Natasha's high heels were thin and about three inches high. On top of that, she aimed directly at Joshua's shoes and stomped down hard. Hence, one could already imagine the pain Joshua felt in his feet.Joshua grunted as the pain shot through his foot.In a low voice, he demanded, "What are you doing?""What am I doing? Can't you see for yourself?" Natasha responded coldly.Seeing Joshua refusing to budge, Natasha didn't hesitate. She immediately raised her leg to stomp on Joshua's foot again.Since he hadn't let go yet, it must mean she hadn't stomped hard enough before. This time, she would use more force so that Joshua would let go.As the pain from his foot was still fresh in his mind, Joshua instinctively pulled his leg back when he saw her about to stomp again."Natasha, are you trying to hurt me?" Joshua said with a low growl, taking a step back.It seemed like the pain was finally working. His hand, which had been tightly holding Natasha's hand, was currently suspended
Natasha stared at her wet clothes. The alcohol trickled down the hem of her skirt, and her chest was slightly visible.She was already smelling like alcohol, to begin with. Now that an entire glass of wine was spilled on her, the smell of alcohol intensified. One would even think she was a heavy drinker.Natasha looked at her clothes. Since they were utterly soaked, they definitely couldn't be worn anymore, which put her in a very bad mood.Standing beside her, Joshua stared at her wrist with a guilty expression. Her wrist was turning redder by the second. It was swollen, too.It suddenly hit him that he might have been too harsh."Are you alright?" Joshua was tense. Before Natasha could respond, he continued, "Let me help you treat your wounds."With that, he reached for her wrist, eager to promptly tend to the wound. However, in his haste, he unintentionally touched her wounds.Natasha hissed.Sensing something was wrong, Joshua turned around and realized he had grabbed her a
Natasha's heart skipped a beat. She had been so focused on fixing her clothes that she didn't realize it was Carly who had bumped into her.Seeing Natasha noticing her, Carly feigned concern. "Ms. Sullivan, I'm really sorry."Her apology sounded rather insincere. Natasha had a feeling that she had intentionally rather than accidentally bumped into her.Natalie had finally found herself a rich person who could back her up. Logically, there was no way she would easily let her go. She'd definitely be sticking close to Carly.Hence, Natasha found it difficult to believe Carly had coincidentally appeared and accidentally splashed her with the wine.However, since she was preoccupied with other matters, Natasha couldn't be bothered to hold Carly accountable. She gave her a small nod.Then, she gathered her dress in her hands, lifted it, and left.Joshua was about to follow her. "But your wounds…"After all, he was the reason why she suffered a cut to her hand and why her clothes got
Hearing Carly say Natalie's name sent a jolt through Joshua's heart. He seemed to have truly forgotten about Natalie.Although he felt guilty, he didn't show it on his face.Coldly, he retorted, "Why does it concern you whether I remember Natalie? It's bad to meddle in others' affairs."Clearly, he despised Carly for questioning him.Carly was exasperated to hear that."What does it have to do with me? If it weren't for me, Natalie would've died at those kidnappers' hands long ago! Without me, would you have Natalie? Of course, it concerns me. I'm Natalie's savior."Since you're the one in a relationship with Natalie, it should concern you more than it concerns me. But are you taking care of her? Where were you when she was about to die?"Joshua avoided her gaze. He hadn't been taking proper care of Natalie because of the many company affairs. He didn't even know that Natalie had been kidnapped and even suffered an injury to her leg.However, if he hadn't gotten the Sullivans'
Carly quickly turned to Natasha, but she was nowhere to be seen.Carly grew frantic. How could she have let her escape?Frustrated, she glared fiercely at Joshua. It was all because of that scumbag that she forgot about her main agenda.Joshua's gaze turned gloomier when she glared at him and showed no signs of remorse."What are you looking for?""What am I looking for? I'm looking for that woman who was just squabbling with you," Carly retorted.He frowned. "Do you know Natasha?"Carly glanced at him, not bothering to reply to his question. "Is it any of your business?"He should be concerned about Natalie the most."Mr. Grayson, aren't you going to look for Natalie? She's being bullied for being all alone at this conference."She had witnessed Natalie being bullied by that arrogant group of young ladies.As Carly had grown up in Topola, she knew those young ladies' temperaments very well. Natalie's soft and gentle personality was no match for them.If Carly hadn't steppe
Natasha's words were concise and to the point, summarizing her request in just a few words.On the other end of the line, Shawn was equally proactive. Upon receiving the task, he immediately took action according to her instructions.Moreover, Shawn was currently near the conference's venue, so he could deliver the dress soon.After making the arrangements, Natasha finally breathed a sigh of relief and ended the call. Just as she pressed the button to hang up, someone suddenly handed her a white bundle of cloth.Without hesitation, Natasha subconsciously waved her hand in refusal. "No, thanks."However, the person offering the item didn't retract it after being rejected. Instead, they kept holding it out, insisting on giving it to Natasha. It seemed like they would keep holding their hand out if Natasha didn't take it."Uh…"Natasha furrowed her brow slightly as she observed the person persistently holding out their hand. Turning to look at him, she traced his fingers, nose, and
"This is for you." Brian offered her the wool blanket again.Natasha didn't refuse this time. Her eyes flickered as she took the blanket from his hand, quietly saying, "Thank you.""N-No problem," he stuttered.As Natasha's upper body became almost completely soaked, the dress hugged her body tightly and accentuated her curves.At the sight of that, Brian felt a flush of heat rush to his cheeks, prompting him to quickly look away.Unaware of Brian's reaction, Natasha was completely preoccupied with wrapping herself up.The blanket was soft and still had Brian's scent. However, Natasha couldn't be bothered by that. She hurriedly wrapped herself in the blanket, leaving no skin exposed.As she began to warm up under the blanket, Natasha finally stopped moving."Thank you," she repeated softly.Her face was flushed with embarrassment, accentuating her already striking features.Her current state was a far cry from when Brian first saw her. She seemed mature and aloof back then, l
Natasha draped the floor-length wool blanket over herself, revealing just a tiny bit of the hem of her long, black dress.As she didn't want to draw attention to herself, she purposely walked along the stone path, taking a quieter route.The main reason she did that was to avoid being seen by both Carly and Joshua. She walked quickly and soon arrived at the location where she was supposed to meet Shawn.Stopping in her tracks, Natasha looked around but didn't see Shawn's car. There wasn't anyone else around, either.Had he not arrived yet?She glanced at the time on her phone. Shawn was already two minutes late compared to the estimated arrival time. Natasha pursed her lips, standing alone under the lamppost, quietly waiting for Shawn's car.Under the dim yellow light, her picturesque features were outlined by a halo of light.As it was winter after all, it was cold at night, and there was no one around. Natasha was wearing a thin dress, which couldn't hold up in this temperatur
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