Natalie chuckled. “Not everyone thinks the same way.”
“Fair enough.” Lina shrugged and kept quiet after that.
The two of them then continued working throughout the afternoon.
After having dinner, Natalie had a video call with Shane and told him what Joyce did.
Shane was a little surprised when he heard that, but he soon regained his composure and said, “She must've
matured a lot if she was able to make such a decision.”
Natalie shot him a weird look. “What, are you saying that she was immature before?”
Shane shook his head. “No. She's a nice person who treats you and the kids well. However, she prioritizes her
relationship far too much. That led to her acting irrationally and cost her her pride, which is something I do not
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtstand for.”
I, too, am a person who prioritizes my relationship and would do anything to protect it. The difference is that I won't
be as extreme as Joyce in my approach. Honestly, there is something very wrong with Joyce's levels of affection for
Stanley. How could she love someone to the point where she doesn't even see herself as a human being? It's just
wrong no matter how you look at it!
Unsure of what Shane was thinking about, Natalie lectured him when she saw him furrowing his brow, “What are
you thinking about, Darling? Stop frowning so much or you'll give yourself wrinkles!”
Shane chuckled. “Are you going to leave me if I have wrinkles?”
“Of course not! I'll always love you no matter what you look like,” Natalie replied with a smile.
“Me too,” Shane said with an affectionate look in his eyes.
Natalie felt like her heart was filled with warmth when she heard that. “By the way, what were you thinking about?”
Shane told her everything he had thought of earlier.
Natalie was a little shocked at first, but her expression soon grew solemn as she said, “Now that you mention it, I
think it's actually possible...”
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Shane asked while sitting up straight.
Natalie bit down on her lip. “I'm not too sure, but I think Joyce didn't love Stanley this deeply in the past. Back then,
she could go weeks without mentioning him at all. It was almost as if he didn't exist. In the past two months,
however, she has been talking about Stanley all the time. She even got emotionally unstable at times because of
him.”
“Oh?” Shane arched an eyebrow at her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNatalie nodded as she continued, “It's true. I didn't even notice this until you mentioned it just now. Joyce and I have
been best friends for as long as we've known each other. Apart from her parents, I'm pretty much the only person
that understands her best. While she can love a person very deeply, she wouldn't go as far as abandoning her pride
like that. You might be right about Joyce, Darling. There could be something wrong with her.”
Shane swirled the red wine in his glass as he asked, “If what you said is true, then Joyce isn't a lovestruck person by
default. Could it be that her sudden change in behavior was due to him manipulating her?”
Natalie tightened her grip on the phone. “I think it's highly possible. As I said, Joyce wouldn't mention Stanley all the
time even though she loved him deeply. He has hurt her feelings many times before, but she has never reacted this
strongly. It's possible that she got a little emotional due to her pregnancy, but she didn't have to wait that long to
leave J City. The Joyce I know is a very decisive person, so her abnormal behavior could really be due to
manipulation.”
“If that's the case, who do you think could've done it?” Shane asked.
Natalie closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “The only person that comes to mind is Stanley.”