Mrs. Moore

The surprise guest

As Natalie roared at her ex-boyfriend, her tears fell. She slowly pried Xander’s fingers off her and shoved the man away. “So I’m the one at fault here, huh? Not you? Not her? If either of you had even cared about me, you wouldn’t have done any of this. You could have told me straight up if you didn’t like me anymore, Xander. I wouldn’t have clung onto you. I’m not that kind of person.”

“And you! Wendy! You say you’re my sister, but what did you do? You could have told me you liked him. I would have blessed you if you two truly loved each other, since I wouldn’t be standing here alive right now if not for you back then. I owe you my life, don’t I?” Natalie was a mess of tears when she was done speaking.

She couldn’t understand why they chose to hurt her this way. One was her own sister, while the other was a man whom she had loved for three years.

“You guys want me to relent after making that kind of decision? You want me to tell grandpa that all of this was my fault? How do you sleep at night?” Natalie wasn’t someone who cried often, but today, she felt like she had been unfairly treated.

“Natalie!” Wendy covered her mouth, and cried too. The woman looked at Natalie sadly, then she leaned against Xander Moore.

“How could you say that? You’re my dearest sister. Trust me! I would choose to hurt anyone else before I hurt you. Did you forget that I had saved you when you were kidn*pped as a child? You might have died if not for me.”

“Yes, you did save me, but does that mean I have to live in your shadow for the rest of my life?” Natalie looked at her sister in disappointment. “Leave. Just… I told you, whatever you want to do is up to you. I’ve paid my dues this time.”

Natalie slammed the door shut, but when the door was closed, she leaned against the door and slid down to the floor.

Wendy kept pounding on the door, speaking gently, as if Natalie were the sinner here. A moment later, Xander said cruelly, “I never thought you’d be this kind of person, Natalie. You disappoint me.”

Silence finally came for her, and she welcomed it gratefully. Natalie sat on the ground, her arms around her legs. She curled up, the patch of fabric on her knees darkened from her tears.

Natalie looked up after a long while, then she got up from the ground in a daze. She had to go on with her life no matter what, she refused to stay down.

Her phone suddenly rang. When she saw the caller ID, her expression darkened.

“Hey, Pappy.. Yeah, I just came back.” She sniffled in an attempt to make herself sound calmer. “Are you calling because you miss me?”

“You silly girl!” Stewart Gordan exhaled. “Come over for a bit tomorrow.”

On the other hand, Xander Moore didn’t look good after being chased out by Natalie, and Wendy didn’t look good either. She carefully looked at Xander , tugging on his sleeve.

Pitifully, she said, “What should we do now, Xander? Grandpa won’t agree to our marriage if Natalie refuses to come with us. I told you we should have told her before we did this. She must hate us now. Natalie has always been a headstrong person since we were kids, so she won’t bow to anyone. I want to be with you, Xander. I don’t want to get separated.” Wendy leaned into his embrace and cried like a little girl.

Xander frowned, then he patted her back to console her. The ounce of guilt he had toward Natalie had disappeared too. “Don’t worry. I won’t let Natalie separate us. Our families have agreed on our marriage, so I don’t care even if your grandfather disagrees. My family will accept you.”

Wendy smiled after Xander made his promise. She held his arms and stood on tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you, Xander.”

“I love you too.” Xander held her and returned her kiss.

A long while later, they parted reluctantly. As Wendy leaned on Xander Moore’s chest, she smiled cruelly.

‘Look, Natalie. The man you love most has become mine.’

Natalie didn’t sleep well throughout the night. Next morning when she saw how pale she looked, and how bloodshot her eyes were, she hurriedly splashed some water on her face. After noticing some color returning, she held the counter and looked at her reflection sadly.

“Wake up, Natalie. You can get over this.” Natalie started giving herself her pep talk to cheer herself up.

She carefully applied some makeup on her delicate features. She didn’t stop until she was satisfied that her lethargy was all covered up. When she saw her grandfather calling her again, she frowned, but still quickly picked it up. “Hey, Pappy. Do you need anything?”

“I asked you to come back today. I hope you haven’t forgotten about it.” Stewart Gordan said. Even though he was an elderly man, his voice still sounded clear and heavy. That was thanks to him being a lecturer all these years.

Natalie was stunned to hear him saying that. “Pappy, I… Oh, fine. I’ll come, alright?” Natalie looked at the phone in frustration. A while later, she sighed and left her home with her handbag.

Natalie was planning to go to work, but after what had happened over the last two days, she changed her mind. Natalie went to the nearest supermarket to purchase something, then she went to her grandfather’s home.

It had been a year since Natalie left X City during which she had never come back to visit, but she would occasionally talk to both her grandfathers on the phone who doted on her very much. Natalie was still worried when she arrived at the doorstep.

She stood there until the housekeeper came to open the door. “You’re back, little miss. Why are you standing there? Come in.” The housekeeper ushered her in, and smiled at Natalie before adding “The master has a guest today.”

“A guest?” Natalie asked. “What guest? I thought he said—” Before she could finish, her grandfather said, “It has been a long time since you visited me, Theo. Have you been busy lately?”

Natalie was holding something in her hand, so the housekeeper wanted to take it from her. When Natalie looked towards the living room, she saw a man sitting on one of the sofas. His back was facing her. However, that man looked familiar, which puzzled her very much.

“Natalie is here!” Stewart Gordan smiled at Natalie and made his way over to her, but when he saw her gifts, his face fell. “You shouldn’t have brought these things here. I have everything I need.” Even so, Stewart Gordan had the housekeeper take them away.

“Come here. I want to take a look at you.” he said lovingly.

Natalie handed over the gifts to the housekeeper and hung her coat before going towards him. “It’s been so long, Pappy. I miss you so much.” Natalie hugged Stewart’s arm like a child and swung it. “Did you miss me too?”

“My foot.” He smacked her head.

“Pull yourself together. I have a guest here.” Stewart then led Natalie over to the living room. “Let me introduce you to her, Theodore. She’s my granddaughter, Natalie. Natalie, this is my student, Theodore Moore.”

Natalie’s surprised gaze gave her away as she blurted, “Why are you here?”

Theodore turned around, looking handsome as usual. He looked at Natalie meaningfully. “Hello, Ms. Smith.”

Stewart Gordan arched his eyebrow, then he looked at them sceptically. “You two know each other?”

Natalie panicked when she noticed how Stewart was looking at them, so she quickly said, “We met this once. He helped me when I got into trouble, didn’t you, Mr. Moore?”

Natalie kept hinting with her eyes for him to watch his words. Theodore smiled and ignored her threat calmly. “We did meet, sir. But with how energetic she looks right now, I think she must have gotten over it, no?”

Natalie gnashed her teeth and squinted at him angrily. This f*cking guy!