two Claire family bodyguards had tailed Natalie in the car, and now they followed her to the backyard wall. They thought Natalie was going to climb the wall, but then Natalie took out some kind of tool from her pocket. Under the astonished gaze of the two bodyguards, Natalie began to pick the lock of the backyard gate. Her technique was very skilled, making her look like a professional. The two bodyguards looked at each other with surprise. She was pretty good. Natalie didn’t know the bodyguards were there. After softly opening the gate, she looked around to check.
There was no one to see her, then quietly entered the mansion. The Davidson family’s arrangements were the same as they had been several years ago, matching what she remembered. Natalie dodged up the stairs, stepping in the blind spots of the security cameras like a ninja, she thought. When she got upstairs, Natalie walked carefully and kept in the shadows while she searched for her grandma. It was now deep into the night, and there weren’t many people at the Davidson family home. It seemed especially quiet and dark. Natalie’s courage arose, but after walking a few steps further, she suddenly heard a burst of footsteps and voices. Natalie froze for a moment, then hastily hid in a side room, holding her breath and anxiously looking through a crack in the open doorway. If she was discovered, she wouldn’t be able to escape. Natalie listened as the footsteps moved down the hall, closing in on her hiding place. Someone seemed to have detected Natalie’s movements and was approaching with suspicion. Natalie closed her mouth tightly to prevent herself from making any noise. She broke out in a cold sweat as the person moved closer. Natalie recognised their gait and perfume. It was Cheryl. Just as Cheryl came level with the door, Natalie was concealed behind.
A woman’s voice called out from further down the hallway.
“Cheryl, Cheryl, what are you doing?”
Natalie realised that it was Cheryl’s mother, Rosemary, who was calling out to her. Cheryl retreated toward her mother. Rosemary asked again,
“What the devil are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
Cheryl said,
“I thought I heard something up here. Maybe I imagined it. But mom, why aren’t you asleep?”
Rosemary sighed,
“Uh, I can’t sleep. That old woman upset me earlier, and I keep turning her words over in my mind.”