Filed to story: The Return Novel by Josh Williams PDF Free>>
Tom came closer and introduced the man beside him. “Mr. Walker, this is my eldest daughter, Natalie.”
James Walker looked at her. With his hands behind his back, he laughed until wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. “Mr. Davidson, you are so lucky. Both of your daughters are beautiful. I’m envious.”
“You’re too kind.”
On the other side of the room, Sheryl overheard Mr. Walker and quickly pulled Nick aside. “I’m not as beautiful as Natalie. I know I can’t be compared to her.”
Natalie looked at her father’s expression, which was now as calm as a spring breeze, and got a bad feeling in her stomach. She could tell that he was up to no good.
“I only have two daughters.” Tom coughed. “Now that my youngest has found happiness, it’s time to worry about her sister’s future.” He turned and nodded to Natalie. “Natalie, talk to Mr. Walker, please.” His fatherly expression made her feel nauseous. She finally understood why he had made her come back: it was because he wanted to introduce her to this man – this fat, greasy man who he was obviously trying to reel in. Seeing him in the same room as Nick made him look even worse.
Until now, she had still had a sliver of hope that Tom might have called her back because he wanted to make up for what he had done to her. But now it seemed that was just wishful thinking. Tom had never felt that he owed her anything, and he had obviously never felt ashamed.
Just then, a tall, powerful figure stepped into the hall and quickly became the focus of everyone’s attention, but Natalie was still immersed in her own world and did not notice.
“Sorry, I don’t think I have anything to talk about with Mr. Walker.” She smiled coldly. “I came to the party, just like I said I would. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll be leaving.” As she spoke, she put down the cup in her hand and got up to leave.
“Natalie!” Sheryl let go of Nick’s hand and came over to her father, pretending to be friendly. She reached out and grabbed Natalie’s wrist. “Don’t be angry, Daddy did this for your own good. All these years, he’s been worrying about your future.” She almost managed to squeeze a tear from the corner of her eye. “Mr. Walker is the head of the Walker Group, and he’s also a real-estate tycoon. If you stay with him, you’ll definitely live a life of luxury and ease.”
She said a lot of things, but Natalie remained unmoved. She raised her hand to shake off her sister’s words with a frown. “You make him sound like such a catch. Why don’t you marry him?”
“What are you saying?” Sheryl immediately bit her lip. “I already have Nick, how could I marry anyone else?”
“Natalie,” Tom snapped when he heard, “how can you say that?” Her stepmother, Rosemary, had come over and was frowning as well. With an expression filled with heartache, she said, “Sheryl respects you so much and you speak to her like this …”
“Respect?” She felt like laughing. “You can use words like that to deceive ignorant people, not me. Don’t expect me to play along with it. Don’t insult me.”
They were so absorbed in their conversation, that none of them noticed that behind them a tall figure had raised his head and caught sight of her.
“Mr. Walker, you don’t know the whole story.” Natalie crossed her arms and turned to look at him. “Although I am the eldest daughter of this family, I’ve been exiled abroad for five years. My status in this family is somewhere below the maid’s. You won’t get even the slightest benefit from me, so you might as well choose my younger sister. She’s been spoiled and doted on all her life, unlike me. I also have a child, and everyone in Seattle knows about it. If you marry me, you’ll only be insulting yourself.”
Natalie’s words were decisive because she didn’t have as many scruples as Tom. Since she wanted to cut off this relationship, why not do it cleanly? The moment she finished speaking, everyone’s expressions changed. Tom and Rosemary’s faces were filled with fear and awkwardness from having their lies exposed. The gathered guests all started to feel sorry for Natalie.
“Huh! I didn’t know they treated her like that.”
“How could he do that? After all, she’s his daughter, his own flesh and blood. As a father, how could he be so heartless?”
“Mr. Davidson!” Mr. Walker couldn’t hold in his anger any longer. He looked at Tom and said with a forced smile, “You didn’t tell me she has a child!”
“How could I possibly lie to you, Mr. Walker …” Tom was so anxious that he wanted to explain, but the truth had already come out. No matter what he tried now, it would be useless. Natalie had sacrificed her reputation to hurt him even more; there was no way out of it.
Just as his scalp started to burn from worry, he suddenly heard a cold sneer behind him. “When did the woman I’ve got my eye on become reduced to this? To being sold like a cheap toy?”
Everyone turned their attention to the person who had spoken. They saw a man walking over with steady steps. There was a playful smile on his face, and his eyes stared at Natalie like she was his prey. Enemies are always easy to find. He hadn’t expected to meet this woman here!