Chapter 433 Instigation
Natalie looked at him. The man, usually so irritable, was now kneeling before her, adjusting his height to match hers as she sat. He seemed surprisingly easy to talk to.
Natalie could see her reflection in Oliver's eyes, feeling as if his entire being was devoted to her. Yet she was reminded of the phone call from yesterday, the words that those three scumbags had said, and the humiliation they had inflicted upon her.
‘Stop looking at him. The more you do, the easier it is to be deceived,’ Natalie warned herself.
"Where is my phone?" Natalie asked, changing the subject.
Natalie's phone was lost somewhere; it wasn't there when she was admitted to the hospital. Oliver had bought her a new one, complete with a SIM card.
Once she got her phone, Natalie shooed him away. "I want to play with my phone for a while. You can leave now."
Indeed, Oliver had things to do. He had to thoroughly investigate the matter! No one was allowed to harm Natalie!
Natalie grabbed her phone to contact Emily and let her know she'd been injured and couldn't continue with work. Some projects would need to be postponed and others canceled.
Unexpectedly, the first thing she saw was a message in her inbox. It was from an anonymous sender. "Call me. I have information you'll want to know."
Natalie felt an unusual fearlessness after everything she had gone through. She calmly dialed the number.
The person on the other end seemed to be waiting for her call, and the call was answered quickly.
"Hello!" A cheerful female voice came through the speaker.
Natalie tilted her head and saw herself in the dressing mirror. Her lips vaguely curled in a smile devoid of warmth, "Susan."
"How did you guess it was me?" Susan's voice retained its gentle composure, as if chatting amiably with a friend.
"It was either you or Helen, and Helen wouldn't call me right now. Too suspicious."
"I called to tell you that yesterday when you called Oliver… " Susan's voice trailed off teasingly. She paused before continuing, "He was with me. He landed at noon, and I picked him up right from the airport."
"He was with me... Picked him up right from the airport..." Susan's words struck Natalie like a slap in the face, and her breath was hurt by the sting.
Natalie stared at a wall and mustered great effort to contain her emotions and retrieve a steady voice, "Susan, if you lie to me, I can simply ask Oliver and know if it's true."
"That's why there is no need for me to lie."
"So, are you not afraid that I might record our conversation right now and go tell Oliver that you're provoking me and causing discord?"
"You wouldn't!" Susan's laughter came through. "With what's happened now, I suspect you don't even want to deal with him anymore. How could you possibly think of tattling? With your pride, you wouldn't stoop that low."
Natalie clenched her teeth and said nothing, Susan was right.
Taking this kind of "love rivalry" provocation to a man was too demeaning; it would seem as if she was too fond of Oliver and as if she was jealous of Susan.
"Dear Natalie, there's another thing I'd like to tell you."
Natalie couldn't fathom how this woman dared to address her as "dear Natalie" in such circumstances.
"Do you remember that little slut Flora and her affair with Arthur back in the day?" Susan's word choice was distasteful, but her tone remained gentle. "I've been fond of Arthur since I was a child, and suddenly this woman swoops in to steal my love. Of course, I would wish her dead!"
Susan continued, "Back then, everyone in our circle knew that Flora was nothing but a plaything for Arthur to discard at any moment, and as long as it wasn't in Arthur's face, anyone could bully her."
Natalie's hand gripped the blanket on her lap tightly. Her face had darkened with anger.
"Arthur did have some genuine feelings for Flora. At least when I harassed Arthur, he definitively chose Flora over me. But do you know why, back then, so many people saw me and Arthur together at various events? Do you know why everyone thought we were a couple?
"Because of Oliver! He knew I liked Arthur, so he ordered Arthur to be with me. In public, he had to show up with me as a couple. Flora's fall into the sea happened while she was on her way to find Arthur, right?
"Let me tell you, that day Arthur was with me. I had deliberately concocted an excuse for him to attend an event with me. Oliver, in his capacity as an older brother, requested that Arthur assist and protect me! Look at all that Oliver did for me!"
Susan's pride was practically oozing through the phone.
Natalie trembled all over. A chilling dread rose from the soles of her feet, and her scalp tingled. ‘Flora had been bullied by Susan like this! No wonder Flora looked so desolate back then.’
"Susan, after all this time, what you truly want is for me to divorce Oliver," Natalie sneered. "Helen summoned me yesterday and orchestrated this elaborate scene, all to protect you."
Susan did not retort. She and her mother were united against Natalie, each holding Oliver back in their own way!
"Rest assured, Susan." Natalie's voice was colder than ice, reminiscent of a journey into midnight. "Based on what you've done to Flora, I won't let you succeed me as Mrs. Windsor."
"You… you still want to be with him? Would he still want you if he knew you'd been with another man?" Susan said in disbelief.
"Whether I want to be with him or not, you'll never become Mrs. Windsor!" Natalie's recent injury was difficult to trace.
The three men had been under Nathan's control. Out of respect for Natalie, he agreed to hand them over to Oliver, but unexpectedly, they committed suicide on their way.
The trail ended there; no suspicious contacts could be found.
Although surveillance footage captured Helen's people taking Natalie away, other cameras also showed Natalie leaving Helen's residence unharmed. Afterward, Helen went to the floristry in Paykston to arrange flowers with some local wealthy wives.
There was not a single piece of evidence pointing to Helen.
Oliver, seeing that the meal preparation in the kitchen was almost done, went upstairs to call Natalie for dinner.
Upon opening the door to the master bedroom, he found it empty.
"Natalie!"
His heart skipped a beat at that moment. He rushed into the room and looked around but saw no one. He stepped out onto the balcony and looked down.
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