Mag-log inChapter forty one.Natasha.The restaurant was quiet and elegant, tucked away from the busiest part of the city. It wasn't overly formal, which immediately made me relax.As we settled into our seats, I looked around."This is nice.""I thought you'd prefer somewhere quiet.""You remembered?""Apparently, I'm becoming thoughtful."I laughed."Don't let it get to your head."Dinner passed more easily than either of us expected. We talked about everything except work. We argued over which dessert to order. I insisted on chocolate cake. Sebastian wanted cheesecake.Eventually, we ordered both."You know," I said, laughing as I watched him take another bite of cheesecake, "for someone who pretends to be disciplined, you're doing very well.""I changed my mind.""About what?""I've decided I like being irresponsible occasionally."I smiled."See? I'm improving your life already.""Debatable.""You came out for dinner on a weekday.""I did.""You ate dessert.""Yes.""You smiled at least f
Chapter FortyNatashaThe following morning began more quietly than I expected.For the first time in weeks, I woke before my alarm, and for several minutes, I simply lay there staring at the ceiling. Yesterday's meeting with Duncan kept returning to my mind—the way he had refused to sign the divorce papers, the strange fear that had crossed his face, and the phone calls he had ignored while sitting across from me.Something about it still bothered me.Not because Duncan had refused to cooperate. I had already learned that expecting anything reasonable from him was a waste of energy. What unsettled me was how different he had seemed. Duncan had always been confident, sometimes to the point of arrogance. He had never been the kind of man who allowed anyone to see him afraid.Yet yesterday, I had seen fear in his eyes, I rolled onto my side and sighed. Perhaps I was thinking too much about it, That had become a habit lately.I pushed the covers aside and headed toward the bathroom, dete
Chapter Thirty-Nine.DuncanDuncan remained inside his car long after Natasha had disappeared from his view. His hands rested tightly against the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the building where she had gone.She had changed.That was the only explanation he could give himself.The Natasha he had known before would have hesitated. She would have questioned herself, second-guessed her decisions, and eventually allowed him to convince her that everything could still be fixed.But the woman who had sat across from him that afternoon had been different.Calm.Confident.Almost unfamiliar.She had looked at him without the slightest trace of the fear he remembered.And that unsettled him more than anything else, Duncan reached for his phone and stared at the screen.Three missed calls.All from the same number.He knew exactly who was calling.He had deliberately ignored the calls during his meeting with Natasha, but he knew he couldn't avoid them forever.His jaw tight
Chapter Thirty-Eight.SebastianThe boardroom was unusually quiet as the meeting came to an end.One by one, the executives gathered their documents and laptops before leaving, offering Sebastian polite nods as they filed out. Ordinarily, he would have remained behind to review the quarterly reports or discuss the next acquisition with Marcus. It had become a routine so familiar that no one questioned it anymore.Today, however, his attention had wandered more than once.He had caught himself staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows instead of the presentation on the screen. Numbers that usually demanded his full concentration had become little more than meaningless figures. Every time his mind drifted, it returned to the same place.Natasha.She was meeting Duncan this afternoon.Sebastian had trusted her decision without argument. He respected the fact that she wanted to face the past on her own terms, but respect did little to silence the uneasy feeling that had settled in his ches
Chapter Thirty-Six.NatashaTuesday arrived far sooner than I wanted.The moment I opened my eyes, I knew today would be exhausting.Some mornings carried an unexplainable heaviness, as though the day itself was warning you to prepare for what lay ahead.This was one of those mornings.I stared at the ceiling for several seconds before reaching for my phone on the bedside table.8:02 a.m.A message from my lawyer was already waiting.Mr. Hayes: I'll meet you at Blackwood Café at 2:30 p.m. Mr. Duncan Hayes has confirmed his attendance.I read the message twice before locking my phone again.So...He was actually coming.I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed.Probably both.With a sigh, I pushed myself out of bed and made my way toward the kitchen. The apartment was unusually quiet. For a moment, I assumed Sebastian had already left for Laurent Holdings, but the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifting through the hallway told me otherwise.When I stepped into the kitchen,
Chapter Thirty-Six.NatashaTuesday arrived far sooner than I wanted.The moment I opened my eyes, I knew today would be exhausting.Some mornings carried an unexplainable heaviness, as though the day itself was warning you to prepare for what lay ahead.This was one of those mornings.I stared at the ceiling for several seconds before reaching for my phone on the bedside table.8:02 a.m.A message from my lawyer was already waiting.Mr. Hayes: I'll meet you at Blackwood Café at 2:30 p.m. Mr. Duncan Hayes has confirmed his attendance.I read the message twice before locking my phone again.So...He was actually coming.I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed.Probably both.With a sigh, I pushed myself out of bed and made my way toward the kitchen. The apartment was unusually quiet. For a moment, I assumed Sebastian had already left for Laurent Holdings, but the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifting through the hallway told me otherwise.When I stepped into the kitchen,
Chapter FourNatashaIt had been a week, A whole week of doing nothing but thinking… and yet, I was still stuck in the same place. MarriageThe only condition standing between me and the company. I let out a quiet sigh as I stared out the window, my fingers resting lightly against the glass, I hat
Chapter ThreeNatashaI had been away from my family for a long time. My parents had been against my marriage to Duncan from the very beginning. But because of my constant pleading and the business advantages the marriage would bring, they had eventually agreed. Back then, I believed marrying him w
Chapter TwoNatashaThe first thing I did after being discharged from the hospital was file for divorce. There was no reason in delaying this marriage any longer. Duncan had never truly wanted it in the first place. The marriage had only been a transaction between our two families.Although I had b
Chapter OneNatasha The beeping of the machine close to me jolted my senses back to reality as I slowly opened my eyes. Above me was a bright white ceiling, the light reflecting off the polished walls of the room. The air carried the sharp, sterile scent of disinfectant mixed with medicine. To my







