Chapter 24 Here you are
It seemed to be raining outside.
Natalie had no idea when it began to rain. When she was removed from her trance, Natalie could only hear Luke's breathing near her ear and the falling rain outside.
"You can move to my house." What Luke said echoed in her mind. Natalie knew that Luke wanted to comfort her, so he joked to lighten the atmosphere.
Natalie was going to flick Luke as usual, but she was so tired with crying and full of weakness. She pressed herself against Luke tightly for support.
Natalie knew that Luke was sort of serious when he asked her to move to his house. She appreciated Luke's kindness very much. The thought of Luke's kindness made Natalie very moved. She sat there with a lump in her throat and tried to fight back tears.
Like a stranded fish finally got a chance to come back to sea at high tide, she wanted to seize this chance.
Natalie buried her face into the crook of Luke's neck with a shaky exhale and said nothing. It seemed like a refusal or a tacit approval as well.
Luke almost thought that Natalie fell asleep if it wasn't that Natalie still wrapped her arms around Luke's neck tightly.
His neck had already gotten wet from Natalie's tears. Luke didn't feel uncomfortable. He touched Natalie's ear gently and asked, "What do you think?"
Natalie's ear was very soft and small.
Luke looked down at Natalie's ear. Her fair ear turned pale red now. Behind her ear was Natalie's black hair. Luke couldn't help but think that her ear must look pretty with a pinky diamond on it.
However, Natalie didn't have her ears pierced.
Natalie was very sensitive and she trembled a little as Luke touched her ear gently.
But still, Natalie kept silent.
Luke then didn't say anything just hugged her.
When Luke hugged Natalie out of the trunk that night, Natalie was in a coma. Luke immediately took her to the hospital to have a check. She was put on a drip. During the coma, Natalie's whole body tautened violently and she shivered all the time in a cold sweat.
Obviously, she had dreamed of something very horrible.
Charlie thought that a lack of oxygen might not be the major reason that made her faint. It was probably a psychological cause due to a closed environment.
In other words, Natalie might have claustrophobia or achluophobia.
Charlie told Luke to pay attention to her mood when Natalie woke up.
In fact, Luke was totally serious when he asked Natalie to move to his house, considering Natalie's safety.
However, Luke was afraid that Natalie might become agitated again, so he said no more about it.
Luke patted Natalie's back comfortingly while he said casually, "You need to have more meat, Natalie. You're too thin."
Luke even couldn't feel Natalie's weight when he hugged Natalie in his arms. Though Natalie was thin, she was very soft as a small cat.
Natalie pressed her head against Luke's shoulder in response.
If it was not too late now, Luke would like to hug her a little longer.
However, it was too late that Natalie needed to sleep now.
"Do you feel sleepy now?" Luke said, in a tone of coaxing a kid, "Fourteen will come to stay with you."
Natalie was indeed very tired now, but she still dared not to sleep alone now when she thought of what had happened.
She silenced for a while, then Natalie slowly sat straight up and gently disengaged herself from Luke's warm embrace.
Her eyes were red and swollen and tears streaked her face.
The hospital gown she wore now was a little bigger. Natalie lowered her head and looked very pitiful.
Luke looked at her and let out a call toward the outside of the door. After a second, Fourteen came in, wagging its tail, and sat down before the bed.
Luke told Fourteen to stay here tonight.
Fourteen understood Luke's meaning and raised one of its front legs to lightly touch Natalie's hand.
Natalie turned her head and looked at Fourteen's big round eyes.
"Is that okay?" Luke asked her.
Natalie was about to accept Luke's proposal but when she hesitated, Luke spoke again.
"I can stay here too if you want."
Luke frankly said as if he could do anything as long as Natalie wanted.
Natalie paused. She looked up at Luke and after a while, she finally said under her breath, "Really?"
Her voice was very low, but Luke could hear it.
They looked at each other for a moment, then Luke smiled gently.
"Sure!" he said.
Proofed by the fact, that Luke's company was more effective than tranquilizers. There was a night lamp by the bed. Natalie soon fell asleep with Luke accompanying her in the ward.
Natalie actually woke up once at midnight.
She had a dream and in her dream, there was only her in the room and the light dimmed visibly until the room was plunged into total darkness.
She suddenly woke up.
The night lamp was still on and Fourteen was lying on the floor.
