Chapter 369 Condemned
That was the crux of the matter.
Initially, Lia had no intention to divulge that secret, but given Natalie’s keen observation, she knew that it was something she couldn’t avoid.
“Yup.” Lia sighed. “I like Lionel… I really don’t care whether or not I will lose my foothold in the Johnson family, but I don’t want Lionel to get affected. He works extremely hard and is a proud man. I can’t let anyone destroy him…”
After Lia finished speaking, Yandel took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
He put the cigarette between his lips and drew a deep breath.
Even if they were not blood-related, as long as a man and a woman were accused of incest, there would be nothing they could do even if they loved each other deeply.
Natalie took a glance at Yandel and was aware that Lia’s situation reminded him of Amelia and himself.
He had raised Amelia himself and treated her better than anyone else. However, they were also accused of incest and were condemned by the rest of the world.
Lia felt like a burden was lifted off her shoulders after saying that.
“I… I’m not afraid that she’ll hurt me. I’m just scared that she’ll hurt Lionel.” Lia sobbed. “Actually, when I first regained consciousness, Lionel had told me that you were the one who saved my life. I wasn’t grateful to you then as I didn’t understand why you did that. I thought I was better off dead… However, I realized that if I had died and Yara threatens Lionel, I wouldn’t be able to help him. As such, I decided that it was better for me to be alive so that she can just threaten me and leave Lionel alone. I’m so sorry… I have been living in regret every day… I’ve been thinking a lot but I’m still unable to come up with a solution…”
Suddenly, Natalie could feel her heart aching for the young lady in front of her and held Lia’s hands tightly.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking someone,” Natalie said softly. “If anyone has to be blamed, it would be Yara.”
“Am I going to continue living like this for the rest of my life?”
“Nope, you won’t,” Natalie replied, her eyes gleaming brightly. “You were shouldering this heavy burden all by yourself previously. Naturally, you’ll be tired. Since you’re willing to trust me with your secret, we will carry this burden together from now on. I won’t give her another chance to hurt you… Just promise me that you won’t make any hasty decisions. I’ll tell you what to do instead. You just have to follow my instructions.”
In fact, Lia was not exactly sure of Natalie’s background.
However, she could feel a surge of warmth in her heart just by looking at Natalie’s clear bright eyes.
It turned out that confiding in someone wasn’t as difficult as she had previously thought!
“Yes, Ms. Nichols. I will!”
“I’m just a little older than you. You can call me Natalie when it’s just the two of us.”
“Sure, Natalie.”
Lia flashed a rare smile. It was a beautiful and gentle smile that extended to her eyes.
A short while later, Lionel arrived at the bar to pick Lia up.
He caught a whiff of alcohol from her and chided with worry, “You shouldn’t be drinking right after you got discharged!”
“Lionel, I’m sorry…” Lia stood in front of Lionel and tugged at the hem of his shirt. “I… I won’t do it again,” she said sweetly.
“Are you already thinking of an ‘again’? I’ll teach you a lesson when we get back,” Lionel said to Lia in a stern manner before turning to Natalie. “Ms. Nichols, I’m really sorry that Lia has bothered you again tonight.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Natalie replied with a smile.
After that, Lionel helped Lia out of the bar.
Yandel looked at the pair as they walked away and said, “Boss, have you already noticed that something didn’t seem right?”
“Yup.” Natalie did not deny that. “I only got to hear about the Johnson family’s secret in its entirety today. However, during the banquet that night, I’ve already noticed that Lionel and Lia care a lot about each other. After all, it’s very difficult to hide your feelings for someone…”
“So what if they like each other?”
“Yandel, shall we make a bet?”
“What do you want to bet on, Boss?”
“If Lia and Lionel end up together, I hope that you will also give it a shot with Amelia,” Natalie said.
