Natalie was heartbroken. He was the only man she had ever loved across two lifetimes.
She knew about his difficult childhood and pitied him, which was why she had poured her heart into caring for him, trying to make him feel loved. But Sebastian didn''t need her love.
Maintaining a one-sided love was exhausting. She had given her all and received nothing in return. All she had left was a final shred of dignity, and she wanted to keep it for herself.
Sebastian stared at her, lips pressed into a thin line, silent.
She loved and hated with equal passion, but she was always so rational.
In his world, she had cried and she hadughed. Had she finally had her fill of disappointment?
He had always thought she was just being stubborn, throwing a tantrum, and that with time she woulde back to him. After all, Natalie''s eyes once held only him. Even if he didn''t understand love, he had been able to feel hers.
So, it was true. She really didn''t love him anymore.
Sebastian closed his eyes. It wasn''t that she had stopped loving him; it was that he had pushed her away with his own hands.
"Get some rest," he said in a low voice.
With that, his tall figure turned and left.
Natalie watched him go,pletely bewildered. Crystalline tears still clung to her long eyshes. She wiped her eyes, feeling a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
In the past, Sebastian would have used her of being shameless and unreasonable.
Had he turned over a new leaf?
Sebastian couldn''t tolerate any impurity in his life, yet he had managed to overlook everything Joanna had done.
The difference between love and non-love was truly ck and white.
Nataliey down, a cold smile on her face. "What is this now? The damage is already carved into my bones. There''s no going back. We can''t go back.”
She muttered to herself. Her eyes, raw from crying, felt sticky and ufortable. She went to the bathroom to ssh her face with cold water before returning to bed.
Swallowing all her bitterness, Natalie closed her eyes to rest.
In the room next door, Sebastian was deeply shaken by her words.
He stood by the window, staring out at the wind and snow, his eyes filled with a profound loneliness as he lost himself in thought.
In the middle of the night, Natalie''s phone began to vibrate incessantly.
Jolted awake, she wondered groggily who would be calling her sote on such a cold night instead of sleeping.
Natalie was exhausted. She loved sleeping in the winter, burrowed in the warmth of her nkets.
But the phone rang again and again. With heavy, sleepy eyes, she fumbled for it and answered.
"Hello?"
"Natalie, it''s me. I''m so sorry to call you thiste, but something''s happened to Marshall. He''s in his room screaming and yelling, and we can''t get the door open. He keeps shouting for you."
Natalie was speechless.
What was he freaking out about in the middle of the night? Why was he looking for her?
Natalie nced at the calendar on her bedside table. November 27th.
She remembered that in her previous life, Marshall had died in November. His body wasn''t found for several days, but the date of his death had been around this time.
Something felt very wrong. "Mrs. Spencer Sr., just wait a moment. I''ll be right over."
Natalie hung up and immediately got out of bed to dress.
It was an emergency. She went to her closet, pulled on a warm outfit, grabbed her phone, and rushed out the door.
As soon as she opened her door, she remembered she didn''t have a car here.
Then she thought of Sebastian''s garage; there were probably several cars parked there.
She ran downstairs to find the keys and, sure enough, saw Sebastian''s set on the console table by the entrance.
She snatched them and headed out. Sebastian, who hadn''t slept all night, saw Natalie''s figure hurrying
towards the garage. He frowned. Where was she going sote?
He quickly pulled on some clothes and followed her out.