Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 53

Hamilton returned home after dropping Eveleen off, and the clock had already struck past ten at night.

As he stepped through the front door, the nanny’s voice caught his attention.

“Mr. Fowler, you've finally returned. Ms. Jenkins has come down with a fever.”

Hamilton paused mid-step as he was taking off his shoes, a frown creasing his forehead.

“How did she get a fever?” he asked as he strode towards the bedroom.

He pushed open the bedroom door only to find it empty. His expression darkened instantly, “Where is she?” “Ms. Jenkins went to the hospital.”

As he stared at the nanny, his face was growing stormier by the second, “Why didn’t you go with her?”

The nanny seemed uncomfortable, “Ms. Jenkins insisted she could manage on her own. | wanted to accompany her, but she wouldn't allow it.”

Hamilton’s scowl deepened, “So you let her go alone just because she said no? Do you not understand that she’s sick? How could you just let her go by herself?”

His voice carried a natural authority, and now, tinged with anger, it was enough to leave the nanny speechless. Hamilton gave the nanny

a hard look, then said after a moment of silence, “Given her current condition, you should accompany her wherever she goes from now on.”

“Understood.” The nanny replied.

Hamilton nodded curtly and pulled out his phone. It was only then that he noticed a missed call from Natalia at six o’clock in the evening. The call had gone through, but the record showed only a few seconds.

Around six o'clock... Hamilton’s eyes narrowed slightly. That was precisely when he had gone to pick up Eveleen. At that time, the only other person in his office had been Victor.

Hamilton's face turned to stone, his eyes filled with displeasure. Victor’s interest in Natalia was too much. Even now, despite his occasional disparaging remarks about her, he just couldn’t hide the keenness in his eyes whenever he looked at Natalia.

Hamilton was not one to begrudge other men’s interest in Natalia; several of his buddies fancied her, but he didn’t care much. As he had said before, as long as Natalia didn’t engage in any untoward relations with other

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men while with him, he wouldn’t mind. But that did not mean he would tolerate any secret

meetings between her and another man behind his back.

With a stony expression, Hamilton dialed out. However, there was no answer. He had thought perhaps Natalia hadn’t seen the call.

But after the second and third calls went unanswered, his face contorted with fury.

Natalia, seeing his name flashing on her screen, simply flipped her phone face down on the table. She didn’t want to take Hamilton's call right now. She didn’t even want to see his name.

Asense of imbalance gnawed at her.

It wasn’t the first time she had been left behind for Eveleen. But this time, it felt unbearable. She was begrudging him because the recent loss of baby, and that was when Hamilton chose to be with Eveleen instead of her, who caught a fever.

A twinge of hurt surged within her. So hurt that she didn’t want to hear his voice or take his call, regardless of how angry or upset he might get.

Scarlett, after finishing her tasks, entered with a medicine tray, “How are you feeling? Any better?”

Natalia nodded slightly, “Much better. The pain’s not so bad now.”

Scarlett touched her forehead, “The fever’s down for now, but you should keep the IV in. Stay here tonight, okay?” “Okay.” Natalia agreed without a second thought. She didn’t want to go back home tonight anyway.

Scarlett gestured towards Natalia’s arm. “Let me change that dressing for you.” She said. Natalia nodded.

Scarlett stood by the bed to unwind the bandage carefully.

When she saw the wound, her brow furrowed, “Does it hurt?”

Natalia, enduring the pain, glanced at the injury and quickly looked away, “It’s manageable.”

“Manageable? Your face is white from the pain,” Scarlett said as she efficiently changed the dressing. “That wound’s surely going to leave a scar. Do you still have that scar cream at home?”

Natalia nodded.

She had often been left battered and bruised by her stepfather Graham Jenkins in the past, so she frequently used scar cream back then. And she always kept some at home, just in

case. “And that fan who caused all this trouble, what happened in the end?” Scarlett asked as her

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concern knitted her brows.

“We're pursuing legal action as usual.”

“So, you're just going to let it go? Not going to dig any deeper?”

Natalia scoffed, “And what else can we do? The authorities have already concluded that Eveleen had nothing to do with it.” Besides, Hamilton was shielding Eveleen so closely that even mentioning her name could provoke his ire. How was Natalia supposed to investigate?

“They can’t keep it a secret as long as they did it. If you can’t look into it, then maybe | can infiltrate Eveleen’s fan group and see what | can find.”

Natalia’s gaze dropped to the phone on the bedside table. Hamilton had stopped calling after five attempts. She wondered if he was angry or if he had simply given up on her.

After a moment of silence, Natalia finally spoke, “Let it be. It’s not worth it.”

“Even if there’s evidence, Hamilton is unlikely to do anything to Eveleen. Instead, he’d blame me for snooping. Don’t you see? Hamilton has already paid a settlement to hush things. So do you really think he’s never suspected Eveleen?” she added.

If Hamilton had never doubted Eveleen, why would he offer Natalia that money with his temperament? So he was suspecting Eveleen just like she was.

But even with his suspicions, he still chose to hush things up with money. “Why is Eveleen treated like such a delicate flower? What's so special about her? Is Hamilton blind?” Natalia couldn’t understand Hamilton’s feelings for Eveleen.

Alden once said that Hamilton saw Eveleen as the only light in his otherwise dark life, and later she wondered what kind of experience it was that would make Hamilton think of Eveleen as the “only light*.

She couldn't figure it out. “Men all have their preferences. Maybe he’s just smitten with Eveleen’s type.” Natalia assumed.

Scarlett couldn’t help but snort at her remark, “What preferences? More like a tramp with a mutt! If Eveleen’s the tramp, then Hamilton is a purebred douchebag!”

Natalia cracked up at Scarlett’s blunt analogy.

They chatted for a bit longer before Scarlett took her leave.

Once Scarlett was gone, Natalia finally picked up her phone and texted Hamilton: [Won’t be home tonight.]

After sending the message, she stared at her phone in a daze. She knew it was highly

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unlikely that Hamilton would respond. But as the phone remained silent, a pang of discomfort settled in her chest.

With a soft sigh, she set the phone aside and went to freshen up in the bathroom. When she reemerged, she was surprised to find Hamilton standing in the room, his face clouded with gloom.

He was dressed in a black silk shirt which was soaked to the skin and clinging to his frame, and his hair was also damp with rain. He must have braved the storm to get here.

“You...” Natalia was momentarily at a loss for words, and after a moment she managed to ask, “Why are you here?”

Hamilton’s gaze was heavy as he looked at her. He didn’t answer hers, but just countered with his own question, “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”