Chapter 52 Never Break up
After the introduction, VIP entrance music was played in the stadium. With the exciting background music, all the surrounding stage fogger machines sprayed fog that went several feet high at the same time, and the adjustable-height stage was lifted to the highest position. When that person appeared, all the spotlights were focused on the center of the stage.
Under the exhilarating stage effects, his appearance made the audience burst in excitement and scream passionately.
The man was dressed in a white traditional garment sewn with Estain style embroidery and wore an amber bracelet on his wrist. His hair was middle-parted and neck-long. He exuded elegance and seemed cultured yet melancholic.
He looked very handsome and graceful, especially his eyebrows. His elegance was as rare as orchids in empty valleys.
He was, as described on the Internet, like a male angel who never grew old. He didn't look his age at all, which was almost fifty.
"Hello everyone, I am Jepson Lever."
The man raised his hand with a smile. His voice was as gentle as wind blowing through the trees and spring water flowing through the rocks. Though he was reserved, he was brimming with self-confidence. The stage was as lively as an active volcano, but as soon as he appeared, the stage looked as if it was turned into a refreshing forest.
The audience was pleasantly surprised and cheered for a long time.
Obviously, they didn't expect that the guest Calvin invited to his concert was a senior artist, who grew up in a family of theater artists and was the top-class drama actor and singer in Athana Theater.
More than twenty years ago, when Athana Theater was still known as Athana Grand Theater, he became famous at a young age due to his role as the female lead in the play "The Lucky Purse". Since then, everyone knew and respected him.
Calvin approached and hugged Jepson. He was as excited as the audience when he expressed his admiration and gratitude to the senior artist. He also said that he was honored to have Jepson to compose the music of his new song.
To outsiders, Jepson was quite a gentle and matured man. He demonstrated high emotional intelligence through his interviews, which made everyone feel inexplicably comfortable.
Jepson's appearance pushed the atmosphere of the concert to the climax. Topics related to him and the concert quickly became the trending topics on the Internet.
Then came the highly awaited performance by the two artists.
Natalie sat still. Behind her, there were loud screams and millions of glow sticks being waved in the dark. In front of her, there was a dazzling stage.
She calmed down gradually and spaced out staring at the people on the stage.
Suddenly, Mia didn't know what to do. She hummed and hawed for a while before she nudged Natalie's arm while pretending to be at ease. "It's too boring. Nata, Let's go."
Natalie's eyelashes trembled suddenly. She brought back her thoughts, which had drifted far away.
She blinked and smiled slowly. Her voice was unexpectedly calm. "Since we are here, let's listen until the end."
Mia looked at Natalie worriedly. Mia wanted to say something but she held back.
After performing the new song, Jepson performed a solo. He performed a part of the classic play "The Lucky Purse", which he was famous for. He performed the part where the female lead felt depressed about her fate as she hit the rock bottom of her life.
Natalie felt emotional but she stared at the stage without blinking. It seemed like she was forcing herself to remember this scene.
The dry ice machines created the fog that covered the stage.
The man stood in the fog. His voice was soft, distant, and charming. He sang, "Fate taught me to let go of hatred, to stop being angry, to transform myself, to change my temperament, to cease lamenting the past, to return to my true self from the sea of ​​bitterness, and to realize earlier that anything that starts well ends badly... "
He amazed the audience as soon as he started singing.
-
The concert ended at ten o'clock in the evening.
Natalie was in two completely different moods during the first half hour and the rest of the concert.
Luke sent her a message an hour before the concert ended, telling her that he was in the parking lot. He asked her to inform him when the concert ended so that he could drive over to pick her up.
After leaving the concert, Natalie asked Mia to head back first.
It was very late, but the crowd at the entrance of the stadium was still slow to disperse. Many fans wanted to go to the backstage to try their luck at meeting Calvin and Jepson to ask for autographs and to take photos with the artists.
Before parting, Mia was still very worried and subtly asked Natalie not to feel so depressed as it was already in the past.
Natalie understood what Mia meant. Natalie smiled and said she was fine. She blinked as if nothing had happened. "The tickets were expensive. They would have been a waste if we hadn't listened to the whole concert."
