Chapter 126

On her wedding night, Natalie found herself overwhelmed with an unsettling sense of bad luck. She couldn't help but question, if only for a moment, whether she should have married Curtis. But the thought was fleeting, and she quickly brushed it aside. Turning to Elara, Natalie said, "I'm heading to the hospital. Let me know if anything comes up on your end. And don't let Lysander push you around."

"Alright, you be careful too," Elara replied.

It was frustrating, really, to have such an event on the very day of her wedding.

Elara put down her phone just as Lysander emerged from the shower. He looked far better than he had on the drive back, more like himself again. "Natalie just called," Elara said. "She's already given Uncle Harold a piece of her mind on my behalf. She was worried you might still be upset."

Since the last incident, Charlotte had all but vanished. Her fans had initially kept asking about her online, but recently even they had stopped stirring things up. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air, and no one knew where she'd gone. Worried, Elara thought, 'If Lysander is still upset, what if Uncle Harold's estate ends up going under?'

Lysander simply replied, "I'm fine."

"Uncle Harold's hotel isn't going to go bankrupt, is it?" Elara asked cautiously.

Lysander paused at her question, giving her a curious look. He couldn't help but ask, "Am I really that scary?"

"You looked scary when you came home earlier," Elara admitted. She hadn't dared to ask him about it then, afraid it would only make things worse.

Lysander reassured her. "Since Harold's your uncle, then he's my family too. I'm not that petty."

He implied, however, that if Elara weren't with him, Harold might end up suffering the consequences. Regardless, Elara felt a wave of relief. "As long as you're not mad."

"Come on, time to get to bed." Seeing her relax, Lysander tried to draw her over.

Elara quickly focused back on her laptop, pretending to be engrossed in work. "You go ahead. I've got a few words left to type." She was still working on her novel. "How long will that take?" he asked.

"Maybe half an hour," she replied.

"I'll wait for you," Lysander said. Hearing this, Elara felt her legs go weak.

After stalling for another full hour, thinking he'd fall asleep, she finally shut her laptop. But when she looked over, he was still sitting there, flipping through a book by the bedside.

Elara would miss him every time he was not around. However, after he returned, just for a couple of days, she found herself secretly wishing he'd leave again. Of course, she did not dare to say this.

Seeing him look up at her, Elara walked over and, trying to sound casual, asked, "So... when are you leaving?"

"For now, work's keeping me here, so I won't be leaving anytime soon, Lysander answered.

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12:52 Wed, Nov 13

Chapter 126

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This might be hard to get used to,' she thought. When he was home, she could hardly get a decent night's sleep.

Fortunately, only a few days after Natalie's wedding, Hadden called, asking her to return to Brookfield to handle some matters that required her signature. Elara wasted no time. She bought a ticket that very night and left.

+5

When Lysander came home late that evening and saw her note, he couldn't help but smile, albeit with a hint of resignation.

Once Elara had wrapped up her work in Brookfield and returned to Starfield City, Grace was still in poor health.

The car accident had been serious. While she had barely survived, Grace was now paralyzed from the waist down and would require constant care for the rest of her life. To take care of her, Natalie had to visit the hospital every day. When Elara invited her out for a meal, Natalie regretfully declined, saying she simply didn't have the time.

Already concerned about Natalie's post-marriage life, Elara decided to go directly to the hospital herself to check in on Natalie and also visit Grace. No matter what, they were still family

When Elara arrived at the hospital, she hadn't even reached the door before she heard Grace's voice from inside the room. "Go get me a glass of water."

"Bring a glass of water for Mrs. Kerwin," Natalie instructed the maid.

"I want you to get it," Grace snapped.

"I'm busy right now." Natalie was holding her phone, replying to work messages. Every day after finishing her job, she'd come here to look after Grace.

Though taking care of Grace was the right thing to do, Grace seemed determined to make things difficult for Natalie. It was almost as if she blamed Natalie for the car accident that had left her in this state.

For tasks the maid could easily handle, Grace insisted on making Natalie do them. Natalie, who had grown up being cherished, wasn't about to indulge her.

But Grace, upon hearing Natalie's response, immediately looked hurt, her tone turning pitiful.

"Natalie, if you don't want to care for me, just say it. There's no need to give me an attitude. I know I'll be paralyzed for life

and you must despise me for it. Just go. Don't feel obligated to look after me," she said.

now,

"I..." Natalie held back the urge to lash out. 'Fuck... she cursed inwardly. She got up, poured a glass of water, and brought it over. "Here. Drink."

"The water's too hot," Grace complained, handing the glass back after just one sip, clearly unsatisfied.

Natalie looked at her, exasperated by Grace who seemed to want nothing more than to wear her down. "I come here every day after work to take care of you, more often than your own son does. What exactly do you want from me?" Natalie's tone held a touch of frustration.

If it weren't for the fact that they had just gotten married, and she didn't want to become a joke in the family by filing for divorce right after, making people think she was cold-hearted, she would have walked away from this situation already. "Huh..." Grace replied, "See? You obviously think nothing of me. Don't look down on me, Natalie. If it weren't for this accident, I wouldn't be any less capable than you. After Curtis's father passed, I kept the Kerwin family together all on my own..." "Yes, I know how capable you are," Natalie answered flatly. "But I didn't cause your accident, so could you stop being so hostile? I come to the hospital to care for you every day, but if you keep this up, I just won't come anymore. 2/3 12:52 Wed, Nov 13

Chapter 126

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Grace didn't insult Natalie outright, but her constant passive-aggressive comments were draining. Trying to appease her was exhausting.

Natalie had planned to have dinner with Elara today but had declined because of Grace. She hadn't expected Grace to keep picking at her even after she'd made the effort to come.

Just then, Elara appeared at the doorway. "Hi, Natalie."

Seeing Elara, Natalie's eyes lit up. "What brings you here?" At the sight of her friend, Natalie's spirits lifted instantly.

They'd been chatting on WhatsApp, and sometimes Natalie would vent a little about Grace, though often she kept things to herself. Natalie didn't want Elara to feel like she was only sharing complaints.

"I came to check in on Mrs. Kerwin," Elara said.

Elara had brought flowers and fruit. "Is it okay to leave these in the room?" she asked.

"Yes, that's fine," Natalie replied, signaling the maid to take the items inside.

Turning to the woman in the hospital bed, Elara greeted her. "Hello, Mrs. Kerwin."

The last time Elara had seen Grace, she'd been an elegant woman, despite her naturally stern expression. She was worlds apart from the person lying before her now.

Grace, who had once been a distinguished noble madam, was now completely changed. Since the accident left her paralyzed from the waist down, she could no longer live as she had before. Grace had fallen into a cycle of self-pity. Looking at Elara, she sighed. "It's not like I don't want to get better. I simply can't."

At that, Elara couldn't help but feel a bit speechless. Still, out of consideration for Natalie, Elara said, "Please take care of yourself."

"Hey..." Grace sighed again. "Back in my day, I was no less accomplished than you. I almost married Wyatt... But no one had thought that in the end, he'd marry that divorced woman. Serves him right for making a public scandal out of it." There was a bitter note in Grace's tone as she eyed Elara, clearly aware of her upcoming marriage into the Hawthorne family. She couldn't resist the urge to compare herself to Elara.

'Elara isn't even that much more attractive than I was in my youth,' Grace thought bitterly. 'And my family background was far better than the Kensington family's!

Yet, Wyatt had overlooked Grace and chosen a woman from a less affluent family, a woman who was even divorced.

3/3

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