Greg shrank away from Laney, but he didn‘t make a move to leave. Seeing this, Laney flew into a fit of rage. She started rolling up her sleeves as she stomped towards him.
“Will you leave on your own or will I have to throw you out?”
Seeing the fierce look on her face, Greg was scared out of his wits and jumped up from the sofa at once. Then, without looking back, he ran out the door. With Greg gone, Laney‘s apartment felt especially quiet. She sighed and turned to close the door. But before the door could click shut, someone from outside stuck their foot in the gap to stop it from closing. Laney thought that Greg had come back.
Gritting her teeth angrily, she swung the door open and was about to throw her fist at Greg‘s face when she saw that it was Garrett standing at the door.
“Why are you here?” Laney frowned in surprise.
“Anyway, I‘m sorry for leaving in a hurry just now. I wasn‘t able to thank you properly yet.” Then, she bowed her head solemnly and said, “I‘ve saved you once, but you‘ve saved me twice. You are a Harding, one life of yours is certainly equal to two of mine.
I suppose that makes us even.”
Garrett didn‘t say anything. Laney straightened up and looked at him as she continued, “You seem fine. Plus, you came here so fast, so one of your men must‘ve driven you here, right? So he can also drive you to the hospital. And if you don‘t think I‘m being sincere enough now, I can formally thank you another day. Now please excuse me for I have to go out.”
With that, she went back inside her apartment, grabbed her bag and keys, closed the door behind her, and left, ignoring the expression on Garrett‘s face.
As Laney was walking away, Garrett followed her. Sensing this, Laney stopped in her tracks, but she didn‘t look back. Her voice was full of impatience. “Are you planning to follow me everywhere? Don‘t make me yell at you.”
Then, without giving Garrett a chance to respond, she bolted. Garrett wanted to chase after her, but stopped on a second thought. Laney kept on running, regardless of not knowing where she was going. She only slowed down when she was sure that Garrett hadn‘t followed her. She took a deep, shaky breath, and a lump formed in her throat. She buried her face in her hands as tears began to roll down her cheeks uncontrollably. Was it strange that she felt so sad even though technically nothing had happened between them? .
When Natalie received the phone call from Laney, she instantly sensed that something was wrong. Laney‘s voice was unusually calm. “Hey, Natalie, are you free? Would you like to go out for a drink with me?”
“Sure. Just give me the address of the bar and I‘ll be there soon.” Natalie could tell that something was on Laney‘s mind. Being a devoted friend that she was, she said goodbye to Sebastian, who had just stepped out of the shower, and went straight to the bar.
It was still early, so the bar was relatively quiet and the performers were still warming up onstage. Laney sat at the counter and ordered two bottles of whiskey. Eyeing the bottles, Natalie felt that Laney was really going all out this time. One bottle of this brand alone was already quite expensive.
“This must‘ve cost you a one months‘ salary, right?” Natalie sighed warily. Even before she came here, she had already guessed that the issue must‘ve had something to do with Garrett Laney smiled bitterly as she poured herself a glass. Before Natalie could stop her, she downed it all in one gulp.
It took half a bottle of alcohol before Laney finally opened up to Natalie about what had happened that day. Natalie stayed quiet and listened to the whole story without interrupting. She was well aware of the torture of being in a relationship with someone who was worlds away from her in terms of social status.
If the White family hadn‘t announced that she was their daughter, she doubted she‘d have been able to handle the pressure of being with Brandon Larson. It was really hard and really painful. 1 Unlike Sebastian who came from a broken family, Garrett still had both his parents and he was loyal to his family.
It would‘ve been difficult for him to choose between his family and Laney. “I think you did the right thing. At least walking away now is less painful than spending the rest of your life struggling.”
After pouring herself a glass of whiskey, Natalie clinked glasses with Laney and said with a grin, “Let‘s get hammered tonight.”
Laney‘s face was already flushed by then. She was so drunk that she cried in a slurred voice, “Okay! Let‘s get hammered!”
Then, the two girls drank. As Laney put her glass down, tears welled up in her eyes again. Seeing this, Natalie patted her on the back, not knowing how to comfort her friend. After all, she knew there was nothing she could say or do, for it was Laney‘s life and she had to make the choice herself.
The only thing Natalie could do was drink with her in solidarity.
After finishing the entire bottle of liquor, Laney was totally plastered. She couldn‘t support herself and had to lean over the bar counter, muttering drunken gibberish.
“I don‘t need a man. I have friends. That‘s more than enough. Isn‘t it good to be single and free? Why would I want a man?”
Listening to her drunken ramblings, Natalie didn‘t know how to respond. She carefully draped a coat over Laney‘s shoulders and patted her on the back. Then she caught a glimpse of the man sitting in a booth near them.
The dim light in the bar illuminated Garrett‘s face, exposing the complex emotions in his eyes. He was looking at Laney in pensive silence. After hesitating slightly, Natalie nodded at Garrett in greeting. She had no idea he had followed Laney there.
Laney suddenly reached out and tugged Natalie‘s sleeve.
“Hey, why‘d you stop? Let’s have another round. Didn‘t you say you‘d get hammered with me?”
“Okay, okay. Let‘s drink.” Natalie turned around and continued to pour whiskey for Laney as if she hadn‘t seen Garrett. Perhaps Laney had sensed Natalie’s hesitation. She craned her neck and turned to look in the direction Natalie was facing just now.
