Chapter 15
Chapter 15
It just happened that they’d been waiting for ages at The Aerie, hoping to catch a glimpse of the clusive
FireWing, but to no avail. They planned to swing by the Wright family for lunch, so Brian had instructed
him to pick up a couple of boxes of pastries from here.
“Mr. Howard, would you like…”
Brian’s gaze settled on Natalie, and he fell silent in the car.
Natalie’s paper bag had been knocked from her hands, and as she looked up, her eyes flicked toward
Gracia, who had pretended to be engrossed in her phone, feigning ignorance.
“Pick it up.” Natalie said in a low voice, devoid of emotion.
Instead, Gracia stepped on the pizza, kicking it aside.
“I said pick it up, not step on it.” Natalie continued, her voice still low.
“Are you talking to me?” Gracia acted surprised, pointing at herself and asking softly. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
“I’m talking to a dog.” Natalie replied coldly.
“You…” Gracia was stunned, and then anger flared within her.
“Only a dog would get upset by that.” Natalie said, the corners of her mouth curling into a slight smirk.
“Natalie, don’t push it!” Gracia snapped back, and her brows knitted in frustration.
Seeing the altercation, the shop assistant quickly tried to mediate. “Don’t worry about it. It was our
mistake for not handing it to the customer properly. Let me repack it for you!!
Natalie wasn’t interested in acknowledging Gracia’s pettiness and nodded to the assistant. “Thanks.”
But Gracia, who got irked by Natalie’s indifference, insisted. “I’d like to see who dares to repack it for
her!”
The assistant stood by, not daring to move.
“What kind of skill is that by picking on a shop assistant?” Natalie turned to Gracia. “If they don’t want to
repack it, that’s fine. You can pick up the pizza. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise, what?” Gracia raised her eyebrows slightly, challenging Natalie.
“I want to see how much clout you have,” Gracia thought inwardly.
“Otherwise, you won’t enjoy your lunch today.” As Natalie spoke, she pulled out her phone and dialed
911. “Let’s deal with this at the police station. I’m not bothered. But for you, Gracia, with your big
reputation…”
Onlookers began to murmur, some recognizing Gracia.
18:47
Gracia glanced around, and when she saw Natalie’s finger hovering over the call button, she quickly
grabbed her hand. Turning to the assistant, she commanded sternly. “Are you blind? Repack a new
one, now!”
Minutes later, Natalie left the shop, content with her freshly packed pizza, ignoring Gracia, whose face
had turned a shade of thunder. She hailed a cab at the curb.
Brian watched her get into the cab, his emotions swirling. Natalie seemed different than before.
As Natalie approached the Wright family’s front door, her phone buzzed with a message from King.
(They’ve upped their offer to twenty times the original. Do you want to take it?]
Her reply was brief. [No deal.]
As she pocketed her phone, she overheard the gardeners talking about Matthew coughing up blood the
night before. He had terminal lung cancer, and it was beyond help. Every day alive was a gift.
Without a word, she slipped through the back door and walked toward the smaller building at the back
of the estate.
Just as she was about to knock, she overheard Samuel’s voice from inside, “You know, the Foster
family is one of the most esteemed in Streamville. With our Wright family’s standing. Natalie could
never hope to marry up!
To put it bluntly, after the Howard family threw her out and the scandal that followed, who in the
Streamville elite doesn’t know about it? And yet, she has the nerve to land the Foster family’s son in
the hospital! Thankfully, they’re now interested in Gracia because of her connection to the Howard
family. If Natalie married into the Foster family, they would let it go.”
Natalie’s hand, which raised to knock, froze mid–air.