After Mia left, Natalie didn't wait for Luke at the stadium. There were too many people around. So, she casually walked to a nearby park and sat on a slide.
Around this time, nobody was strolling around the park anymore. The surroundings were quiet. There was a faint orange circle on the ground due to the light shining from a street lamp.
Natalie hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees. She took out a wallet from her bag.
It was a classic black and gold Chanel wallet. The leather was old so obviously the wallet was many years old. Nevertheless, it was kept in good condition and didn't take much wear and tear.
She opened the wallet and reached into the inner section. There was a thin ticket inside.
It was a theater ticket, which was a rather retro, pale red paper. It was stamped with the red stamp of the box office of the time. The fonts on it were old-fashioned-
Athana Grand Theater.
2/14/1996. Box No.4. 7:00 pm.
The Lucky Purse.
She turned over the ticket. There was a sentence written with blue fountain pen ink on the back. "Fate taught me to let go of hatred, to stop being angry, to transform myself, to change my temperament, to cease lamenting the past, to return to my true self from the sea of ​​bitterness, and to realize earlier that anything that starts well ends badly... "
The handwriting was elegant and graceful. It was written by Natalie's mother.
Natalie caressed the ticket carefully.
She listened to the whole concert tonight because she just wanted to see how charming he was, since her mother fell in love with him upon hearing his voice. Because of him, her mother plunged into the swamp of love and was unable to escape until her death...
Natalie put the ticket back in her bag and buried her face between her knees. Since Jepson appeared at the concert, her emotions were indescribably complex, even until now.
She curled up just like that and closed her eyes for a while.
Suddenly, she heard a faint sound, which sounded like something small sliding down the slide.
Before Natalie could react, that thing bumped against her back softly and stopped behind her buttocks.
Natalie opened her eyes confusedly. Her hand reached behind her and scrabbled. She touched something cubic and round. She brought it before her eyes. It was wrapped with gold foil which was stamped with the words "cr®me cacao".
Surprisingly, it was a chocolate candy.
Natalie raised her head and looked back at somewhere high up. She saw him standing high on the platform of the slide. He was looking down and standing within the faint halo, with his hands resting on the wooden guardrail.
He was biting a lit cigarette, so between his lips there was a tiny red light. He looked at her with a lazy smile.
Natalie was stunned.
When did he get up there?
The platform of the slide was about seven feet high, which Luke thought wasn't high enough to be considered as dangerous. He grabbed the guardrail, flipped over it suddenly, jumped off the high platform, and stood steadily on the ground.
Natalie screamed as she was scared. As he jumped off, she stood up abruptly and ran to him.
"You did this again! What if you hurt yourself!" Natalie slapped his arm. He did the same thing on the balcony last time.
"I won't get hurt." Luke didn't care.
Natalie was shocked and ignored him.
Luke fiddled with her earlobe. With a cigarette in his mouth, he said casually, "You squatted here like a child. Did you not enjoy the concert?"
"No..." Natalie lowered her head.
Luke removed the cigarette from his mouth and flicked the ash off the cigarette. "Then what's the matter? Did I make you unhappy?"
What happened tonight was too sudden. Natalie couldn't take it in just yet. Her mind was in a mess. She wasn't in the mood to think about other things.
Natalie didn't answer him. She just said, "Let's go home."
Luke stared at her in the gloom and fell silent too.
The army green Jeep Wrangler was parked beside the park. Luke had already sent Fourteen home. The jeep was quiet inside. Natalie sat in the passenger seat alone. The chocolate candy wrapping rustled as she fiddled with it.
After Luke finished smoking the cigarette, he got into the car, fastened his seat belt, and put his hands on the steering wheel, but he didn't start the jeep.
The jeep was under the street lamp. The windshield looked like it was plated with a thin layer of gold under the dim yellow street light, which shone on some parts of the jeep interior while leaving the other parts in the dark.
They were both silent, each in their own thoughts.
After a while, Luke suddenly said, "You don't want to go to Athana with me. Is it because you feel that..."
After a short pause, he turned his face to her and said, "I don't like you that much?"
