Natasha's figure had already disappeared from Natalie's view. She followed Valerie and arrived at the store's VIP room.Valerie eagerly presented the prepared document to Natasha, saying, "Miss, take a look to see if there are any issues. If not, you can sign it."Natasha accepted the document expressionlessly. After a brief glance, she returned it to Valerie. "I trust you. There shouldn't be any issues."Valerie wore a fawning smile as she continued, "We can also offer you an exclusive VIP card in our store. It's reserved for distinguished individuals like you. We don't give it out to just anyone!"Valerie reached into her clothes to retrieve the card. "Next time you come, just bring that card to me directly. I can give you substantial discounts.""No, thank you." Without showing any emotions on her face, Natasha waved her hand and expressed her gratitude.She didn't need discounts and wasn't interested in casually sharing her information in the store.Natasha then reached for
Carly withdrew her gaze and walked to the side without looking around.The aloofness on her face suggested that she deliberately kept her distance. There was nearly three feet of distance between her and Natasha.Natasha could sense that Carly was unfamiliar with her and treated her like a stranger.Sensing the other's aloofness, Natasha found herself a bit reluctant to express the thoughts that had crossed her mind just moments ago.After all, she felt that if someone was so indifferent to her and even ignored her, she'd only end up being disliked if she insisted on approaching the other person.Moreover, Natalie had already established a rapport with Carly and gained her trust. Carly would undoubtedly be more inclined to believe Natalie than Natasha, a stranger.Natasha felt it would be presumptuous and could be seen as sowing discord if she approached Carly now. After all, it was best not to meddle in other people's affairs sometimes.As Natasha contemplated quietly, another
Carly's smile vanished and was replaced by a serious expression as she fixed her gaze on Natasha.Natasha nodded lightly. "That's right."Carly snorted coldly, her gaze becoming sharp. "Why should I trust your words?"Her expression at that moment was far from pleasant. It was evident she harbored doubts about Natasha's assertion.As far as Carly was concerned, Natalie was seen as a fragile girl. Moreover, her character was so kind that she couldn't possibly deceive her.Not to mention, Carly had saved Natalie's life. Solely for the sake of saving her life, even an ordinary person would surely feel grateful to their savior, let alone bear grudges against them.In Carly's view, Natasha was blatantly smearing Natalie's reputation. She thought Natasha might be Natalie's enemy, who wanted to spread rumors about her.Natasha raised an eyebrow as she observed Carly's somewhat defensive reaction. She had long expected the latter wouldn't believe her words.If Carly truly believed her
Natasha raised her gaze at the sound."It's really you?" Natalie thought she was mistaken, but she didn't expect it to really be her. Her eyes were filled with astonishment and tinged with uncontainable disgust.Natasha immediately sensed the suppressed emotion in Natalie's gaze. Her face remained expressionless and as indifferent as ever.She gave Natalie a brief look and walked straight past her, without bothering to make eye contact."Are you following me on purpose?" Natalie yelled at Natasha's retreating figure.She couldn't accept the coincidence of Natasha being here.She wondered if Natasha already knew something and purposely came to disrupt her plans. Perhaps Natasha knew about Natalie sending someone to kidnap her and came for revenge.The faster Natasha walked, the more thoughts raced through Natalie's mind, and the more unsettled she felt. Numerous possibilities flashed through Natalie's mind, leaving her feeling flustered."Ms. Lovelace!" A sharp female voice reac
"Are all the things you said true?" Carly's eyes widened in disbelief.While the woman who spoke earlier seemed somewhat bold in her words, her demeanor didn't quite match that of someone who would engage in such actions.The fact that she would steal a man from Natalie and even want to put the latter in mortal danger… That was incredibly cruel.Carly was momentarily taken aback. She found it difficult to process the situation.She carefully recalled Natasha in her mind. The woman was dressed appropriately. With refined features, she exuded a sense of tranquility. She didn't appear to be such a malicious person by any stretch.Natalie stole glances at Carly's reaction from the side, keenly sensing Carly's disbelief.Realizing the situation was turning sour, she immediately furrowed her brow, her eyes seemingly filled with endless sorrow. "I knew no one would believe me…"She added, "I've talked to Josh about this, and he doesn't believe me, either. Even everyone else in the Gray
"Alright!" Natalie nodded earnestly. Watching Carly finally follow Lily out of the room, she heaved a sigh of relief.Thankfully, she reacted swiftly by managing her expression right away and putting on a look of grievance. Anyone who saw her face wouldn't suspect a thing. It was also this factor that convinced Carly.With a satisfied expression, Natalie pulled out a chair and seated herself comfortably.Having dealt with Carly, she now had a moment to contemplate Natasha's unexpected presence. She couldn't shake off the feeling of unease in her heart.Despite her previous hesitations, she eventually turned to Yakov, hoping he would provide her with an escape route.However, the latter proved to be disappointingly unreliable. He had foolishly provoked Joshua, leading to a slew of problems for Natalie. He even sabotaged the network she had painstakingly built up.Just the thought of it made Natalie furious.Fortunately, fate smiled upon her and brought Carly into her life. This c