“What were you looking at just now? Did you see a hot guy? I want to see him, too!”
“I wasn‘t looking at anything. Come on, let‘s drink,” Natalie said quickly, wanting to stop her. But she was too late. Laney had already seen the man Natalie was looking at just now.
Garrett stood out amongst the crowd. Maybe it was because the rest of the people in the bar were pretty bland–looking, or maybe it was simply because Garrett was outstandingly handsome that Laney‘s eyes were drawn to him almost instantly.
After the two locked eyes, Laney quickly withdrew her gaze. She staggered to her feet, picked up her things, and grabbed Natalie‘s arm.
“I don‘t want to drink anymore. Let‘s go.” However, before they could leave, Garrett suddenly reached for Laney‘s hand and said gently, “You‘re drunk. Let me drive you home.”
But Laney pushed him away. Her legs were a little weak, so she staggered a little.
“I don‘t need you to take me home. You already know that I‘m drunk, so why do you still offer me a ride? What do you expect to happen, huh?” Natalie hurried to Laney‘s side and shook her head at Garrett.
“She doesn‘t want to see you for now. Don‘t worry. I’ll take her home.” Garrett didn‘t try to insist. Natalie hailed a taxi and then helped Laney in.
The second Laney got back to her apartment, she slumped over her bed, murmuring something incoherent. Natalie was worried about Laney. After tucking her in, she texted Sebastian, telling him that she would stay the night at Laney‘s place.
The following morning, Laney woke up with a splitting headache. Her grumpy expression, coupled with her pale, chapped lips, made her look even more depressed.
“Laney, you don‘t look so good. Do you want to go back to bed and sleep some more?” Natalie had gone out to get breakfast.
When she came back and saw the listless Laney, she was genuinely worried.
Laney rubbed her aching temples and said dismally, “No, I‘m fine.”
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Natalie set a cup of coffee in front of Laney and said, “Time heals all wounds. Do you want to go on a vacation? Maybe what you need is a change of environment.” Laney sipped on her coffee and grimaced, still feeling the effects of the liquor.
“Do you have the time to go with me?” Natalie smiled. “I can ask for a vacation leave. Besides, I haven‘t been that busy lately.”
Laney fell silent and proceeded to drink her coffee. Just then, Natalie‘s phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she excused herself.
“I need to take this. Think about it, okay?” It was from Sebastian. The second the call connected, he said in a low, melancholic voice,
“Grandma‘s sick. We have to go back to Seacisco today.“
Natalie had no choice but to rush to Seacisco with Sebastian. While she was worried about Laney. Nora’s health was more important.
On the plane back to Seacisco, Natalie pondered over the situation.
“At your grandmother’s birthday party last year, she looked radiant and energetic. How could her health have declined so quickly?”
As Natalie thought about the warm old lady, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Although they hadn’t talked often, she could tell that Nora was the most sensible Klein. Sebastian loosened his tie and leaned back in his seat. He held Natalie’s hand and closed his eyes wearily.
“She’s getting old. It’s normal for old people to get sick. Besides, the Klein family has been facing a lot of problems recently, which couldn’t have been good for her health.” Natalie nodded. Leaning against his shoulder, her eyelids gradually grew heavy.
She had been so busy looking after the drunk Laney through the night that she didn’t get to sleep much.
Hearing the sound of her steadied breathing, Sebastian opened his eyes and looked out the window.
Recently, the business world in Seacisco had gone into turmoil because Sebastian had been openly attacking the Klein Group’s businesses. Joining hands with the Whites had doubled the strength of the Larson Group. Not even Patrick’s, Seth’s, and Ritchie’s combined strength could fight against them.
Moreover, the news that Elissa was a cold-blooded murderer had spread like wildfire, which had damaged the reputation of the Klein family. It didn’t take long before the share price of their company to plummet. Sebastian was only worried about how he’d explain all this to Nora.
In the Klein family home, after waiting for a long time, Patrick finally heard the sound of a car pulling to a stop outside. Soon, Sebastian strode inside the house hand-in-hand with Natalie. Patrick stood up and went straight to the stairs, gesturing at them to follow.
“Your Grandma has been waiting for you for a long time.” Sebastian followed Patrick up the stairs. When they were about to reach Nora’s room, Patrick suddenly stopped and turned to warn his son seriously.
“Don’t say anything that you shouldn’t say in front of her. Your Grandma’s health has been rapidly declining. We haven’t even told her what you’ve been doing to us.” . Ever since Sebastian openly declared war on Patrick, Patrick completely resented him. If Nora hadn’t asked specifically for Sebastian to come back and see her, Patrick wouldn’t have even called Sebastian.
Sebastian had nothing to say to Patrick, so he simply nodded. His attitude only served to make Patrick even angrier. He had to take a deep breath to calm down. Finally, he put on a fake smile and opened the door.
“Mom, look who’s here! It’s Sebastian!” Nora was lying in bed, her face as pale as a ghost. Several nurses were standing by the bed.
Her eyes had been closed, but when she heard that Sebastian had come back, she slowly peeled them open and raised her hand at him with a smile.
“Sebastian, you are home.” Sebastian approached her and held her hand gently.