Upon hearing him, Natalie was stunned for a moment. She looked up.
As they looked into each other's eyes, Natalie realized that he had misunderstood why she was depressed tonight.
Natalie was still pondering a moment ago. Natalie couldn't understand why her mother was so committed to loving a man who would never marry her. Natalie's mother knew that he was like a star in the sky that couldn't be reached, but she still couldn't forget him until the day she died.
At this moment, Luke was looking at her. Natalie suddenly realized that she was also loving a star. Or, one could even say that she was loving the moon.
She couldn't understand her mother, but she herself was also in a similar situation.
She didn't want to go to Athana. Was it because she was afraid that his love for her wasn't deep enough?
Of course not.
Natalie shook her head. After hesitating for a while, she asked him out of the blue, "Do you know... Jepson Lever? He was the surprise guest of the concert tonight."
The topic was brought up abruptly. Luke paused for two seconds before thinking about it. "The one from Athana Theater? He has been famous since I was a child, and now his images still appear on many billboards in Athana."
Jepson was indeed very famous as he was a senior figure in the entertainment industry. He had created many classic masterpieces in many types of performing arts, such as opera, drama, film, music, and so on. The theater which he performed in would have a full house for his every performance and it would be hard to get the tickets.
It was especially so in Athana. When Natalie was studying in Athana, she could see his face everywhere off campus.
That was why she hardly ever left campus without the necessity for it.
Natalie sat still and looked into his eyes in the dark. "He is my father."
Luke's eyes flashed with surprise.
"I'm his... illegitimate child," she said softly.
Hearing her speak of the facts that were unknown to anyone else, Luke was rarely at a loss for words..
Natalie lowered her gaze and stopped looking at him. "The day when my mother graduated from Athana Medical College, she watched his performance and fell in love with him at first sight... Later, they were really together. He probably treated my mother very well at that time. He was willing to support her financially and didn't let her work too hard..."
"Then, Mr. Lever's parents arranged a marriage for him, and he chose to listen to his parents..." Natalie's voice was very low as she was stopping her voice from sounding more and more nasal. "But when they broke up, my mother was already pregnant..."
Luke looked at her. His eyes moved around slowly.
Natalie wanted to think about the past as calmly as possible, but unfortunately it was too difficult. Her eyes felt sore. "My mother was determined to give birth to me at all costs. She cut all ties with her parents... On the day I was born, my maternal grandfather passed away as he was too angry at my mother. That's why I never celebrate my birthday..."
  
That was why Natalie's maternal grandmother had always disliked Natalie and never wanted to see her.
"When I grew older, my mother took me to Athana as she wanted Mr. Lever to acknowledge me as his daughter, but all her efforts were fruitless."
Natalie's eyes felt sorer and sorer. She held back the tears that welled up in her eyes. "My mother had always suffered from postpartum depression. When I was five years old, she committed suicide by jumping into a river..."
Natalie's eyes were full of tears in the dark. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the man's shadow move. Then, his palm was pressed against her back.
Luke hugged her and brought her to him. He pressed her head against his neck.
Natalie buried her face. His pleasant body scent and cigarette smell were all she could smell.
It was perhaps her first time in many years that someone gave her a firm hug when she was feeling sad as she remembered the past.
Natalie's tears fell silently. The skin on the side of his neck was wet and hot because of her tears. She called him softly, "Luke..."
"I just want to tell you that the reason I don't want to go to Athana is not related to you. It's me."
She sniffed and said in a quavering voice, "I don't want to... live in a world where Jepson Lever is everywhere."
In fact, she was afraid that Luke would be the same as Jepson. She was also afraid that she would be repeating her mother's life story.
The most charming person was the most dangerous.
Luke lowered his eyes solemnly and felt that he shouldn't say anything more at this time, including the words to persuade her to return to Athana with him.
He was silent. He placed his hand on the back of her head, patting and stroking her gently.
If it was due to work or because she would miss someone here after moving to Athana, it wouldn't be a big problem. He could help her solve it.
Unfortunately, he couldn't solve this problem.
-
She didn't want to live in a world where Jepson was everywhere.
