Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 60

Hamilton arched an eyebrow ever so slightly. “Like what? Trusting?”

Natalia nodded her head in affirmation.

Hamilton actually took a moment to ponder. “When it comes to trust, | only trust myself. Does that satisfy you, Ms. Jenkins?” Natalia was at a loss for words.

Did he mean that he didn’t even trust Eveleen?

Natalia’s fingers tightened unconsciously. “And what about Eveleen?”

Hamilton’s gaze darkened a tad.

But Natalia only kept her eyes on him.

He moved his lips to speak, but before he could say a word, there was a knock on the hospital room door. The secretary stood outside, handing Hamilton a bag.

Hamilton took it, walked over to the bedside, and said, “Come here, let's dry your hair.”

The question Natalia hadn't finished asking suddenly seemed unnecessary.

What did it matter whether he trusted Eveleen or not? After all, it had nothing to do with her.

Natalia composed herself, sat on the couch, and let Hamilton dry her hair.

After he finished, Hamilton finally spoke.

“Eveleen is special to me. If you don’t want to embarrass yourself, Ms. Jenkins, I’d suggest you don’t compare yourself to her.” Natalia was silent for a moment before saying, “Alright, | understand.”

Hamilton’s phone began to ring. It was Eveleen’s personalized ringtone.

Natalia suddenly felt tired. “If you have things to do, Mr. Fowler, go ahead. | need to rest.”

Hamilton gave her a look, “Eveleen’s here for a dressing change. I’m going to be with her.”

“Okay.”

Natalia lay in bed, the blanket covering half her face.

Hamilton frowned slightly. He pulled down her blanket. “If you're tired, get some sleep. I'll be back after she’s done.” Natalia didn’t respond.

In truth, not only did Hamilton not trust her, but she also didn’t have much trust in him. Like

right now, his words didn’t seem all that credible to her.

But in the end, she nodded.

There was no point in dwelling on it; it would only embarrass her further.

After Hamilton left, Natalia found herself unable to sleep.

The hospital room felt suffocating.

She got dressed, thinking of going out for a walk. But as soon as she stepped out the door, she saw Graham searching for her from room to room down the corridor.

Natalia’s expression faltered for a moment; she was about to hide when she heard Graham call out. “Natalia!” She didn’t stop, walking briskly toward Scarlett’s office.

The hospital room wasn’t safe. If Graham cornered her there, the situation could be even more dangerous. Her best bet was to seek refuge with Scarlett. However, before she could get there. Graham roughly grabbed her hair from behind.

Natalia’s face went pale. “Graham!” she roared in anger. But Graham just smiled. “What, trying to dodge me?”

He forced her to turn around by pulling her hair. “Try hiding now. See if | don’t take care of you!” Natalia winced in pain, her face ghostly white.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“What do you want? Graham, this is a hospital! Aren’t you afraid someone will call the police?” People had already started to gather around. Some even began to record with their phones.

Graham probably didn’t want the attention; he smirked, let go of Natalia, and said, “Sweetheart. shall we find a spot to talk nicely?”

$,

After that, he glared at the onlookers. “What are you looking at? This is my daughter. Delete those videos!”

He snatched a phone, deleted the video, then turned back to Natalia.

“So? Sweetheart? Decided where you want to chat?”

Natalia’s lips were tight with tension. She knew if she didn’t lead Graham away, he could cause a scene.

Taking a deep breath, she finally said, “Back to the ward.”

With that, she headed back to the hospital room first.

Graham followed her cheerfully, greeting the onlookers along the way.

“See that? This is my daughter, Natalia, a manager at lvy Gemstone.”

Natalia’s temples pulsed. She hadn't anticipated Graham would find her here. She had felt relieved not seeing him outside her apartment complex after returning from Boria City. Little did she know, he would show up at the hospital.

Once inside the room, she asked sternly, “What is it? Speak up.”

Suddenly, Graham was not in a hurry to talk anymore. He went around the ward, clicked his tongue, and said, “This is such an amazing ward! As expected of my incredible daughter.”

Natalia was in no mood for small talk and said, “What do you want? I’ve already given you the I

money you wanted!”

Graham chuckled. “What's wrong? Disgusted by your old man?”

Natalia stared at him. “If you don’t want to talk, then get out!”

“Jeez, what a temper!” Graham muttered as he pocketed Hamilton’s cigarettes from the table.

“Don't worry, I’m not here for something bad. You're not getting any younger, nearly thirty, and even though your mother is half— dead, as your father, | still need to look after your marriage prospects. I’ve found you a suitor.”

Natalia scoffed. Graham introducing her to a suitor? It sounded more like he was planning to sell her off. “| don’t need it. | have no plans to find a suitor right now.”

Graham snorted. “Natalia, don’t blame me for not warning you. You better listen while I’m speaking nicely. Don’t make me go after that half-dead thing again!”

“Graham, what exactly do you want?” “| want nothing much. Just agree to go on this date, and | won’t bother her.” With that, he lit up one of the stolen cigarettes and lounged on the sofa, taking a drag.

After a couple of puffs, he suddenly sat bolt upright. “Natalia, you haven't got yourself a man, have you?”

Natalia’s lips were drawn tight as she finally managed to mutter, “No.”

But Graham sprang to his feet, a sneer curling his lip. “No? Then whose cigarettes are these?” She averted her gaze. “Left by someone who came to visit.”

Graham snorted. “My little princess sure keeps fancy company, smoking such high-end stuff now.”

Natalia couldn’t stand another minute of bickering with Graham. She cut to the chase, “I’ve been feeling under the weather lately. Let's talk when I'm better.”

Delaying the inevitable was the best she could hope for. 3/4 Chapter ou

Graham didn’t press further this time, probably because the million bucks he had squeezed out of her hadn't run out yet, so his temper was somewhat more agreeable.

“Fine, but next time, if you dodge me again, I’ll send your mother, that damn crone, to meet the Grim Reaper!”

After Graham left, Natalia felt the full weight of her exhaustion. It wasn’t just physical; her heart was weighed down with fatigue. She lay down and instantly fell asleep. When she awoke, darkness had descended.

She stirred slightly, and Hamilton’s voice reached her ears.

“Awake?”

Natalia blinked, turning to see Hamilton sitting on the couch, a laptop on the table before him and a stack of documents beside it. Her lips twitched.

“When did you get back?”

Hamilton chuckled softly. “I’ve been here for three hours. | thought you were going to sleep until the end of time!”

“Sorry, | didn’t think you’d come back.”

Hamilton gave her a piercing look. “Do you trust me so little?”

Natalia remained silent.

Hamilton huffed lightly. “Hungry? What do you feel like eating? I'll order something for you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, anything's fine.”

Hamilton nodded and dialed out.

After hanging up, he turned back to her. “Graham dropped by today?”

Natalia stiffened slightly: Graham had made quite a scene in the hallway earlier, so it wasn’t surprising that Hamilton knew. “Yeah,” she replied softly.

“What did he want?” Hamilton’s gaze bore into Natalia.

After a long silence, she said, “He mentioned he wanted to set me up with someone.”