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172|Betrayal-Part 3
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Save Him 173|Burn Brighter
The digital clock screensaver on Natalie's phone said it was just after 9:00 AM. It had to be wrong, though, because if her math was right, she'd slept for over ten hours, and she should be feeling well-rested, but she didn't.She was still so exhausted the very thought of getting out of bed sapped the life from her. But if she didn't dash to the bathroom pronto, she'd have a real problem on her hands. So she tried to sit up, only to have Levi pull her back down on the bed and drape his arm around her, locking her in place.He snuggled closer, spooning her, and for that blissful moment, everything was perfect.It felt good, being in his arms and knowing they'd lived through one of their ugliest fights and came out on the other side stronger than before—"Good morning," Levi whispered into her hair. "You slept okay?""I did," Natalie replied with a hint of a smile as she turned around to look at him, her heart hammering out of control when she caught the intense look in his eyes.She'd
Save Him 174|Good As New
They headed to Chassis offices straight from the ranch. Levi left Natalie in his office while he went to the R&D area to figure out the server issue with the devs.Mark was there, overseeing the whole operation."What's the ETA?" Levi asked as they stood in front of the TV screen, watching live feeds of all their game servers in several countries."Four to five hours," Mark replied. "How was the meeting with the folks? Did Natalie survive the in-laws?""Let's talk in there," Levi pointed at an empty meeting pod. The other was occupied by a crew of technicians, their faces and hands permanently glued to their laptops.Angela came in as soon as they sat down to deliver their refreshments."Did Natalie eat?" Levi asked."No," she shook her head. "Ms Taylor's not feeling well. She threw up again, and she's lying down now.""Take care of her for me," he instructed her. "I'll be up shortly.""Yes, Mr Van Holt," Angela smiled and excused herself.Mark turned to him when they were alone. "Wha
Save Him 175|In A Pickle
Natalie wasn't as good as new, though. She woke up extremely exhausted and spent most of Sunday in bed. Levi catered to her every whim, brought her snacks and turned on her favourite shows.She laugh-cried the whole time she watched Hoarders while Levi worked quietly beside her on his laptop."Am I disturbing you?" she asked at some point, convinced she was laughing way too loudly. But he shook his head and smiled, and she leaned in to kiss his dimple. It didn't take long before they were wrapped up in each other."I missed you last night," he grunted as he took her from behind.Natalie had missed him too, and to show him just how much, she leaned back, pressing her back to his chest, his arms coming around her to caress her breasts.She turned her face into his and kissed him hungrily. He growled and flipped their positions, holding onto her waist as he thrust upward in deep strokes."Oh God," she cried and held on tight to his neck, contracting all around him. Within moments she fel
Save Him 176|All His Tomorrows
Natalie was distant again, and no matter how hard Levi tried to get her to open up, she wouldn't. He figured she was pissed at him for earlier, for showing up on her floor unannounced.She sighed and gazed outside the window at the traffic crawling on the overhead bridge."Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror, at Mark flashing his lights behind them.Her response was firm and final. "No!"They both fell silent, and Levi thought back to the weekend. With the server going down and Natalie being so sick over the past few days, they'd barely had a chance to sit and have a debrief about their weekend getaway. He wanted her to like his mom. It was important that they get along, so he asked her, "How did it go with my Mom? Did you enjoy the little time we spent at the ranch?""She's nice and loves you very much," Natalie replied."Just nice?""I like her," she said, still staring outside."And she likes you too," Levi smiled and took her hand. He kissed it
Save Him 177|Unanswered Questions
Levi eased out of bed, tucked Natalie in and threw on a pair of joggers and a T-shirt.The light in the situation room was on, and as he made his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, he could hear Mark and Seth chatting in hushed tones."What are we looking at?" he asked when he walked into the room and handed both men their coffee mugs."Dreams, Vivienne and Paul," Mark filled him in."Are we really doing this?" he murmured as he absently stared at the board. Taking down Dreams was never his plan. He'd only wanted to find his twin. But Mark wanted to go all the way, and Levi knew he'd never find peace until Dreams was nothing but a bad memory for all of them."I can't let it go!" Mark fumed. "Not after they got her hooked on drugs and pimped her out. I was ready to walk away if she'd gone into Dreams willingly. But now that I know the truth. No way I'll let them get away with it.""There are other women who depend on Dreams," Seth warned him against making hasty decisi
Save Him 178|Time Was Out Of Sync
Natalie asked Emily to drop her off at Safe Haven after work, and she'd either walk back to Levi's penthouse by herself or take an Uber; there was no need to wait for her."What kind of bestie would I be to let you go for your first checkup on your own?" Emily said as they pulled into the parking lot and made their way inside the single-story building."How did you know?" Natalie asked."Well, your sessions with Sam are on Thursdays," Emily pointed out.The receptionist was happy to slot Natalie in Sam's diary. But she'd have to wait at least an hour. So they sat on the plastic chairs in the waiting area. Emily drank vending machine coffee while Natalie read every poster in the room.By the time Sam called them in, Natalie was an expert on domestic violence and knew all the support centres' phone numbers off by heart."Natalie," she smiled as she showed them to her office. "I was surprised to hear from you. Our appointment is on Thursday, right?"Natalie assured her this had nothing t