Surrounding Natalie were gazes of all kinds, spanning from curiosity to gloating, sarcasm to condescension, and indifference to disdain.All eyes were fixed on her, making her feel like she had a target on her back.Terry, who stood at the side, felt equally embarrassed. After all, he used to be a prominent figure by Natalie's side in the company and constantly revolved around her.Back then, Natalie was in the limelight and greatly favored by Joshua. As a result, Terry was also held in high regard alongside her.Many in the company envied him for being able to be by Natalie's side, running errands for her, which had once been seen as quite glamorous.However, now that Natalie had fallen out of favor, and Joshua was even refusing to see her when she came to the company…If Natalie were looked down upon, he would be looked down upon, too. They had long been in the same boat, sharing each other's successes and failures.While everyone's attention was on Natalie, Terry felt as thou
Natalie made way for Terry.Without waiting for Natalie to speak, Terry promptly knocked on the door of the president's office."Mr. Grayson, I have some documents that need your signature." He tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.After all, if Joshua knew that he was deliberately finding excuses to get him to open the door for Natalie, he would definitely be in trouble.About half a minute later, there was still no response from inside.Just as Natalie thought Joshua wouldn't open the door, his cold voice rang out. "Come in."Terry hastily grabbed a stack of documents and went to open the door. After stealing a glance at Joshua's expression, he turned to give Natalie a knowing look.Taking the hint, Natalie pushed the door open and entered.Joshua was seated in the chair, with a pair of gold-framed glasses resting on his prominent nose. His entire demeanor changed from his previous coldness and emanated a hint of elegance."Mr. Grayson, these documents require your sig
He didn't know where this sense of loss came from, but it hung over Joshua like a low-pressure system and seemed impossible to dispel. His expression visibly darkened. Yet, he seemed to want to maintain his dignity and didn't want Natasha to discern his sense of loss. So Joshua pursed his lips, forcefully suppressing the feeling and putting on a blank expression. He seemed indifferent to Natasha's proposed condition."How about it? Does Mr. Grayson need more time to consider?" Natasha sat calmly in her chair, tilting her head slightly. She was confident this time that Joshua would definitely agree. Although she felt a bit uneasy about using Philip's life as leverage against Joshua, she believed it was the best option at the moment. Given Joshua's personality, using trivial things as leverage wouldn't pose any threat to him. Besides family members' lives, everything else was insignificant to him. She had no other choice.As Natasha spoke, her eyebrows furrowed lightly, and her
As soon as Joshua heard Natasha mention there were conditions, he instantly had a bad feeling. Although Natasha didn't explicitly state the conditions, Joshua understood that they definitely wouldn't be easy."What conditions are you talking about?" He propped his chin up with his hand, looking at Natasha seriously.Natasha smiled and raised her lips. "What are the conditions? You should know."Joshua was slightly stunned. He knew what the conditions were?He furrowed his brows earnestly, trying hard to figure out what conditions Natasha was talking about.Could it be…"Are you trying to make it a condition to drive Natalie away from the Grayson Villa?" Joshua raised an eyebrow. Considering recent events, Joshua couldn't think of any other conditions.As soon as this was said, Natasha was momentarily dumbfounded.What was he talking about?Natasha tried to find a word to describe Joshua's thoughts, but after a long time, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Joshua's train of
Natasha blinked her eyes. It seemed that Joshua was anticipating her rejection in advance."Since you can enter the Sullivan residence, your relationship with them must be extraordinary."It's not like people with Joshua's and Natalie's status could enter. But Natasha could, which undoubtedly indicated that she still had something to hide from him."Since you have this relationship with the Sullivans, helping Grandfather should be a simple matter."As soon as these words came out, Natasha sneered, "Simple matter?""Although I do have some connection with the Sullivans, it's not to the extent where I can freely arrange the Sullivans miracle worker's schedule."The position of the Sullivan's miracle worker is well-known. Since you are aware of it, you shouldn't say such things. You're overestimating me."Natasha was blatantly lying and trying to deceive Joshua."Someone with the status of the Sullivan's miracle worker would only save someone if he wanted to. If he doesn't have th
