Chapter 171 Don't Say That!
If Jane's brother had not encountered any problems, he and Lucas would undoubtedly have shared the same values and become good friends. Once upon a time, the social elites of Paykston envied her for having a brother who loved her so much. However, nowadays, they ridiculed the once-promising young master of the Watkins family, who was now barely alive.
…
Back at the filming of Top Avenue.
The competition approached its climax, and all the contestants went on stage together.
At this moment, the judges and the audience were engaged in fervent discussions.
Many came to the show today with high expectations for Natalie, anticipating her performance. To their astonishment, only nine contestants took the stage, and Natalie was nowhere in sight.
"Apologies, but Natalie withdrew from the competition at the last moment, leaving us with only nine finalists," the host explained to the crowd.
"Withdrawing at the last moment is just a nice way of putting it,” someone said.
Representatives from various agencies had asked about it and received the same answer: Natalie had withdrawn due to a quarrel with a staff member and left in a fit of rage.
"She’s truly unprofessional! How can she be like that as a model?” someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"Indeed! I heard she doesn't belong to any modeling agency. As such, our agency planned to sign her. Unexpectedly…”
"I heard even those big companies were eyeing Natalie. Now that she suddenly withdrew from the competition, her prospects look bleak!"
…
The woman on the bed stirred slightly. After a few moments, she slowly opened her eyes, frowning with signs of exhaustion on her face.
"Natalie!" Oliver exclaimed with joy. He was sitting by the bedside, but he promptly stood up and leaned over to check on her. He touched her forehead; her fever had subsided.
Natalie had felt restless even when she was unconscious, with Lucas's pale face constantly haunting her thoughts. She glanced around and saw the familiar Gothic decor; she knew that she was in the master bedroom. Her mind gradually cleared, and she remembered what had occurred before she blacked out.
"Oliver, where is Lucas?" she asked urgently.
Oliver felt a lump in his throat and struggled to respond. Every word she spoke was about her younger brother!
Seeing Oliver's silence, Natalie's face paled even further, and she looked even more pitiful than she already did. She attempted to sit up and asked weakly, “Did something happen to him? I must see him!”
"Don't move!" Oliver's expression darkened as he gently pushed her back onto the bed. "Your foolish brother is safe and has already awakened!"
Natalie sighed in relief, grateful to Oliver but also slightly unhappy. She pouted and protested in a soft voice, “Don’t talk about Lucas like that. He’s quite smart.”
Oliver opened his mouth but held back the hurtful words when he saw the woman's pale, exhausted face. It was the first time in his twenty-something years that he had endured such grievances for someone else!
Natalie glanced at him and cautiously sat up.
"What are you doing? Your body is covered in bruises. Why are you moving around? Aren't you in pain?" Oliver frowned, his temper unusually volatile that day. "Are you a glutton for punishment? Didn't you think to call me and ask for help?"
Of course, it hurt.
Natalie had sensitive skin and was sensitive to pain. Even now, she felt the ache deep within her bones. Feeling a bit wronged, she gazed at him and nestled in the fluffy blankets, looking adorable as she asked, "Are you still angry with me?"
Oliver said, "Damn it, you're really going to drive me crazy one day!"
Thinking about the conflict between them, Natalie explained, "Roger and I are merely friends. Originally, I had invited Blake to work with me, but unexpectedly he joined Arwyn's team. Roger stepped in at that time and helped me out.”
Oliver grunted lightly. His emotions were inscrutable, and he refused to reveal his thoughts. In fact, his attention was drawn by the name ‘Blake’.
Natalie pleaded, "I want to see Lucas. I won't feel at ease until I know he's safe and sound."
Natalie knew that Oliver had helped a lot today. He had called a doctor for both her and Lucas. She coaxed him gently, understanding that beneath his volatile nature, he had a kind heart.
Oliver hesitated, unwilling to let his troublesome brother-in-law inside.
He said, "Natalie, he's sixteen, not six!"
"In my heart, Lucas will always be six," Natalie declared.
Oliver said disdainfully, “In the future, I definitely can’t allow you to teach our future son.”
"W-when did I agree to give birth to a son for you?” Natalie blushed.
"Then, we’ll have a daughter. I prefer daughters,” Oliver said as he imagined a little girl who resembled Natalie.
