Natalie, please don’t let me down…
After witnessing what had happened in the video, the man could no longer focus on work.
He remained in his chair, lost in thought while the office cleaners worked hard to pick up haphazardly
thrown documents off the ground.
Only when Natalie called later in the afternoon did he finally pull himself together.
“Darling, are you busy today?” Natalie asked through the phone.
Shane lowered his gaze grimly before replying, “No. Why?”
“Uhm…” The woman faltered at how impassive he suddenly sounded. Nevertheless, she brushed it off,
thinking that she had imagined it.
His response was fairly short, so perhaps I heard wrongly.
She set that aside and resumed cheerily on the phone, “You’re usually here to pick me up after work at
this time of day. I just noticed that you’re not here, so I thought I’d call to ask if you’re busy.”
“Mm. I’ll head over now,” Shane replied curtly.
“Alright, drive safe!” replied Natalie while nodding.
The man’s lips twitched at those words. His expression turned gloomy as he recalled how the red car
had knocked over his parents like they were bowling pins.
When the call was over, he paced to the balcony for some air. He desperately hoped that the chilly
breeze would soothe his mind.
Otherwise, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to drive safely.
After a few minutes in the cold air, Shane managed to regain a decent amount of control over his
emotions. He then exited the office and drove towards Natalie’s company with a calmer composure.
Meanwhile, Natalie, Lina, and Joyce were chatting in front of the company.
Lina had come over to say her goodbyes to the other two women since she would be traveling abroad for
a competition soon.
The three babbled on until a black Maybach pulled over next to them.
“Look, Nat! Your husband’s here!” Lina flashed a playful smile, nudging Natalie teasingly.
In response to her teasing, the latter rolled her eyes in amusement. “Alright now, don’t forget to give your
all for the competition abroad. I’ll also be participating in an international competition abroad in a month’s
time, so maybe we can meet up then.”
“Absolutely! My instructor says that our jewelry design competition will be collaborating with the fashion
industry’s international competition for the final rounds. As long as we both make it into the finals, then
we’ll definitely see each other.” Lina patted Natalie’s shoulder affirmingly.
Joyce chuckled endearingly at her two friends and joked, “Pfft! Please, you guys are so talented. Making
the finals should be easy for you.”
“Yup,” Natalie and Lina answered simultaneously with sparkly-eyed smiles.
Right after, Natalie waved goodbye to them. “Alright, I gotta get going now. Bye!”
“Okay, see you!” Her two friends nodded.
Natalie approached the black Maybach, then opened the door and entered the front passenger seat. She
hastily apologized, “Sorry, Shane. Have you been waiting for some time?”
The man didn’t utter a word. Rather, he stared intensely at her face as if he were searching for
something.
Without a doubt, she was the most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on.
Her angelic features bore a striking resemblance to the little girl’s sweet face from the video he saw
earlier.
He couldn’t help but ponder the severity of the video’s new information. Even if she and her mom aren’t
the ones who crashed into my parents, there’s no escaping the fact that they are still involved with the
accident.
What do I do now? In what way should I treat someone who’s associated with my parents’ death?
Natalie frowned after sensing that his mind had wandered elsewhere. She reached out to wave her hand
in front of him. “Shane? Shane?”
Gradually, the man’s eyes flickered as he broke away from his thoughts. “What is it?”
“I was getting worried about you. You spaced out and didn’t react no matter how much I called your
name,” Natalie explained.
Shane averted her gaze to hide the conflicting emotions in his eyes as he shrugged and said in a low
voice, “Sorry. I’ll drive now.”
“Okay…” Natalie nodded. Still, she couldn’t help but feel unnerved by his odd behavior.
What’s gotten into him?
Why is he so uncharacteristically distant today? It seems like there’s something on his mind, but he’s not
telling me. Did something happen at the company?
Neither of them said a word during the car ride. The air was so tense that they could hear each other’s
shallow breathing.
Natalie had tried to start a conversation, but Shane hadn’t bothered responding to anything she said.
Instead, he focused on the road ahead, acting as if he hadn’t heard her at all.
He iced her out so much that she decided to stop speaking altogether.
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