Not twins novel (Natasha and Kenneth)
Chapter 146

Chapter 146 Boundaries With Friends

"But what?" Kenneth asked.

"But Denise has never been apart from her brothers. If you only take her away, I don't think she'd be easy to handle. Even if the kid reluctantly goes with you, you can forget about hooking up with other women in the future. Otherwise, she will make your life a living hell. So, I strongly recommend that you drop that idea if you don't want your philandering lifestyle to be affected," Natasha earnestly advised. "Philandering lifestyle? Natasha, have I been involved in any scandals since we divorced?" Kenneth retorted, eyes narrowing at her choice of words. My goodness. Do I have to spell everything out for her? Can't she see for herself?

"Sorry, I haven't been paying attention since then."

"Well, I can tell you it's a big fat resounding no!"

Natasha raised her eyebrows as she suddenly thought of someone. "Does Thea not count?"

A frown instantly crept across Kenneth's face. "She and I merely had a platonic friendship."

"In that case, you sure have loose boundaries with your friends, Mr. Hamilton," Natasha answered with a half-smile.

"I admit I've taken advantage of the rumors she and I had to avoid unnecessary trouble. But I swear I've never crossed the line with her," Kenneth stressed as his gaze grew dark and stern. Natasha instinctively closed her eyes, not wanting to meet his.

Although Kenneth hadn't made himself explicitly clear, he had dropped enough hints that even she could pick up on.

However, after having been bitten once, how could she still bring herself to trust the man who had failed her?

It wouldn't make a difference even if he were telling the truth.

"Truth be told, you don't have to go out of your way to explain your relationship with her. I was only making a passing comment," Natasha said calmly.

Kenneth stared intently at her as he spoke. "Be that as it may, I still feel the need to make things clear to you. Also, I have no intention of replaceing another woman for the rest of my life..." With that, there was no doubt he had made his intentions clear.

Natasha, however, merely continued to eat, pretending not to have heard or understood his words. On top of that, she didn't give any reaction away either.

After all, she wasn't the kind of person who'd easily change her mind with some words of persuasion. Besides, Kenneth hadn't said anything else relevant, so why should she probe any further?

It was true that Natasha had both hatred and gratitude toward Kenneth, but that didn't mean she'd plunge headlong into anything that concerned him.

For so many years, she had suffered and endured plenty to get to where she was today. She was happy with how her life was going and saw no point in gilding the lily.

All Natasha wanted was to replace out the truth behind her parents' murder and live peacefully with her grandfather and kids.

Other than that, everything else could wait.

Seeing as how Natasha said nothing more, Kenneth followed suit.

He knew what she was like and wasn't expecting to coax her with just a few words anyway.

Instead, a long, arduous battle lay ahead of him, and he had already prepared himself for it.

Just like that, the two of them ate their breakfast in an awkward atmosphere.

By the time they finished their food, the sun had risen fully.

Knowing that Terence was arriving soon, Natasha turned to Kenneth. "Thanks for your breakfast, Kenneth, but I think I'd like to sleep for a while more."

Her message was anything but subtle-she wanted him to leave.

Kenneth's gaze swept over Natasha as a faint smile tugged at his lips. After checking his watch, he replied, "All right. I suppose Old Mr. Watson's on his way too. Have a good nap, then. I should also be heading back to get some rest.”

Natasha nodded, grateful that the man was smart enough to catch her drift.

Kenneth took another glance at her and finally got up to leave.

Natasha promptly lay down in bed, but unfortunately, she couldn't feel any hint of drowsiness.

Then, having thought of something, she suddenly grabbed her phone from under the pillow.

There was a contact in her encrypted software, and only after much hesitation did she decide to send a text over.

The other party soon replied with the necessary information, and Natasha quickly noted the address down before stashing her phone away.

Right there and then, a sharp jolt of pain shot through her wrist. Natasha frowned at it, eyes slowly glazing over as she fell deep into her thoughts.

Not long after, Terence arrived at the hospital with Zachary, chatting away as they made a beeline for Natasha's ward.

They had only just stepped into the room when they realized she had already packed her luggage and even changed her clothes.

Seeing how she was all dressed up and ready to go, Terence frowned in utter confusion. "Nat, what's going on?"

"Grandpa, I want to get discharged!"

"No!" Terence immediately replied. "Your injuries have yet to heal. How can you leave the hospital now?"

"I've more or less recovered, and what's left are the superficial wounds. Why waste my time in the hospital when I can recuperate better at home?"

"But-"

"Grandpa, I've already signed the hospital discharge forms," Natasha interrupted, knowing full well that it'd be easier to ask for her grandfather's forgiveness than permission.

"You"

Realizing that Terence was close to blowing his top, Zachary quickly chimed in, "Old Mr. Watson, I've studied medicine for a few years, so if it's okay with you, I'm more than happy to drop by and help Ms. Watson change her wound dressings!"

Both Natasha and Terence looked at him in surprise. "You've studied medicine before?" the latter asked.

"That's right. I majored in medicine during university, but in the end, various factors stopped me from entering the medical profession."

"Okay. Would it be too much of a hassle for you, though?" Terence asked after mulling over it for a few seconds.

"I've only just found out what had happened to Natasha, and before this, I wasn't sure what I could do. Now that I know I can be of help, I hope you can give me a chance to do my part, Old Mr. Watson," Zachary urged as he shot a glance at Natasha.

Upon hearing that, Terence nodded approvingly.

Then, he turned to Natasha and sighed. "You... Fine. Let's go!"

Natasha gazed at Zachary and broke into a smile. "Thank you.”

The latter held her gaze, heart aching at the sight of her. When he saw the bags in her hand, he quickly reached for them. "Here, let me carry those."

"It's okay. I can do it myself."

"But it's not going to look good on me if I walked out empty-handed. Spare a thought for my male ego, will you?"

Left with no other choice, Natasha reluctantly handed her bags to Zachary. "In that case, thank you very much."

Having noticed their interaction, Terence left the ward ahead of them.

Zachary soon fell into step beside Natasha as he struck up another conversation. "After leaving you the other day, I received news that my mother had fallen ill and was in the hospital. That's why I had to fly ou to see her. I tried contacting you, but the call couldn't go through at all. In the end, I was so worried that I rang Old Mr. Watson up yesterday, which is when I finally found out what happened to you..." he said, eyes fixed on her. "Are you mad at me for never being around when you're in danger?"

Natasha glanced at him as her lips curled into a smile. "Based on that logic, does it mean I won't be angry if I run into danger with you by my side?" Zachary frowned.

Before he could say anything else, Natasha remembered something and added, "Oh, by the way, how's your mother?"

"No need to worry. She's much better now."

"Ah, that's good to hear," Natasha replied. "Do spend more time with your mother. After all, she's the one who treats you the best in the whole world!" Zachary smiled bitterly at those words.

Is that so? To other people, that might seem like the case. However, I beg to differ.