Chapter 36: Justin’s Doubts

In response, Natalie yawned, "Can you two carry on outside? A patient needs to rest."

Ivan, still holding Briena protectively, looked down at her. "What happened? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Briena shook her head, "I was just showing my concern and apologizing on behalf of my fans, but she got angry and hurled the glass at me. If I wasn’t quick enough, it could have..." She let out a soft sob, leaning into Ivan’s arms, Ivan’s gaze hardened as he looked back at Natalie. "Can you learn to act reasonably? Is this how you repay someone’s goodwill? What if she was hurt?"

Natalie sighed, clearly exasperated. She shifted in her bed, eyeing the two of them with a mix of annoyance and disbelief. "Seems like you two can’t understand simple words."

Without a second thought, she picked up another glass from the bedside table and, with calculated strength, smashed it close to Briena’s feet.

The loud crash of glass breaking filled the room. Ivan instinctively pulled Briena back, shielding her, but Briena winced in pain, letting him know she was hurt.

"Briena," he exclaimed in worry.

Briena looked at her feet, her left foot had small cuts caused by the glass shards. She looked at Natalie, only to hear her icy voice, "Now that’s what it would look like if I actually meant to hurt you, Briena."

Ivan knelt beside Briena, carefully inspecting her injuries before looking up at Natalie with a mix of frustration and disbelief. "You’re impossible."

Natalie remained unfazed by Ivan’s accusing stare. "Tell your fiancée to stop playing the victim in front of me, or it won’t take long for her act to become reality, just as I demonstrated now," she warned, her tone chilling. "If I wanted to smash glass at her, it would look like this. That previous, delicate attempt where she was unharmed, and the shards weren’t directed her way? That wasn’t me."

Ivan looked at the floor, the glass smashed by Natalie had its pieces directed towards door while the previous one was....

"Ivan, it hurts," Briena cried out, understanding the meaning of Natalie’s words and how Ivan was making a sense out of it. "It’s bleeding, Ivan."

Pushing aside his doubts, Ivan stood up, "Don’t worry. I am taking you to doctor."

"Thank you," she whispered weakly, feeling relieved that Ivan was swayed by her act.

As they turned to leave, Natalie’s cold voice sliced through the air once more, "Don’t show up in front of me again, Briena, or next time it won’t end with just minor injuries."

Briena, acting scared, gripped on Ivan’s hands. He didn’t turn to look at Natalie but said, "I regret ever falling for a woman like you. You deserve nothing but hate, and with that attitude, you won’t be short of it." He walked out with Briena.

Natalie, who had been acting tough, felt hurt by his words. She hadn’t done anything bad to him till date. She felt indebted to him for hurting him on their wedding day, though unintentional. Even if he didn’t trust her and hated her, it was expected from any man as he did nothing wrong. But hearing him say those words, somehow hurt her.

She simply smashed a glass to show him tht truth but he chose to ignore it, as if just like others, he had decided to think of her villain in every incident.

Memories from the past, of how he had always been by her side and comforted her, flashed before her eyes.

"Ivan, I didn’t plagiarize. It’s... I don’t know how... my perfume formula..."

"It’s alright, Nat. Don’t cry."

"Ivan, I didn’t cause Briena’s accident."

"I know. Don’t cry."

"Ivan, this city is dangerous. They sent me here to die."

"You’re strong, Nat. I know you can overcome anything."

"Ivan, I miss home. I miss Grandpa."

"We miss you too. Once you’re back, we’ll celebrate."

"Ivan, I’m back. Now I’ll always be with you."

"Ivan, I designed this formula. Trust me, it’s going to be our best seller."

"Thank you, Nat. I’m going to make you R&D director. You deserve it."

"Ivan, I think we should be together."

"Then, would you like to marry me?"

"Of course. I love you, Ivan."

Lost in the past memories, unknown to her, tears appeared in her eyes.