Her words created an insurmountable obstacle like the God who split the ground with thunder, forming a huge rift between them.
When they got home that night, Luke didn't do anything else and just hugged her to sleep. He hugged her tightly all night, as if she would run away and disappear if he loosened up a little.
But after that day, Luke returned to Athana while Natalie continued to work day after day. Neither of them took the initiative to contact one another.
Natalie didn't know what Luke was thinking, but she had to admit that she was still not resolute enough. She just took her first step in going for further studies in Bostabaca a few days ago, but when she saw her biological father at the concert, her decision to go to Athana was swayed again.
In the following days, Natalie was very busy working in the hospital. She even requested to work overtime. It seemed like she deliberately deprived herself of time to think about other things.
Finally in one night, when Natalie was taking a shower, her red string bracelet slipped off her wrist. The bathroom drain cover happened to be removed, so the bracelet fell into the drain.
Natalie seemed to have found a reason to release her emotions. She couldn't help but cry.
That night, Mia came over and drank with her.
They went to the barbecue restaurant they frequented opposite Clovervale Residence. Natalie was drunk and full of tears. Her cheeks flushed as if blush was applied on her cheeks.
Mia was comforting her, while Natalie was shedding tears.
"Mia, I like him..." Natalie hugged the beer and lay on the table with bloodshot eyes, which were full with tears and looked aggrieved. "I like him very much. I really really like him..."
The restaurant's owner sitting behind the counter, stretching his neck, and looking at them. He had seen that lady being drunk before. That time, she haggled the price down from eighteen dollars to one dollar... He couldn't help but worry as she was more drunk this time. Was he going to lose eighteen dollars this time?
Fortunately, what he feared didn't happen.
Natalie was too drunk this time. The table was in a mess, and she passed out lying on it.
Seeing that Natalie passed out, Mia pulled her hair and was worried about how to carry Natalie home. Just as she was about to ask Kingsley and the others if they were nearby, a slender hand suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Mia looked up subconsciously. When she saw Luke, she was so shocked that she was speechless.
"I'll send her home." Luke leaned over Natalie, put his arm around her back, hooked her legs with his other arm, and picked her up easily.
Realizing that he was speaking to her, Mia snapped back to her senses and nodded frantically. She stammered, "Oh… oh, okay… okay."
Then Mia let him take Natalie away.
Natalie probably had never been this drunk in her life. She couldn't drink much. After drinking a few bottles in one go, she was so drunk that she couldn't even speak a word.
In between consciousness and drunkenness, she felt that someone placed her on a soft bed, and then her face was covered with a warm towel... That person gently untied her ponytail. She could vaguely hear him whisper in her ear that she could sleep more comfortably this way.
But Natalie couldn't remember it well. She couldn't tell if he had said it or not.
The next day, Natalie woke up lying in her own bedroom. She stared at the ceiling sleepily. When she turned her head, Fourteen could be seen wagging its tail at her bedside, as energetic as ever.
Natalie sat up and was dazed. She rubbed her frizzy long hair.
Before she could sort out the messy thoughts in her head, a phone call startled her and woke her up.
It was a call from her grandmother's neighbor, Nanny Fannie, who anxiously told Natalie that Natalie's maternal grandmother had fainted at home and had just been taken to Alcomara No.2 Hospital by ambulance.
Natalie was wide awake immediately, and the lingering effects of being drunk last night went away suddenly. She got up frantically and rushed to the hospital.
Arrhythmia and reflex syncope were both common health issues among the elderly. Fortunately, Natalie's grandmother's condition wasn't serious. At noon, her grandmother was transferred from the emergency room to the general ward.
Natalie and Nanny Fannie had been waiting together anxiously outside the emergency treatment room for the whole morning. They heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the good news.
She hadn't eaten anything since she finished drinking last night. Now she had low blood sugar. She was in a hurry to head out in the morning so she accidentally left the sugar at home. She felt a little dizzy.
But Natalie was still worried about her grandmother. She went straight to the inpatient department.
In the ward, the old lady was leaning against the headboard, with a nasal cannula inserted into her nostrils. She was conscious.
