Chapter 128
People often claimed that unrequited love was an internal battlefield. Right at this moment, Suzanne couldn’t agree more.
She clearly missed Nathan so dearly with her entire being, but she was conflicted and afraid. She dared not even look at him openly, yet she stole countless glances at him from the corner of her eye.
She clearly knew that he held another woman dear in his heart, and it pained her to know that. She hated and resented the fact, yet she
could not bear to let him go. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
She clearly yearned for him to be back, and she was both elated and anxious that he was, yet she feigned calmness and nonchalance. She put so much effort into it so that he wouldn’t notice any trace of her feelings for him, as though that would make her unrequited love less painful.
The moment Nathan stepped into the living room, Sally rushed ov excitedly. “Nate!”
Caught off guard, Nathan was trapped in her embrace. Sally clung tightly to his waist, frustrating him.
Nathan’s brow furrowed as he reached behind his back to pry Sally’s arms off of him. But Sally was persistent and refused to let go. “I missed you a lot, Nate.”
“Nate, why didn’t you tell me you were coming home today?” Florence smiled at him warmly.
Nathan greeted the people in front of him politely. Every one of them beamed brightly at him, expressing their concern.
His gaze darkened slightly when he failed to spot Suzanne amidst the
175
crowd. Then, he took a sweeping glance across the room and finally spotted her not too far away in the dining room.
With one hand resting on the table, she lowered her head and ate her soup quietly. She treated his return as indifferently as a stranger
would.
All she needed to do was to raise her head just a little, and she’d be able to see him. But she wouldn’t even do so.
Disappointment welled up within Nathan, further fueling his irritation. He pushed Sally away from him.
However, Sally kept at it. With everyone watching, she stood on tipped toes and wrapped her arms around Nathan’s neck, attempting to lean against his chest.
Cole appeared from behind Nathan and forcefully pulled her away from him. He said furiously, “Ms. Hoffis, please stay away from General Morrison. He’s injured!”
Everyone was startled to hear that. They were worried and showe him with concern, asking Nathan where and how he was injured a how severe the injury was. The living room buzzed with commotio
The moment Suzanne heard that Nathan was injured, she froze, her spoon hovering over her bowl of soup. Her heart clenched with worry for him. She reflexively raised her head to look at him.
But the first thing she saw was Sally crying and patting Nathan’s body all over, asking him if the injury was serious.
Suzanne felt like she might break down if she saw a second more of Sally’s heart-wrenching and affectionate act, so she quickly shifted her gaze away from Nathan.
But when she peeled her eyes away from him, Nathan instinctively glanced at her. All he saw was her coldness and indifference, leaving
him deeply disappointed.
Could he not elicit a response out of her even after he got hurt?
Amidst the commotion around him, Nathan couldn’t pinpoint who was speaking to him, so he gave them a simple reply. “I’m fine.”
“Do you want to have dinner together?” Florence asked.
Nathan sighed faintly and responded softly, “No, I’d like to rest.”
Sally promptly latched onto Nathan’s arm and said, “I’ll help you back to your room, Nate.”
“There’s no need for that.” Nathan coldly pushed her away and walked past the living room toward the stairs.
When Sally turned, she noticed Suzanne silently stirring her soup and Nathan’s cold attitude toward her. Sensing that things had reached a freezing point between the two, she was elated.
It seemed to her that her feigned depression, her suicidal an her little acts of manipulation had worked like a charm.
and
Cole followed Nathan upstairs and went into the study first. T second they set foot in the room, they were taken aback and f place.
Cole gaped in surprise, unable to utter a word. The study was a me and resembled the room of a student preparing for the college entrance exam. It was cluttered with books and materials of all sorts.
Several opened books were scattered on the computer table, with red marks and notes scrawled across the pages. Someone had been studying very hard there.
Nathan slowly walked over and flipped through the books. Psychology?
He frowned as he took in the room. He saw a lot of books on the
shelf that didn’t belong to him. His gaze was locked on the titles.
“Best Ways to Handle Toxic People”
“The Key to Overcoming Nasty People”
“Foundations of Psychology”
Nathan’s lips curled slightly as a smirk played on his face.
Cole was surprised to see such a reaction from him. “General Morrison, should I tidy things up?”
“No.” Nathan didn’t wish to mess up her things and disrupt her progress. “Let’s go to the room,” he said.
So Nathan led Cole to his room. The instant they entered, they were once again bewildered.
The room was spotless and tidy, but the bed was covered in a mess of books, many of which were still unopened.
Cole finally understood why Suzanne was so talented. It turne that she studied so intensely!
In the end, the two men chose to go to the spacious and comforta balcony, where Nathan briefed Cole about their upcoming tasks. Then, Cole reported to him about their work progress and important things they should take note of.
As they were discussing, the door to the room was hastily pushed open. Suzanne hurried in, completely oblivious to the two people on the balcony.
She behaved like a child who feared her parents scolding her for messing up the room. Flustered and panicky, she scrambled to pick all the books off the bed and organized them neatly on the shelf.
She heaved a sigh with one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead. Then, with her mind still in disarray, she circled the room,
checking to see if everything was in place.
Spotting another book on the easy chair, she quickly picked it up and placed it on the shelf. Then, she rushed over to the bed and tidied the bedding. After a flurry of cleaning up, she hurriedly left the room.
She failed to notice the two people watching her from the balcony the whole time she was in there.
Cole couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mrs. Morrison’s in such a hurry. She’s probably on her way to tidy up the study now. She’s pretty cute.”‘
Cole’s unintentional praise drew a cold, angry stare from Nathan. Cole gulped nervously and straightened up. “I’m sorry, General Morrison. I spoke out of turn.”
– Nathan leaned back into a wicker chair and fell deep in thought. Cole
had just praised Suzanne for being cute. So why did he feel that Cole’s tone had been too adoring, and why was he displeased about
it?