Glancing at Lucas, who couldn’t help but rush out, Noel looked utterly exasperated. “Everyone knows her lifelong dream was to marry you. This time, she must’ve found someone to mess with you on purpose. How could you fall for it so easily, Lucas?”
Olivia bit her lip slightly. “Natasha might be really mad, but no matter what, she shouldn’t joke about something like this. She’s a pure girl, after all.”
Lucas clenched his fists.
‘Right, love makes you blind.
With nearly twenty years of history between us, how could Natasha just find another man? She was obviously just trying to provoke me. And damn, it worked,‘ he thought.
That guy’s voice earlier had him fuming.
“I don’t care. This time, if she doesn’t apologize to Olivia, you absolutely can’t forgive her,” Noel snapped.
Never before had he heard of sisters fighting so badly that one ended up in the ER. Natasha was always pushing the limits.
Lucas pressed his lips together but didn’t agree outright.
Given Natasha’s temper, she was still furious about the house going to Olivia. Getting her to swallow her pride? Pigs’d fly first.
“She won’t even talk to me,” Lucas said.
Noel shrugged. “Hiding won’t do her any good. Her mom’s death anniversary is coming up.”
On that day, Natasha would definitely show up.
Olivia, head bowed, smiled, while Lucas’s heart suddenly grew heavy.
Every year, that day was the hardest for Natasha.
Natasha slept like the dead, not waking up until 8 p.m.
Stepping out of her room, she spotted the guy she’d picked up talking on the phone on the balcony.
At 6’8“, his presence dominated her tiny balcony. Even in the dark, the icy aura around him was
unmistakable.
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Natasha barely glanced at him before beclining for the kitchen.
55 vouchers
On the other end of the call, Shawn was reporting that news of Alexei’s serious injury and disappearance had already spread. And Melvin was making moves, reaching out to company shareholders to stir up trouble.
Alexei’s gaze followed Natasha as she moved, answering lazily, “Ignore his little games. The higher he climbs, the harder he’ll fall.”
“Mr. Turner, you might not be able to show your face in public for a while. Are you sure you don’t want to go back to Epicean Heights?” Shawn asked.
Epicean Heights was super low–key and had medical staff on standby.
Given that any random room of Alexei’s was bigger than Natasha’s entire home, Shawn couldn’t even imagine how he would squeeze into a tiny apartment for a whole month.
“Don’t worry about it. Just keep an eye on Melvin.” Seeing the woman in the kitchen zoning out, her elbow about to hit the scorching pot, Alexei abruptly hung up the phone, rushed in, and grabbed the yawning Natasha.
The cramped kitchen felt even tighter with a tall guy suddenly barging in.
For a hot second, it looked like he’d wrapped her up in a full bear hug from behind. Natasha jumped, jabbing her elbow hard into his gut. “Jesus! What’s your problem?” she snapped.
Alexei grunted but calmly reached past her to turn off the stove. “Didn’t want the veggie to taste like grilled meat.”
Natasha replayed her earlier move in her head and realized–yeah, she would’ve burned herself if he hadn’t pulled her back.
Not one to be ungrateful, she gave a dry chuckle, hoisting the already–opened pasta bag. “But since Mr. Turner’s feeling generous tonight? Dinner’s on me.”
She deliberately mimicked Shawn’s way of addressing him.
Alexei watched her move, raising a brow. “This is how you treat your savior?”
Unless he was mistaken, she hadn’t even cooked enough pasta for him.
“Crashing at someone’s place means knowing your place. Free lodging’s already a steal, and you want free meals too? Where’s your shame?” Then she noticed he was still holding her in that same position, so she elbowed him again.
Alexei slowly withdrew his hands from her waist, straightened up, and leaned against the fridge,
cool as ever. “Three million.”
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55 Vouchers
Natasha froze, then whipped her head around to stare at the man who might as well be glowing gold.
The Clark family was loaded, but Natasha herself was broke.
After she bought this place outright, her savings were pretty much wiped out.
Biting back a laugh at the woman tilting her head up like a kitten all bright–eyed and puffed- cheeked, Alexei doubled down. “That’d be room and board for my stay.”
Natasha instantly turned off the stove and bowed. “Right this way, Your Highness.”
She eagerly ushered him back to the couch and then grabbed her phone to order takeout.
“As the big spender, don’t I deserve a home–cooked meal from you?” Even though the offer had just upgraded from pasta to a feast, Alexei still sounded unimpressed.
“You sure? Fair warning. I’ve only got three dishes in my entire repertoire.”
“What are they?”
Natasha blinked innocently. “Sandwich, pasta, and salad.”
Alexei was left helpless.
Back when she first moved out on her own, she survived on takeout. Later, to save money, she tried learning to cook. But after nearly setting the kitchen on fire multiple times, she finally accepted the fact that she had zero culinary talent.
Her daily meals either consisted of instant food or mooching off Sadie and Lucas. Noticing Alexei’s disdain for takeout, she seriously considered. “How about hiring a live–in cook?”
Even if she paid the cook six thousand dollars a month, she, as the middleman, could still pocket a hefty profit.
“I don’t like strangers in my living space,” Alexei rejected coldly,
The two sat on the couch, staring at each other for five minutes. Finally, Alexei sighed, covering her bright, innocent eyes with his hand, and declared, “Order groceries. We’ll cook ourselves.”
Half an hour later, Natasha was thoroughly satisfied watching the handsome man roll up his sleeves and cook in the tiny kitchen.
Sure, having her sugar daddy cook for her was kinda flipping the natural order, but both of them were totally fine with it.
There was only one issue. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Natasha asked.
She still remembered how much blood he’d lost yesterday.
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Thinking back to those two guys‘ seemingly polite but actually threatening expressions, she was worried he’d drop dead in the kitchen and turn her dinner into a last meal.
Alexei gave her a knowing look, smirking as he shoved a freshly washed tomato into her mouth to tide her over. “Wanna test if I’m up for it?”
“Test what?” Natasha’s brain short–circuited for a second.
Once she got it, she scowled, shooting a glare at the ever–pervy man before stomping off to the living room to watch TV.
Alexei chuckled.
The kitchen was open–plan. So when he saw her pick up her phone, he remembered something he’d forgotten because of dinner. “Someone called you while you were asleep. I answered it.”
So that was why her phone was dead when she tried ordering takeout.
Not that she had anything to hide, but—
“Mr. Turner, don’t you know it’s super rude to answer someone else’s phone?”
“Your phone kept ringing and disturbed my sleep, and someone was impossible to wake up,” Alexei expertly stir–fried while replying.
“Besides,” he added with an innocent expression, “I took the heat for you and got chewed out multiple times.”
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