Chapter 51

Early the next morning, Natalie was still deep in sleep when her phone started ringing, pulling her awake. She opened her bleary eyes and glanced outside; the sky was already bright. A frown creased her face, her delicate, striking features clouded with irritation. She wondered who could be calling so early. Reaching for her phone, she answered, “Hello?”

“Natalie, it’s me,” Wendy said.

The moment Natalie recognized Wendy’s voice, she furrowed her brow. “Wendy, what do you need?”

Wendy faltered, a glimmer of pain flickering in her eyes. “Natalie, I’m your mother. Can’t you even call me ‘Mom’?”

Natalie let out a bitter laugh, baffled by Wendy’s nerve. “Have you forgotten? I cut ties with your family. You’re not my mother, so stop pretending. I don’t have a mother. Besides, what kind of mother stands by and does nothing while her own daughter is taken away?” She still remembered how Wendy had just watched when Murray’s guards took her, doing absolutely nothing to intervene.

Wendy felt a twinge of guilt. “Natalie, back then, I thought you’d hurt Mrs. Spencer. I just wanted you to learn a lesson, to be more careful next time. I knew they wouldn’t really hurt you.”

Hearing this, Natalie felt extremely hurt. ‘I’ve already given up on expecting anything from them; why did I let myself be disappointed again?’ She didn’t need anything half-hearted in her life. With a broader perspective, she saw that many things didn’t even matter to her anymore.

Sitting up, Natalie slid out of bed barefoot, pulled open the pristine white curtains, and looked out at the beautiful garden below, breathing in the fresh morning air. Her mood lifted almost instantly. “Wendy, if that’s all you called to say, I’ll hang up now,” Natalie said.

“Wait, Natalie! Do you have time to meet? There’s something I need to discuss with you,” Wendy quickly replied.

Natalie refused. “Is there any point?”

Wendy was taken aback by her cold reply. “Natalie, we’re mother and daughter! How can you say something like that? Isn’t it normal for a mother and daughter to meet?”

Natalie smiled sarcastically. “Then tell me, have you ever treated me like a daughter, even once or just a little bit?”

“Of course, I have! If you hadn’t done those things, I would never have treated you this way,” Wendy said. “I really have something important to discuss with you today. I know you’ve had a tough time these past few months. We have an old, rundown house in the suburbs; you can stay there for now,” she added.

Natalie fell silent, doubting her own ears. She had no desire to live in a shabby house in the suburbs. She’d rather face the world than put herself in that situation. An old house was beneath her.

“No thanks. Remember what I told you? In less than six months, you and your family will have nothing. By then, you might just be left with that old, broken place. You should keep it for yourself,” she shot back.

“Natalie, are you cursing me? Why are you so cruel? I’m your mother! I’m offering you a place to stay for your own good; you don’t need to be so sarcastic,” Wendy said furiously. “Of course, I love Jennifer more because she’s obedient and understanding. You, on the other hand, always have to be sharp-tongued, hurting me every day. You think it doesn’t hurt me?” Wendy’s voice was filled with emotion, unable to comprehend why Natalie was so rebellious.

Natalie thought she had already grown numb to the pain, but hearing those words from Wendy’s mouth felt like a knife in her heart. Whether in this life or the last, Wendy had never shown her an ounce of maternal love. She didn’t want such cheap love; she felt it might be her fate never to receive familial affection. From now on, she would love those she cared for and hate those she loathed, leaving kindness and grievances behind.

“Wendy, do you have anything else to say? If not, I’m hanging up,” Natalie said, not wanting to listen to her ramble on.

“Natalie, are you really this ungrateful?” Wendy’s blood pressure spiked from frustration. She thought Natalie was being utterly rebellious.

“Huh…” Natalie laughed bitterly. “When I was obedient, you called me useless. When I argued back, you said I was ungrateful and didn’t know what was good for me. No matter what I did, it was wrong in your eyes. You, as a mother, pushed your own child into darkness and the abyss. Is that your idea of love? Wendy Simpson, when your suffering reaches its peak in six months, you’ll understand how I’ve been living these past few years.” With that, Natalie hung up the phone.

Natalie took a deep breath, reminding herself not to let anger get to her. She knew she needed to beat the bad mood and conquer herself before she could overcome life’s challenges. Life would always leave scars, but she was determined those scars would eventually turn into her greatest strengths.”

Natalie laughed out loudly, and then headed to the bathroom, feeling her spirits lift after laughing it off–it was surprisingly effective. After washing up, she went downstairs to work out.

An hour later, she finished her workout, took a quick shower, and then came back down for breakfast.

“Natalie, come over! Your favorite, ravioli, is ready!” her grandfather, Lambert, called out with a grin. Seeing his granddaughter return to her regular routine filled him with joy.

“Coming, Grandpa,” Natalie replied, sitting beside her grandmother, Valerie, and beginning to eat her ravioli.

Lambert beamed at her with a look full of love. “Natalie, seeing you like this, smart and sensible–I feel so much better.”

Natalie looked back at him, a fond smile on her face. “Grandpa, sometimes being too sensible is actually a bit sad.”

“Oh, don’t say that. You may not have a young, handsome guy by your side, but at least you’ve got brains! You’re a smart person; why keep forcing yourself to act like a fool?” Lambert said.

Natalie fell silent. Human nature was just like that–unable to change reality, unable to forget the past, yet still holding onto a nostalgic heart.

“Grandpa, hurry up and finish your food, or the elders will stop dancing, and your second love will get away,” she teased.

Hearing this, Lambert quickly finished his last two ravioli, then stood up. “You girls take your time; I’m off to chase my second love!”

Natalie and Valerie couldn’t help but laugh.

After he left, Valerie turned to Natalie. “So, where should we go today? We don’t get to meet up often, so no work today. You’re going to have fun with me.”

Natalie thought about it for a moment. She hadn’t been out much in the past few years, so she wasn’t sure where to go.

“Where would you like to go, Valerie?” she asked.

Valerie considered it for a bit. “I heard there’s a famous hot spring resort nearby. Why don’t we go enjoy the hot springs?”

Natalie agreed. “Alright, let’s go in a bit.”

But her mind was elsewhere, and while eating her ravioli, she accidentally bit her tongue. Frustrated, she thought, ‘Even my tongue is against me today?’

Valerie noticed her mood and asked softly, “Natalie, you seem a bit down. What’s wrong?”