It seemed that the Monroe family had decided to invest in their project, and Jaden had gotten a girlfriend, so everyone was getting together.

Natalie steadied herself, gritting her teeth in hatred. “I’ll make him look up to me. He can only be mine.”

Natalie was determined to win over Aiden.

Kyle strongly disliked that she only had eyes for Aiden.

He thought, ‘Why does everyone in the team revolve around Aiden? In the past, Josie was like this; now, Natalie is too. Am I really not even worth a backward glance from them? It’s bad enough that Josie is this way, but Natalie and I are fundamentally the same kind of person. I’ve suffered so much because of her, so why does she still only have eyes for Aiden?’

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.” Kyle gave Natalie a rough tug in a rather unfriendly manner.

Natalie was injured, and when Kyle pulled her like that, the pain caused her to let out a soft hiss.

“What’s the matter with you?” Kyle stared at her suspiciously.

With her original purpose in mind, Natalie’s eyes reddened as tears threatened to fall. “Isn’t it all because of you? My mother is already aware of your expulsion from school. Initially, she did not approve of you joining the research institute. It was only because I wanted you to stay that I pleaded with her, and even endured a beating from her, before she finally agreed.”

“She hit you?” Kyle was suddenly jolted. He hadn’t expected that Natalie would get beaten for helping him. “Where are you hurt? Let me see.”

Natalie’s cheeks flushed. “The marks are all on my back, so there’s no way for you to see them. Never mind. As long as you understand what I’ve sacrificed to help you, that’s enough. From now on, you should treat me better.”

“Of course I’ll treat you well.” Kyle’s fingers tightened slightly. He was visibly excited as he grasped Natalie’s hand. “I’ll buy you medicine. Wait. Your injury must be examined. Natalie, you… wait for me.”

Kyle brought Natalie to his residence.

Initially, Natalie had no intention of coming. She looked down on Kyle, believing that he couldn’t hold a candle to Aiden. However, since Aiden had embarrassed her earlier, she now wanted to see just how far Kyle would go for her sake. She thought, ‘So what if Aiden doesn’t think highly of me? There will always be men willing to humble themselves to please me!’

With this mindset, Natalie undid her clothing, revealing the whip marks on her back.

The instant he saw the wound, Kyle felt his breath catch. He hadn’t expected that Natalie wasn’t lying to him. She really was injured, and seriously so.

His eyes reddened as he carefully squeezed the ointment onto her skin, applying it with the utmost gentleness.

“I’m sorry, Natalie, I’m truly sorry. It’s all because of my incompetence that you were implicated. I promise that I will perform well at the research institute and will absolutely not let Audrey down. I won’t let her hit you again.”

Natalie greatly enjoyed his gentleness.

Natalie was lying on Kyle’s bed on her stomach, turning her head to look at him.

“Will you listen to me from now on? Will you do whatever I ask you to do? Will you treat me well? Will you always spoil me?”

“Of course.” Kyle nodded without hesitation. He thought, ‘She was hurt so badly because of me. Does it mean that she has feelings for me too?’

Once this thought arose, Kyle could no longer suppress the feelings in his heart. He pledged, “From now on, I’m your loyal servant. Wherever you tell me to go, I’ll go. Whoever you tell me to attack, I’ll attack. I promise to obey you.”

Kyle had never had a girlfriend, let alone experienced such intimate contact with any woman. When his fingers touched Natalie’s skin, he felt an involuntary impulse.

His mind was filled with inappropriate fantasies.

He wondered, ‘She was injured for me, and is undressed in front of me. Does this imply something?’

He lowered his head and gently blew on the wound, his lips almost touching her back. “Does it hurt? If it does, don’t hold it in.”

Natalie saw the pain in his eyes, and a trace of disdain flashed through her heart as she thought, ‘He really is easy to coax. If only Aiden could love me like this!’ She wondered whether men were naturally inclined to feel compassion for the vulnerable. If she revealed her wound to Aiden, would he also feel the same pain for her?

Before Natalie could decide whether to do that, she felt a strange sensation on her back.