Save Him 179|Void
Two hours later, Natalie fell head over heels in love with Levi again over their dinner at Skyline. As if once wasn't enough.He was the perfect date, attentive to a fault, and if she didn't know his stance on children, it would have been so easy to tell him she was expecting.But she'd already seen their ending. They were on different paths and didn't want the same things. It wasn't anyone's fault, though. It was just as Levi had said— the timing wasn't right.After their scrumptious dinner served on the rooftop in front of a roaring fire pit to keep them warm, they headed to the cinema a few blocks away, and Levi let her choose the movie. She settled on a horror flick, shocking him out of his head with her macabre taste."Are you sure? It's very dark." He tried to push her on the romance end of the scale. But she was okay with horror. It wouldn't break her already fragile heart like a rom-com would.He held her hand as soon as the movie began, even though she wasn't scared. At some
Save Him 180|The Proposal
Levi's parents had booked a table at the Spanish restaurant in the hotel's West Wing. They were already enraptured by Mark's stories when they arrived.His mom was only concerned about Natalie. She ran to her, hugged and kissed her on both cheeks. She was over Colleen now. After all, they'd spent almost every waking moment together over the last two weeks. Leviticus, too, was happy to have his little girl back."Let me look at you!" his mom gushed as she held Natalie away from her.Levi watched them with mild curiosity, noticing how uncomfortable Natalie looked. He wanted to swoop in and rescue her from his mom's coddling. But Mark stopped him before he could and handed him a glass of whiskey."She's besotted with Natalie," Mark drawled as they watched them leave the room. Apparently, she had something to show Natalie."It's the strangest thing, watching them together," Levi agreed."That must help alleviate the pressure of your decision, knowing they get along," his friend said and g
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Save Him 214|Follow The Sun
"Something's different," Natalie murmured as she flicked her gaze through the room.Levi gave her a back hug and kissed the top of her head. "I installed shutters.""Why?""This is our second home, Nat, and I wanted you to feel safe and comfortable.""Thank you," she turned around and hugged him, resting her head on his chest. "The windows don't look as scary and frightening as they did when I first stayed over.""That was the plan. To make them look less frightening." He tapped her nose and asked, "are you hungry?""For something else.""I was hoping you'd say that!" he replied and promptly threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he carried her to their bedroom."You sexy brute!" Natalie scolded him. "Put me down. The housekeepers will see us!"But he paid her no mind and only set her down once they were in their room."Say it again," he commanded as he moved over her on the bed and nibbled her lower lip. "Tell me all the filthy things you want me to do to you."Natalie
Save Him 213|Precious Love
Natalie had to blink a few times at the picturesque scene before her. It was hard to believe this place, decorated splendidly in ivory and silver motifs, was the same town hall used by Sparrow Beach's residence association to host their weekly meetings."This is amazing," she whispered as she swept her gaze through the room, at all the tiny details, the little things she would never have thought of if she was left to her own devices. Cynthia and the wedding planners had done an incredible job transforming it into a venue fit for a grand wedding reception. Natalie couldn't pry her eyes away from string fairy lights draping the ceiling. But the smell of white lilies permeating the room transported her back to her balcony at The Empress the night Levi proposed to her, and she turned him down. It felt like a lifetime ago, and as she gave him a sidelong glance and caught him looking at her, she couldn't help but be glad he never gave up on her, and she had the sense to say yes on his sixth
Save Him 212|Runaway Bride
At the altar, Seth and Mark seemed to be way more nervous than Levi."Are you sure about this?" Mark asked for the hundredth time, and Levi gritted his teeth for the hundredth time."How many times should I tell you? I love Nat, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.""Well, I'm just saying marriage is forever, you know." Mark dabbed his forehead with his handkerchief."Why are you sweating? It's not even your wedding," Seth said as he pulled out his own handkerchief and patted his face."Can I have some water?" Liam asked. "God, I need some water. What did that crazy Russian do to me last night?""You fell for his dare again," Mark tried to fill in the blanks for him. "He made you a Russian fuck bomb—that's what he called it. Still don't know what was in it. But you were a goner after you drank that shit, and we had to help Eden carry you back to your room at the B&B.""No wonder she's mad as fuck at me," Liam whispered. "Is she looking at me right now? Guys, I can feel he
Save Him 211|Heart Is At Ease
