Chapter547 Tearing Down the False Facade
"Lucas." Natalie approached, grabbing his wrist.
She suddenly realized the once frail boy from a year ago had grown strong and vigorous. A wave of tenderness and warmth flooded her heart.
Feeling Natalie's gentle yet resolute gaze, Lucas took a deep breath, held back for a few seconds, and then reluctantly lowered his fist, "Sis!"
Natalie calmly held Lucas back while instinctively shielding her brother behind her. She looked down with a faint smile at Susan sprawled on the ground.
"'I didn't know,' 'I thought,' 'It seemed to me'—some people like to hide their real agenda behind such words. If you truly mentioned Nathaniel's matter without malice, then it only shows a severe lack of emotional intelligence. But if it was intentional..." Natalie paused, "I can understand and accept that, considering it's not your first rodeo.
Before Natalie could finish her statement, she appeared to finally notice Leonard standing beside her. With an insincere tone, she turned to Susan and said, "Oops, my bad. I forgot your fiancé was right here. But really, Susan, if your man's here, why in the world would you be fussing over your old rival? It makes no sense to me."
Susan tried to interject, "I just—"
"Don't bother explaining; I'm not interested," Natalie cut her off abruptly. "Look, Susan, I don't usually interrupt people, but for you, I can't hold back. I have no patience for women who play mind games. You get what I'm saying?"
Natalie's message was crystal clear:
I'm calling you out because you've asked for it. I'm normally pretty easygoing, so if I'm being this harsh with you, you must've done something wrong. You parade around acting frank and honest, but really, you're nothing but a hypocrite. I don't have the time to deal with you, so just zip it.
The social circle was no stranger to daily drama, but such a blunt confrontation was unusually frank—it was all anyone could talk about. The crowd was momentarily silenced, inwardly nodding in respect at Natalie—who always managed to hold her own with such poise.
"By the way," Natalie, who felt she had missed something, turned to address Susan's fiancé directly with a sardonic smile. "Leonard, I hope you're not offended by the way I'm treating your bride-to-be. It's really a woman thing, and it wouldn't be your place to interfere. If you did, I might just have to wonder if you've got a thing for me."
She deftly flipped the situation Leonard had crafted for her, turning it right back on him.
Natalie wasn't concealing her strategy to use Susan's own 'innocent act' against her, blocking any chance Leonard might have had to defend Susan. It was a play of 'fight fire with fire'—outlining Susan's insincerity and then using it against her, leaving no room for criticism.
However, Leonard didn't seem to have any inclination to defend Susan.
"Miss Watson makes a fair point," Leonard said with a smile, reacting as if the one being humiliated wasn't his fiancée, but rather some unconnected stranger.
If Natalie’s sharp words had been a slap to Susan’s face, Leonard's agreement was like a backhand strike, leaving Susan looking at him in disbelief, utterly shocked that her own fiancé would leave her hanging like that.
After being bullied like that, he was still defending Natalie!
Susan felt a buzz in her head as tears instantly welled up, blurring her vision. She quickly shut her eyes to push the tears back before they could fall.
She couldn't bear the thought of others laughing at her, let alone let them see her cry.
Crying was a sign of weakness, an admission of defeat.
And Susan would never concede defeat to Natalie.
"Susan, the floor is cold. You should get up before you catch a chill. I'd feel guilty if you got sick because of sitting there," Natalie said, picking up her phone. "I'm going to step outside for a bit. Don’t follow me."
Natalie couldn't stand another second there and didn't want to see Oliver's reaction to the scene.
She was afraid of seeing the things she didn't want to see.
Lilian, who had started to rise, froze at Natalie's words. Seeing that Lucas wasn't following her, she sat back down dejectedly.
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