Chapter 17
Natasha had already scrolled through her call log.
Seeing who had called, she wasn’t the least bit surprised.
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Clearly, her mom hadn’t had enough of their morning argument, and now everyone in the family had taken turns blowing up her phone. Even Matthew Hill, Olivia’s simp, had jumped in. News of her beating Olivia into the ER must’ve spread fast.
Just glancing at the list, she could already guess what those calls were about.
If Alexei worked for her, that shit would totally qualify for workers‘ comp.
But he was a capitalist.
“So, did you scold them back for me?
“If none of them got scolded back, how am I supposed to vent? And how can I reward you?” Natasha spread her hands, playing dumb shamelessly.
Alexei seemed thoughtful. “So, if I were to scold them back, you’ll repay me?”
“Duh,” Natasha answered offhandedly.
*****
Shawn hung up, squinting at his phone in bewilderment.
After years as a personal assistant, he’d never received such a ridiculous–no, downright childish— task.
‘Seriously, childish.
‘What kind of CEO, when pissed at someone, just hires a bunch of professional scolders to call and curse them out?
‘Based on past experience, anyone who crossed Mr. Turner would at least end up with broken limbs or bleeding–if not worse, like their whole family going bankrupt and getting abandoned by everyone! Shawn couldn’t wrap his head around it.
This soft, almost playful approach was downright eerie.
But orders were orders. He immediately rounded up a few smooth–talking scolding pros and had them take turns cursing out everyone on Alexei’s list.
Duration? As Alexei gave no specific timeframe, Shawn decided to start with a 72–hour roasting session first.
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Meanwhile, in the hospital, Olivia, along with Noel and Lucas keeping her company, and Thomas wrangling the old property mess in Scrushire, the Clark couple at a last–minute dinner party, and Matthew drinking at a bar all had their phones start ringing simultaneously…
***
Natasha never thought Alexei to be so good at cooking, which was totally unexpected from a silver- spoon type who probably had bloodstains on his hands more often than flour. Honestly? He looked like he’d butcher people smoother than veggies.
Staring at the three dishes in front of her–including spicy chicken wings tailored to her taste—she had to admit defeat.
Successful people had their reasons. Not only did he recover like a freak, but even household
chores were a breeze for him.
The feeling of cooking and eating together at home was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Strangely enough, the atmosphere felt kinda warm.
After dinner, Natasha automatically cleaned up. Once she washed her hands, she saw Alexei sitting on the couch, beckoning her over like she was a dog.
She dragged her feet. “What?”
“Proof of payment. So someone doesn’t try to weasel out of it.”
Shawn worked fast. By the time they’d cleared the dishes, he’d cherry–picked the hottest call recordings–real fire–breathing performances with primo insult material.
Sitting side by side with Natasha on the couch, Alexei tapped his phone.
The moment Andrew’s furious voice blasted through the speaker after getting absolutely roasted,
Natasha was stunned.
Andrew had been in power for years, living the high life. No one had ever dared to curse him to his face.
And the caller didn’t hold back. “Blind, incompetent, ungrateful, disgraceful…” The insults came rapid–fire, no repeats, absolutely brutal.
Blocking unknown numbers? Didn’t work. Turning off the phone? Nope. Switching to a backup number? Still got through.
Seemed like they had a hacker on standby, covering all bases.
The yelling was so loud that others at the party caught snippets, shooting weird looks their way. The humiliation was next–level.
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The Clark couple, thoroughly humiliated, had to slink away early.
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Even the usually composed Andrew dropped some rare curses before smashing his phone in rage.
Then there was the hospital. Olivia got hit with a barrage of insults-“homewrecker, fake heiress, shameless gold–digger, two–sided bitch, unworthy of the international stage…“-until she literally coughed up blood from anger.
The recording even captured Noel and Lucas frantically hitting the emergency call button.
As for Matthew, he lasted less than two minutes before losing it. A half–hour screaming match later, he got so mad at losing the verbal brawl that he smashed the custom phone Olivia gave him.
The recording ended with the professional roaster’s eager assurance. “Don’t worry, boss. Unless they go off–grid for the next few days, we’ll haunt them like ghosts. Full three–day service guaranteed. I’ve timed it–2 days, 23 hours, and 5 minutes left.”
Talk about dedication. Not only did they do their homework, but they billed by the hour.
Natasha had never heard such a creative array of insults in her life.
‘Lesson learned.
‘And these clowns cracked after just one hour of heat? Man, the coming days are gonna be entertaining,‘ she thought.
Even Shawn, who initially thought this move was childish, was seriously impressed after hearing the recorded insults. The method might be naive, but damn, it was savage.