As soon as Joshua said the name "Jacob", Natasha felt like her throat was being choked, and was unable to breathe properly.Her breathing became somewhat erratic."What's wrong? Do you know him or not?" Joshua spoke, narrowing his eyes. His pupils contracted, and he looked sharp and almost menacing.It seemed like any slight movement from Natasha couldn't escape his gaze."I…" Natasha began.She seemed a bit hesitant but also seemed not at all. Finally, she calmly spoke, "I don't know him.""Don't know him?" Joshua raised an eyebrow.He seemed somewhat incredulous, repeatedly confirming, "You really don't know him?"Natasha nodded, her expression very firm. "I don't know him."She looked somewhat puzzled, her tone confused as she asked, "Who is Jacob? Is he also from the Graysons?"Joshua stared at Natasha motionlessly, as if trying to find a flaw on her face.But Natasha remained calm. Her expression was very normal and without any flaws.Joshua stared for a long time. Eve
"Please help us remove all these dishes and replace them with some new ones." Natasha pointed to the dishes on the table.The waitress was startled, instinctively asking, "Is there any problem with these dishes? Please point them out, and we will correct them immediately."Natasha smiled gracefully. "No, there's nothing wrong."It was just that these dishes accidentally touched Joshua's nerve."Is it because the dishes don't suit your taste?" the waitress continued to inquire."Not really." Natasha shook her head.Although, she hadn't even taken a bite. She didn't even know if these dishes were good or not.If Joshua's gaze hadn't been so intimidating, she would have tried them so as not to waste them.Next time, she had to bring Austin to try the dishes at this restaurant."So what's wrong with these dishes? We can convey your feedback to the kitchen, or we can replace them with new dishes for you free of charge. Would that be acceptable to you?" the waitress asked.The wait
Joshua had been the president for a long time, and his whole demeanor was daunting, seemingly suffocating others with his pressure.Natasha sat in her seat. Even if she deliberately avoided looking up at Joshua, she could still feel the scalp-tingling sensation.His gaze was just too sharp. She couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to."Uh… Didn't you just say you don't like these dishes? Do you want them all removed?" Natasha awkwardly changed the subject."I'll listen and remove it now. I'll call the waiter in to take them away." After saying that, Natasha lowered her gaze and pressed the button on the table to call the waiter outside on standby.Joshua remained silent. His gaze fixed on Natasha without wavering.It made Natasha feel even more trapped.Her mind was already in a mess at the moment. She regretted that she had spoken too hastily earlier without thinking.She had never let slip of anything during her time in the Grayson Villa.What was happening now? Just a few
She was trying hard to change the subject.But Joshua looked at the dish, his mind filled with the image of Jacob's face and the various rejections he had faced during his youth.This made him very uncomfortable."I won't eat it. Take it away," Joshua said coldly with disdain."This dish… actually tastes very good. You can try it. Don't have a prejudice against it." Natasha tried to calm Joshua's mood.But he clearly had little patience. He roared angrily, "Take it away!""I don't want to see this dish!"The sound made Natasha's hand tremble as she held the plate."Alright, alright, I'll take it away. Why are you so fierce?" Natasha bit her lip, took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her rising anger, and then withdrew the dish of delicious cheese curds."Then have some other dishes." She gestured to the several dishes on the table.But unexpectedly, Joshua's face turned even worse. His gaze swept over the dishes on the table, his brows deeply furrowed, looking very dissati
Joshua's tone sounded casual and his expression indifferent, as if discussing something unrelated to him. Yet, it gave the impression that he was talking about his own affairs."Is it worth it?" Natasha murmured, repeating the question.Perhaps because Joshua exuded a melancholic air, Natasha stopped in her tracks and earnestly answered the question. "If this mother is willing to do it, then it must be worth it."Upon hearing this, Joshua looked at her, his melancholy seeming to deepen."Is that so? Do you also think that everything this mother does is worth it?"The sorrowful expression in his eyes seemed so thick that it was unbreakable.Natasha was surprised to see Joshua like this. She didn't understand why Joshua had suddenly changed."A parent's love for their child involves careful planning. Every mother who selflessly sacrifices for her child is great…"Natasha considered her tone carefully. "A mother who wholeheartedly loves her child would do this, wouldn't she?"Bef
They were different people.In a flash, Natasha instinctively pushed him away.She stood up straight, her tone serious as she said, "Joshua, please behave yourself." Her gentle fingers brushed against Joshua's shirt, seemingly carrying her fresh fragrance with it.The sudden push caught Joshua off guard.Looking up, he found Natasha wanting to keep her distance from him as if he were a ferocious beast.This look even made Joshua doubt himself. Was he that bad to warrant such a reaction from her?Before he could come to a conclusion, Natasha had already picked up her bag, seemingly ready to leave."If Mr. Grayson has nothing else to do today, I'll be taking my leave first."Joshua's behavior just now caught her off guard.Anyway, from the looks of it, he probably wouldn't agree to a divorce.Since Joshua had made up his mind, it was pointless for her to linger here. It was better to go home and avoid hearing any more of Joshua's "seductive" words."Wait," Joshua called out