Chapter 4

Rosalie was wearing the uniform for the housekeepers of Fost Manor. Not too far away, a young boy was making an utter mess of the living room. When Natania entered, Rosalie stood up from where she had been sitting beside Stephen. Her smile was gentle and dignified. "Mrs. Fost, you're back. I'm the new housekeeper Fost Manor sent over to look after Mr. Andrew." Natania subconsciously bit her lip, abruptly finding it difficult to breathe. "How dare he! How dare he bring them both here, to our home!" she thought. Noticing something off with Natania's expression, Stephen hurriedly explained, "Babe, I sent you messages in the afternoon about this, but I guess you didn't see them. Mom adopted this boy from the orphanage, saying that she felt a connection to him. His name is Andrew Fost." All of her grief and sorrow had been vented in that empty meeting room earlier, so now, all Natania felt was nothing but rage. She couldn't believe how these people were practically treating her like a fool! "Stephen Fost, are you deliberately doing this to break my heart?" Her voice quavered, an obvious sign of the sheer extent of her fury. Stephen frowned slightly when he heard that, not expecting her to be so resistant to Andrew. Feeling somewhat anxious, he tried to explain. "Babe, don't be angry! You know the Fost family can't go on without an heir, and I saw how you still haven't gotten over your grief over that dead child, so that's why I agreed to Mom's idea. If you don't like him, I'll send him away immediately!" Everyone knew how much he loved Natania and how she would always be his priority. That was why, in this situation, he didn't mind sending away Andrew if she genuinely didn't like him, even though the young boy was his biological son. Yet, his favoritism now only caused Natania to feel utterly repulsed. She opened her mouth, but just as she was about to confront him with the truth, Andrew burst into tears. "You bad woman! Daddy, how could you be with this bad woman? Don't you want me anymore?" The child's cries were shrill, causing a headache to throb in Stephen's temples. He instantly berated Andrew sternly, "Andrew Fost, who taught you to talk like that?" Then, turning to the housekeepers, he yelled, "Are you all deaf? What are you still standing around for? Hurry up and bring him back to his room!" The housekeepers rushed forward and anxiously brought the still-wailing Andrew back to his room. Rosalie also seemed slightly panicked as she quickly apologized, "Mr. Fost, it's all my fault. Please don't blame Mr. Andrew." She even shot Stephen an aggrieved look with her wide, doe eyes. That look was enough to garner sympathy from any man. Sighing, Stephen softened his tone and said, "I'm not blaming him. He's just a kid, so what would he know? You had better hurry to him." Natania watched this all unfold and felt her heart grow colder still. Shaking herself free of Stephen, she headed straight upstairs and, when he followed her, shut the door right in his face. Stephen stood outside the door, frustration and annoyance surging through him. Nonetheless, he patiently tried to soothe Natania. "Babe, I was wrong. I'll send the boy away tomorrow morning. Do you not want me to keep you company right now? It's fine. Then you get some rest. We can talk again tomorrow." Natania leaned back against the door while listening to him speak. By this point, her heart couldn't take it anymore and had gone numb. She wondered if it really mattered if he sent the child away or not. Blood was thicker than water, after all. Could he really cut off all ties with his biological son? She believed that she should be the one leaving. She didn't respond to him and merely locked the door. Once his footsteps faded away, she couldn't support herself anymore and slumped to the ground. She was utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically. She didn't know how long it had been when she heard her phone chime. Unlocking the screen, she saw that it was a message from an unfamiliar number. The profile photo revealed it to be Rosalie. It read, "Mrs. Fost, since you chased Mr. Fost out of the room, you can't blame him for coming to me." Natania's eyes widened when she read that. She got up and left her bedroom, immediately noticing that there was a light on in the study at the end of the corridor. Through the slightly ajar door, she heard Rosalie purr, "Stephen, you're hurting me." There was a grunt from Stephen before he replied roughly, "If you're afraid of pain, then why seduce me? Even after having a child, you still won't settle down." Natania instantly felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped on her. Even her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. She honestly hadn't thought that Stephen would be this impatient. Inside the study, the couple's movements hadn't ceased. Rosalie was clearly trying to suppress her moans as she said, "Stevie, I just saw how upset you seemed because of Mrs. Fost, so I thought I would try to please you on her behalf." "Stop finding excuses for your sluttiness. Remember, if you want Andy to remain in this house, then don't do anything to annoy Natania." Natania couldn't bear to listen any longer. She didn't even know how she made her way back to her room, but she instantly rushed into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink, she swiftly threw up the contents of her stomach. It wasn't until her empty stomach spasmed with pain that she slowly straightened and raised her head to look at herself in the mirror. She was a mess, but there were no tears left to cry. She was the eldest daughter of the Wendell family. She should've been smug and self-assured in her status, not standing there looking like a complete mess. Natania didn't know how long she spent in the bathroom, but when she noticed dawn peeking over the horizon, she slowly made her way back to her bed. This time, she was the one who gave up on him.