Chapter 592 Possessiveness
“Don’t mind Richard's speculations—Jovan has always treated me like he does Jane, like a sister. He’s a decent guy, you shouldn’t smear his name. The Watkins family had that accident three years ago, and I was in high school at the time. Jovan surely wouldn’t have been interested in a high school girl, right?”
For Natalie, Jovan was more involved with her family and relatives than Robert ever was. Jovan even covered for her several times at high school parent-teacher meetings.
Oliver scoffed, "Are you saying Jovan isn't a total beast?"
"He's not that much different from a beast," Oliver added.
"Don't talk about him like that. You are just taking advantage of his… his current ill health to badmouth him. I'm getting angry." Back when the Watkins family had their crisis and Jovan's whereabouts were unknown, Natalie had cried with Jane.
"What is Richard Chandler lying about, and what for?"
"Obviously, it's to provoke you into…"
The last word "anger" was lost in Natalie's thoughts.
Why would Richard Chandler's comments about Jovan irritate Oliver? It suggested an underlying assumption that Oliver still had feelings for her and could get jealous, right?
"What kind of provocation?" Oliver pressed as Natalie suddenly stopped talking. He stared into her eyes, demanding an answer.
Natalie's scalp tingled, and within two seconds, she caved, glancing away toward the window.
"... I forgot."
"Natalie!"
Oliver's tone had an edge of coercion, urging her to finish what she was saying.
"I really forgot," Natalie claimed, feigning confidence as she rolled her eyes.
Oliver couldn't help but laugh at her charade, watching her for a moment, then nodding, "Okay, let's change the subject. You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about. What is it?"
Oliver had a hunch about the likely subject of their talk. It wouldn't be anything other than their current dynamics and the nature of their relationship. She was never one to beat around the bush.
"Now's not the right time..." Natalie hesitated before speaking up.
"Where's the right place then?" The sharpness in Oliver's voice grew. "In bed?"
Natalie shivered and quickly looked toward the bodyguard in front of them.
The bodyguard stayed focused, acting as though he were invisible.
"Is it me who's shameful, or is it our relationship? Are you even concerned about their gaze?" The atmosphere around Oliver grew tense.
These bodyguards, who were his close confidants, were well aware of his true relationship with Natalie and his attitude towards her. Natalie had known them for over a year. It was not like her to act like a thief caught in the act just because of a casual remark from him.
It wasn't always like this.
There was a time when he could kiss her in front of others and she would only respond with shy, mock anger, giving off a charming vibe.
And now, the nervous look in her eyes whenever the bodyguard was around... It was as if she was terrified people might think they were involved, avoiding him as if he were the plague.
Even his trusted confidant was dodging him, so what about everyone else?
Oliver was angry, frustrated by his inability to approach her, to provoke any reaction.
The way she acted when she was drunk gave him such joy and hope, and now it brought an equal measure of disappointment, like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head.
"Do you know what I want to talk to you about?" Natalie took a deep breath, her gaze shifting towards Oliver.
With a look both intense and indifferent, Oliver tossed the ball back in her court, "You'd have to say it, then I’ll know if I'm right or not."
Natalie leaned back against her seat, her body slightly turned towards the window, unwilling to carry on with that topic.
Not here, not now.
Discussing their relationship in the car, in front of others, just didn't seem right.
The SUV pulled back into the lodge, with the rest of the group having just returned as well.
Noticing Oliver's arrival, they all glanced over.
As soon as the vehicle stopped, without waiting for the bodyguard to open the door, Oliver was the first out, storming off with a dark and foreboding look.
Natalie got out from the other side.
Lilian, who had been excitedly approaching, stopped in her tracks, her smile freezing upon witnessing the scene.
"Natalie, what happened to your cousin?" She asked cautiously, "Did you guys... have a fight?"
"Why would you say that?" Natalie felt that her current tension with Oliver hardly qualified as a fight... At most, it was a tiff.
"Isn't it obvious? He didn't even wait for you, didn’t say a word to you," Lilian remarked, "He used to hang on your every word, paranoid about anyone else getting a glance, even guarding you from other women, and me too."
Towards the end, Lilian started to sound almost resentful.
Natalie knew Oliver was possessive, but she hadn't noticed to what extent...
His eyes... always stuck on her?
She always thought Oliver paid such close attention to her every move because of his keen senses and quick reflexes. She knew Oliver often watched her, but she had never felt it so intensely.
After Natalie walked away, the others began whispering about Oliver and Natalie's drama.
"Didn’t they go out alone together this morning?"
"Who knows? But it looks like Oliver’s pissed."
"Oliver mad... Isn't that pretty normal? I heard Mr. Windsor is all gentleman on the surface, but actually has a fiery temper."
"I thought Natalie might reclaim her throne as Mrs. Windsor, but it looks like that's off the table now," someone remarked with a sigh of disappointment.
"You know, I have a second cousin whose best friend's sister is dying to become the next Mrs. Windsor,” another chimed in with a sly grin. “Guess I could give her a call, let her know her chance has come!"
"Right now, I bet Susan's probably the happiest person alive!"
Noah felt a surge of sorrow grip her, and she clutched Lilian's hand, feigning tears. "My favorite couple is at it again, why does this keep happening? They were fine just yesterday!"
Susan truly was the happiest.
Watching the scene from a distance, a gleam of intense satisfaction flickered in her eyes.
Checking her makeup in a compact mirror and applying a fresh coat of lipstick, she hurried in the direction Oliver had gone.
" Oliver!" she called out.
Oliver stopped in his tracks when he heard Susan's voice. He turned to see her jogging toward him.
"What's up?"
"Oliver, are you in a bad mood?" Susan asked, feigning ignorance, "Did Miss Watson upset you?"
Oliver squinted his eyes. He used to overlook Susan's penchant for stirring trouble because he felt a sense of gratitude and responsibility towards her, having always protected her.
But now, as he peeled back that protective layer, he saw her scheming clearly.
If not for their childhood friendship and years of closeness, it would be hard for him to speak to her with patience – this was, after all, a girl he had once sincerely defended.
"Susan, you should be concerned about your fiancé, Leonard—not me—and certainly not Natalie, who is no longer my wife."
Susan's expression changed subtly, her features twisting momentarily. "Oliver, Miss Watson is divorced from you, she's not your wife anymore."
Another person reminding him of his divorce.
Oliver shut his eyes tightly and finally expelled a single word: "Leave."
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