Chapter 165

Chapter 165 Manipulation

Natalie was more than just angry at this point!

Her anger did nothing to affect Cedric. She was initially uneasy, but now it felt even more stifling!

“Give me the original document, Natalie demanded.

When Zane called, she had wanted to bring up the issue of a mole in the company. But considering the

already tense atmosphere today, she decided to address it tomorrow at work.

Cedric looked at Natalie with the same self–satisfaction Natalie used to display towards him.

“It’s at Scarlet Villa.”

Natalie fell silent.

They continued their journey to Scarlet Villa without another word between them. When they got out,

Lucas took the items from the bag and handed them to Cedric in a small pouch, which Cedric then

passed to Natalie.

“Still using your family’s things after getting married? It won’t look good if others hear about it.”

“Whatever,” Natalie snapped, grabbing the bag. She didn’t want to engage with him right now.

In the past decade, Cedric had given her all sorts of valuable things. However, Natalie was a modest

and low–key person, so she seldom used those items.

If it weren’t for her career now, she also wouldn’t have bothered.

Watching her storm off, Cedric chuckled.

Sitting in the car without immediately getting out, he asked Lucas, “How could such a small thing cause

so much trouble before?”

Especially thinking back to the day of Elizabeth’s birthday, when Natalie had been the most unruly in

her life.

She had never been like that before.

It seemed as if something was forcing her into urgency–no, not just urgency!

It was as if not divorcing him would threaten her life.

When this thought crossed his mind, Cedric felt a tightness in his chest!

Cedric entered the villa to find Natalie sitting at the dining table, eating the food he had brought. She

seemed resigned, a state he found quite satisfying.

He approached, pulled out a chair, and sat across from her.

“How is it? Does it taste good?” he asked.

“I’m not picky,” Natalie replied without expressing her opinion.

Cedric sneered. “You used to be very picky.”

She was like a precious cat in his hands, pampered to the point of arrogance. Not only was she fussy

with

food, but her audacity was also growing.

But that was all in the past.

Natalie remained silent, and Cedric picked up a glass of red wine from the table and took a sip.

He asked, “Natalie, are you hiding something from me?”

Natalie paused, looking at Cedric,

Without a word, she gazed into Cedric’s deep eyes. His gaze felt like an impenetrable depth, and she

couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Seeing as she wasn’t going to answer, Cedric said, “When you mentioned divorce, you didn’t know you

had an uncle back then, right?”

Now that his mind was clear, his intelligence had improved significantly. If it weren’t for Isabella’s

troubles before, Cedric wouldn’t have overthought so much. He would have simply tried to coax Natalie

into calming down.

But now, he had eliminated all the barriers between them. He had time to spend with Natalie and to

think things through. So, Cedric was bringing the many doubts from before to light now.

Natalie forcefully took a bite of her food. “What, is it because you think I wouldn’t have dared to make a

fuss without my uncle?

“Natalie, you’re hiding something from me!” Cedric belatedly realized.

)

Natalie paused in her action, then resumed even faster. The pain that flickered in her eyes didn’t

escape Cedric’s notice, especially with her deliberate attempts to conceal it. It further confirmed

Cedric’s suspicions.

Since when did

“What’s the point of discussing all this now?” Natalie shot back.

Wasn’t there another woman in his life that was more important than Natalie?

“If I tell you that Isabella’s eyes can still be saved, would you still waste time arguing with me here?”

Cedric remained silent, but there was a noticeable change in his eyes when Isabella was mentioned.

Natalie chuckled, “Since when did other women become so important to you?”

“Natalie, she’s Ivan’s sister!”

“I thought you were going to say she’s my sister!” Natalie retorted.

Wasn’t it the case before?

She was Natalie’s younger sister!

So, Natalie was always accused of being ruthless no matter what she did toward Isabella.

“Natalie!” Cedric’s tone grew increasingly stern.

He initially didn’t want to bring up Isabella. But since Natalie pushed it this far, he continued, “Let’s not

talk about what happened before. You’ve made her like this…”

“Cedric!” Natalie interrupted him.

She looked at him without breaking eye contact.

She was silent for a moment before continuing, “Until now, you still believe I did those things, right?”

She already knew the answer in her heart.

This man always believed it was her doing.

That was even scarier!

Regardless of who she was, he accepted her!

But Natalie didn’t care for this kind of acceptance. She wanted a man who would trust her words

without doubt.

Clearly, Cedric wasn’t a man like that!

“I don’t know what you mean by seeing me in that light!*

She stood up and slammed her utensils on the table.

Cedric watched her. He was silent, yet his stance had a dangerous and threatening undertone.

“Where’s the original document?”

Natalie didn’t want to talk to Cedric much. Her purpose for obediently following him to Scarlet Villa and

finishing this dinner was clear,

As she said that, the air around Cedric turned colder and a touch more menacing.

Natalie didn’t care. She continued staring at Cedric.

Neither of them backed down!

“Follow me!”

In the end, Cedric stood up and headed towards the stairs.

Natalie followed, keeping pace with him up to the study.

Inside the room, Cedric tossed the original document from the drawer to Natalie.

She caught it and asked, “There aren’t any extra copies, right?”

“Given Regal Horizons International’s capabilities, they will handle everything as quickly as possible.

Do you think I would do something meaningless?” Cedric replied.

Natalie breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Cedric also knew the strength of Regal Horizons International.

While he didn’t take serious action against her today, he had still alerted the relevant authorities. Regal

Horizons International would handle everything swiftly now that they knew what they were up against.

“Where are you going?”

When Natalie turned around, she heard the dangerous tone in the man’s voice behind her.

Natalie replied, “Why do you think I’m still here?”

“Do you think Sylvan Gems and Regal Horizons only have this one weakness?”

Natalie stayed silent.

Turning around, she looked at Cedric. There was anger in her eyes.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Natalie, I told you one thing when everything first started. Do you remember what it was?”

Cedric’s tone was calm, but his eyes held a challenging glint.

Remember?

Of course, she remembered!

Natalie clenched her fists, trembling with suppressed anger.

Seeing her like this, Cedric chuckled.

“If you’re tired, go back to your room. Don’t struggle in vain. You know, don’t you? I didn’t have time to

deal with you before, but do you really think Regal Horizons International means anything to me?”

Natalie gritted her teeth.

What a bastard!