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
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
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
Levi was gone when Natalie woke up. He had a full day executive committee meeting, and she'd taken a day's leave. She and Colleen had to meet Sam's contact down at the police station to officially lay a case of assault on Paul. Sam had agreed to meet them there.She checked her phone and read the texts from Emily. She was dying to know how her evening at the Empress had gone and whether she'd told Levi yet.She didn't want to entertain Emily so early in the morning, but if she kept quiet, her friend would keep pushing.Reluctantly, she typed up a brief text, keeping the details to a bare minimum. 'His mom confronted me, I told her the truth. Levi proposed, and I said no.'Like Natalie knew she would, Emily called immediately."Oh My God! Mr Scissors proposed?" she screamed on her end of the line.Natalie held the phone away from her and snapped, "Keep your voice down. Do you want the whole company to hear you?""Sorry," Emily whispered. "And you had to take leave today! I want all the
"Ready to push on?" Sandra asked when they returned to the meeting room.Natalie nodded and took the bottled water from Levi, and sat down."Okay, let's talk about your sexual history before Dreams.""Do I have to?" Natalie asked."It will come up," Sandra said. "We don't want any surprises.""Fine," Natalie said. But it wasn't fine. She had no desire to talk about her past relationships with the father of her children in the room. But what else was she supposed to say?"How many past relationships?""Two.""Were they physical?""With all due respect, I don't see how this is relevant.""You are laying a charge of sexual assault. We need to show that nothing in your past suggests your behaviour may be questionable.""So if a woman is promiscuous, her claims are less credible?" Natalie demanded."As I've said, we don't want any surprises.""Both relationships were never physical," Natalie replied, at last, her cheeks burning hot with mortification."Can we contact both exes?"Natalie lo
They met at The Empress.It was the same restaurant where Andrei Ivanov had pulled a gun on him. The same table too.Levi stood just inside the door, gritting his teeth. He hated that it had come to this. But there was no way he'd put Natalie through the trauma of a trial.The interrogation the day before was brutal on her, and he knew it would only get worse once the case went to trial."Fuck it!" he growled under his breath and crossed the room.Andrei looked up from the menu, his face splitting into a cold smile when he saw him approach."Well, well, if it isn't the mighty Van Holt," he drawled, a look of sheer glee dancing in his eyes as he stood up and shook his hand."I was very surprised when I got your call." Andrei continued as they sat down."You've been calling me like a little bitch; it was only right that I return at least one of your calls," Levi murmured as he picked up the menu and glanced over their signature drinks."So that's how you want to play this?" Andrei asked
A week after they met with Detective Sandra, Natalie woke up to the news of a famous plastic surgeon in Rock Union indicted on several counts of sexual assault and grievous bodily harm playing out on all the major networks.Natalie sat in front of the TV in the living room with Colleen on the floor, at her feet, while Levi and Mark hovered in the background.Watching the police raid Paul's clinic just a few blocks away made their case all the more real and left Natalie absolutely terrified.Emily called and announced Aunty Viv was arrested at the crack of dawn for money laundering and racketeering. The police had seized several laptops and electronic devices when they raided her properties all over the country.Aunty Viv's bail hearing was scheduled for next week sometime, but Emily didn't expect it to be anything less than half a million Rands."She wants to meet you as soon as she makes bail, Nat. She thinks you can make this mess go away."Natalie declined the meeting.Now that the
The following afternoon, Natalie rushed home to prep for Colleen's surprise party. Emily and Seth were there in no time with four pizza boxes, and Mark showed up almost an hour later with an assortment of coolers and spirits."So much?" Natalie teased as she watched him chill a few coolers in the fridge."We have enough reason to celebrate, don't we?" he winked at her, leaving her wondering if he knew.No, she mentally shook herself. There was no way he knew. Colleen wouldn't tell him before she told Levi first. Her secret was still safe."How are you holding up?" she asked as she helped him hang a massive 'welcome home' banner on the wall.Emily followed it up with colourful string lights, squealing like a little kid when she turned them on and off."I don't know," Mark smiled. "Sometimes I have to pinch myself, you know, to make sure it's not a dream, and she's truly back."Natalie nodded. She understood. It was all she'd done since she moved in with Levi. Every time she was in his