Chapter 185 Pushing Her to Betray Him
Chapter 185 Pushing Her to Betray Him
Natasha rushed to Whittier Manor, her heart racing with urgency. As soon as she walked in, she spotted Roxanne lounging on the couch, sipping coffee. A maid was kneeling next to her, painting her nails.
When Roxanne saw Natasha, her brows immediately furrowed. “What are you doing here?” She shot Natasha a look full of disgust.
Natasha was expressionless. “I’m here to see Dad,” she said.
Now that she had discovered Dorothy’s failed collaboration was due to the Whittier family, she had to confront her father to find out the truth.
Roxanne let out a dismissive snort when she said, “If I remember correctly, you were already thrown out of the Whittier family.” To Roxanne, Natasha was nothing more than a homeless mutt now and no longer had the right to set foot in Whittier Manor.
Natasha’s expression was cool. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even bother coming,” she said.
Roxanne’s expression faltered. She snapped, “Then why are you still here? Get lost!”
Natasha shot back, “I’m out of here right after seeing Dad.” With that, she headed straight for the stairs.
“You!” Roxanne glared daggers at Natasha’s back view. ‘This brat doesn’t even care about me anymore. Just wait until you’ re done talking to Bernard. Let’s see how I deal with you,’ Roxanne fumed inwardly, her eyes narrowing with malice.
*****
Upstairs in the coffee room, Bernard was seated at the coffee table, dressed in a vintage blue robe, his gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose as he read a book of poetry.
Natasha pushed open the door to the coffee room and walked up to him. “Dad…” she started, but before she could continue, Bernard glanced at her, signaling her to keep quiet.
A subtle, oppressive tension filled the spacious coffee room, radiating from the coffee table. Natasha caught herself and held back the words she was about to say. She stood there, and without his permission, sitting was simply out of the
question.
Bernard treated her as if she were invisible. He busied himself with boiling water and preparing the coffee, paying her no mind at all. The only sound in the coffee room was the water as he brewed coffee; not even the wind dared disturb the
silence.
Natasha remained quietly standing. Bernard had always loved coffee and poetry. He always acted like a cultured gentleman, gentle and humble on the surface. But deep down, he was a scheming and sly businessman. When it came to his daughter, he never hesitated to be harsh.
The coffee pot came to a boil. A faint aroma of black coffee filled the air. He took a sip, but his brows furrowed in dissatisfaction. Without a second thought, he poured the entire cup of coffee away.
He kept brewing, starting over again without hesitation, until he was finally satisfied. By that time, Natasha had been standing at his coffee table for over an hour.
Bernard acted as if she didn’t exist, his attention never wavering from brewing coffee. But Natasha knew it was all intentional. He was deliberately making her stand there as a punishment. This wasn’t the first time Bernard had punished her like this.
In fact, he had been treating her like this ever since she was a kid. Whenever she dared to “disobey,” she would face the family’s harsh punishment. If she ever tried to challenge Joelle or Collin, she would face the same ruthless punishment.
This time, the fact that she dared to go against her father’s orders and refused to help Harley spy on Jared made her a family traitor in Bernard’s eyes, a black sheep he couldn’t wait to punish. Making her stand there was just a small taste of his punishment.
Now that Bernard had set his sights on Dorothy, Natasha knew this was only the opening act, just the warm-up before the real trouble started. If she didn’t put a stop to it in time, the worst was yet to come.
Natasha’s legs felt like dead weight; she had been standing so long, she could barely feel them anymore. At last, Bernard broke the silence. “Got something to say?”
Natasha pulled herself together and nodded. ”
Successfully unlocked!
Bernard took a sip of the coffee he had just brewcu, the one he was many satisfied with. He asked, his tone cool and indifferent, “What is it?”
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Chapter 185 Pushing Her to Betray Him
Natasha locked eyes with him. “Every deal my best friend Dorothy tried to make blew up lately. Are you sabotaging her? She didn’t beat around the bush; she went straight for it.
