Chapter 3 The Only Person in the Langley Family Who Cared for Her

Natalie coldly turned around and left empty-handed with her hands in her pocket. Selena bit her bottom lip, and she couldn't hide the expression on her face. After a long while, she stomped her feet while gritting her teeth. "Mom, Dad, just look at her. What's the meaning of this? Is she making an enemy out of us? The Langleys have raised her for so long. She had the life that was supposed to be mine for 20 years. What right does she have to speak this way? She made it sound like the Langleys owed her something." Diana ached for her daughter after Natalie exposed her in front of Tyler. She could no longer maintain the composed expression on her face. Diana murmured as she watched Natalie's back, "What a traitor! We wasted so many years of our lives raising her." "Ty, this is a misunderstanding." Selena bit her bottom lip and cautiously looked at Tyler. When she first returned to the Langley family and saw Tyler at the reunion banquet, it was love at first sight for her. Knowing that Natalie and Tyler grew up together like childhood sweethearts, Selena was distraught that Tyler liked Natalie and was unwilling to rescind his marriage proposal. As such, Selena asked Meredith to put on this spectacle for her. She planned to label Natalie as a thief when she left the Langleys, hoping to show Tyler that Natalie was an orphan and a bad person. However, she never expected Natalie to place a surveillance camera in her room and at the entrance of her room. It would be a lie to say Tyler wasn't disappointed. However, he was aware that Selena, as the real Langley daughter, would do something drastic to retaliate. This was given her suffering and lack of security on the streets. Selena's hatred and jealousy, fueled by the fact that Natalie had taken 20 years of her life, made it understandable for her to be angry. "Don't worry. It was merely a misunderstanding. It's alright as long as Natalie did not steal anything from the Langleys." The corner of Tyler's lips curled into a smile. "Selena, Mr. and Mrs. Langley, I have matters to attend to. I'll take my leave." Selena wanted to say something, but Diana quickly grabbed Selena's hand, stopping her. She smiled at Tyler and said, "Okay, go ahead. Be sure to come back for dinner." "Okay." Tyler agreed and left the Langley residence. … Tyler had only driven briefly before he noticed Natalie walking by the street with both hands in her pockets. Natalie was tall and slim with an outstanding figure. Her features were so gorgeous that she looked terrific, even when bare-faced. When she applied a full face of makeup, she looked even more breathtaking. Tyler's mother, Mariah Fisherman, had previously mentioned that Natalie didn't resemble Victor and Diana. The better parts of Victor's and Diana's features combined didn't come close to Natalie's beautiful facial features. At that time, Tyler had laughed and said that genes were a mysterious thing. As long as his future wife was good-looking, it would be enough for him. As it turned out, however, Natalie wasn't the true Langley daughter he was to marry. Tyler felt a discomfort in his chest that he couldn't explain. "Where are you going, Natalie? Let me drive you there," Tyler said to Natalie with his car window down. Natalie looked at Tyler and immediately shook her head gently. "That won't be necessary." Since she wasn't the daughter of the Langley family, her marriage arrangement with Tyler became obsolete. Even if they grew up together, Natalie wasn't in the business of competing with other women for a man. "Are we no longer friends because you're not a Langley anymore?" Tyler looked at her, slightly upset. "Was the relationship we built together growing up not real? Get in the car. I'll drive you. It's hard to hail a cab here." Natalie thought about it. Hailing a cab would indeed take a long time on such a quiet street. As such, she simply opened the car door and climbed inside. "Drop me off where it's more convenient to hail a cab." Tyler wasn't having any of it. "Where are you going? I'll drive you there." "That's okay. You're Selena's fiancé now, so you should keep your distance from me." Natalie rejected Tyler's kindness indifferently. Tyler felt an indescribable frustration welling inside of him. His heart was burning with rage when he noticed how nonchalant Natalie appeared. In spite of this, he drove in silence. When he reached a convenient place to hail a cab, he stomped on the brakes, unlocked the car doors, and stared at the road ahead of him without expression. "Thank you." Natalie exited the car, pulled her phone out, and transferred 20 dollars to Tyler's bank account, indicating "fare" as the transfer reference. She then shoved the phone back into her pocket and stood by the roadside with both hands in her pockets. Once she noticed a cab driving by, she extended her arm out to hail the cab. "Cedar Hill Nursing Home," she told the driver. … After half an hour, the cab arrived at Cedar Hill Nursing Home. Natalie exited the car, greeted the guard, and strode inside. "Hey Natalie, you're here to visit Mrs. Langley Senior?" "Yeah." During her walk there, the nurses and doctors greeted her as she passed. Natalie was a regular visitor at Cedar Hill Nursing Home. She often visited Grace Langley, the elder of the Langley family. Victor and Diana, on the other hand, hardly visited themselves. Natalie went straight to Grace's ward. Grace was sat by the window sill. A few dolls were placed on the adjacent table. She had one in her hand and pointed at another, giggling. "I've caught you, Nattie. Don't you run, or I'll tickle you! Hahaha!" Grace was playing with the dolls, acting out both Natalie and herself. She sat there, enjoying the game of her own creation. Natalie felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she walked forward. Grace hadn't always been like this. After all, she was the only one in the Langley family who cared for Natalie. Grace had an average IQ, but when she tried to save the 16-year-old Natalie, she was hit by a car. Now, her IQ was equal to that of a six-year-old's. When Grace's IQ regressed to a child's, Victor and Diana often got impatient with her. Even the helpers caring for Grace would often become frustrated. Diana couldn't handle Grace calling her "Mom" and Victor "Dad." After she did that a few times, Victor admitted Grace into Cedar Hill Nursing Home and never looked back. Over the past four years, only Natalie ever visited Grace frequently. In the beginning, Victor and Diana periodically visited her a few times, but they eventually stopped and were unwilling to pay for Grace's medical bills. They claimed that Natalie should be responsible for paying Grace's bills since Grace lost her IQ while saving Natalie. Natalie didn't care about the money. She would do anything for Grace's recovery. To begin with, the Langleys only became the wealthiest family in Amberton because of Natalie's discreet help. That said, Amberton was merely a tiny city in Dithoria. It was insignificant compared to Dithoria State. Without Natalie, the Langleys would have gone bankrupt in the financial crisis five years ago. Victor and Diana didn't know Natalie had rescued them. They assumed themselves to be geniuses, thinking that the challenges at the time were nothing to them. Grace was why Natalie wanted to avoid making enemies of the Langleys. She watched Grace by the door for a while. After a few minutes, Grace seemed to have noticed her gaze. She placed the doll down, happily got up, and ran toward Natalie. "Nattie is here. Nattie, I have some tasty snacks for you. The nurses don't know I hid them. Come!" Grace pulled Natalie into the ward, brought her to the bedside, and asked Natalie to sit down. Then, she rummaged under the bed.