A hand holding a tissue appeared in her line of sight. She turned to see Justin standing beside her bed. She hadn’t even noticed when he had returned.

Natalie looked away as she took the tissue from his hand and wiped away her tears.

"When did you come back?" she asked quietly.

"Does it matter?" he replied, placing the box of tissues on the bed within her reach.

"As long as you don’t start pitying me for having trashy people around me," she remarked, watching him as he settled into a chair.

He sat comfortably, exuding the authoritative aura of a powerful man—completely different from the humble way he used to sit in front of her grandpa.

"I can’t pity you for something you have no control over," he replied, his gaze fixed on her still-moist eyes. "But I do pity you for your judgment of people."

Confused, curious, but also offended, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"One can’t choose the family they’re born into, but one can choose the people they allow into their life," he replied calmly. "And looking at Ivan Brown, I’d say you’ve failed miserably."

His words ignited a spark of anger in her. "What do you know about Ivan, huh? You have no right to judge him," she shot back, her voice rising with fury. "If I’m alive today, it’s because of him. I would have ended my life long ago if it weren’t for him. He was always there for me in my darkest moments, my strength when I had none. When no one else trusted me, he did. He was always there, and you dare to say—"

"Then why didn’t he trust you on your wedding day?" Justin interrupted, his voice calm, a stark contrast to the storm of anger he faced.

"Any man in his place would have felt betrayed. Who would believe that I don’t know how I got married—and to a total stranger?" she retorted, her voice tinged with frustration. "His reaction, his anger—they’re justified. What would you have done if you were in his place and the woman you loved was already married...?"

"Did he really love you? Or were you just a profitable asset to him, someone to keep by his side for convenience?" Justin countered, throwing another doubt her way.

"You... you don’t know him..." she stammered, her defenses weakening.

"Or should I ask—do you truly love him? Or was it just gratitude for him always being there for you? Or you’re simply used to having that one person by your side, and you’ve mistaken that for love, clinging to him because he’s the only one who’s ever been there."

"Shut up. You have no right to judge my feelings for him," her voice shaking with anger.

"You’re not even half as heartbroken as a woman should be after losing the love of her life," Justin added, unbothered by her anger.

"Do I need to cry and be dramatic to prove I’m heartbroken? Everyone has their own way of dealing with it, and mine isn’t dramatic," she tried to reason. "I don’t have to show you if I’m heartbroken or not. Think whatever you like."

A smirk played on his lips as his deep-set eyes fixed on her. He stood up from the chair, taking a step closer to the bed.

The change in his demeanor, one she found unsettlingly familiar, made her sink back against the headboard, her eyes watching him warily as he approached.

Justin leaned over the bed, his hands planted on either side of the anxious woman, his face inching closer to hers, his eyes taking a note of her every reaction.

Feeling trapped, she became acutely aware of his proximity. Her heart began to race, her face flushing with heat. "W-What are you doing?" she asked, trying to avert her gaze from his.

"What do you think?" he murmured, his deep, low voice sending a shiver through her.

She swallowed hard, her breathing becoming shallow. When she dared to look back at him, she was met with his intense gaze, one that seemed to see right through her soul. His voice, low and penetrating, echoed in her ears.

"A heartbroken, gravely hurt woman, won’t be affected by another man’s closeness, just like you are now —as if you’ve already forgotten about the man you supposedly love."

Natalie understood what he was implying, that he was trying to prove she didn’t truly love Ivan. But she wasn’t going to accept that, because in her opinion she loved Ivan.

She turned her face to other side and warned, "Stay away from me," expecting him to listen to her.

But instead, he gently grasped her chin, turning her face back to him. His eyes locked onto hers as he spoke, "About the question you asked earlier— If I were in Ivan Brown’s place, though shocked and angry, I would have chosen to trust the woman I love. Because I know I could never fall for the wrong person. If I chose her, then she must be the most perfect woman in this world."