Lahat ng Kabanata ng Opening My Eyes to Reality: Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

Before Natalie could think twice, she threw herself into the car. The cold hit her almost immediately. She'd only ever sat in one other car this cold—Rowan's.Instinctively, she glanced sideways to see him sitting upright and still, and her eyes widened. Of course, it had to be him.Before she could say a word, Rowan broke the silence. "Magnus, turn the heat up."Magnus glanced at her and caught on quickly, knowing that Rowan had always had a soft spot for Natalie.What followed was a ten-minute-long silence that felt so suffocating that Natalie had to cough. Then, she tried to ease the tension by saying, "What are the odds of accidentally flagging your car, Mr. Mattel?"But it was no accident. Rowan had come for her after watching her live stream replay. He had a gut feeling that she might be in danger. He knew how much Lucius held grudges, and given that Natalie had messed up his plans, Lucius would show up to teach her a lesson for sure.Rowan had Magnus investigate and conf

Of course, with Rowan's status, there was no way he'd easily get dragged into the mess.Natalie tucked that grudge away for now. She'd settle it when the time was right, which wasn't now.Back in Grendale, the first thing she did was drop by the logistics company. Business was booming, and the operations were going smoothly.She skimmed the latest financial reports and nodded at the figures suggesting solid profits. If things kept growing at this pace, they'd hit their projected annual revenue well before the year-end.Coincidentally, Natalie made it back just in time for Valentine's Day.Benjamin had called her days ago to ask if she could make it home in time to spend it with them. She hadn't thought she would, but there she was.After arriving home, she tucked all her suitcases away. Then, she pulled out the gift she'd brought for Susan in Velmont—a diamond necklace she'd picked out herself.Susan cradled it in her hands like a treasure. "It's so beautiful. My daughter sure h

Jonah replied, "I heard he's doing it to pay for some family medical bills, but everyone in this line of work loves a sob story. It makes the clients feel sorry for us and spend more."Medical bills for the family? Was it for Daphne? If that was the case, Victor must have been really desperate when he'd come asking Natalie for money.As they talked, Benjamin finally arrived. One look at Jonah's outfit, and he immediately knew what the latter was here for.He dropped into a seat and crossed his legs arrogantly. "You two really went for it and got yourselves some fun, huh?"Natalie teased, "Bella said you're too rich and needed help spending it."Benjamin barked out a dry laugh. "Thanks a freaking lot."Bella grinned as she chimed in, "Happiness shared is happiness doubled, so would you like me to get you something, too?"Benjamin shut that down instantly, "No, thanks. I've got plenty of ladies waiting in line, so no way I'm blowing my money on that. I'm not a sucker, unlike you."

Natalie pondered briefly before snapping back, "That doesn't matter! What matters is that people like you get unlucky when I'm in a bad mood."She leaned in close and whispered in Gideon's ear, "I hear your dad has been desperate to land a deal with Trove Technologies in Musbane. He wants their cutting-edge research to fix your family's autopilot driving project, doesn't he?"Gideon froze. How did she know that confidential secret? No one outside the company did."How do you know about that?"Natalie lowered her voice to a hush and replied, "Because I invested in Trove Technologies. So now you know, Mr. Reed."For a moment, Gideon gawked at her in shock. "No way. That's impossible!"After the successful cornea transplant, Natalie had some spare money and decided to invest in two recent graduates' projects. They didn't let her down and delivered remarkable results in just a few months.Now, standing confidently in front of Victor, she released Gideon and said, "Mr. Reed, I also h

On the line, Zane said, "I'm flying to Grendale for a business trip tomorrow. Care to show me a bit of local hospitality?"Natalie had thought that since she'd returned to Grendale, she and Zane would have nothing more to do with each other. She hadn't expected him to come here for work so soon.But then again, people in finance practically lived on planes and always had to chase the latest economic data.She couldn't turn him down. "Sure. Call me when you land in Grendale.""Deal."Not long after they hung up, Natalie's driver arrived. On the ride home, she was sharper and more awake than she'd ever felt sober.Somehow, her mind drifted back to Rowan and Pamela. He was probably spending Valentine's Day with her right now.Natalie's brows furrowed in thought, as the mention of Rowan twisted everything into irritation. Suddenly, everything grated on her nerves.She fell asleep with that frustration curling inside her and woke up the next morning at 7:00 am.Susan had laid out b