"What the hell was that?" Arthur asked, unsettled.

Morris shot him a sharp look. "Just remember, Ms. Stewart, this isn''t your business to meddle in. Next time you mouth off to her, it won''t end as simply as it

did today."

All eyes turned to Nathalie. She was straddling Greta, having pped her across the face more times than anyone could count. Greta''s cheeks were so swollen she looked almost unrecognizable.

Mrs. Sharp hurried over, anxious and pleading. "Ashley, enough! Please, stop. If you hurt her too badly, you''ll face thew."

Her words didn''t even register with Nathalie, who was still caught up in her fury. But Morris, hearing them, finally snapped back to himself.

He rolled his wheelchair over and gently caught Nathalie''s hand. She red at him, eyes zing, but as soon as she recognized Morris, her anger vanished.

He pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her, his voice soft. "Look at you. You''re making a spectacle of yourself. What if you scare off your future husband?"

Nathalie let out a cold snort. "She was wishing you dead."

Morris''s hand shook. So, his hunch was right-Nathalie knew about his illness.

He nced at her: messy, breathless, fighting back tears. His heart twisted with worry.

He wasn''t gone yet, but even hearing Greta curse him was enough to send Nathalie over the edge. When that day finally came, how was she supposed to carry on?

The thought unsettled him deeply.

Greta, desperate, looked to the Sharp family for help. "Mrs. Sharp, call the police! You saw what she did-she''s out of control! If she doesn''t get punished, she''ll just keep going..."

Mrs. Sharp''s face was stormy. She thought Nathalie had gone way too far herself, but seeing how fiercely Morris stuck up for her, she couldn''t bring herself to intervene. So she simply stood by.

Nathalie gave Greta onest hard kick, then staggered to her feet, casting a resentful nce at Morris before walking out on her own.

"Nathalie," Morris called after her, worry in his voice.

She turned and gave him a bright, reassuring smile. "I''m fine, really. You take care of yourself too."

Morris watched her go, her face a mess of pain and vulnerability. She''d won the fight, but looked more

broken than anyone else in the

room Clearly she was

she was hurting

inside.

s

He wanted to say somethingforting, but the words just wouldn''te. All he

managed was, "Be careful on your way home."

Nathalie offered a pale smile before disappearing out the door.

Mrs. Sharp surveyed the chaos and sighed, then told the maid, "Take Greta to the hospital."

"Yes, ma''am," the maid replied, already helping Greta out.

Once Greta was gone, Mrs. Sharp turned back to Morris, her tone frosty. "Nathan, you saw it yourself Ashley has a terrible temper You''re too decent to be friends with someone like her. One day, she''ll turn all that spoiled, wild energy on you-just wait  s

Morris lifted a hand to cut her off. "Grandma, you don''t know the whole story. She had her reasons today."

Mrs. Sharp frowned. "What reason? Greta just said a few mean things, didn''t she?"

Morris shook his head. "Any other

day, Gret

could''ve spit at her feetfn8c5c Th?s chapter is updated by FindN()vel/fn8c5c

and Nathalie would''ve just shot back with a few sharp words. This is t first time she''s ever truly lost it."  s

If Greta hadn''t cursed him, Nathalie never would''ve snapped like that.

Morris let the matter drop, but Mrs. Sharp still looked baffled.

Just then, Shannon finally snapped out of her daze and rushed to Arthur''s side. "Arthur, are you alright?"

Arthur red at Morris, still seething. "Morris, what was that thing you just set off?"

"Just a smart toy. Something I whipped up for fun," Morris answered coolly.