Dante’s mansion had a small bar. Many brands of alcoholic beverages were on display, from low-alcohol red wines to high-alcohol whiskies. Natalie scanned them all before finally deciding on a bottle of Scottish whisky. Jayde, who was always watching her, sighed. “Miss, you might earn Mr. Vittorio’s wrath if he finds out you took his drink.” “Him getting mad at me is not unusual,” Natalie replied expressionlessly. She filled her glass with the deep amber-colored liquid. The sweet scent of honey wafted through the air. One corner of her lips lifted. “Would you like to try it too, Jayde?” Natalie asked with a seductive look in her eyes. Jayde smiled. “It’s a whisky from the Highland region of Scotland. It’s sweet with a strong honey aroma. I don’t think I’m worthy to try it.” “Why not?” Natalie filled another glass and held it out to Jayde. However, the man was silent as he stared at her face. “Do you want to take advantage of me?” Jayde asked bluntly. He remembered how the last ti
“Miss, maybe you can chase him,” Alex suggested to Natalie.“Chasing him into the bedroom is too dangerous,” Natalie muttered, shaking her head. She had learned her lesson while knowing Dante. Avoiding the bed was the best way for her.So what should she do if Dante didn’t want to take her back to the apartment? Would she never get out again and just spend her days in the mansion?Alex sighed. “You guys better not get too close. We don’t know what Dante is really thinking,” he said. He picked up Natalie’s whiskey bottle on the bar counter and carried it away.Natalie just stared flatly at Alex’s retreating figure. Somehow, she felt like a girlfriend who had just discovered cheating. That wasn’t right. That was weird. Why did they treat her like Dante’s real fiancée and restrict her from interacting with other men?“Jayde, come on!” Alex called out to Jayde from above.Finally, Jayde left. Natalie, who was left alone, could only sit on the barstool lazily.Meanwhile, Alex took Jayde to
“Why?” Dante asked while closing his eyes. He sniffed Natalie’s sweet, soft, and distinctive body scent. Her body often smelled of vanilla, which was sometimes mixed with honey or milk.Dante always thought it was the scent of Natalie’s perfume. However, after knowing her for some time and even touching her bare skin and sweating together, he became convinced it wasn’t perfume. It was the natural scent of her body, which was very delicate and could only be smelled from an intimate distance.Just inhaling the scent of her body alone, one could get drunk. Natalie was indeed intoxicating. It would not be surprising if she could attract many men to like and admire her.“You didn't forget what happened before you disappeared, did you?” Natalie looked down while continuing to hold Dante’s muscular chest.“What do you mean?”Natalie looked up and gave Dante a tired look. A mocking, resigned smile finally appeared on her face. “Of course you forgot. You were drunk that day.”Dante frowned. H
Natalie slept without dreaming. When she woke up, it was already light. She got up and leaned against the headboard while trying to remember what happened last night.To be honest, she wasn’t someone who got panic attacks often. Maybe back when she was modeling, she had experienced it a few times because of the pressure of work. However, that was so long ago that she had even forgotten.What happened last night certainly surprised her. She didn’t have a panic attack when Dante touched her forcibly. She also didn’t get a panic attack when she was completely hurt and destroyed. Then what had triggered it?Natalie roughly rubbed her face. Then she took a sip of the water on the nightstand. Someone suddenly knocked on her bedroom door. She quickly opened it and saw Cora standing with a tray of breakfast. “Miss, how are you feeling now?” Cora asked.“I’m fine,” Natalie replied. “Actually, you don’t need to bring breakfast to my room. I can come down to the dining table.”“Sorry, I thought
“Stay here. I’m going to meet an investor,” Dante said after taking Natalie into his private office. He tried to forget what had just happened. “Do you just trust me?” Natalie glanced around with a flat expression. “I can steal your data here.” “Do it if you want.” Dante looked at her expressionlessly. He wasn’t worried because his greatest wealth was from his illicit business. After that, he walked out of the room. Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She also tried to forget Dante’s strange behavior. Instead of speculating and guessing randomly, it was better to ignore it. Dante’s private office was a special office for the CEO. It wasn’t Natalie’s first time entering a CEO’s office, but still, the atmosphere inside the room impressed her. The room was spacious, with a wide glass wall that looked out over the business district of Manhattan. One could see the bustling streets and modern-looking high-rises from there. The ceiling was high. The marble and all the furnit
‘Dante is really sick.’That was all Natalie could think about. She closed her eyes in the car and tried to calm down. She had always thought Dante was a cruel and cold-hearted man, but it turned out to be more than that.A sane man wouldn’t do those things. A sane man wouldn’t claim a woman as his own when they didn’t even love her. Nor would a sane man detain and imprison a woman like a criminal.Natalie thought she herself was crazy enough with the destruction of her life. It turned out that there were people who were crazier than her.Just then, Dante’s right hand suddenly touched Natalie’s thigh, instantly breaking into her reverie. She turned her head and said coldly, “Take your hand away!”“Are you still mad at me, Cavey?” Dante asked, but Natalie didn’t want to answer. She just swatted away Dante’s hand.“I won’t bring up your past again,” the man said. He stared at Natalie as he drove.“You think I’m mad just because of that?”Dante shrugged his shoulders. “Is there another r
