Natalie’s heart sank when she saw no changes in Shane’s expression. She chuckled bitterly on the
inside.
Turns out, my confession didn’t elicit a trace of emotion from him at all. I guess it’s for the best. I can
finally give up on him knowing that he feels nothing for me.
She retracted her bandaged foot and curled up on the seat. “Mr. Shane, I’m not sure when exactly I
started having feelings for you either. But when I discovered it, it has already been too late. Did you
know? I’ve wanted to suppress my feelings for you on several occasions.”
Shane’s thin lips twitched. He truly didn’t know.
“But it didn’t work. Each time I made up my mind to do so, you’d appear in front of me. Then I wouldn’t
be able to forget you. It wasn’t until a few days ago when someone told me—”
“Who was it?” he interrupted, his eyes narrowed.
After he left the hotel that day, he sent Silas to investigate the person who met with her. However, it
yielded no result. Since she brought it up on her own accord, he certainly wasn’t going to let it go.
Natalie shook her head with no intention of telling him about Jacqueline Graham. If she did, it would only
cause Jacqueline to assume she was trying to get between them. There was simply no point.
Therefore, she lowered her eyes to conceal the darkness in them and said, “It’s not anyone you’re
acquainted with. She told me not to get close to you, and I think she’s right. Hence, I hope you could quit
doing such intimate actions from now on so as not to play with my feelings.”
If you have no feelings for me, then stop showing up to protect me like my knight in shining amour.
Shane grasped the unused bandage in his palm tightly. “I’m not playing with your—”
“You are!” Natalie chuckled humorlessly. “You simply do it without knowing.”
Shane kept quiet at that.
She raised her head and heaved a small sigh. “Mr. Shane, I have only confessed to you because I was
moved by your actions and thought it was a waste to never let you know. There’s no other meaning to it.
Rest assured. I’ll keep a distance from you and would never bother you with my feelings.”
She had originally never intended to let him know about her feelings. But the other time on the cruise, he
must have overheard her conversation with Stanley and found out her thoughts. Hence, it’d be
meaningless to try to hide it any longer.
Shane’s heart clenched, his expression dimming when he heard that she planned to distant herself from
him. He felt a little panic at the sudden loss of control.
It was the first time he realized his plan to woo her only after capturing the unknown person who wanted
to harm her was a mistake.
Right when he wanted to say something to dispel her thought of distancing herself from him, the loud
sirens of the fire truck came approaching.
“It’s the firefighters!” Natalie’s eyes brightened, hurriedly retrieving her footwear and pushing the car door
open to leave.
Shane held onto her wrist and said, “It’s not a good idea for you to walk in this state.”
Her gaze dimmed before swiftly returning to the aloofness she used against him several days ago. She
shook his hand off subtly. “You don’t have to interfere, Mr. Shane. I can handle myself.” Having said that,
she stubbornly held onto the car door to leave and limped her way toward Joyce.
Shane’s temples throbbed as he watched her back view.
This woman changes her feelings in a blink of an eye. One moment she’s confessing, the next moment
she immediately flees from me. It is precisely how she was a few days ago.
He pursed his lips and exited the car but made no move to join her where she was. He leaned against
the door as he watched her discuss the source of the fire with the firefighter.
Joyce stood next to Natalie, noticing Shane’s gaze. She used her elbow to nudge her gently. “Mr.
Shane’s staring at you.”
“I know.” Natalie lightly nodded.
He stared at her like he was drilling holes into the side of her head. How could she possibly not notice?
“Then you must be ecstatic, aren’t you?” Joyce had recovered from her earlier despair of the ruined
fabrics and returned to her typical cheerful self.
Natalie lowered her gaze and muttered, “There’s nothing to be happy about. Don’t bring up Mr. Shane
anymore.”
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