Chapter 23 What do you want?
Natalie lowered her head and bit her lip. After a moment, she said, "My duty as your...your wife."
"Do you find it embarrassing to be my wife?" Oliver raised his eyes to look at her, placing his finger on the trigger.
"No!" Natalie was terrified that he would aim the gun at her if her answer angered him.
"Say it again."
"I'm your wife!" Natalie shouted, cheeks flush, as if she had just admitted to something shameful.
Feeling a sense of unfairness, Natalie could not help but protest in a small voice, "It seems that you don't like me. You don't even treat me as your wife..."
Frowning, Oliver mulled over her words. It was true that he did not like her as she was forced upon him by Marjorie. However, it seemed like he did not dislike her as much as he thought.
Natalie was like an obedient cat in front of him, hiding her sharp claws under her docile façade. Oliver thought that perhaps keeping her around would not only mean having a cook but also having a pet.
"Listen to me, Natalie. I won't harm you."
"OK."
Natalie rested her hands on the white birch railing behind her. At the same time, she wondered if Oliver would kill her once he found out she was a fake and that Hailey, the legitimate heir, should have been his wife.
"Come here," Oliver said. His expression was indifferent, a mischievous gleam dancing in his eyes.
Natalie took a deep breath before walking over. She smiled stiffly, "Mr. Oliver?"
Oliver handed the gun to Natalie, causing her hands to tremble.
"Mr. Oliver, you're not ordering me to shoot myself, right?"
Oliver burst into laughter when he saw the timid expression on her face. At the same time, he realized that she was not pretending to be foolish in the past. She really was a fool.
After a brief moment, Oliver said, "It's a gift for you."
The cold gun only retained a trace of warmth from Oliver's body heat, but Natalie felt she was holding a scalding pot.
"I... Can I refuse this gift?"
Natalie truly had no interest in this dangerous weapon that almost killed Victoria.
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can?"
"Thank you for the gift, Mr. Oliver!" Natalie said. However, she called him a psychopath and cursed him repeatedly in her head.
***
Adrian always hated Oliver. He was only three years older than Adrian. When they were little, as a genius, Oliver surpassed him in both intelligence and background.
Moreover, after the incident when Oliver was 15, Oliver started using violence to control the entire family. For this reason, Adrian still did not dare to openly defy Oliver.
Adrian ignored Hailey as he was worried about Victoria. He quickly made his way to the study to call the hospital.
On the other hand, Oliver's figure occupied Hailey's mind. She couldn't get over how confident he looked when he fired the gun as soon as he entered the room. He had stood firm in front of the high and mighty Windsor family. Nobody had been as domineering as him.
Coincidentally, Oliver was descending the staircase at this moment, a silver mask securely on his face. As soon as Hailey saw him, she quickly approached him without thinking.
"Mr. Oliver!"
Oliver stopped in his tracks and looked at Hailey, his hazel eyes cold as ice.
Hailey stood in front of Oliver and said with a sweet smile, "Hello, Mr. Oliver, I'm Hailey, Natalie's sister."
Oliver casually placed his hand in his pocket, his cold gaze landing on Hailey.
However, upon a closer look, there was a flash of impatience in his eyes.
He said nothing, but his gaze was asking Hailey why she stopped him.
"Mr. Oliver, Natalie has always been spoiled. Her mother failed to teach her to be a lady before she returned to the Watson family. Please forgive her if she has offended you in any way," Hailey said, never looking away from Oliver's eyes.
Oliver's eyes were deep and calm, beautiful like the stars, and capable of captivating one's soul. They held a deadly allure to women.
Oliver's gaze swept through Hailey, and he found he liked Natalie's look more.
His answer was four soft-spoken words. "None of your business."
Hailey's face twisted in embarrassment. Oliver's curt reply was like a slap on her face. However, he was too outstanding, she was unwilling to give up just like that.
"Mr. Oliver, do you know about Natalie..." she said.
Hailey trailed off. She pretended to hesitate, acting like she was withholding something about Natalie. She wanted to pique Oliver's curiosity so that he would ask her about it.
Contrary to her expectations, Oliver remained indifferent and turned around to leave. Clearly, he saw talking to Hailey as a waste of his time as she had nothing to offer. Naturally, Haiely was infuriated. She caught up with him in two strides and asked, "Mr. Oliver, do you know that Natalie likes Adrian?"
Oliver paused in his tracks. His eyes glinted coldly as he asked. "What did you say?"
Hailey suppressed the smile that threatened to appear on her face and said with feigned concern. "Natalie liked Adrian so much that she refused to give up even after we were together. However, please don't blame Natalie, Mr. Oliver. She didn't know she was going to marry you before, and Adrian is the one she truly loves..."
With a dark look, he chided impatiently, "Don't try your stupid trick with me. Get lost!"
If he didn't hear their complete conversation in the garden, Natalie's love for Adrian and the intimate scene would cause him to get the wrong idea. But Natalie had turned Adrian down. Oliver might have genuinely thought that Natalie was unfaithful to him if he didn't hear that. Nonetheless, Hailey's words still caused his mood to sour. He felt terrible...and betrayed.
Hailey knew that her plan worked as Oliver looked livid. She wanted him to suspect Natalie.
"Mr. Oliver..." she said.
"I'm not interested in you. Use your poor tactics on Adrian instead." Oliver impatiently cut her words.
He only returned to the Windsor's mansion to pay tribute to Hillary. He walked away, leaving Hailey behind.
Hailey flushed in humiliation. Oliver's sarcastic words and cold treatment felt like a slap to her face once again. She believed she was going to go crazy from anger.
She thought, 'Oliver has beautiful eyes. So? He's disfigured. He's just an ugly monster! It doesn't matter that he can intimate everyone in the Windsor family. He's in poor health with a poorer temper. Not to mention that he doesn't have any actual say in the family.'
Hailey tried to convince herself that Oliver was not the man she wanted and that he could not compare to Adrian at all in all aspects. She thought she must have gone crazy for being attracted to him and talking to him. She didn't deserve the humiliation, though she brought it to herself.
However, the more Hailey thought about it, the angrier she became.
She mused, 'Oliver is supposed to be mine! He's nice to Natalie. Why is he so harsh toward me?'
Suddenly, an idea appeared in Hailey's mind.
***
As night fell, Natalie heard a knock on the door. She assumed it was one of the servants calling her down for dinner. So, she was caught off guard when she saw Hailey at the door.
Natalie did not want to see Hailey and asked impatiently, "What do you want?"
Natalie reminded Hailey of Oliver's curt replies and the humiliation. She had the urge to rip Natalie's face off.
Hailey composed herself. Crossing her arms, she scoffed contemptuously, "I don't want to see you at all, but Oliver is asking for you."
"Oliver?" Natalie frowned and looked at Natalie skeptically before asking, "Why would he send to you to fetch me?"
"I don't know," Hailey said with a shrug, sensing Natalie's doubt. "Perhaps he took a liking to me? In any case, I've already delivered the message. He's waiting for you in the west wing."
Hailey left without any hesitation. Her attitude clearly showed that she did not care if Natalie believed her or not.
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