Natalie watched as Sophia cried and reached for a tissue to hand to her. "You''re still in postpartum recovery, so it''s best not to cry too much.


    "If you''re worried that I''ll expose the truth about Marcus'' savior, I can tell you right now that you have nothing to worry about. I won''t say anything. Marcus thinks you''re his savior, so just continue being his savior," Natalie said calmly.


    Sophia responded, "Ms. Walker, you being like this makes me feel even more ashamed. I feel like I''ve wronged you, but I don''t have the courage to correct this mistake. One wrong step led to another, and ever since the first day I told this lie, I haven''t had a single peaceful day."


    She covered her face with her hands. Sophia had expected Natalie to scold her, to call her shameless, or even to hit her, but she didn''t.


    Natalie neither scolded nor hit her. Instead, she expressed her concern for Sophia.


    At this, Sophia felt increasingly ashamed and guilty. Compared to Natalie''s honesty and kindness, she felt like a despicable rat hiding in the shadows.


    Even if she had unavoidable circumstances, a mistake was still a mistake.


    "Ms. Walker, I''m sorry. I was wrong," Sophia choked out. She cried for a while before making a big decision in her heart. "I will tell Marcus that I am not his lifesaver-you are. As for whether he still chooses to protect me after that, I don''t


    know.


    "I was initially thinking that if you were harsh to me or spoke to me with anger and resentment when meeting today, I wouldn''t feel so guilty anymore. But you''re too kind. You didn''t me me, and you''re even willing to keep this secret for me."


    Sophia looked at Natalie with bloodshot eyes and said, "I''m sorry. At first, I thought that since you were so ruthless to Emma, you wouldn''t let me off either.


    "But I was wrong. Ms. Walker, I apologize for doubting you. I feel ashamed, and I''m truly sorry."


    As Sophia spoke, she was about to get out of bed and apologize more sincerely to Natalie, but Natalie quickly reached out and held her back.


    Natalie said, "Ms. Sinir, you don''t have to apologize. It''s been so many years since those things happened, yet you still recognized me. It shows how good your memory is.


    "You had an ident at the Walker residence, so regardless of our past or what happened between us, I will take responsibility for you. Whatever happened between me and Emma is between us-I won''t take it out on others.


    "Although you took credit for saving Marcus back then, you never actually harmed me. Besides, you called me here today and came clean about everything."


    Natalie smiled before continuing, "I''m someone who responds better to kindness than hostility. You haven''t done anything against me, so of course, I have no reason to go against you either."


    "Really?" Sophia was in disbelief and cried out again, "I''m Sky''s fiancée, but the child in my belly isn''t his. I''ve been unfaithful to him. Don''t you hate or me me?"


    "That is between you and him. I''m just an observer, so I won''tment on it," Natalie replied.


    She handed Sophia another piece of tissue to wipe her tears. "Ms. Sinir, since you''re Sky''s fiancée, why didn''t you turn to him for protection, and instead sought Marcus?"


    "Sky doesn''t like me. He only likes Emma. When I was a child, I went to him for help. At the time, Emma tricked me into the basement and locked me in there. I called him, but he used me of ndering Emma and left me there for a whole day and night.


    "Later, when I couldn''t take it anymore, I called Marcus."


    "Why wait until you couldn''t take it anymore before calling Marcus?" Natalie asked. She couldn''t understand, and she felt more disdain toward Sky for this.


    "Because Emma said Marcus was her fiancée and forbade me from getting involved with him. She even said that If I continued, she would have Sky beat me


    up."


    Sophia hugged her arms. "Sky spoils Emma. If she tells him to beat me, he would actually do it.


    "I''m sorry, I shouldn''t be telling you all this. I shouldn''t be speaking badly of your brother, but I can''t help it."


    Sophia allowed Natalie to wipe her tears away. Her vision was blurry, and she was unable to see the person before her clearly. However, she continued, "Ms. Walker, you''re not like Emma. I don''t have many friends, so I may have said too much, but please don''t me me.


    "I know I deserve this. After telling one lie, I needed 99 others to cover it up. Today, when I told Marcus that I wanted to meet you, I was already thinking about how to lie to you.


    "But after you came, I realized I couldn''t lie to you anymore. It was best to just tell you everything honestly."


    After she finished speaking, Sophia exhaled deeply and said, "It turns out that speaking up made me feel much more at ease. The constant feeling of anxiety isn''t as strong as before.


    "Ms. Walker, I don''t know if you believe in fate, but I do. The moment I saw you, I knew you were different from Emma."


    Natalie helped Sophia lie back down, saying, "Thank you for thepliment. Now, stop crying. This really isn''t a big deal for me. Moreover, you''ve been feeling uneasy and were tormented by your conscience for so many years. You don''t owe me anything.


    "Marcus may have been protecting you out of gratitude for saving his life, but you weren''t lying. After all, when I ran to get help, you stayed with him.


    "If you hadn''t been there, who knows what could have happened? He could have been bitten by a shark, dragged away by an octopus, or kidnapped by bad people."


    Natalie spoke with calm indifference, her speech unhurried. There was no hint of me toward Sophia in her tone.


    When Sophia heard this, she was stunned. Could such a far-fetched thing actually happen?


    But soon, she realized Natalie was justforting her and telling her not to feel guilty anymore.


    Inparison, Sophia felt more and more despicable. She stared nkly at Natalie.


    Natalie had fair skin, delicate and beautiful features, and a pair of eyes that looked calm and serene as if nothing mattered to her.


    "Ms. Sinir, you don''t need to feel like you owe me, let alone tell Marcus about it. Things are fine the way they are now." Natalie reached out and gently patted Sophia''s back. The fact that Sophia hade clean and sincerely apologized was enough for her.


    She was a woman, and she wouldn''t target other women or bear ill intentions toward them for no reason. On the contrary, if the other party showed sincerity, she would respond with sincerity in return.


    "But this isn''t fair to you." Sophia started crying again. "Ms. Walker, I''m being sincere."


    "I''m being sincere too." Natalie took a tissue and continued wiping Sophia''s tears away. "My childhood wasn''t easy either.


    "When I was with the Langleys, Mrs. Langley Senior arranged a fiancé for me.


    And because my adoptive parents treated me badly, I had once ced my hopes


    on him. However, men are not our salvation. We are our own salvation.


    "Do you understand what I mean, Ms. Sinir?"