She turned her head and looked at Luke, who was lying on the sofa near the window. The curtain shadowed his face. His eyes closed and his head pillowed on his arms. Luke was so tall that there was not enough room for him to put his legs on the sofa.
Natalie slowly realized that she just had a dream.
And both Luke and Fourteen were still here, with her.
All were quiet in the dead of night. Natalie was relieved when she saw Luke. Hearing the falling rain outside, Natalie fell asleep again till the next day.
When she woke up, Luke was not in the ward.
The windows reflected the bright warm afternoon sunlight.
It was a new day.
Natalie opened her eyes and got up. Fourteen was now sitting on the floor, quietly guarding her.
Natalie was in a good mood. She patted Fourteen's head and called its name in a nasal voice.
Fourteen wagged its tail and touched Natalie's hand with its furry head.
Natalie was amused by Fourteen's cute and said gently, "Good boy!"
As soon as she just finished speaking, Natalie heard someone laughing.
Natalie looked in the direction of the laughter and saw Luke, who was standing at the door with a casual look. She didn't know when Luke came back. With his left hand in his pocket, he held a phone in his right hand, looking like he just answered a phone.
"Am I also a good boy?" Luke smiled and walked to Natalie.
Yesterday night, Natalie still felt so scared that she was in need of company and comfort. However, now she had recovered from the panic and it was really a bit embarrassing for her to face Luke after last night.
Natalie murmured thanks to Luke awkwardly.
"You don't need to feel embarrassed, Natalie, since we're intimate now." Luke pulled a chair and sat down. Then, he looked at Natalie smilingly.
Being staring at Luke's beautiful eyes, Natalie really felt nervous.
She looked away with shyness. She pretended to not understand Luke's meaning and whispered in a low voice, "What?"
Luke looked at Natalie playfully with his leg crossed.
"Come on! Natalie! We have slept in the same room together last night!" Luke looked at Natalie with a raised eyebrow and said seriously.
His voice sounded a bit hoarse with a trace of tiredness after he slept on the sofa for a night.
But what Luke said obviously meant that Natalie should be responsible for him.
Natalie blushed. "But we did nothing last night."
"Then what do you want to do?" Luke asked rhetorically.
He still looked very calm while Natalie colored at his remarks.
"Fine, I can pay you the money," Natalie said and pretended to be calm, with her head lowered.
Luke let out a laugh when he heard what Natalie said.
He suddenly had a feeling that he was receiving payment from a wealthy woman.
"For what?" Luke joked with a teasing smile, "For my good service last night?"
Natalie was speechless.
She didn't know what to say at this moment.
In the end, she complained in a low voice like a kid, "I don't want to talk to you anymore!"
She sat wrapped in a quilt with her hands outside the quilt. Her hair was disheveled since she just woke up, which made Natalie look very endearing like a doll.
Luke couldn't help but tease her.
"Why?" Luke asked patiently.
"You always speak nonsense," Natalie shot him a reproachful pout.
Looking at Natalie's rosy cheeks and energetic look, Luke continued to tease her, "Then what am I supposed to do if you don't talk to me anymore? I do need to tell you something serious."
Natalie looked at him doubtfully and asked, "What are you going to tell me?"
Luke smiled and rest his right elbow on his knee. He bent forward and said with a serious look, "Go move to my place!"
Luke had mentioned that last night. Natalie still remembered that she almost agreed last night due to the panic fear after she was kidnapped. However, now it was different. Natalie got her mind back.
Natalie threw a pillow to Luke.
Luke deftly caught the pillow and put down his hand. With a wry smile, he said, "Could you let me finish my words first?"
Natalie's lips compressed into a thin line. She could feel her face reddening when thinking of what she had done last night, but she still stared at Luke to hide her embarrassment.
Luke put the pillow back on the bed, then he looked at Natalie and explained with a serious look, "Actually, I should be responsible for the kidnap."
It was not hard to explain. Bretto was under investigation after being accused of fraud. Obviously, Luke was the man behind this. Noah was clear that Luke had known many secrets about him, so he wasn't willing to await his doom.
It was well-known that Natalie was in a relationship with Luke. As Luke's brother, Noah knew Luke so well that he knew how important Natalie was in Luke's heart. Therefore, Noah arranged for someone to kidnapped Natalie just for warning Luke this time.
