The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 389

Nathalie stood beside the bed, nodding in enthusiastic agreement. “Exactly. Listen to your doctor.”

Lance looked between the two of them, a faint, mocking amusement

dancing in his dark eyes. “And how many days until I’m actually allowed a shower?”

The doctor mentally calculated the timeline. “About a week, sir.”

Lance’s wounds were healing exceptionally well, so a week was a perfectly safe estimate.

Lance cast a lingering, shadowed glance at Nathalie, then finally nodded. “Fine. I’ll listen to the professional.”

Nathalie felt a twinge of suspicion. She had a nagging feeling he was just making demands to deliberately annoy her.

It was ridiculous.

Why would he want to torture her?

She hadn’t even done anything wrong!

Once the doctor left, she grabbed her purse. “I’m heading out for a bit.”

“Where?” Lance demanded sharply. “You’re a walking target’right now. Do not go wandering around.”

“To go see Freddy,” Nathalie answered honestly. That cryptic text from last night had made her desperate to gauge Freddy’s true motives.

Lance’s expression instantly darkened. Calling him by his first name so casually… how incredibly cozy.

He looked away, his strikingly handsome face turning notably frostier.

Nathalie didn’t notice his sudden mood shift. She turned and left the room, making sure Nicol was right on her heels.

She dialed Freddy’s number. It rang three times before he answered.

“Nathalie, what’s up?”

“Hey, Freddy. I have some free time today,” Nathalie said brightly. “Want to go check on Sophia together? Are you available?”

“I have a board meeting right now,” Freddy replied, checking his watch. “I should be free in about an hour.”

“Great, I’ll come to your office, then,” Nathalie suggested.

“Perfect,” Freddy agreed warmly. “I’ll have my assistant wait for you in the lobby.”

“No need, I’ll just walk around the area for a bit,” Nathalie laughed. “Just shoot me a text when you’re done.”

“Will do.”

They finalized their plans, and Nathalie headed straight to the business district where The Charles Group headquarters was located.

The drive took about twenty minutes. Instead of window shopping, she slipped into a quiet, upscale cafe across the street from the high–rise.

As she sat there, she tried to strategize exactly how to press Freddy for answers. Between his suspicious behavior and that anonymous text, the constant barrage of mysteries was giving her a massive headache.

She felt like she was navigating blind through a thick, suffocating fog, unable to see two feet in front of her.

Her phone abruptly started ringing again. She glanced down and scowled–it was Daniel.

She immediately sent the call to voicemail. Seconds later, a flurry of texts flooded her screen.

Daniel: [Nathalie, your mother is seriously ill this time. She keeps asking for you.]

Daniel: [Nathalie, you’re our only daughter. We know we made terrible mistakes in the past, but we realize that now. Please, just come see your mother.]

Daniel: [Do you remember when you were born? She was in agonizing labor for over ten hours. We spoiled you rotten when you were little. We loved you so much, Nathalie. Don’t you remember that?]

Nathalie stared at the desperate, emotionally manipulative messages with absolute, dead–eyed apathy.

Not a single string in her heart was tugged.

When her phone finally went silent, she figured Daniel had given up on waiting for a reply.

Nathalie picked up her latte, took a slow sip, and turned her attention back to the gloomy street outside.

It had been drizzling relentlessly for days, keeping the city trapped in a dreary, biting chill.

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