Chapter 332

After ending the call, Natalie opened her WhatsApp chat with Jeremy. Their last conversation had been two days earlier. That night, she had been chatting with Skylar when Jeremy sent a message. He said he wouldn't be home for a few days due to a busy work schedule.

Natalie had wanted to call and remind Jeremy to take better care of his health, but Annabelle answered and simply said Jeremy was busy. Natalie had a premonition then that Jeremy was growing distant. Plagued by this thought, she hadn't slept all night.

This time, she didn't contact him again, and he hadn't sent a message in two days. Natalie was usually carefree, but she felt the distance growing between them. She couldn't understand it; they hadn't been married long. Why was Jeremy losing patience and becoming distant? She didn't tell Skylar because she didn't want to spoil her trip.

Standing before the mirror, Natalie looked at her weary, listless reflection. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Jeremy Hughes, if you're not interested in me anymore, just tell me. I won't cling to you. Am I the kind of woman who can't let go?"

After this self-questioning, a tightness gripped her chest. "Maybe I'm overthinking," she mused. "There really is a lot going on at the company. Plus, Jeremy manages it alone. It's tough being at the top."

Even Eleanor Johnson, Jeremy's mother, had said he was overworked lately and asked Natalie to be understanding. Kate had also advised her not to expect Jeremy's constant companionship.

Natalie glanced at her phone and reviewed their chat history from the past month or two. Each conversation seemed shorter than the last; even their video calls were less frequent and shorter. Was she really overthinking?

Natalie gripped her phone tightly. This time, she wanted to see when he would contact her.

Sadie gradually accepted the amputation of her legs; however, she still had occasional emotional breakdowns. Lying in bed, unable to move, felt like torture. Sadie looked at the chicken soup she'd been eating for days. Suddenly, she lost control, throwing the soup at Maisy and slapping her.

"Mom, you…" Maisy began.

"Are you doing this on purpose? You bought me such disgusting soup? Is this how you all treat me? I'm lying here unable to move, and you feed me this nauseating stuff? Don't you ever think to change it up?" Sadie complained. She felt they were looking down on her as a disabled person and didn't care for her.

Kenny, standing nearby, reacted quickly, rushing to protect Maisy. Seeing Maisy's red, pained face, he frowned and criticized Sadie: "Mom, how could you hit Maisy? She's been taking good care of you. The doctor said you can't eat whatever you want; Maisy has nothing to do with it. We understand you can't adapt to losing your legs, but you have to understand us too. We've been taking care of you all day at the hospital, and we're tired, okay?"

Maisy's eyes welled up, her cheek stinging. A chill settled over her heart. Sadie wasn't her biological mother, and while they had previously maintained a pretense of a good mother-daughter relationship, Sadie no longer bothered.

"I'm your mother, both of you! I worked hard to raise you. Now that I've been in a car accident and need care, do you think you're being dedicated enough? Speak from your conscience—are you dedicated?" Sadie's eyes were red with emotion.