That thought alone made her look at Natalie with jealousy.
Natalie, who sensed it, narrowed her eyes, feeling amused at what had just happened.
She thought Jacqueline would know her boundaries better after she got together with Jackson.
Ah, I thought too highly of her. She’s Jackson’s girlfriend, but she still has the hots for Shane. Isn’t she afraid that Jackson will find out?
Without exposing the thoughts in her mind, Natalie carried her children to their seats as Mrs. Wilson served the dishes.
No one talked throughout the meal, and the atmosphere in the dining room was eerily tense and silent.
Although Sharon wanted to speak up on several occasions, she refrained from doing so when she sensed the unpleasant vibe.
Shortly after dinner, Shane headed back to his study room for a meeting.
Meanwhile, Jacqueline sat in front of the piano and started to play a tune.
The song sounded cheerful, which seemingly reflected her happy mood.
Natalie had no idea why the woman would feel that way. The only reason she could come up with was how happy Jacqueline probably felt to see cracks in her relationship with Shane.
Tired of listening to the piano tune, Natalie headed upstairs to check up on her children instead.
Both of them were in their room, sitting on the floor mat playing with Legos.
“Connor, Sharon.” Natalie walked over and sat beside them.
Instantly, her daughter straightened up. She crawled into her mother’s embrace and hugged her neck tightly with her short arms. With a sad voice, she uttered, “Mommy, Daddy no longer loves me. After dinner, I asked him to tie my hair, but he ignored me.”
It was the first time Shane had ever turned away her requests.
Natalie felt overwhelmed at that instant and could not comprehend his actions no matter how hard she tried to.
While listening to her daughter’s rant, she only felt upset.
Not only was Shane hostile to her, but he also acted the same way towards Sharon.
Nonetheless, she had to put on a brave front for her daughter. With her lips tugged upwards, she comforted Sharon, “Didn’t I tell you before dinner that Daddy is in a bad mood? That is the only reason for it.”
“When will he feel better then?” Sharon innocently asked.
The questions surprised Natalie, who could not seem to utter a word of explanation.
As if on cue to save her, Connor placed the last Lego block on the toy house he built and assured his sister, “I’m sure he’ll be back to his normal self soon.”
“Really?” Sharon chirped.
Her brother nodded earnestly. “Yes. Mommy will pacify Daddy. Right, Mommy?”
Amused, Natalie pinched her son’s nose and muttered, “You know it.”
Connor lifted his chin proudly to look at his mother. “I also know that Mommy will not sit back and watch Daddy act like this.”
“That’s right.” Natalie looked down and affectionately rubbed her children’s heads.
As Connor said, she planned to talk to Shane and try to appease him.
After all, the four of them were a family, and they could not live their lives in such a tense state forever.
For about two hours, Natalie played with her two children in the room. Thinking that it was enough time for Shane to complete his work, she urged the two of them to head to bed.
The obedient children heeded their mother’s advice and climbed into their beds, covering themselves with their blankets and shutting their eyes to sleep.
Before leaving the room, Natalie planted a kiss on their faces and turned off the lights.
She had just exited from the door when she spotted Shane walking over from his study room.
With a smile, she politely questioned, “Shane, do you happen to have some time to talk now?”
The man stopped in his tracks, and his voice was as cold as ice as he replied, “About what?”
“About the thing I brought up in the study room. I want to know what I’ve done so wrong that caused you to act so differently. Let me know, and perhaps, I could change it. Please don’t keep it to yourself forever, okay?” Natalie sounded desperate, and her hand subconsciously reached up to her heart.
Natalie truly hated it when people hid feelings. By refusing to communicate, it tended to cause misunderstandings.
As they were a married couple, she only hoped that they were more upfront with each other.
Unexpectedly, Shane narrowed his eyes and hissed at her, “Change? What can you change?”
My parents are already gone. What on earth can she change?