After listening to the nurse speaking about the matters needing attention, Natalie walked into the ward and saw her grandmother. Her grandmother closed her eyes while leaning weakly against the headboard. Natalie realized that her hair was gray and the wrinkles on her face were deeper. Her grandmother looked much older than the last time Natalie saw her.
"Grandma, are you feeling better?" Natalie spoke to her grandmother gently.
Upon hearing Natalie's voice, the old lady suddenly opened her eyes. When the old lady saw Natalie standing at her bedside, her face darkened. "Who allowed you to be here? Get out!"
"I'm here to see you..." Natalie said softly.
The old lady was emotionally unstable and scolded Natalie angrily even though her own voice was weak, "Are you here to see me or piss me off!"
Natalie bit her lower lip and didn't dare make a sound.
Nanny Fannie stepped in to mediate their conflict by saying that Nata was in a panic knowing the old lady had fainted earlier. Nanny Fannie asked the old lady to calm down and have a good talk with the grandchild.
The old lady didn't listen to Nanny Fannie at all, and kept forcing Natalie to leave. The old lady was still very weak at the time, so she couldn't breathe normally once she got angry and started coughing violently.
Natalie panicked, hurriedly approached the old lady, and patted her back to help her breathe normally. "Please don't be angry and lie down first..."
The old lady grabbed the water glass next to her and hurled it at Natalie.
Natalie was approaching the old lady at the time, so her upper arm was hit by the water glass as soon as she finished speaking. She groaned in pain and stepped back. The glass fell on the ground and shattered into pieces.
Fortunately, the water in the glass wasn't too hot. Natalie just felt a little pain on her upper arm and her clothes were a little wet.
"Out, get out!" The old lady closed her eyes to stop looking at Natalie. The old lady looked furious. With a weak voice, she forced Natalie to leave.
Seeing that the situation had turned sour, in hushed tones Nanny Fannie advised Natalie to head home first and asked Natalie not to worry as she herself would stay and watch the old lady.
Natalie's eyes were bloodshot.
Suddenly, there was a bang. The door of the ward was kicked open.
The three ladies in the ward were startled. Natalie looked over and in astonishment saw Luke striding towards herself.
Luke grabbed her wrist and stared coldly at the old lady on the hospital bed. "I'm even worried that she would feel pain whenever I kiss her. How can you do this to her? From now on, she is mine and has nothing to do with you."
His appearance was unexpected. Natalie was still shocked, but Luke somewhat forcefully dragged her out of the ward without hesitation.
Natalie couldn't explain how she felt at that time. As soon as he appeared, tears rolled down her cheeks.
She felt aggrieved at the ward just now, or perhaps she felt scared as she had been imagining things since Luke hadn't contacted her for days.
Luke didn't say anything and dragged her out of the inpatient department, all the way to the parking lot. When they were passing by the tree shades on the roadside, Natalie finally came to her senses.
"Luke..."
She tugged his hand. Luke stopped and took a deep breath before looking back at the person behind him. He saw her wet eyelashes. She stepped forward and hugged him gently.
Luke was stunned when the girl's beautiful body approached him.
Natalie wrapped her arms around his waist and asked hesitantly, "Can we stop fighting?"
What Natalie said baffled Luke for quite a while. He hugged her back. The rage he showed in the ward earlier disappeared. He said softly, "When did we start fighting?"
Natalia rubbed her face against his body like a cat. She choked mildly as she spoke, "You ignored me for several days..."
Luke pondered what she meant, and suddenly tittered softly. His voice was a little hoarse. "I was afraid you would leave me."
It wasn't that he didn't want to find her, but he didn't dare find her.
He was afraid that she would break up with him and end this fruitless relationship since she was unwilling to go to Athana.
Upon hearing that, Natalie was also stunned.
She felt dizzy and was unable think clearly at the time due to the hangover and low blood sugar.
Luke's arms suddenly tightened. He hugged her tightly.
"I will only listen to you from now on..." He had never spoken to anyone so submissively before. At this moment, in the presence of the girl in his arms, he was as petty as dust.
Luke buried his face. Natalie could feel his warm breath on her ear. His voice was all hoarse. "We shall never break up, okay?"