novelraw Chapter 247: In Love With You
Chapter 247: In Love With You
"Godmother!" Leah’s voice was the first thing Natalia heard as she walked into Celine’s new home. She marveled at the gigantic space that looked like a castle made or glass and steel. It felt like walking into the futuristic home of a modern fairytale queen. The little girl ran over, jumping into her embrace.
"Lovely angel, I’ve missed you!" Natalia pinched the girl’s cheeks fondly.
Leo came over to welcome her as well. He greeted her from a distance, knowing she’d want to pinch his cheeks too, but he still couldn’t escape her beautiful claws. She hugged him and then pinched his cheeks; the boy walked away with slightly red cheeks.
Though the kids hadn’t been taken with them to the honeymoon, they’d been left at the Blakewood estate along with all the other family members and their great-grandfather, who insisted on having them there.
Due to the incident that once happened where the kids were kidnapped, the old man had tripled the security around the whole estate. All the other guards were replaced by well-trained military men whom no one could get past without strict scrutiny of their relations and purpose to the Blakewood family.
Natalia would have loved to visit the twins there, but she had been quite busy with her work lately. However, now that Celine had returned, she’d dropped everything to come see her.
"Wow, you came way faster than I expected. Did you miss me that much?" Celine called, walking down the stairs.
Looking up, Natalia could notice her friend’s radiance. She looked even prettier in just the span of a few months.
"Of course I missed you, and no need to deny it because I know you’ve missed me even more," Natalia said, opening her arms as she reached for a hug, which Celine returned happily.
"Tell me everything!" Natalia squealed excitedly as she pulled back from the hug, once again noticing how radiant Celine looked. "But I’m absolutely sure Tristan’s been spoiling you rotten, judging from how you’re glowing as radiant as the stars."
Celine chuckled, pulling Natalia with her. "Of course I have a lot to tell you. But first, tell me, what do you think about the house?"
Looking around, Natalia was more than impressed. "It’s beautiful, just like the palace you’ve always wanted, actually maybe even more than what you wanted."
Celine beamed. "Come on, I’ll tell you all about the honeymoon after you tell me how you’ve been these past few months." She was about to pull Natalia with her so they could sit and catch up but paused when she sighted someone coming in from behind Natalia.
"Hi, Chris, I didn’t know you were still in town."
Natalia stiffened, hearing that name, knowing exactly who it was.
"Hello, Celine, welcome back. How was the trip?"
Natalia heard a smooth yet deep voice from behind. She didn’t turn around to look, but remained in her spot.
"It was wonderful, Tristan’s out the back," Celine informed.
"Alright, I’ll go see him."
She soon heard retreating footsteps as if Christopher had walked away. She concluded that perhaps he hadn’t seen her or didn’t recognize her since she’d had her back to him.
"Let’s go?" Celine’s voice pulled Natalia out of her thoughts. She gave a small smile without saying anything, then followed Celine.
"...I had the best time. If I had my way, I definitely wouldn’t want to leave the island." Celine had been speaking for some time now that they came to sit under a small shed outside in the garden of their new home. Natalia had asked to hear all about it, and Celine had been speaking for some time, but she got no reply from her nor a reaction.
Celine looked over at Natalia. She followed her gaze ahead to see her looking in a certain direction where the two tall figures stood.
Celine looked thoughtful for a second before realization showed in her eyes. She looked at Natalia, then towards the direction Tristan and Christopher stood, before waving her hand in front of Natalia’s face to get her attention.
"Nat!"
"Huh?" She seemed startled, coming back to her senses, realizing that Celine had probably been talking to her for some time now.
"Why are you so lost?" Celine asked.
Natalia quickly shook her head to deny it, but Celine deliberately didn’t reveal that she’d already guessed what seemed to have caught her attention.
"Alright then, tell me, how have you been all this time? Don’t tell me you’ve done nothing exciting but work all the time."
"I’ve been quite alright, you know I’m busier now than I’ve ever been, so work has gotten all my attention," Natalia said, evading speaking any details about herself. She didn’t want to burden Celine with all the complicated things that had happened to her recently.
Celine showed a plain look before she sighed, her expression looking disappointed.
"Celine, what’s wrong, did I say something wrong?" Natalia quickly asked, worriedly seeing her expression suddenly change.
"No, it’s just that I’ve just realized how much we’ve grown apart. We used to be so close, we’d tell each other everything. It’s still the same for me—I’d never keep anything from you. I’d share all my problems, my pain, and my joy because you’re my best friend, but then... maybe you no longer feel comfortable sharing anything with me anymore. It’s my fault, I’ve been a bad friend, I’m sorry," Celine apologized guiltily.
