Chapter 21
Natalie was shocked when she saw Maddie crying. Suddenly, Maddie threw her arms around her. “You’ve been through so much! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m fine, really” Marrying Tobias had actually been a pretty smart move for Natalie.
But Maddie only got sadder. “Don’t try to fool me! No one gets a ring mark unless it was too tight. My dad didn’t properly measure when he got one for my mom either. As a rich kid with connections, Mardie knew this all too well. “You should’vel told me sooner! Who is that jerk? I’ll make him pay!”
Natalie coughed lightly and waved it off. “Let it go, it’s really not a laig deal.
“You have to spill it! I’m not scared of anyone except Tobias!”
Natalie answered in her heart, ‘Well, that just happens to be hin
When Maddie mentioned Tobias’s name, her tone softened a bit. It was clear she felt the weight of him being intimidating.
Sighing quietly, Natalie said, “It’s all in the past; let’s not dwell on it. I really don’t want to talk about it.”
With tears running down her face, Maddie looked at Yara, who was playing in the water nearby, then back at Natalie, her heart aching “Natalie, how have you been all these years? Dealing with a jerk and taking care of Yara too?” Maddie’s imagination was going wild.
Natalie felt helpless. Girls always cried in front of her lately. She patiently wiped Maddie’s tears away. “Okay, okay, cheer up! It’s all behind us.” Funny how she was comforting someone else.
Maddie sniffed, “That’s true. You’re amazing, Natalie! You’ll definitely find someone better. Tobias? He’s a total loser, not even close to being good enough for you.
Natalie’s lips twitched.
Luckily, Maddie quickly changed her own mind. “Forget him! He’s in love with that Elle girl, and he’s got a messy past with a crazy ex-wife. How could he ever be worthy of you?”
Natalie nodded. That was true. She was ready to change the subject. “Let’s talk about-
“Speaking of which, the Reese Group has gone through some big changes recently. They’ve fired a lot of people, and now even Tobias’s uncle, Howard, has been ousted. Who knows what’s going to happen next?”
Natalie hadn’t paid much attention to the Reese Group drama, mostly because it was hard for her to care. But Maddie’s news caught her off guard. “Wait, Howard got fired? Really?” Bobby asked Tobias to take care of Howard for years. She didn’t know why he just got kicked out like that.
She had planned to deal with Howard herself, but that would mean facing Tobias, which was complicated. So, she decided to put that on hold. Now it seemed Howard’s problems had landed right in her lap.
Maddie looked surprised too. “Who knows! Maybe Howard got on Tobias’s bad side, haha! All we hear are the latest gossip Mories about the Reese Group. Howard must’ve schemed against a lot of people, but without the Reese family’s support, let’s see how he survives now.”
Natalie clicked her tongue. It felt like this was all part of a bigger plan. She didn’t believe Tobias had let Howard go; it felt like wishing for the sun to rise in the west. Some things were better left as rumors.
Just then, her phone buzzed with a familiar but strange number. After leaving Tobias, she had deleted all contacts related to the Reese family, but she recognized the number right away. It was Howard.
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Chapter 21
“Hey, why aren’t you answering? Is this a random number?” Maddie asked
Natalie pressed the button to end the call. “Nothing”
“Oh
A moment later, the phone rang again. Tas just stepping out to the balcony to take this call, she told Maddie..
“Sure, the food will be ready soon, so hurry back.”
Nodding. Natalie took the call and stepped onto the balcony. Her voice was cold and serious, a big change from earlier. “What do you want?”
Howard exploded. “Natale! What did you tell Tobias? I swear, if you don’t talk to him about bringing me back, I won’t let this
That made Natale laugh. “Oh, I remember you saying I’d need your help to get to Tobias. Funny how things change, huh?”
“Natalie, you’ve really messed up this time! This is all part of your plan, right? If you don’t clear things up with Tobias right now, you’re going to be in big trouble” Howard sounded frantic on the phone.
Rolling hereyes, Natalie thought talking to Howard was a total waste of time. They were just going in circles. “Call Tobias? Sure, that’s never going to happen. She hung up, feeling frustrated
A moment later, her phone buzzed again. It was Howard, and he was on a warpath. “If you don’t say something, I’ll go. straight to your family’s company and let everyone know how pathetic you are! You’ll always be known as Tobias’s ex-wife!”
Natalie squinted at the screen, feeling her anger rise. “You want to spill the beans on me being Tobias’s ex-wife? Don’t forget our families have a confidentiality agreement. They had all agreed to keep it secret, and it was part of Tobias’s marriage deal
Howard scoffed, I’ve got nothing to lose! If I go down, I’m taking you with me. Everyone deserves to know you were just a nobody to Tobias for ten years!”
That was it Natalie hung up again and immediately blocked his number. She took a deep breath and texted someone she knew all tools. Quickly, she sent him a text explaining what had just happened with Howard, attaching the audio from the call. He surely cared more about his reputation than anyone else, especially since he didn’t want anyone to know they ever had a connection
After sending the message, Natalie took out her old SIM card. It was about time for a new one anyway. She had a lot of contacts, and she had hesitated to switch before because it felt like too much work. But now she needed to cut ties with the Reese family completely.
Meanwhile, Tobias received the message and paused when he saw “Madam flash on his screen. He swiped to listen, and as the recording played, his face darkened.
Without thinking, he replied: [I’ll handle it.] Before hitting send, he deleted the message. Changing his mind, he typed again: (Howard won’t bother you anymore. Don’t worry about him. He deleted that too. That wasn’t really his style. After several edits, he settled on a simple “Okay.”
Frowning in annoyance, he tossed his phone aside, feeling uneasy and not sure why he was so worked up about this. After a moment, he sat up and typed another message: [Let’s meet tomorrow at 2 PM at our usual spot. I need to talk about something1