"Oliver! I'm trying to discuss something important..." Her words were interrupted by a fit of coughing.
Oliver gently patted her back while saying, "What I said is important as well."
Natalie remained silent and looked at the door longingly.
After a pause, Oliver said sternly, “You must rest after you see him.”
Natalie snapped back to attention and offered a grateful smile. "Thank you!"
…
Liam delivered the news that Natalie had awakened and led Lucas and Jane to the room.
Lucas rushed inside.
"Natalie!"
"Lucas, are you alright? Do you feel any discomfort? We should go to the hospital for a thorough examination," Natalie said worriedly as she examined Lucas carefully from head to toe. She paused halfway through her sentence.
Oliver looked at Natalie, who was restless even when she was unwell, pointedly when he heard the word ‘we’.
Natalie pretended not to notice.
"I'm fine," Lucas lowered his head like an obedient child in front of Natalie as he said, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
Oliver, who was sitting next to them, scoffed lightly with an expression that as if to say, ‘Are you even aware of how much trouble you'd caused?’
Oliver had expected Lucas to argue with him, but instead, Lucas just cast a brief glance and continued standing there pitifully, looking like a bullied child.
Meanwhile, Natalie chided Oliver, "Don't be like this."
She was unhappy with his attitude toward her younger brother. He was only making Lucas feel even guiltier.
Oliver's gaze toward Lucas grew even colder. He had forgotten that this rascal was skilled at wearing different masks, swaggering and arrogantly berating others, while always appearing as a good boy in front of Natalie.
Jane entered a few steps behind and quickly sensed the tense atmosphere between Oliver and Lucas.
"Jane, why are you here?" Natalie exclaimed in surprise.
Jane sighed and looked at her bedridden best friend with both helplessness and gentleness. "You went missing, got injured, and ran a high fever. How could I not come?"
"I'm sorry for causing all of you to worry," Natalie apologied.
The group chatted for a while before Oliver glanced at his wristwatch and declared, "Natalie needs to rest."
In other words, leave the room now.
Only then did Jane carefully observe Oliver. Her discerning eyes took in the formal dress shirt and trousers he still wore. It was clear that he had hurried back from work, and the subtle water stains on his shirt showed that he had never left Natalie’s side.
Jane's heart softened as she realized the depth of Oliver's concern for Natalie, which exceeded her initial expectations. She really hoped that he was sincere to Natalie.
"Natalie, I’ll take my leave now. I'll return another day to spend time with you. You and Lucas should spend some quality time together," Jane said, tactfully offering them the gift of solitude.
"Escort Jane out," Oliver instructed the servant.
The servant replied, "Yes. This was please, Miss Jane."
Before Jane left, Natalie said, "Jane, please send me a text when you’re home."
Oliver's gaze shifted toward Lucas, who was still lingering after Jane's departure. He could not understand what the other party was still doing here.
Lucas glanced at Oliver nonchalantly and continued chatting with Natalie, inquiring about her health and any lingering pains from her injuries.
Over time, Oliver’s expression grew darker and darker until he gave in to his impatience. He turned to a servant and said, "Take him to his room."
"No! I want to be with my sister!” Lucas shook his head, acting like a clingy child. He was completely different from the person in front of Oliver earlier.
"I'm not tired either," Natalie said, wishing to spend more time with her brother.
Oliver rose from his seat and strode toward the door, looking at his bodyguards meaningfully.
With that, two bodyguards entered, ready to escort Lucas out.
"Oliver!"
Oliver looked at her with a hint of displeasure on his face.
Worried that the bodyguards might handle Lucas roughly and thinking that he really should rest, Natalie compromised, saying, “Lucas, why don’t you rest for now? I’ll call your attending doctor. He is worried about you as well.”
Although Lucas was reluctant, he still obeyed his sister's wishes, especially now that his heart was weighed down by guilt.
After Lucas left the room, Oliver's expression was still dark.
"Oliver, Lucas has always been there to protect me," Natalie reminisced about their shared past, "When we were children, our mother didn’t like me. If I upset her, she'd starve. At that time, Lucas would secretly give me food. Later, I discovered that he often sacrificed his food for me, enduring hunger as well."
Oliver felt a pang of discomfort upon hearing this. His eyes narrowed as he thought to himself, ‘How could their mother be so heartless, favoring her son over her daughter?’
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