Chapter 353

In no time at all, William arrived at the quaint cabin Natalia was renting.

At that moment, Natalia was seated before her easel, a half-empty glass of juice beside her.

Seated in the sunroom, Natalia watched the gentle rain drizzling from the sky, feeling as though her troubles were as endless as the rain, utterly miserable.

"Honk—honk—"

The sound of a car horn echoed through the rain. Following the noise, Natalia saw it was William's car. She found it odd. What could bring him here in the rain?

William quickly entered the yard under the protection of his umbrella, spotting Natalia seated under the sunroom window. He called out cheerfully, "Good to find you at home, Natalia!"

Natalia gave an easy smile and a nod, standing to welcome William inside.

"It's raining outside. What brings you here?"

William closed his umbrella, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, you know how our company is collaborating with Andersen Corporation, right? They called today, urgently needing a design draft. They seem pretty insistent, and I didn't want to put too much pressure on you, so I thought I'd swing by and ask if you could handle it."

Natalia paused, startled. An urgent design draft? What could be so urgent? Was this something Magnus requested?

A flurry of thoughts cascaded through Natalia's mind, but she couldn't bring herself to voice them in front of William. Instead, she forced a smile. "I'll do my best. Any specific requests from their end?"

"All the specifications are here. It's for this season's primary product. Then, you just need to prepare another similar design as a backup." William handed over the documents to Natalia. "I know it's a bit rushed. Any issues on your end? If it's too much, I can try to buy you a few more days."

"No, I'll manage," Natalia, sensing William's discomfort, knew he wouldn't have come in person for something that could have been handled over the phone. "I have a few incomplete pieces from a previous series. I'll work late tonight to finish them up."

William nodded, though he still felt guilty for imposing on her. "Are you sure? If there's any trouble, please let me know."

"Don't worry, I can handle it," reassured Natalia, turning to pour William a glass of water. "I've been so busy, I forgot to offer you something to drink."

"No need, really," William quickly dismissed the offer. "I just came to discuss this matter. Now that you've reassured me, I'll take my leave." Picking up his umbrella, he headed for the door.

At that moment, Hector emerged with a glass of water. He recognized the one visiting Natalia as her boss from their previous encounter and courteously offered, "It's pouring outside. Would you like to stay for a bit?"

William turned back, acknowledging Hector with a polite smile. "No need, I'll be on my way. I won't impose any longer."

With that, William opened his umbrella and stepped back into the rain.

Once William had left, Hector placed his untouched glass of water on the table, turning to Natalia. "What's so urgent that he'd come all the way here in this rain?"

Natalia slowly returned to her seat, her expression unreadable. "Nothing much, just some design drafts. Apparently, Melfort is pressing for them."

Hector picked up on the mention of Melfort. He knew that Magnus had negotiated a contract with the company Natalia worked for. Hector didn't think much of it; he just felt that Magnus seemed everywhere.

Watching Natalia focus on her work, he commented, "Can you handle the workload? If it's too much, don't hesitate to push some aside. Don't overwork yourself."

Picking up her paintbrush, Natalia began to sketch. "I'll manage. I'll just work late tonight."

"Just don't push yourself too hard." Seeing Natalia engrossed in her work, Hector decided not to disturb her and headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Once Hector had left, Natalia couldn't hold back her tears any longer. Her heart ached for Magnus, even assuming that he had come to Rome because he had seen something in her designs. However, it seemed that these thoughts were all wishful thinking. Magnus hadn't connected the designs to her and was even pressing Stitches Fashion for the next set.

Natalia knew she shouldn't think like this, but she wished so dearly that Magnus could see her love for him in those designs. Not for fame or profit, but a simple wish for him to recognize her longing for him and her love as pure and noble as magnolia.

In the end, her hopes were in vain. He believed the designs were Diana's and was even planning to propose.

Regardless of her feelings, she couldn't change the fact that she couldn't go back. “Magnus, if this is what you want, I wish you well.”

But why did her heart feel so devastated...

The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)

Chapter 352 Forgive Us, My Dear Sister Chatper 494 Flirting With My Ex-husband Chapter 1463 Natalia silently voiced her despair, her gaze falling onto the blank canvas.

Reading the specifications for this season's primary product, her heart filled with sorrow. Every design she had sketched was filled with color, but this time, she chose navy and ash. The colors of her design were filled with despair and sorrow.

Instead of her usual signature, she used magnolia.

Teardrops stained the page.

As dusk began to fall, Hector emerged from the kitchen to see Natalia still diligently sketching. With a tone of concern, he said, "Why don't you take a break? It's getting late, and we shouldn't miss dinner no matter how busy we are."

Her eyes glued to her sketch pad, Natalia replied, "I'm not hungry, really. You go ahead and eat. I just need to finish this part; I can't lose my train of thought now."

"Alright then." Hector rubbed his hands together helplessly, not daring to disturb Natalia. He left her to immerse herself in her art.

The night grew darker, the twilight fading into a silent black curtain. The sensor light where Natalia sat flickered on, illuminating her focused face.

Under the glow of the light, she seemed all the more delicate.