Chapter 1038 Clearing Things Up
Hearing that, Jerome tightened his fists and squeezed out, “Did you choose this man just because… he’s Xavian and Clayton’s father? Do you wish to give them a complete family?”
Jerome knew well what the children meant to Natalie.
That was why he was still hoping that he would be able to get a chance to be with her.
Eyes shining with hope, Jerome asked, “Am I right?”
“No,” came Natalie’s firm answer.
She then looked into Jerome’s eyes and said, “Jerome, when I fell in love with Samuel, I didn’t know he was Xavian and Clayton’s father.”
Natalie knew that her words would crush Jerome’s hope, but those words were necessary, and she had to make things clear to him.
“My love for him has nothing to do with the fact that he is the father of Xavian and Clayton. Even if he isn’t their father, I still think that he is the one for me. My words will never change no matter how many times I say this. Jerome, I just think of you as my brother. We are not blood-related, but we will always be family—never lovers.”
Natalie was straightforward and left no room for him to argue.
The hope in his eyes slowly faded away until his eyes were dull. The fists he tightened earlier relaxed.
“Am I… just a brother to you?” Jerome muttered.
“Yes,” Natalie said without hesitation. “ I will help you if you need help. You and your family have been kind to me, but this is only familial love. There is no romantic love involved.”
Every word that Natalie said could be heard clearly by him.
However, perhaps she had been too clear, for Jerome could not even try to decipher her words in a different way.
By then, the light in Jerome’s eyes had completely faded away. His voice was hoarse as he said, “Nat, but I… I don’t want to just be your brother.”
The atmosphere was tense as the air grew thick. It was as if the trio was on a killing ground.
Natalie felt bad, but that was the only thing she could do.
Any trace of her hesitation to hurt him more might be interpreted as hesitation about her lack of romantic love toward Jerome. That would be disastrous.
As Natalie watched him, Jerome slowly said, “ I wish you the best with him…” With that said, he strode off, unable to stop the sense of disappointment from overwhelming him.
Emma, who was watching from the side, sighed.
Both Jerome and Samuel were good men. It was tough for her to say who was better. However, there was only one Natalie, and she could not possibly be split in half. Therefore, there was no way for this to end well, for the one who was not picked by Natalie would be doomed to feel upset.
Natalie’s heart ached as she watched Jerome leave in sorrow, and her eyes welled up with tears.
Samuel turned and glanced at her. “You must be feeling bad, right?”
“Yes,” Natalie nodded. “I made my brother sad. It’s natural for me to feel upset about it.”
Samuel then pursed his lips and pulled Natalie into his arms, allowing her to bury her face in his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Samuel, why are you saying sorry?” Natalie asked softly. “This is between Jerome and me, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I just hope that Jerome will think things through and realize that those vague feelings he has for me are not love. I’ll respect his final decision, but I still hope that he’ll stay as someone like a little brother to me.”
Samuel hugged Natalie tighter.
He knew how excellent Jerome was, and he knew what the children thought of Jerome.
Honestly, other than my unending love for her, I’m sure that it’s luck that allowed me to become the one for her. How lucky am I? No matter how long more I have left, I’ll give my best to her.
