Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 189 Hamilton's good mood evaporated in an instant.

"What did you say?" he asked, incredulity in his voice.

Natalia looked him squarely in the eye. "Do I really need to repeat myself?" With that, she shrugged him off and walked away.

Deep down, she knew there was no point in letting these two ruin her mood. Was this kind of new to her? Hardly. She'd seen it all before. But still, there was something particularly nauseating about a man who would kiss her one moment and then cozy up with another woman the next. She quickened her pace toward the exit. Hamilton caught up, his voice low as he tried to explain. "She threw herself at me. I pushed her away." Natalia didn't even break stride. "Mr. Fowler, you don't oweany explanations. Hug or kiss or whatever - none of it's my business. But doa favor? Keep your theatrics away from me, okay?" Her words once again drew a clear boundary between them.

Inside, Hamilton felt a spark of anger. "Natalia, don't you care even a little bit?" "Why should I care?" She glanced at him, grabbed her charger, and turned back.

Eveleen stood at the hospital entrance, the picture of distress. "Ms. Jenkins, I'm sorry, I just missed Hamilton so much. I didn't mean anything by it. Please don't misjudge him because of me." Natalia felt a wave of revulsion at the saccharine words. Too tired to engage, she breezed past toward the interior. But Hamilton's voice called out again.

"Natalia!" He had hoped that the evening's events might have softened their relationship, but her demeanor remained frigid. "You saw her. She huggedand I pushed her off right away." Natalia looked down and chuckled. She had seen, alright. But the fact that this man had never set clear boundaries with Eveleen spoke volumes. And if he had really wanted to avoid her, Natalia doubted anything could have stopped him.

She didn't respond to Hamilton, instead fixing her gaze on Eveleen. "Eveleen, you've been targetingfor so long, trying everything you can to hurt me. Isn't this what you wanted? Sparethe act. You should be out celebrating with bells on, shouldn't you? I've stepped aside. The field is yours, Ms. Schafer. Why don't you go for it?" With that, Natalia left them behind and entered the building.

Hamilton watched her go, his face growing darker by the second. Eveleen, trying to salvage sdignity, whispered, "I'm sorry, Hamilton. I didn't think Ms. Jenkins would see." His icy gaze fell upon her. "It's what you wanted, isn't it?" he said after a long pause.

Eveleen looked even more forlorn, "Hamilton, you've gotall wrong. I just wanted to see you." Hamilton looked at her, his silence stretching before he spoke deliberately. "From now on, keep your distance. If you need anything, call Victor. He'll take care of it. I may have had schildhood affection for you, but it's not an inexhaustible resource." Eveleen went pale, her bandaged forehead standing out in the harsh light, evoking a fragile image. "Hamilton, are you really willing to throw away our childhood bond over Natalia? Is she worth it? She doesn't care about you at all! Hamilton, please, don't leavebehind. I can't live without you!" Hamilton's expression turned colder. He gazed at the woman he once considered his redemption. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke with detachment. "Stop with the charade, Eveleen. Do you think I don't know what you're really like?" Eveleen's facade nearly crumbled, her pretense hanging by a thread. "Hamilton, I'm not pretending. I do care about you. Please, don't be like this." But Hamilton ignored her pleas, walking straight to his car. Eveleen's tears kept falling as she clung to his car door, desperate for even a sliver of reassurance. But Hamilton, with a heart of stone, pried her hands loose and slammed the door shut. The car's interior muffled the outside noise, her crying a distant sound. He lit a cigarette, a headache brewing. Natalia's indifferent attitude only added to his frustration. Not caring. She truly didn't care. Even suggesting Eveleen should 'go for it.' Hamilton felt at a loss with Natalia. He'd done everything he could, apologized profusely, but she remained unmoved. Feeling suffocated, he considered just driving away. But eventually, he rolled down the window, not wanting Eveleen to bother Natalia after he left. "Get in. I'll take you home." Eveleen's eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly, ready to get into the car. "Have you finally forgiven me, Hamilton?" But then he locked the passenger door. "Sit in the back." Eveleen was taken aback. "Hamilton?" He just looked at her. "You getting in? Or should I call someone to take you?" Eveleen, seething with indignation, reluctantly climbed into the backseat.

After Natalia got home, she received a call from Scarlett. Upon hearing about Tatiana's condition, Scarlett was so excited she nearly caught the next train back. Natalia's mood, initially dampened, brightened at her friend's infectious enthusiasm. "Hey, by the way, Alden has been poking around about your high school crush for the past few days. It's that jerk Hamilton putting him up to it, isn't it?" Natalia's gaze flickered briefly, "Maybe." "That scumbag. Can you imagine the look on his face if he found out you were into him? I'm half tempted to tell him, just to see him choke on his own regret."

As Natalia's eyes drifted to the window, she caught a glimpse of Iton's car.

Eveleen getting into Hamilton's car. She let out a soft chuckle, No need. Right now, I just want to cut him out of my life for good. I don't want anything to do with him anymore." Although Scarlett felt it was a shame, she agreed and after a bit more small talk, they ended the call. After hanging up, Natalia glanced at the array of snacks on the table, grabbed them all, and dumped them in the trash.

The next morning, Natalia was jolted awake by her phone buzzing incessantly. She initially thought it might be holiday greetings, but to her annoyance, it was Scarlett's messages flooding in.

Is Hamilton an idiot? His mom is on one side trying to patch things up with you, and on the other, he's still messing around with that tramp.n What's his deal? I'm about ready to lose it this morning, feel like bulldozing the both of them! Reading the message, Natalia immediately knew what had happened. It was probably last night's scene of Eveleen clinging to Hamilton that had been caught on camera. She paused for a few seconds, her fingers hovering over the screen, before replying to Scarlett. Don't sweat the small stuff. Let's just enjoy the holiday.

After the text, Natalia hesitated, but then opened Twitter. There was no buzz on the trending topics. Eveleen's fan page had been locked down. Still, photos were circulating.

The snapshot in question was from last night at the hospital entrance, Eveleen in Hamilton's embrace.

photographer had done a The commendable job, capturing the couple in what seemed like perfect harmony. Natalia let her gaze linger on Hamilton's face for a moment before logging off. But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she logged back in.