Hesitantly, Natalie picked up the incoming call. Dante’s voice immediately rang in her ears. “Get ready. I’ll pick you up soon,” the man said.Natalie’s expression immediately turned flat. So Dante said she didn’t need to add his contact because he had already done it himself?“You’re so great, Dante!” Natalie sarcastically said. She’d never thought that Dante could be so narcissistic. The guy even named his own contacts ‘fiancé’.“I am,” he said.Natalie snorted. She asked, “What are you picking me up for?”“Dinner.” Dante’s answer irritated Natalie.“You shouldn’t say things on the spur of the moment, Mr. Vittorio! Women can’t get dressed up in 10 minutes, let alone to go to a formal event. You’d better go alone!”Dante, who was sitting at his desk, smiled. “Not a formal event.”“What do you mean?”“I’m in a good mood, so, well, what’s wrong with me asking you to dinner?”Natalie was a little surprised. However, she knew Dante’s moods were volatile and unpredictable. She’d rather ha
Dante’s arrival was completely unexpected. Natalie hurriedly put the paper back into the bouquet. She turned around and saw Dante staring at her with one eyebrow raised.“Why are you here?” The question went unanswered. Dante noticed the bouquet in Natalie’s hand.“Flowers?”“I think someone sent them to the wrong address,” Natalie said, trying to remain calm. She pretended to be confused and handed the bouquet to Dante.“Wrong address?” The man squinted. Slowly, he took the bouquet and reached between the flowers. “Are you sure?” he asked casually.Natalie’s heart skipped a beat. She gulped as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Do you find anything?”Dante pulled out the letter Natalie had just hidden. He smirked and opened the letter while looking at the nervous woman. “Do you mind if I read it?”“No.” Natalie shook her head and smiled. “These flowers are definitely not for me, anyway.”Dante finally read the letter. Natalie could only pray silently, hoping that what was written o
Alex knocked on Dante’s bedroom door several times, but there was no response from inside. He grew uneasy. “Dante, open the door!” he shouted.“What’s wrong?” James, standing guard in front of the hotel room, became curious because he saw Alex worried. “Is there any urgent business?”“Hurry and ask the hotel staff for a spare key!” Alex ordered seriously.James felt confused but didn’t dare ask more questions. He hurried away and came back with a hotel staff a few moments later. Alex immediately asked the staff to open Dante’s room.Moments later, the door finally opened. “Let me in,” Alex said, as he hurried inside. He closed the door again and saw Dante crouched on the floor, busy doing something.“What are you doing?” Alex asked.“Stay right there! Don’t come any closer!” Dante ordered coldly.Alex was confused. Dante had his back to him, so he could only see his back. Shards of glass were on the floor, along with blood splatters. That worried him.“Are you okay?” Alex asked as he
Natalie finally met the Wentworth family. They didn’t recognize her and quietly asked Britia. “Is she your friend? Why didn’t you say you were coming with a friend?”Britia smiled awkwardly while looking at Natalie. They sat at the dining table with the rest of the Wentworth family, but the atmosphere was awkward and strange. They felt unfamiliar with Natalie’s presence.“Everyone, listen to me!” Britia finally shouted and stood up while holding a wine glass. “She’s not my friend. She’s Natalie, Aunt Minerva’s granddaughter in America. Don’t you all recognize her?”They were surprised to hear that. Minerva’s granddaughter?They all immediately looked at Natalie with appraisal and investigation. The change in her appearance had indeed puzzled them. Meanwhile, the observed person could only smile while putting on a friendly face.“Are you really Minerva’s granddaughter?” Nelson Wentworth, Minerva’s elder brother, the first child of that generation, asked in confusion.Natalie nodded. “I
Britia was still unsure of Natalie’s identity. However, she couldn’t bear to let her faint just like that. Finally, she asked the security guards to help take Natalie to her apartment unit.Natalie fainted for three hours. When she woke up, the sky was already bright. Britia, who had been pacing back and forth waiting for her, immediately sighed and offered her warm water.“Oh, you really confused me. It’s Christmas, you know?!” the beautiful curly-haired and blue-eyed woman grumbled.Natalie tried to sit up even though her body felt weak. Her head was throbbing, but she didn’t care. She took the glass of warm water and looked down. “I’m sorry I bothered you,” she said guiltily.“What exactly happened? Are you really Aunt Minerva’s granddaughter?” Britia asked.“Yes, I’m Natalie. After I got out of prison, I did have plastic surgery to change my identity so that others wouldn’t know who I really am. You know, I don’t want to hold that popularity anymore,” Natalie said weakly.Britia s
Nicolo and his two subordinates hid in front of his bulletproof car, using the car as a shield and hiding place. Meanwhile, Dante’s soldiers advanced closer and closer. They were full of preparations and overwhelmed Nicolo.“Son of a bitch! I don’t think we can survive here, boss!” shouted Nicolo’s driver, who had run out of bullets.“Find a place to hide! This commotion is bound to attract the police. If they come, Dante won’t be able to catch up with us,” Nicolo said as he looked around. He gave the code to his two subordinates. After that, they immediately ran away.Dante, who saw that, immediately told his subordinates to chase Nicolo. That was a good opportunity to catch them. Next time, he probably wouldn’t have the chance.James and some men dressed in black went after Nicolo. Meanwhile, Dante approached Nicolo’s car, which was riddled with gunshot marks. He opened the door and saw Natalie crouched in fear on the floor of the vehicle, crying shakily.“Go! Find a place to hide!”
