In the ICU, Selina blabbered on to Natalie, basically asking her to leave right this instant.
However, Natalie refused outright.
Cecilia had already expected such a response.
She had already guessed that persuading Natalie would not be so easy. However, she did not expect Natalie to be so insistent. No matter how much Selina begged and urged, there was no room for negotiation at all.
Selina panicked. She glared at Natalie. "Natalie, if you don't leave now, you're going to end up in Pelham River tomorrow, and your corpse will forever be stuck there! Is that what you want? You're still so young, with a bright future ahead of you. Do you really want to become just another corpse floating in Pelham River?"
Natalie's lashes fluttered.
She said clearly, "I won't leave. I want to be with him."
She wanted to stay with Tobias no matter what.
She would never leave him, dead or alive.
Selina finally lost her patience. "Natalie, are you out of your mind? There's no way that Tobias is going to wake up tomorrow with the way things are right now! My mom has already asked the doctor, and there's no chance of that happening! You're just asking to get killed by staying here! How can you be so stupid!"
Selina felt like she was going to die of exasperation.
This time was different from before. Peter was taking things seriously this time.
Selina and Cecilia wouldn't be able to stop him, and Natalie was going to die for sure.
Now that there was an obvious way out for Natalie, how could she not take the opportunity?
In contrast to Selina's panic and frustration, Natalie was silent.
She said calmly, "Whether he wakes up or not, I won't leave."
At this, Selina let out a frustrated cry and pulled at her hair in exasperation.
She looked at Cecilia pleadingly. "Mom, you try."
A light glinted in Cecilia's eyes.
"Natalie," Cecilia said softly. "Listen to me, if you leave now, you'll still be alive. Peter isn't joking around this time, and you won't be able to leave forever if you continue to stay here. Selina and I won't be able to stop Peter this time. Natalie, please think it through."
"Auntie, I won't leave." Natalie's eyes were determined. "I'm going to stay here. From the moment I came in here, I didn't plan on leaving."
Her words rendered Cecilia speechless.
After a while, Cecilia said again, "Natalie, even if you don't care about your own life, think of Tobias. Has it occurred to you that Tobias is going to be in endless pain if something were to happen to you?"
Natalie's lashes fluttered violently.
After a moment, she sucked in a deep breath. "Auntie, if I leave today, I won't be able to see Tobias again, right?"
Cecilia remained silent.
Natalie was right. If she left right now, she wouldn't be able to see Tobias ever again. Though Peter wouldn't take her life, he definitely wouldn't give Natalie the chance to get near Tobias anymore.
Natalie smiled bitterly. "That's why I can't leave, Auntie. I have to stay here, even at the price of my life. Since I've made a deal with Mr. Whitlock, I'll stick to it. Please stop trying to persuade me to leave."
She stopped speaking and turned to look at Tobias again.
His eyes were tightly shut, as incredibly handsome as always.
Natalie said softly, "I have faith in Tobias. I know he wouldn't bear to see me lose the bet, and I believe he will wake up tomorrow. He would not let me die like this."
"Natalie!" Selina snapped, "The doctor already said that he wouldn't wake up tomorrow. Are you saying you don't believe the doctor?"
Natalie shook her head, "I believe in myself and Tobias."
"You're mad, really mad!" Selina didn't know what to say anymore.
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