Chapter 77

As soon as Easton opened the door, Jennifer rushed in. Seeing Easton holding Natalie’s hand, she was consumed with anger and jealousy. There was no way she could have stood it. Without hiding her rage, she shouted, “Natalie, you have no shame! You’ve already divorced Easton, yet you’re still trying to seduce him.”

Easton furrowed his brow, his eyes filled with frustration as he looked at the enraged Jennifer. “Jennifer, it’s late. What are you doing here?”

Hearing his indifferent tone, Jennifer raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at him with a sense of grievance. “Easton, if I hadn’t come, would you have let her back into your life? You promised you’d marry me. When I left all those years ago, you said you’d wait for me, but you didn’t. Are you going to break your promise again?”

Easton frowned, recalling he had made such a promise. But he was already married to Natalie. A verbal promise meant nothing now.

He recalled Natalie once saying that Jennifer had left him back then for another man because his eyes were blind, and that Jennifer was after his family’s wealth and power. Suspicion crept into his mind, and determined not to be played for a fool, he resolved to get to the bottom of it.

Seizing the moment, Natalie chimed in, “Easton, you promised to marry Jennifer and then married me instead. You’re truly despicable. It’s late, so I’ll let you two lovebirds be.” She yanked her hand free and confidently walked away.

But she hadn’t gone far before Easton grabbed her wrist. His gaze darkened as he looked at her. “Natalie, don’t you dare. Where do you think you’re going?”

Natalie turned around, tears streaming down her face. “Mr. Garcia, we’re divorced. Please keep your distance. This woman here is your one true love. I’m simply stepping aside, letting you two be happy together. Is that too much to ask?”

Easton looked at the tears on Natalie’s face. She was crying, yet something felt wrong. He pulled her back. “You’re going to wait right here.”

“Not a chance. I’m not waiting for an unfaithful jerk who’s interested in someone else,” Natalie said.

She shook off his hand forcefully and ran. She had put on shoes she could run fast in while changing upstairs earlier. As Natalie ran, the mustard she had applied to her face to induce tears stung her eyes and left her feeling miserable.

“Natalie, come back here!” Easton shouted.

He wanted to chase after Natalie, but Jennifer quickly clung to him, crying and asking, “Easton, why are you treating me like this?”

Easton turned his attention to Jennifer, his handsome face filled with anger as he coldly stared at her. “Jennifer, why did you come here at this hour?”

Jennifer was startled by the coldness in his eyes. She frowned and said, “I came to see you. You didn’t answer my calls today, and you wouldn’t talk to me. I was scared… that you didn’t love me anymore.”

“I’ve never loved you,” said Easton, his voice cold and indifferent.

Jennifer was taken aback. She had been trying to get close to Easton since she was a child, and he had always treated her well, giving her whatever she wanted. But just now he said he had never loved her.

‘Is Natalie the one he loves?’ Jennifer couldn’t help but wonder.

She said, “Easton, do you really have to treat me like this? I’ve loved you since I was young.”

Easton sneered, “You actually believed in youthful promises and wishes? You’re incredibly naive. Jennifer, if it weren’t for what happened before, I might have kept treating you well. But you crossed the line when you framed Natalie.

“You staged your own kidnapping just to frame her, thinking that would make me divorce her, right? I wasn’t blind to your little tricks; I simply indulged you while you hurt Natalie. But you’ve gone too far, and I won’t be kind to you again.”

With that, Easton turned and went back inside the villa, locking the door behind him. Jennifer stood there in the night breeze, her thoughts in disarray.

She thought, ‘As I feared, Easton no longer trusts me. I’ve spent years trying to win him over, and it’s all for nothing. It’s all Natalie’s fault. How did she manage to get the evidence for those incidents?’

“No, I can’t lose. I absolutely cannot lose to Natalie,” Jennifer murmured to herself. She still had many things left to accomplish. She could not lose, under no circumstances.

“Natalie, you will pay for this!” Jennifer spat through gritted teeth as she stormed off.

Upstairs, Easton stood watching, his expression growing darker. As he saw Jennifer leave, he picked up his phone and called Xavier.

“Mr. Garcia,” Xavier said, his voice heavy with sleep.

Easton’s tone was displeased. “Why did Jennifer leave back then? Have you found anything?”

Hearing the coldness in his boss’s voice, Xavier was startled and snapped fully awake. He hastily said, “Mr. Garcia, I’ve been looking into it. It was two years ago, so it’s tricky, but I did find a few clues. I suspect Ms. Simpson never actually left Shagrity.

“I found that on August 15th, two years ago, she checked into the Silken Hotel and stayed there for three days. However, only her information is listed; there are no records of anyone else.”

Easton narrowed his eyes as he thought, ‘Could Natalie have been telling the truth? Why did Jennifer show up out of the blue tonight? Is it true that she has never really left Shagrity?’

Easton said calmly, “Keep digging. I want to know if she was alone back then or if someone else was with her.”

Xavier was puzzled by his boss’s urge to investigate the scheming Jennifer, but he didn’t dare ask why. He simply replied, “Got it, Mr. Garcia. I’ll keep digging and update you immediately when I find something.”

“Alright!” Easton said. Then he hung up the phone and looked out the window. The night had fallen quiet, but Natalie was long gone. He smiled slyly and thought to himself, ‘Natalie, you can’t escape.’

Easton stood by the window, a confident look on his handsome face. Suddenly, he remembered the broken cup Natalie had tossed in the trash can, and a shiver ran through him. He turned and headed downstairs.

He picked up the broken pieces from the trash can and carefully put them in a bag. He then took a look in the cabinet and found the matching bowls and forks, along with the herbs Natalie had thoughtfully prepared.

He stood up abruptly and looked around the empty villa, his irritation boiling over. He thought back to the first time he met Natalie. She had been passionate, her gaze determined. And when she looked at him, her eyes had shone with intense love. But now, she had completely changed.

Natalie took a cab back home. Seeing that her grandfather and James were still awake, she walked over with a smile and cheerfully called out, “Grandpa, James, I’m home.”

Lambert let out a sigh of relief at her safe return. “Sweetie, your brother and I were just discussing whether we should hop on a rocket and come rescue you.”

Natalie’s smile widened. “Grandpa, at your age, you might as well skip the rocket and ride a turtle instead.”

Lambert was amused. He had been worried about Natalie all night because he had witnessed firsthand how ruthless and vicious Easton could be. In Shagrity, there weren’t many who dared to cross Easton.

James’s face was grim. “Natalie, what’s wrong with Easton? Why did he suddenly take you back to his place?”