Bernard shot her a cold, dismissive glance. “I have no idea who this Dorothy is…”
Truth was, he barely knew anything about his youngest daughter at all. All he had done was instruct his assistant, Darren, to think of a way to pressure Natasha into helping Harley spy on Jared so their partnership with the Rundell family could continue.
‘Did Darren target her friend Dorothy to get to her?’ Bernard wondered, a flicker of curiosity crossing his mind, But honestly, he didn’t care what methods were used as long as he got what he wanted. All he cared about was the outcome.
Natasha couldn’t hold back her anger. “I’ve already uncovered the truth; you’re behind this,” she said. ‘Is he still going to deny it?’ Natasha thought, her anger simmering.
Bernard gave her a once-over, his eyes suddenly sharpening with a cold edge. “What are you really getting at?” he asked, his tone icy.
Natasha stared him down. “Leave Dorothy out of this! If you’ve got a problem, deal with me!”
“Fine!” To Natasha’s surprise, Bernard actually agreed.
Her heart plummeted. No way her father would give in that easily; she knew him too well. The only explanation was that something worse was coming. ‘He must be even angrier now,’ Natasha realized, a cold dread creeping up her spine.
“I’ve already told you what I expect from you last time,” Bernard said, his voice calm but unmistakably cold.
Natasha refused without hesitation, “No…”
Bernard’s hand, holding the coffee cup, paused for a moment. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, his knuckles whitening with barely contained anger. “Clearly, I haven’t made you stand long enough. Another hour,” he said. He was convinced she would give in.
Natasha furrowed her brows. “You could make me stand here for ten hours, but it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Bernard sneered coldly. “Then your friend will just keep going through this.”
The fact that she came to him for her friend only proved Darren’s bet was right. She cared deeply about that friend, and that, naturally, was her weakness.
Natasha clenched her hands into fists. “Dad! Dorothy is innocent…”
Danger flashed in Bernard’s eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses. “Whether she’s innocent or not, that’s none of my business,” he said, his voice icy. He only cared about the result. He wanted her to compromise.
If Natasha refused this time, Bernard would find another way to break her down. He wouldn’t stop until she surrendered.
Natasha struggled internally, caught between anger and despair. A cold dread/spread through her body, chilling her to the bone. “Dad, don’t push me!” Natasha said, her voice trembling.
Bernard continued sipping his coffee, acting like Natasha’s pain didn’t even exist. Her struggle meant nothing to him. “You have one day; think it through,” Bernard said, his voice cold as ice.
Natasha left her father’s coffee room, feeling weighed down and heavy-hearted. She knew this time, he really meant it. He was using Dorothy as leverage, determined to make Natasha obey.
If she gave in this time to protect Dorothy, Bernard would only take things even further next time. But if she kept refusing, she worried her father would really target Dorothy and hurt her.
She had already dragged Dorothy into a mess before. ‘Am I really going to let her get hurt again?’ Natasha thought, guilt gnawing at her.
But if she wanted to save Dorothy this time, she would have to betray Jared. Natasha really didn’t want to do this. Just as she was caught up in her inner turmoil, a sudden swipe of a hand came at her out of nowhere,
She instinctively stepped back, dodging it just in time. When she looked up, she saw Joelle glaring at her, her face twisted with spite.
“You’re not part of this family anymore; you got kicked out ages ago. So what the hell are you doing back here?” Joelle glared at Natasha with pure loathing.
She had always hated Natasha. Joelle was spoiled rotten growing up. She always got whatever she wanted, no matter what. Yet somehow, every guy at school was obsessed with Natasha.
All of Joelle’s exes, even her first crush, saw Natasha as their dream girl, the one they could never forget. So Joelle was always finding ways to mess with Natasha, to make her life miserable.
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Chapter 185 Pushing Her to Betray Him
Now Joelle had finally learned the truth that Natasha was actually Bernard and Roxanne’s real daughter, the legitimate,
heiress of the Whittier family. She hated her so much that she wished she could just kill Natasha, make her vanish froth the world forever.
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