Chapter 79 The Art of Evasion
With an air of gentle innocence, she offered, "I just didn't want you to wear that one, so I bought you a new one."
The man studied her, a smile gracing his lips, but it was a smile that failed to reach his eyes.The news of Alice's pregnancy quickly spread among the Cullen and Howard families.Natalie was engrossed in selecting vegetables in the kitchen when Curtis's exuberant voice echoed from the living room.Alice was with child.They were already engaged, and this pregnancy could expedite their nuptials. Alice was on the brink of becoming Mrs. Howard.As she rinsed the vegetables, preparing to chop them, her knife slipped, slicing her finger.Natalie's gaze dropped slowly to the injury.Upon noticing, Lizzy instantly seized her hand, exclaiming, "Oh, Natalie, you must be more careful! Allow me to take over, you need to bandage that.""It's not a problem.""But it is! I heard the Howard family will be joining us tonight. The kitchen will be bustling, and if you don't tend to your wound, it could become infected."Natalie froze. "Adrian is coming too?""Of course, it's his child. He will undoubtedly be present."Then what about them...She dismissed the thought, 'He's not the man I should be dreaming about. That night was merely a product of his anger.'Oblivious to Natalie's inner turmoil, Lizzy continued chopping vegetables and chatting, "Ms. Cullen is really lucky. Mr. Howard proposed to her immediately upon his return. Now she's expecting, with the first child of the Howard family. They attach great importance to it. Maybe they'll get married soon."
Natalie smiled.
"Yeah."
After finishing her work, Natalie took a roundabout route back to her quarters through a hidden door.Alice had cautioned her against crossing paths with Adrian. If she did, Alice threatened to withhold her mom's anti-rejection medication for a day.Natalie felt a sense of helplessness against such a threat. Her only family was Rosalie, and she couldn't risk anything happening to her. But even without Alice's warning, Natalie had no desire to encounter Adrian. She wanted nothing more than to avoid him. She returned home.Natalie wrapped her arms around her stomach. Once, there had been a tiny life growing there too. The memory of that night, the loss of her child, sent a shiver through her. Natalie needed rest. She secured the door, a habit she'd adopted since Adrian's unexpected visit. From the drawer, she retrieved a box of sleeping pills, prescribed the previous year when Rosalie's illness had kept her awake with worry. She shook out two pills, preparing to take them, when a small iron box hidden deep within the drawer caught her eye.Opening it in confusion, Natalie discovered Rosalie's past blood test reports. As she organized them to place in the medical records bag, her gaze froze on the blood type column. Rosalie had type A blood! 'How could this be...' Stanley and Ryan both had type A blood. But she... she had type B blood. Natalie clutched the lab report, her mind a whirlwind of confusion.Just as a startling realization was about to surface, a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Lizzy's voice called from the other side, "Natalie, Renee wants you to come help."
Renee's exact words had been, "Where is Natalie again? Has she run off? Always so lazy. Tell her to come back quickly."
Natalie was taken aback. 'The Howard family is due to arrive, how could Alice allow her to be seen at the villa?' With little time to ponder, she hastily gathered her belongings and exited her home.As evening fell, a sleek black Bentley pulled up to the entrance of the Cullen Villa. Paul assisted Ruben from the vehicle, followed by Rayson Howard and Rachel, and then Adrian and Melissa. Almost everyone had arrived, with the exception of Claire.
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