Just imagining himself being chased and yelled at like that made him furious enough.
While cheerfully reporting the results of his work, Shawn secretly plotted whether to arrange a premium insult package for those old geezers in the Turner family.
Alexei preferred physical attacks, but this move? It hit different.
Natasha’s eyes sparkled as she watched Alexei calmly close the recording. She’d just tossed out the idea casually, never expecting him to actually make it happen.
She had to admit the effect was next level, and she felt so vindicated.
After all, who the hell would be happy getting randomly screamed at? But for her, that had been the norm for over a decade.
How had I never thought of such a genius revenge tactic before?‘ she thought to herself.
“Mr. Turner, you’re legendary. You’re the GOAT. What do you want? Anything I can do, I’ll do it.”
Alexei looked at the suddenly brown–nosing Natasha–uncharacteristic since they’d met—and
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found it amusing. But for the sake of his own well–being, he poked her forehead with a finger and pushed her away.
Because this girl somehow managed to hit every single one of his wounds while “massaging” his
back.
But when he saw her beaming face, he inexplicably didn’t feel like making a big deal out of it.
“Right now, staying away is the best thing you can do for me.”
“Got it!” Natasha bounced away instantly.
Alexei frowned, wondering why he felt annoyed now that she was keeping her distance.
‘Never mind. Come here and apply medicine for me.”
Yes, sir!”
Seeing his perfectly toned body, Natasha couldn’t resist sneaking a feel of those abs–only to get caught red–handed by Alexei. In the end, she had no choice but to offer up her own room as an apology.
All night, Natasha was kept busy running errands for Alexei.
But the corners of her lips curled up high.
For the first time in so many years, someone had openly stood up for her like this.
Sure, maybe Alexei was just pissed off about being insulted and took it out on them, but she was still thrilled.
Plus, he was the sugar daddy who’d given her three million.
That night, curled up on the tiny couch, Natasha drifted off to sleep with a smile,
In stark contrast, Alexei tossed and turned in the bed, unable to sleep.
The faint, sweet scent of the girl lingering in the air, the overly soft mattress for his taste, the half- human–sized plush goose, the fresh floral bedsheets–everything screamed that he was lying in an unfamiliar woman’s bed, and it all left Alexei restless and wide awake.
He suddenly regretted swapping sleeping spots with Natasha.
Catching another whiff of that clusive fragrance, he abruptly sat up.
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Chapter 18
In the dark living room, the man silently watched the sleeping girl.
:འ
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After a long while, he seemed to finally make up his mind. Reaching out, he picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom.
Jostled in her sleep, the girl instinctively wrapped her arms around him like clinging vines, her soft face nuzzling against his neck like a kitten seeking affection.
The unfamiliar contact froze Alexei’s steps. The warmth of her body in his arms felt almost scalding, leaving him torn between moving forward or stepping back.
Biting back the urge to drop her, he managed to lay her down on her small bed. As he turned to leave, the girl murmured “Grandma” in her sleep–soft, tender, and full of longing.
Just as Alexei was about to exit the room, he found his hand firmly gripped, impossible to pull free. A surge of stubborn frustration rose in him, as if he were wrestling with himself.
Annoyed, he shifted the girl further inward,‘ then lay down beside her, still holding her hand, occupying the other half of the bed.
Back in a familiar setting, the girl instinctively reached for her giant plush goose in her sleep, clinging to the warmth beside her.
With the girl nestled against him like a rose in full bloom, Alexei pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, and finally wrapped an arm around her small frame before closing his eyes.
“Ah!” A scream shattered the quiet of the early morning.
Alexei caught the foot planted against his chest, pinning her back against him with one hand. “What? Sleep a little longer,” he murmured against her hair.
She’d slept like a baby, while he’d been up half the night.
“Why are you in my bed?” Natasha squirmed, pinned and furious, kicking at his legs.
How was this guy so strong?‘ she thought.
“Take a good look. You’re in my bed,” Alexei retorted without opening his eyes, playing the victim
first.
His handsome face wore a lazy, exhausted expression–utterly distracting.
“Wasn’t I in the living room?”
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“I didn’t lock the door. You got up in the middle of the night, half–asleep, and climbed in here,” Alexei lied smoothly.
Natasha frowned, skeptical. ‘Since when did I sleepwalk?‘
As she struggled harder, Alexei kept his eyes shut, mimicking her actions from the night before by nuzzling her neck and patting her waist, signaling her to settle down.
“Nothing happened last night. Relax,” he said.
Of course, Natasha knew if her own body was feeling off–otherwise, she wouldn’t still be here, digging into the past with him.
‘But dude, your actions right now are seriously crossing the line!‘ Natasha struggled but couldn’t break free, eventually collapsing in exhaustion against him.
