Chapter 643

Natalie wanted nothing more to do with those two, especially with Kristin there. She was about to leave when Mr. Lee called out to her.

“Ms. Taylor, long time no see. I heard you’re back to acting?”

She didn’t actually know Mr. Lee well. He had presented her with the Best Actress award, and they had chatted briefly at the after-party.

“Mr. Lee, hello.” She shook his hand gracefully.

“Last year, when we were judging for Best Actress, one of the panelists mentioned Ms. Taylor’s performance in Celebrity. Someone suggested we play a clip, and the whole committee watched it. Celebrity won a lot of awards that season. If you hadn’t withdrawn from consideration, you very likely would have won for a second time based on that outstanding performance.”

Natalie knew all this. Of course she regretted it, but there was nothing to be done. “Thank you for your high praise, Mr. Lee.”

“I hope we have the chance to work together.” Barton said, offering his hand again. Natalie took it. “Then I hope you’ll give me that chance, Mr. Lee.”

“You’re too modest, Ms. Taylor.”

After a few more pleasantries, they parted ways. Natalie went to find her daughter, only to realize Kristin was no longer by her side. She quickly looked around and found her on the outdoor terrace, where Maria’s daughter and a little boy were grabbing Kristin, preventing her from leaving.

“I saw you steal it! Give it back!”

“I didn’t steal anything!”

“It was you! You stole my hair clip!”

Natalie saw her daughter struggling to break free, but the two of them held on tight. When the boy’s grip started to slip, he grabbed Kristin’s ponytail instead.

“What are you doing? Let go of her!”

Natalie rushed over, grabbed the boy’s hand, and flung it away from her daughter’s head.

The little boy, seeing an adult arrive, immediately burst into tears.

His crying quickly drew a crowd.

The boy ran to his father and buried his face in his legs. “That lady hit me!”

Natalie was comforting her

daughter Kristin’s hair was a mess, and she had a bruise on her face, but Kristin stubbornly insisted she was fine and said that if it had been. one-on-one, she wouldn’t have lost.

Natalie hugged her daughter, then stood up, shielding her.

“What’s wrong with you? A grown woman hitting a child? Have you mo shame the boy’s father, who looked like a crew member, yelled at Natalie.

Natalie took a deep breath. “You say I hit him? Where did I hit him? Where is he hurt?”

The man immediately asked his son, and the boy clutched his backside, claiming she had kicked him there.

“You even used your feet!”

“I did not hit him!” Natalie said through clenched teeth.

“Queena saw it too!” the boy pointed at Queena.

Queena nodded. “She did hit him! She kicked Morgan and was about to hit me, too!”

With Queena’s testimony, everyone in the crowd started to blame Natalie.

“I told you, I didn’t hit them. There should be security cameras here. Let’s check the footage,” Natalie said.

“Yes, check the footage! Let’s see what she says then!” someone said, and others agreed.

But then Maria stepped forward. “It’s really just a small misunderstanding. There’s no need to make a scene.”

She then turned to Natalie with a magnanimous expression. “You surely didn’t mean

to do it. As parents, we won’t press the issue.”

“Ms. Scott, she hit my son!” the man protested.

Maria shook her head at him. “She’s

just making her comeback; it’s r

23

easy for her. Why push her into the _spotlight over trivial matters?

“That’s because she has a flawed character.”