It was true that Noah just warned Luke this time and did nothing to hurt Natalie, but what about the next time?
And Noah won this time.
Luke indeed cared about Natalie very much and was afraid that she would be hurt next time.
However, it was still impossible for Luke to let go of Noah. Before he finished this thing, it was better to let Natalie stay in his house.
What Luke said was totally something that Natalie never thought of before.
After hearing Luke's words, Natalie was stunned.
"You have five days to consider it." Luke said with a serious look, "And in this period, I promise that you'll be safe."
Natalie then realized the seriousness. She frowned as fear clutched at her heart suddenly.
"Do I have to stay in your house?"
Natalie whispered. Her hands on the pillow clenched. "It's so strange... "
Living in a house with a man? It sounded too dubious, even though they lived in two different rooms.
As Mia said, Natalie was just a pure girl without no emotional experience.
It would be very dangerous if she lived in a house with a man.
"Or..."
At this time, Luke spoke out. Natalie immediately looked at him and hoped that he could offer a better suggestion. However, Luke just said casually, "I can arrange several bodyguards to follow you around all the time. "
Natalie made no answer.
"What do you think?" Luke asked.
Natalie still kept silent.
She couldn't help but doubt that Luke was deliberately being perverse, but she had no evidence when seeing Luke's serious look.
She suddenly thought of the picture that she was surrounded by several bodyguards.
And she stood among the tall big bodyguards, looking like a baby chick...
Natalia shook her head and stopped imagining.
"I don't understand. Noah is your brother. Why did he do that?" Natalie asked with confusion.
Natalie was now wearing the hospital gown with blue and white stripes. Her eyes were still red and swollen. She was so complexionless that she looked like a pretty ghost now.
Luke hesitated for a while.
No one had asked him such a question before.
He was very calm now. Memories about what happened last night when Natalie hugged him crying with a wronged look came to his mind all of a sudden.
At that time, Natalie was very obedient. Now, Natalie was still well-behaved, though she wanted Luke could think of another way to solve the problem.
Luke couldn't ignore the anxiousness in her eyes.
After a while, Luke looked at Natalie and smiled gently while he said, "Noah is the son of my father and his ex-wife."
Natalie still didn't understand.
However, Natalie now had realized that they must have a grudge against each other, so Natalie didn't continue to ask.
After all, she didn't like to make Luke feel uncomfortable.
In the end, Natalie left the hospital with Luke, with Fourteen following behind. With a cigarette in his mouth, Luke walked by Natalie's side and towered over her.
They looked like a couple who were walking a dog.
Because Luke was here with Natalie, the nurses in the hospital dared not to talk to Natalie and just secretly paid attention to her with a trace of gossipy curiosity in their eyes.
After Natalie came back to Clovervale Residence, she quickly packed some necessary stuff and asked Luke to drive her to Mia's house.
Though Luke told her that he could guarantee her safety in five days, Natalie still felt so scared that she dared not to sleep alone. So, she decided to move to Mia's house first.
As Luke said, she had five days to consider Luke's suggestion.
However, Natalie was clear that she was very afraid of losing her life, so she actually just had five days to pack her stuff and get prepared to move to Luke's house.
Natalie didn't expose her inmost thoughts.
After all, it would sound like she was eager to move to Luke's house if she accepted Luke's suggestion at once.
Luke parked the car before the gate of the residence where Mia lived.
It was a bit cold today. With an apricot leathern backpack behind her back, she wrapped around her neck with a soft white scarf.
Before she got out of the car, Natalie looked back at Fourteen and said softly, "Byebye, Fourteen."
In the backseat, Fourteen yelped in response.
Natalie reached out to touch Fourteen's head. When she was about to get out of the car, her ponytail was suddenly pulled by someone.
Natalie let out a cry. She leaned back and fell to the seat.
Natalie looked at Luke and snapped, "What's wrong with you?"
"Why don't you say goodbye to me?" Luke leaned against Natalie's seat backrest and looked straight at Natalie.
"Don't you forget my good service that night?"
Maybe it was because she would soon live with Luke together, Natalie now dared not to look at Luke's eyes.
She looked away to hide her blushes and took out the money in her wallet, then she put the money into Luke's pocket.
Then, she said plausibly, "Here you are!"