After meeting Nicolo, Natalie’s days were filled with fear and worry. She didn’t want to go to Italy, but what if Nicolo forced her to go?Natalie couldn’t eat and slept well. Several times, she went to see Kelsey to make sure she was okay. The longer it went on, the more uneasy she became. She didn’t know when Nicolo would show up again, and that made things uncertain.On Christmas Eve, it snowed more heavily. Natalie was about to go to Betty’s restaurant. However, remembering the last time she met Lucas in the alley made her cancel her intention. She'd better stay in her room.Natalie pulled up the blanket. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Her feelings were immediately alert. Had the person she feared finally come?She swallowed. What if she didn’t open the door? Would that person break down the door and barge in?Natalie was silent. Then the sound of knocking on the door came back, along with Harper Lawrence’s shout. “Miss Smith, are you in there?!”“Oh, wait!” Natalie felt
Natalie tried to break Nicolo’s embrace and pushed the man’s body away. She sat up and looked at him angrily. “Do you hate me that much? You really have no heart!”They had only met occasionally at nightclubs in the past. Natalie even only knew Nicolo’s name without knowing his true identity, so she never took his proposal seriously. Who would have guessed that it was that rejection that led her into various life-and-death situations?“I do hate you. But if you’ll go with me, I’ll forgive you,” Nicolo said.Natalie was completely speechless. Nicolo had gone mad. He spoke as if everything was her fault and she needed his forgiveness. Shouldn’t he be the one apologizing to her?After he had caused her career to crumble, her life to fall apart, and put her in danger so many times, shouldn’t he be the one apologizing?“I’m fucking innocent!” Natalie stared at the man with reddened eyes. “You’re the one who should be apologizing to me, Nicolo! You’ve ruined everything!”Nicolo gave her a c
In the car, Natalie sat anxiously uncertain. Lucas sat beside her and looked at her with a smirk. “It's only been a few months since we've seen each other. Why are you being so strange to me?”Natalie clenched her fists tightly. She looked at Lucas hatefully. “Back then, I didn't know what your intentions were. After you sold me and put me through those cruel things, why should I be nice to you?”Lucas laughed without feeling guilty. He just thought of Natalie as a toy. Whatever Natalie felt wouldn't make him feel bad.“All this time, you've probably been wondering who the person is who hates you enough to make you suffer like that. I'll take you to see him,” Lucas said. Right after that, the car they were traveling in stopped before a nightclub.Natalie swallowed nervously. She got out of the car without asking many questions and followed Lucas into the nightclub.That was no ordinary nightclub, but an exclusive nightclub. The security staff guarding the entrance looked at Natalie sk
That night, Natalie stayed alone in the flat. The quiet and lonely atmosphere made her claustrophobic. She looked out the window and daydreamed while staring at the snowflakes falling from the sky.Natalie felt like everything was empty. She had no purpose in life anymore, no dreams or desires that could make her endure and try hard. Even if she had to die today, she probably wouldn’t regret it.She rubbed her face tiredly. “Maybe I’d better go out,” she muttered.It wasn’t late, so Natalie decided to go to a small, secluded old restaurant. There were only a few customers there, and there weren’t even any waiters, just an old couple sincerely serving the customers.“Miss, are you a new customer? What makes you interested in coming to this old tavern?” The old woman wearing an apron asked Natalie kindly.“This place is in an alley, but the aroma of the food wafts far away. It’s surprisingly quiet here. I’m not in the mood to meet many people,” Natalie said.The old lady smiled and sat
“Miss, please.” Mr. Lawrence invited Natalie to come in and look around the empty flat. She nodded and went to look around. However, her mind could not focus.Natalie couldn’t ignore someone who might be watching her. There were only two possibilities that popped into her head. If it wasn’t Lucas’s subordinate, it had to be Dante’s. The people who had been ensnaring her were just them.“Sister, why are you daydreaming? Don’t you like this place?” Kelsey asked.“I like it,” Natalie answered immediately. She smiled and asked the landlord a few questions, including about the rent and the safety of the neighborhood.Mr. Lawrence explained kindly. However, Natalie wanted to quickly catch who was stalking her, so she didn’t want to listen too much.“May I rent for one month first? If I feel comfortable, I’ll extend the lease,” Natalie pleaded.“No problem. We are very flexible,” Mr. Lawrence replied.Natalie immediately paid the rent for one month. It was probably the quickest transaction f