FreeNovelChapter 189
The last tNatalie slept over at the Morales family was a decade ago, marking the only night she had ever
spent there.
Brian couldn't quite recall what had prompted the occasion, but what stayed with him was the ferocity of that
night’s thunderstorm and how Herbert had been called away on surgent matter, leaving him and Natalie
alone in the house.
Natalie was autistic, a condition that didn’t get better overnight. Her particular symptoms included a reluctance
to engage with others and a fear of loud noises, remnants of which lingered into her teens.
Brian was tormented by nightmares that night. He woke in a sweat, particularly in one exceedingly damp spot.
Natalie’s small, soft form was curled up in his arms, trembling.
As thunder cracked menacingly outside, Natalie clung tightly to his waist, her gentle fragrance wafting into his
nose with each breath.
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Brian couldn't pinpoint when his feelings for Natalie had begun to shift, but once he becaware of them, he'd
deliberately avoided close contact with her. And yet, under these circumstances, she had found her way into his
bed.
The first the kissed her was on that night, ten years prior.
Shivering, her eyes red-rimmed and her lips quivering, she had looked up at him fearfully to see if he had
awakened. Without thinking, he leaned down and kissed her lips.
She might have excused it as a comfort, but Brian knew better.
Natalie might have forgotten, but for him, it was a memory etched into his soul. It was his first kiss.
Aware of the nature of that kiss, it wasn’t long before he fled the complexity of his feelings for her by applying to
study abroad. He spent over two years overseas, returning honly once during the holidays.
That one return hlet him find Natalie blossoming into a stunning young woman and shook him to his core.
He left the country hastily again.
When he returned from his studies and as she was entering high school, he steeled his heart and sent her to a
boarding school, forbidding her from coming home. He thought out of sight would mean out of mind.
Only Brian knew the lengths he'd go to catch a glimpse of her once a week, often turning down social
engagements and multimillion-dollar contracts unless it was an unavoidable commitment. He was desperate for
her to grow up.
Brian took a deep breath and sat up abruptly in bed.
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Chapter 189
Nate was sleeping soundly, and Herbert's room across the hall had long been quiet.
Just as Natalie was drifting off to sleep, she heard the sound of the door lock clicking.
In the stillness of the night, the sound of the door opening was starkly clear.
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She snapped awake, recognizing the faint footsteps that approached the bed.
The next moment, Brian climbed into bed behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her and sharing the same
blanket.
He was shirtless, the burning heat of his skin seeping through the thin layer of her clothing.
She thought he was asleep and wouldn't cto her.
“I'm sorry, my little dummy...” he whispered, his voice raw and husky.
Natalie froze, not moving. He must have thought she was asleep. So, he was apologizing to her in her sleep.
In all the years she had known Brian, she had never heard a word of apology from him. But there he was, saying
sorry to her.
With her eyes shut, she continued to feign sleep, though her heartbeat quickened.
Brian's lips pressed against the bruise on her forehead, lingering for a long twithout moving.
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