“Let me go,” she snapped.
‘Are we even at the level where we could sleep together?‘ she said inwardly.
Alexei shut his eyes and went statue–still.
Though it started with him being annoyed at his own inexplicable soft spot for her, after holding her all night, he experienced the most peaceful sleep he’d had in ages.
He’d totally caught her pig–like sleep habits.
For someone who suffered from chronic insomnia–especially after just surviving an assassination attempt while still injured–this was downright unbelievable.
If he had to sum up his mood in one sentence, it’d be: Slept like a king, and he was gonna keep sleeping.
All his frustration and confusion vanished. What he wanted had never slipped through his fingers.
In just one night, he’d already decided to transplant this little rose into his own garden.
So now, in Alexei’s mind, he was just holding his own property while sleeping–no shame
whatsoever.
“Didn’t you say you’d repay me yesterday? Then sleep with me for a month,” he said.
Catching the fist she suddenly threw at him, he patiently clarified, “Platonically”
Natasha was baffled, “Okay, but… has no one ever taught you to keep boundaries between men and
women?”
From the moment they met, their relationship had progressed way too fast.
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Who’d have thought that the guy lying next to her in bed–she’d known him for less than five days.
“So what?” Alexei retorted.
Natasha choked on air, utterly speechless.
“Don’t you have a wife or girlfriend?” she asked sincerely.
“Nope. Single. Unmarried. No women,” he mumbled, half–asleep.
“And you didn’t even ask if I have a husband or boyfriend?”
Alexei pulled her closer, pressing her waist firmly against him. “Doesn’t matter if you had before. Starting today, you won’t.”
“Dude, your moral compass is… special. Waking up to a whole new world of crazy, Natasha quickly realized: she couldn’t fight him, couldn’t out–sass him–so she just went limp.
After all, she only attempted murder. The guy next to her? Probably hosed bloodstains off his shoes before breakfast.
Lying next to Alexei, she couldn’t help but find it amusing.
She had known Lucas since she was three and he was five, and it wasn’t until she turned twenty that they finally confessed their feelings. They dated for three years after that.
For all that time, he had never slept in her bed. Yet now, here was a man she hadn’t even known for long, casually taking up the space.
The thing was, during those three years of dating, they were constantly arguing over Olivia.
Looking back, they were actually closer during their childhood days.
Guess that was just how life screwed with people, making them keep crashing into each other’s lives at the wrong damn time.
From the moment she broke up with him, Lucas had been permanently erased from her life. She didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it now.
Anyway, it was just a one–month cuddle buddy situation. She tried to convince herself–putting up with it for a little while wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Just as Natasha’s eyelids grew heavy and she was about to drift off again, a loud banging erupted at
the door.
Alexei, who was holding her, woke up with a start. The murderous glint in his eyes was instantly caught by Natasha, who had also been jolted awake.
Quickly pressing down on the man who was about to get up, she whispered soothingly, ‘T’ll go. I’ll
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- go. You shouldn’t show your face right now.”
:;
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Though she didn’t know exactly what he was plotting, based on his conversations with Shawn and the others, she guessed he was supposed to be “dead” or “missing” to the outside world.
Plus, she really didn’t want to see bloodshed at her doorstep first thing in the morning.
After finally wriggling free from his iron–like grip, Natasha took a deep breath of freedom and hurried to the door.
Opening it, she found Thomas standing there with dark circles under his eyes.
Thomas was practically losing his mind.
Ever since the night Lucas proposed–when Olivia got into a car accident, followed by Natasha clearing her name and calling the cops the next day, the family arguments, Natasha beating up Olivia, and then Natasha setting the old house on fire–he’d been scrambling nonstop to clean up the mess.
Just as he finished dealing with the house situation in Scrushire, his phone started ringing nonstop. Every call was filled with endless humiliation, the insults so creative they made him want to crawl into a hole.
At this point, the sound of a ringing phone was enough to give him a nervous breakdown.
At first, he thought it was some business rival, but when he realized the rest of the family was getting the same treatment, he immediately knew it was Natasha.
This kind of mischievous, petty revenge? Only the most unpredictable Natasha would pull something like this.
Exhaustion carved deep lines into his usually sharp face. Even the legendary Clark family’s good looks were running on fumes now.
“Natasha, can we call a truce?
“You’ve vented your anger, burned the house. Why keep pushing it? Even though you hate us, Mom and Dad are too old to handle this kind of stress,” Thomas said.
Despite the plea for peace, his tone was still accusatory.
Natasha lifted her chin, crossed her arms, and countered with a question, “Thomas, how does it feel to be falsely accused and condemned without reason?”
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