"Celine, what are you talking about? Don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong, I just..." Natalia wasn’t able to speak. She fell silent for some time before she spoke up, "I’m the one who should apologize. I’m sorry I’m acting withdrawn with you, it’s just that you’re so happy now, I don’t want to fill your ears with my problems."
Celine reached over, touching her arm. "But you know I’ll always be here for you, right? To share our sorrows and our joys together. Regardless of the fact that I’m happy or not, I’ll always be there for you. You’re my best friend."
Natalia stared at Celine’s soft blue eyes. She smiled slightly, feeling warmth in her chest, her brown eyes clouding up with hints of tears. She held Celine’s hands in her palms, nodding. "I know that. I’m sorry. Just like always, we’ll share our sorrows and joy together."
Celine wiped off the tears from Natalia’s eyes, her own eyes also tearing up. "Alright, don’t cry now, else I’ll cry too."
Natalia got up from her seat, moving over to Celine’s to reach in for a hug. The two friends held each other comfortingly for a while before pulling away.
"Now, are you ready to tell me everything?" Celine asked after Natalia calmed down.
Natalia nodded. She proceeded to tell her everything about Peter, whom she’d met at the time Celine had been abroad. Natalia hadn’t told Celine about him before because she had planned to forget him completely, and when she’d seen him again, it was at Celine’s wedding. She didn’t want to ruin Celine’s day by telling her this depressing thing about her past.
Celine listened intently, feeling pain in her heart for the heartbreak her best friend had gone through.
She knew Natalia as the kind of friend who would be willing to stand by her loved ones with everything she’s got. She would fight alongside the person she cared about through weal and woe; however, she would stuff in her own pain and struggles just to not burden the people around her. She would think about what was best for others rather than herself, thereby embracing her own pain and struggles, stuffing it in the pit of her stomach. She’d feel the burn and pain of it all alone until she’d find a way to solve it on her own.
"...Now I ended it all already. I was always afraid of completely letting him go, but when I did, all I felt was relief from the burden of loving him for all these years. Perhaps I’d already stopped loving him at some point, but I held on to the memories of it until..." Natalia trailed off, her eyes once again going towards a certain direction in the distance.
As if on cue at the same moment, Christopher, who had been talking to Tristan, turned at the same time she did. Their gazes met.
Like always, she was again caught in the vortex of his deep dark eyes. There was a reluctant pang in her chest, but she forced herself to break her gaze away from him. Still, she could feel his gaze on her. She pressed down the urge in her chest to look in his direction again when Celine’s voice suddenly said,
"But now you’re in love with someone else." There was certainty in her voice; she didn’t seem to doubt her own deductions.
Hearing this from someone else was like a confirmation that startled Natalia. She swung her head up to look at Celine incredulously.
Celine studied the look in her eyes; she knew that look all too well.
"Why are you trying to deny it from yourself? You’ll only feel more pain, and that will cause more harm than good."
Natalia sighed. "It’s just too complicated." Natalia looked confused herself. "Christopher is... Do you remember that guy, third year in school? He always wore a mask, no one knew what he looked like, but a lot of people called him names and claimed he was hideous?"
Celine didn’t have to think too deeply to recognize the person Natalia was talking about. "Yeah, I remember him, he..." Celine stopped mid-sentence as if realizing something. "His name was also Christopher, don’t tell me he is..." she asked, pointing in Christopher’s direction, her shock at the coincidence making her unable to fully speak.
Natalia nodded. "It’s him."
Natalia had always been this secretive, keeping her internal feelings hidden, but Celine could always decipher her thoughts. Just like back then, Natalia had never revealed to anyone that she had a crush on Christopher, but Celine had come to know about it. Being her best friend, she could tell what was on her mind even if she didn’t say it.
"Who would have thought you’d meet your first crush again after years."
Natalia was surprised hearing Celine say it. "How did you know that I was..."
"Of course I knew, you’re my best friend," Celine said matter-of-factly before adding, "And I’m guessing there’s more to this story you haven’t told me yet."
Natalia sighed and went on to tell Celine everything—how she had met Christopher at the wedding, their date, and how she had come to remember everything from their past, about how Christopher turned out to be the person she’d spent the night with when Lilian had drugged her back then.
Celine looked to be in awe for some time, as if to digest everything she’d just heard, before she dazedly moved her hand to clutch her chest. "That is so romantic, he’s been searching for you for eight years."
Natalia lowered her head, a mixture of emotions flitting through her chest, but Celine’s next words made her swing her head up to look at her in astonishment.
"He’s definitely in love with you!"