When Natalie returned to the villa, she was pleasantly surprised to see Shane there. “Shane!”
He was sitting on the sofa. He raised his head upon hearing her voice, but he quickly looked back
down and did not respond to her.
A disappointed look crept into Natalie’s eyes. However, she forced out a smile and walked over. “Are
you moving back?”
“I’m here to get something,” replied Shane nonchalantly.
The glimmer of hope in Natalie disappeared as her heart sank.
Noticing the change in her emotions, the kids’ moods worsened as well.
Sharon was quite scared of Shane’s cold attitude. She did not dare to hug him happily like how she
would in the past. Instead, she grabbed Natalie’s hand tightly and stared at him.
Connor followed suit. However, he suddenly asked, “Are you planning to never come back again, Mr.
Shane?”
“What did you call me?” Shane’s eyes widened as he looked at him.
Connor blinked. “Mr. Shane.”
When he heard that, he pursed his lips and an unpleasant expression crossed his face.
The children used to call him Mr. Shane in the past. However, now that they had reverted to the old
address, it sounded exceptionally unpleasant to him.
In fact, ‘Mr. Shane’ even seemed a little inappropriate given they had distanced themselves from him.
When Natalie noticed that Shane’s mood worsened, she squeezed the children’s hands. “Okay,
Connor. Bring your sister upstairs. I’ll… talk to Mr. Shane.”
Since Shane refused to believe that they were his children, they would not call him ‘Daddy’ for now.
They would wait for the DNA test results to be announced first.
“Okay.” Connor nodded and pulled Sharon upstairs. Pursing his lips, Shane gazed at Natalie with an
unreadable look.
She actually agreed to let the kids address me differently. What is she trying to do?
“Shane.” Natalie took a deep breath, walked toward him and sat down. “I’m sorry that Joyce kicked up
a fuss at your office. She doesn’t have any ill intentions. She’s just feeling bad for me.”
“And?” The look in Shane’s was still cold.
Natalie bit her lips. “And I apologize to you on her behalf.”
“There’s no need for an apology.” Shane patted his suit and stood up.
At that moment, Mrs. Wilson walked down the stairs with a bag. “Mr. Shane, here’s what you wanted.”
Shane took the bag and stood up from the couch.
When Natalie saw that, she stood up quickly too. “Are you leaving now?”
“I’ve already retrieved my things,” replied Shane, pursing his lips.
In other words, there was no point in staying anymore.
Natalie clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms. With a sorrowful look, she asked, “Are
you that reluctant to stay in the same place as me now?”
Shane looked down and did not say anything. Instead, he continued striding forward.
“Wait!” Natalie closed her eyes and called after him, “I already know why you’re treating me like this. It’s
because of your parents, right?”
Shane’s expression changed as he spun around abruptly.
When she saw his reaction, she knew that her and Joyce’s guess was correct.
“So it’s true, huh? Mr. Campbell revealed that you’re treating me like this because of my mom, so I
wondered if it’s because she let the Thompson family down. Then, I heard from Jared that my mom
always acted weirdly on the 9th of October each year.”
When Shane heard the date, 9th of October, his grip on the bag tightened gradually.
A glint appeared in Natalie’s eyes upon seeing that. She continued, “Your parents passed away on the
9th of October eighteen years ago. That’s when my mom started acting weirdly as well. Hence, these
two events must be linked. The biggest link is that your parent’s death had something to do with my
mom. In addition to how you’re treating me right now…”
Natalie’s eyelids fluttered as she gazed at him. “You suspect that my mom killed your parents.”
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