The weatherman had predicted strong winds and heavy rain. But Natalie's big day dawned bright and sunny. The sky was as blue as the ocean behind her house, with no cloud in sight. Amber and Colleen thought it was a good omen, and Emily, not a believer of anything really, agreed with them."You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen," Amber said for what felt like the hundredth time since Natalie had stepped into her wedding dress.They were in one of the smaller administration rooms on the chapel's grounds, and the stylists had turned it into a makeshift dressing room."What are you talking about? I'm the only bride you've ever seen!" Natalie teased, but she really was overwhelmed by all the love her sister and friends had shown her, and she was trying so hard not to cry and ruin her makeup."Just accept the compliment already," Colleen scolded her as she fussed over the hem of Natalie's dress."Yeah, Nat, you need to learn to work on accepting compliments graciously," Emily agre
Save Him 210|Cold Feet
"Is everything okay with you two?" Colleen approached him. "I'm sensing a weird vibe. Are you guys getting cold feet?""I don't know about Nat, but I'm not," Levi replied and pushed his hands in his pockets. "How was she today? I don't know…These last two weeks, she's been so calm.""And how is that a bad thing?""Because I know Nat. A wedding is a huge, life-altering event, and she doesn't do life-altering events well. Her knee-jerk reaction is to run. I'm just scared that—Never mind.""No," Colleen refused to let him leave her with half the info. "You're scared of what?""She's too calm, Leeny. The last time she was this way was when she threw you the welcome party. The very next day, she made a run for it without telling me about the twins.""That was months ago!" Colleen reminded him. "You're overthinking this. I've seen the way Nat looks at you. She's crazy about you and your babies. She won't leave you in the lurch! Besides, where would she run to? This is her home town."Right,
Save Him 209|Midnight Rendezvous
Julian and Andrei took it upon themselves to throw Levi the biggest and craziest bachelor party Sparrow Beach had ever seen.And Levi was only happy to blame Mark for everything."What did I do? I followed your 'no bachelor party' rule to the T." His best friend held up his hands as they watched Liam, Jaxon and Matthew try to outdrink each other over a beer pong game."That's exactly why it's your fault. You didn't enforce the rule hard enough," Levi replied, his attention stolen away briefly by Julian and Andrei sipping champagne from the navel of one of the three models-slash-strippers they'd flown in for the occasion.The said model was laid out on the pool table, her half-naked body out on display for everyone to see, and Levi wondered just how Joe had allowed this debauchery to carry on at his family-friendly establishment."Seriously, Mark, as my best man, how do you think Natalie will feel about all this crap?"Ten—maybe even two years ago—this was totally his scene. But now, a
Save Him 208|One Thing Right At Least
In theory, the idea of having twins had sounded fun and appealing. But the reality was far from it, as Natalie and Levi soon learned over the next few weeks.Indeed, it was double the blessing, double the fun, and double the joy. But it was also double the work, and it didn't help that the first week after they brought them home, Juno and Mars decided to go on different sleep schedules.If she and Levi didn't have a strong support system to rely on, Natalie knew they would have lost their minds in those first few weeks.Mrs Ackerman semi-moved in with them, splitting her time between the Blue Mountains and Green Point. It was nice having her around; she was a pro at the never-ending laundry of tiny-sized human clothes and the general upkeep of the house.Levi suggested hiring a nanny full time, but Natalie wasn't sold on the idea. She wanted to be hands-on and involved in the twins' upbringing."Love, it's not working," he said after one particularly difficult night. They were running
Save Him 207|Life's Little Moments
Natalie received a clean bill of health five days after the twins' arrival, and two days later, they were all finally allowed to leave the hospital.After months of being cooped up in bed and eating terrible hospital food, she couldn't get home fast enough.She couldn't stop raving about all the stuff she'd do when they got home, like taking an actual shower and sleeping in her own bed—all the things she used to take for granted before her bed rest.Zachary and Carlos picked them up, and they spent a few minutes gazing at the twins in their double infant stroller, trying to decide who they resembled the most."I really can't tell who they look like," Carlos admitted at last."Neither can we," Levi said with a smile as he covered the twins with a light blanket and turned to Natalie. "Ready to go?"She took one last look around the ward, ensuring they had all their stuff. Satisfied everything was packed away, she nodded. "Yep, let's go home."She hooked her arm around Levi's, and he pus
Save Him 206|Juno and Mars
Levi called his assistant on his way back to the hospital and cancelled all his meetings for the week."Sir," Angela said before they could hang up. "We are all thinking of you. Norah and Natalie's team are beside themselves with worry. But she's a fighter. She'll be out of the hospital in no time.""Thank you," he smiled into the phone, praying with all his heart she was right. He'd lose his mind if anything had to happen to Natalie and their twins. They'd come too far for him to lose her now, especially after everything they'd been through.After he hung up from Angela, he called Amber. She was hysterical, and it took him a long time to calm her down and assure her Natalie, and their babies were fine, and there was no need for them to drive down to Rock Union.He was immensely relieved when he found Natalie sitting up, chatting with his folks and her bestie.Now that he was back, his parents and Emily excused themselves, promising to return later to relieve him."See, I told you I'l
