Semua Bab Lost Heiress: Mr Right Offers Me a Second Chance: Bab 91 - Bab 100

VALENI watched as Vanessa took the stage and began to speak.Her posture was perfect, her voice clear and confident, her timing impeccable. She moved across the stage with a practiced ease as she picked stone after stone and stated facts. Each breath served a purpose, each word carefully chosen. I wondered how many times— hundreds, maybe thousands that she had rehearsed this speech.The crowd leaned in, listening carefully, Natalie's presentation probably already shoved to the back of their minds, to be revisited later, on the way home or in the shower at night, long after the winner had been chosen.The judges nodded, leaning towards one another to exchange whispers. On the surface, it all seemed so flawless. But I wasn't operating in surface level. I wasn't just listening to the delivery. I was listening to the entire project, and it didn't sound like hers.From the moment she started to speak, I knew that something was wrong even though I couldn't quite place a finger to it yet. T

NATALIEI was home now. But it didn't quite feel like home.It felt different, not unfamiliar, but just slightly altered. As if someone had taken something from the atmosphere, something invisible, and replaced it with something else. As if the walls had shifted a few inches while I was gone and were waiting to see if I would notice.I closed the door behind me, slowly and carefully, my hand lingering on the handle as I adjusted my balance. I thought I had gotten over the robbery/abduction but stepping into my house brought the memories flooding back. After all, we were in this predicament because of that one incident.My body felt weak, a dull ache bloomed along my side and radiated down my leg. I limoed slightly as I crossed the living room, but it wasn't unbearable. In the midst of everything, it was easy to forget I had even hurt my leg."I'm fine," I muttered to myself as if there was anyone throwing questions at me.I dropped my bag on the couch and sank down beside it, letting

MALCOLMI felt pain as I pushed through the crowded club, the bass rattling through my chest as sweat slicked my skin and the air pressed hot against my lungs.Pain had become a familiar companion by now. It wasn't the sharp, restricting kind that forced me down and incapacitated me. It was the dull, persistent ache that lived in my bones and reminded me with each movement that my body needed more rest.I knew I shouldn't be here. The doctors, nurses, even my own brain had warned me several times not to push myself hard but the mere me think of Natalie was enough to push reason out that window. I'd split up from Valen earlier near the bar, telling him I'd check the back hallways while he scanned the dance floor. I couldn't tolerate that amount of noise and my body wouldn't move as quickly as I wanted it to.Each step tugged at the stitches I acted like I couldn't feel. I pressed a hand briefly to my side to ground myself and forced a breath in and out. I wasn't going to stop until I f

NATALIEMy phone buzzed on the space beside me.I had just finished adjusting the pillow behind my back and I grumbled as I slowly and carefully reached for the phone. My body still protested certain movements, although the doctors had assured me that healing would be steady now. I took care of myself the best way I could, rested adequately and took my supplements hoping to force my body into a quick, total recovery.When I glanced at the screen, I felt my stomach tighten just a little. Mrs Gravestone's name crawled lazily across.I would be working directly under her now which meant I should probably get used to calls like these but I doubted that I could. Her air of intimidation could be passed across through the phone as I had come to realize. I hesitated for a little while before I answered."Hello, Mrs. Gravestone," I said carefully. I wished, stupidly that she would say it was a mistake and she had been meaning to call someone else."You're okay now, aren't you?"I started to an

NATALIEThe weekend brought with it a much needed relief from the office and it's pressures. I was getting tired of hearing about the competition at every turn.I was at home, with sketches and notes scattered everywhere, my laptop balanced on the arm of the couch, barefoot and my hair pulled in a loose knot. Sunlight filtered in through the curtains, catching dust motes in the air as if the world itself had slowed to watch me work.The company's charity gala, a fundraiser for less privileged children, was coming up and I found myself caught in the middle of it. Now that I worked closely with Mrs. Gravestone, I was overseeing a lot of tasks I wouldn't normally be opportuned to work on. It wasn't very difficult and I didn't even have to work on it right now but I hated to be idle and I wanted to get my mind off the events of the past few days.I scribbled notes, adjusting themes and layouts. Mrs. Gravestone had been insistent on something that genuinely meant something. I took it to me