Chapter 13


    Enoch ripped off a sheet of paper towel and handed it to her.


    “Go ahead and do your thing.I’ll clean up over here.”


    He didn’t want her to get injured due to his own carelessness.It didn’t take long for Sebastian to finish


    tidying things up.


    When he was done, he wiped his hands and walked out of the kitchen, only to pause at the scene that


    greeted him.


    The floor was absolutely spotless, and the huge windows were wide open, letting in beams of light and


    the refreshing afternoon breeze.


    The previously messy cabs and shelves had all been arranged neatly as well.


    Wild daisies and irises adorned what was once an empty and dusty vase on the dining table.


    Several potted nts popped up here and there, giving the house an artistic vibe that was edgy and


    refreshing at the same time.


    “What do you think? It feels different, doesn’t it? The house was clean enough before, but it was dull


    and a little depressing.It needed some life kicked back into it.”


    Natalie was standing by one of the windows.She had a bright smile on her face and a bottle of soda in


    her hand.


    Why was she so pleased, anyway, when she had to make do with such a small house? Nevertheless,


    her cheerful mood was infectious.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    A soft smile appeared in Sebastian’s eyes.


    He reached out to the wild daisies, taking a soft white petal between his fingertips.


    “You’re right.It does feel different.Just like it did in the past.”


    His mother had liked to put flowers on the table, too.


    Although they’d been dirt poor, she had managed to brighten up their lives with these tiny, trifling


    details.


    Sebastian hadn’t had a proper home since his mother had died.


    For the first time in as long as he could remember, he finally had a ce he could call a true home.


    “Your mother must have loved life very much,”


    Natalie remarked, studying him out of the corner of her eye.


    Sebastian’s expression tuned much tender as he thought of his departed mother.


    “Not your mother-inw? Are you still getting used to the fact that I am your husband now?”


    He tried to sound nonchnt as he opened the fridge.He soon realized that Natalie had taken thest


    bottle of drink they had.


    “I… I’ll be careful next time.”


    It was true that she had yet to get ustomed to the fact that they were married.She hadn’t thought


    much about it when she spoke.


    Had she offended him, by chance? Natalie was mulling her words with regret when her soda was


    suddenly snatched out of her hands.


    The next thing she knew, he was tipping it up against his lips.


    “No! I already drank,”


    Her words caught in her throat as she watched Sebastian touch his lips to the same spot where hers


    had been.She was mesmerized at the way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he drank the


    whole bottle.


    As for Sebastian, he was too thirsty to care about anything else.


    It urred to him then that he had something else to do.


    He took out his phone and nced at the time, then tapped Natalie’s forehead with the now empty


    bottle.


    “I’ll be leaving now.I have matters to deal with this evening.Don’t wait up for me.”


    For some reason, the atmosphere had grown quiet and intimate.


    Natalie’s hand shot up to touch the ce he had tapped, her ears hot.


    Even as Sebastian disappeared through the door, she remained frozen in ce, still thinking about


    their indirect kiss just now.


    The next morning.


    Natalie woke up to shrill ringing of her rm clock.She got up and padded to the kitchen.


    On her way, she noticed the slight depression on the sofa.


    Sebastian had obviously spent the night there, and it seemed like he had already gone out for the day.


    Natalie sighed and thought nothing more of it.She was going to have another interview today, and not


    much time to get herself ready.


    Later, she was on the subway on her way to thepany when she received an email.


    It was from the Larson Group.


    Natalie was quite surprised.She hurriedly opened the mail and found herself reading a formal apology.


    The email said that the notice of her failure at the interview had been withdrawn, and that the Larson


    Group was inviting for another one.


    “How is this possible?” Natalie murmured, confused.


    “I’ve never heard of a failure notice being withdrawn before.”


    Even so, she decided to give it another shot and went to the Larson Group.


    The receptionist ushered her to the meeting room and motioned for her to enter.


    As soon as she stepped inside, all eyes fell on Natalie.


    It gave her a momentary fright, but she calmed herself and mustered a smile.


    “I apologize.I’m afraid I’vee to the wrong ce.”


    But before she could turn and get out of there, a voice called out, “You’re in the right ce, Miss


    Quinn.Pleasee in and have a seat.Now that she looked closer, Natalie recognized her.She was


    one of the interviewers yesterday, the woman with straight, chestnut colored hair.She must not be


    mistaken, then.


    Natalie swallowed and cautiously moved forward.What was going on?


    “Hello, Miss Quinn.I’m Garrett Harding from the Larson Group.We invited you here today because we


    wanted to deal with some problems that urred in yesterday’s interview.”


    The one who spoke was a handsome man in a tailored suit.He was sitting right in the middle of the long


    table, and he was eyeing Natalie carefully.His silver-rimmed sses made him look like the typical boy


    next door, charming and friendly.


    It helped that he also had a mole at the outer corner of his eye.


    Garrett Harding? Why did he have to do with all of this? Natalie had only ever seen him in financial


    news and magazines.He was the vice president of the Larson Group, as well as a notorious yboy.


    Back at university, a lot of her female ssmates were so enamored by him.


    They had been shameless and vocal about their fantasies to be his lover, and they eventually went on


    to try their luck innding a job at the Larson Group.


    “I see,” Natalie said now, not really seeing anything.


    She still had no idea what was happening here.


    And then she noticed that ine was also present, albeit looking like rather distressed.She looked up


    and gave Natalie a re filled with hatred.


    Natalie only looked away.She didn’t know why ine had just done that, either.She was absolutely


    clueless.


    Garrett pressed his sses against the bridge of his nose and nced at either side of the table.


    Seeing that everyone was there, he cleared his throat and spoke in a gentle but clear voice.


    “All right, let’s get down to the matter at hand.ine, you rejected Miss Quinn on the grounds that she


    had moral issues, but we cannot simply take your word for it.Now, kindly tell us in detail what exactly is


    wrong with Miss Quinn’s character.It is only fair that you rify things face-to-face, with us as your


    witnesses.”