Chapter 164

Natalie heard Jason’s repeated apologies. She felt nothing inside.

Natalie said, “Jason, you all gave me the deepest hurt. This delayed realization and apology came too late for me. I hope you truly repent and learn to value your future life.”

“I’m sorry, Natalie. I really screwed up. I failed you. You came home full of joy, but Jennifer said that you returned and took away the brothers who loved her. This single sentence turned us all against you. We treated you terribly.” With tears streaming down, Jason thought about the loving brother that Natalie had by her side.

That man adored Natalie endlessly. He was her own flesh and blood, her elder brother, yet he had never once spoken to her with a gentle word. Thinking about this, Jason felt he was really terrible. His eyes always showed contempt when he looked at Natalie, and his words were always harsh. The more Jason thought about it, the more he felt like an awful person. Jennifer and Nick always blamed Natalie first and they always sided with the ones they loved.

Natalie sneered, “Jason, I told you at the hospital I would never forgive you. Just because Jennifer said that everyone liked my face better and thought she wasn’t as pretty, you had someone ruin my face with those strong chemicals. Do you even know how much it hurt? While I was in such pain, all of you were busy cheering up Jennifer. You’re truly heartless. I’ll never forgive you in this life, Get out!”

Natalie shouted into the phone and then hung up. Her phone slipped from her hand, and she crouched on the ground, hugging herself tightly. She suddenly remembered her previous life. After her face was ruined, she had already lost all hope. At that time, she only thought of James, believing he would never let something like that happen to her. James was always the one who cared for her the most. Even a small scratch on her hand would make him worried for days. Gordon was always so gentle and could bake cakes and cook. Whenever she felt down, if Gordon was around, he’d take the time to make her a pretty cake to cheer her up.

Leaving Harley was the hardest part for her. Once she got to the Simpson residence, there was a time in the restaurant when Harley saw her being bullied. He approached her, questioning why she chose to endure such a life with the Simpson family. She laughed and said, “Harley, I have parents now. They just misunderstood me. Once things get cleared up, they’ll be good to me.” Harley looked at her disappointedly. “Natalie, I saw what happened. That adopted girl bullied you, and nobody in their whole family stood up for you. How can you be happy living in such a family?”

Chapter 164

After she married Easton, Harley went abroad the very next day and he hadn’t returned since. Natalie went back to her room, hugged herself, and sat on the floor crying. It was as if she could hear her own voice shouting from that abandoned building, “Someone save me. I’m in so much pain.”

By then, she had completely given up on the Simpsons. She gave her all in her relationship with Easton. She even wondered if she had been too greedy, which led to such an outcome. She already had a loving grandpa and three caring brothers, so maybe that was why she faced such consequences.

Given a second chance in life, she finally realized it wasn’t like that at all. It was actually Jennifer and Nick’s ambitions, and Jennifer’s twisted personality, that caused her so much pain. In her previous life, she was spoiled by her grandpa and Harley and kept naive by their doting. That was why she was so eager to dive into another round of family love and romance. But people could be incredibly cold–hearted. She came to truly understand that nothing was colder than human nature, and nothing held less value than emotions. Belated apologies and realizations hardly merited forgiveness. Even when fixed, broken things still had cracks. She’d rather miss the Simpson family and Easton than meet them again.

That night, Natalie had another nightmare about her previous life. In the dream, the attacker slowly cut her facial skin with a knife and then dripped a highly corrosive solution into the wounds. The pain made her pass out repeatedly. Even in the dream, the pain caused her entire body to convulse. Natalie abruptly opened her eyes, looking at the sunlight streaming in through the window. She quickly grabbed her phone and called Valerie.

Valerie said, “Natalie, get some more sleep. I’m almost at the airport.”

Natalie apologized, “Sorry, Valerie. I overslept and didn’t manage to see you off. My bad!” Natalie felt guilty. Tormented by repeated nightmares, she couldn’t wake up in time to see Valerie off.

Valerie said, “Natalie, seriously, don’t worry about me. James is taking me to the airport. I’ll see you when I get back.”

Hearing that James was taking Valerie to the airport made her happy. “Okay, Valerie, stay safe abroad. Call me if you need anything.”

Valerie happily said, “If I ever need anything, I will definitely call you. You’re my only friend. Natalie, things will get better in the future, so don’t be too sad.” Natalie knew that Valerie had heard her crying last night.

Natalie smiled, “Alright!” They chatted for a bit before hanging up. Natalie wasn’t taking a break. She got up, freshened up, and drove out because she needed to meet Zoe.

Chapter 164

Natalie found Zoe on a small island down south. When she arrived, the sunset was amazingly beautiful. The island was peaceful and picturesque, and Natalie felt comfortable. She took a ferry with her car to the island and then drove for another 20 minutes to reach the beachfront villa where Zoe was staying. Zoe’s family was affluent, but she was also very diligent on her own. Her parents and brother managed the family business, while she joined a company related to her field to gain experience. She was living on the island because there was a tourism project there. After she got pregnant, she didn’t want to see the Simpsons anymore, so the Nelson family moved away. When Natalie saw Zoe, she had just finished a meeting. She was eight months pregnant, looking round and full. Zoe had become more voluptuous, yet the gentle smile on her face remained just as pure. Zoe was planning to go for a walk on the island and have dinner.

As soon as she saw Natalie, she happily walked over, her eyes tearing up. “Natalie, it’s really you, right? I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Nine months had passed. It had been a complete nine months since their last encounter. After Natalie returned to the Simpson family, she was closest to Zoe. When Jennifer tried to stir up trouble, Zoe was the only one who had faith in Natalie, standing by her side. Because Zoe believed her, Jason couldn’t stand Zoe, always feeling that she wasn’t a good person either. Clearly, he was blind and stubborn, yet he liked to think of himself as above it all. Natalie’s eyes were red as she walked over. Being apart for nine months felt like an eternity to her.

She said softly, “Zoe, you’re not mistaken. It’s me.”