[Chapter 69]
Natalie's legs suddenly felt wobbly. The next second, she slumped to the floor.
A painful lump went up to her throat. She wanted to break down in tears, but something plagued her mind. A voice in her head told her that there was more to the incident than the hospital was telling her. Something smelled fishy.
She rushed out and went straight to the hospital.
"Doctor, please can I meet the patient who previously wanted to donate a liver to Hannah Stone?" Natalie asked the doctor nervously.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry. It's illegal to reveal any information of our patients or a potential donor who had a change of heart. The patient has every right to decide to continue receiving treatment. We have no right to interfere. I can't be of help to you. Please you need to leave now. I've other people to attend to."
The doctor stared at Natalie with a serious expression on his face. When she didn't move an inch, he called on a nurse to escort her out of his office.
Even after she was escorted out, she was still unwilling to give up. She held the nurse's hand in the corridor. "Please is there really no other way? My relative has been waiting for a liver transplant for a long time. Her health is deteriorating by the second. She can't wait any longer. Please save her life."
Natalie pleaded in a quavering voice. The nurse wriggled her arm from Natalie's firm grip. Instead of answering her question, she simply told her to go home and continue waiting. She then went about her work.
A heavy weight suddenly fell on Natalie. She was anxious, confused, and helpless all at this time. She leaned against the wall and stared blankly for a long time. Several patients passed by. A patient, who had overheard her conversation with the nurse moved close to her and shook his head sympathetically. "Young lady, you should go back home. There's no point wasting time here. I have seen a lot of cases like yours. Believe me when I say that they are just lying to you by saying that the donor decided to continue treatment instead. They must have given the perfect match liver to someone else with money or connections."
The tears Natalie had been trying to hold back streamed down her cheeks immediately she heard this. She became even more distressed.
"What do you think I should do now?" she murmured, sobbing helplessly.
"From my experience, such a negative turn of events frequently happens when the patient or family members have enemies with power. Do you have an enemy? Or have you offended anyone recently, young lady?" With an infusion bottle in his hand, the patient sighed and added, "Well, I think you might offend someone."
Something suddenly dawned on Natalie as she stared at the man's back.
She had offended someone today.
It was Lauren.
Not only was her adopted mother her sworn enemy, but she was also the person she had quarreled with recently. However, she didn't expect her to act so quickly. She had only gone to ask them for money a few hours ago.
It was pretty obvious that Lauren had secretly pulled the strings to prevent the transplant because she didn't want to give her money.
Natalie's blood boiled at this moment. She gritted her teeth and really wanted to fight her adopted mother to the death.
'Hannah's health is rapidly declining. There's no guarantee that she would still be alive by the time another donor comes forward. Lauren has crossed the line. Since that family has refused to keep their end of the bargain, I won't keep their secret about this marriage anymore!' she thought, clenching her fists in fury.
Natalie's face reddened with rage. She wiped the tears on her face and left the hospital.
It was dark outside. The colorful neon lights cast a soft glow on her face.
Hearing the squeak of the door, Sebastian stood up and looked outside. He heaved a sigh of relief and put the phone down.
When Sebastian returned home, he saw the fridge was open, groceries on the floor and Natalie nowhere to be found. He knew Natalie wasn't lethargic, so he sensed something had happened to her.
"Is everything all right? Where have you been?"
Natalie lowered her head and shook her head silently.
Sebastian quickly walked to her and took her bag. Seeing that she was still silent, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and examined her face. Natalie's eyes were swollen, and the tip of her nose had turned red. It was obvious she had cried.
Sebastian frowned; his heart tightened in his chest. "Who bullied you?" he asked tenderly even though his body was tense with anger.
Someone had bullied his beloved wife, and he couldn't watch her cry.
"No one. I…"
"Don't try to fool me." Sebastian hooked his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Although he looked like a towering mountain before her, the tenderness of his gaze revealed how much he cared for her.
As soon as her gaze met his, Natalie threw herself in his arms.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian's body stiffened. He gently rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.
Natalie sniffed and shook her head.
Sebastian's manly scent consumed her at once, making her feel safe and secure. She had never met anyone who smelled both aggressive and comforting at the same time.
His mere presence lured women like moths to a flame.
She nestled her face in the crook of his neck and asked in a muffled voice, "Can you accompany me to the Quinn family's house?" Things had gone out of hand, and she made up her mind to put an end to everything.
Sebastian looked at her and frowned.
He didn't know what was going on.
He followed Natalie as she dragged him into the villa.
This time, Natalie had made up her mind to reveal the truth.
The maid wasn't as arrogant as she usually was, mainly because Sebastian accompanied Natalie.
Seeing Sebastian and Natalie had come together, George and Lauren didn't dare to shut the door on their faces or come up with some excuse.
"Why are you here at this hour, dear?" Lauren asked, pretending to be calm. She didn't expect Natalie to bring Sebastian with her.
"I'm here to deal with our previous debts!" Natalie snapped coldly.
She decided to get straight to the point and break the truth. Natalie looked at Sebastian, her eyes glinting with confidence.
"Sebastian, I'm sorry. My adoptive parents and I have deceived you. I'm not Cassie Quinn. I'm Natalie Quinn, an orphan. The Quinn family adopted me when I was a child. I married you as my younger sister's substitute."
She took a deep breath and pointed at Cassie, who was staring at her with wide eyes. "She is Cassie Quinn. You have seen her before. She has insulted me in public several times in the past. She's the woman you were supposed to marry."
George and Lauren turned pale with fright.
They didn't expect Natalie would do such a thing. The unexpected turn of events caught them off guard. They didn't know what to do.
"What nonsense! What do you mean by a substitute? It's not true. Don't blabber shit! I guess you're drunk. Go home and rest." Natalie had torn her facade in an instant. She quickly darted forward and stopped Natalie before she uttered another word.
Just then, Sebastian grabbed Lauren's hand and stopped her.
His face bore an unfathomable expression.
Sebastian always had an inkling that something was wrong, and he was initially stunned after hearing the truth. Then on second thought, everything started to make sense.
"Why did you marry me as a substitute?" He looked down at Natalie, staring into her eyes as if penetrating her thoughts.
The air suddenly turned cold.
Natalie averted his gaze and looked away. After a moment's hesitation, she took a deep breath and told him the truth.
"For the money. I was in desperate need of money to pay the medical expense for someone who raised me."