There was a silence on Natalie's end, but she wasn't as shocked as she might have expected.
Since Justin had entered her life, and said those bitter and hurting words about her gratitude toward Ivan, she had already started to doubt her assumptions.
But she needed to hear it from Ivan himself.
"Why didn't you correct me back then?" Natalie asked.
"Back then, I didn't give it much thought and left it. I assumed it meant you were probably in love with me and held on to the thought of coming back to me one day, which must be the reason for what you claim as your strength," Ivan answered.
"As you weren't the one who messaged me and became my strength, then there's no reason for me to feel any gratitude toward you or indebted to you," Natalie said coldly, her tone and eyes devoid of emotion, as though she were speaking to a stranger. "If you had said it was you, I might have considered listening to your request. But now, there's no need."
