“What does this have to do with Jacqueline?” Shane asked with a frown.
“You two are in love, aren’t you? What would Ms. Graham do if you were to marry me instead? Besides, I don’t want to be a homewrecker!”
In fact, what he did last night already counts as cheating on her…
Shane raised an eyebrow at her. “Who says we’re in love with each other?”
Natalie stared at him. “Is that not the case?”
Shane pursed his lips. “No, it isn’t. I have never loved Jacqueline at all. You’re the person who I love!”
Natalie’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stammered, “W-What… What did you say? D-Did you just s-say you l-l-love me?”
Shane nodded and grabbed her by the hand. “Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s impossible!” Natalie brushed his hand off and chuckled. “Stop messing with me, Mr. Shane! I remember you saying you don’t like me at all when we were on the cruise ship, and now you expect me to believe that you love me?”
“No, I never said that. I simply remained silent at the time,” Shane corrected her.
Natalie clenched her fists. “Isn’t that the same as admitting to it?”
“No, I just didn’t want to deny it at the time.” Shane shook his head as he continued, “I refused to admit to it at the time because Alice was spying on you, and I was worried that she would go after you if I said yes.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes. “Is that so?”
“I would never lie to you,” Shane said with a serious look on his face.
Natalie lowered her gaze as she thought about what Joyce said a few days ago.
Joyce told me that Shane listens to everything I say because he likes me. I didn’t really believe her then, and yet… Here I am, hearing him confess his love to me…
It took Natalie quite a while to collect her thoughts and regain her composure.
“What about Ms. Graham, then? How are you related to her?” she asked after finally finding her voice.
“My mother took her in as a goddaughter when she was still alive,” Shane replied.
“Goddaughter?” Natalie stared at him in surprise. “So… you two are siblings, then?”
Shane nodded. “That’s right. Who told you that I love her?”
“No one. I just assumed you two were in love with each other because everyone seems to be implying it when they talk about you two…” Natalie said after a brief pause.
“Well, that’s not the case here.”
Natalie let out a sigh of relief and was somewhat delighted by what she heard.
She had always thought of them as a couple and felt really guilty about what happened last night, so finding out that they weren’t dating came as a huge relief.
Shane grinned when he saw the smile on her face. “Now, do you see that you’re the only person I love?”
Natalie was about to make her way back to the dining table when the pain shot through her body and caused her legs to give out.
Shane quickly caught her and carried her onto the sofa.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Shane… I still can’t bring myself to marry you just yet… I wasn’t prepared for this sudden confession and proposal, so…”
Natalie couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence for fear of angering him with her repeated rejections, especially since she no longer had reason for concern.
To her surprise, Shane was not mad at her in the slightest. Instead, he simply ran his hand gently through her hair as he said, “I understand that my proposal was a little too sudden, which can be quite overwhelming. Don’t worry, I won’t force you into making a decision. I’ll wait till you’re able to accept me.”
