“For a woman, you sure know how to piss someone off!” Thomas looked like he was about to throw punches.
A sharp look flashed in Natalie’s eyes as she casually took the wine glass from a passing man and hurled its contents at Thomas. She stood before the drenched man and said impassively, “You could use a drink after running your mouth like that, Mr. Hartley. You’re welcome.”
Thomas glowered at her. “You-”
Before he could unleash a torrent of abuse upon Natalie, the man whose glass Natalie had stolen fixed Thomas with a frigid look. “Thomas, she isn’t someone you can condescend to.”
That voice…
Natalie turned to look at the man, somewhat surprised. It was Xavier. His family was one of the oldest and wealthiest entities in Grendale. While their prestige had declined in recent years, they were old enough to still be influential and relevant in the city.
Thomas was in no position to make an enemy out of Xavier or the Steiners. As such, he swallowed his rage and glared at Natalie viciously. With an angry snort, he trudged away bitterly.
As for Natalie, she had no intention of making small talk with someone she’d insisted on leaving in the past–specifically, a prick who had abandoned her and talked smack about her after she went blind.
She walked past Xavier toward the crowd ahead, but he followed her. “Long time no see, Natalie.”
Natalie made a beeline for the buffet counter. She didn’t bother looking at Xavier as she picked fruits from the platter. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Steiner?”
Deep down, Xavier knew Natalie was good to him. She’d been a kind, gentle, beautiful, and generous soul when they were still dating, and she always made it a point to put him first,
But for some reason, he began to grow tired of her and gradually gravitated toward the outspoken and carefree Sienna. In the end, Sienna seduced him, and there was no going back after they slept together.
Xavier had considered that Natalie’s reserved disposition was what prompted him to cheat on her. After all, what healthy male would choose to date a woman and go without intimacy? And so, he blamed Natalie’s conservative tendencies for his disloyalty.
Even so, Xavier never considered calling off his and Natalie’s engagement until she got into a car accident three years ago. The Steiners would never allow a blind woman to become their future matriarch, so Xavier called off the engagement and married Sienna.
Alas, Sienna did not have the makings of a proper wife, but it was too late for Xavier to change his mind at that point. He resorted to brainwashing himself into believing Natalie was a wicked, blind woman and forced himself to hate her.
But there was no changing the fact that he was wrong or that he regretted the way things panned out.
As Xavier took in the beautiful Natalie before him, who had shed her shy, demure persona in favor he couldn’t help but want to get closer to her. “Natalie, I’ve divorced Sienna.”
ature and bolder one,
Natalie had a white plate in her hand as she raised her brow. “What does your divorce have to do with me? Scoot aside, Mr. Steiner. You’re in my way.”
She was distancing herself from him and denying any sentiment that they might have shared at some point. A bitterness welled up in Xavier. “Must you talk to me that way, Natalie?”
What did he expect? For her to regard him as someone important?
Natalie chuckled, contempt filling her gaze.
She suddenly caught a familiar, beautiful silhouette passing by, and her lips curled.
12
Chapter 79
+25 BONUS
Stepping forward, her four–inch crystal heels clacking against the floor, she dragged her long, slender fingers along Xavier’s chiseled jawline and tugged on his tie. Tipping her head to the side she batted her lashes at him as she purred, “Would you prefer this instead, Mr. Steiner?”
Natalie’s teasing, although a little stiff, was enough to make Xavier’s heart thump wildly in his chest. At that moment, he had to admit that he’d always loved Natalie. Denied it as he might, he could not convince himself otherwise any longer.
He swallowed, but just as he was about to speak, someone seethed behind him.
“Natalie, you bitch!”
+25 BONUS
