Chapter 222: Why Does Sephina Hate Natalie

Ryan and John sighed, shaking their heads helplessly as they turned to leave.

"Ryan," Natalie called out, "I’m sure you’re going to update your boss about this. Tell him he’s my friend, Vincent, from Xyros City."

Ryan nodded and left with John.

Just then, Ella entered the meeting room with a file in her hands. "Ms. Natalie... oh, these candies..."

"Want one?" Natalie offered.

"Yes, yes, please," Ella replied eagerly, taking a candy with delight. "Umm... after so long..."

"Better than the orgasm your husband gives you, isn’t it?" Mia teased with a chuckle.

Ella nodded without hesitation, agreeing enthusiastically.

Dan, watching the exchange, shook his head and left the room, muttering to himself.

"Natalie, can you ask your friend to get more of these?" Mia said with a hopeful look.

"For me as well," Ella added quickly.

"We’ll see," Natalie replied, tossing the empty candy packet into the bin. "Now, let’s get back to work."

The group moved to Natalie’s office to discuss the upcoming perfume launch, which was right around the corner. Nora and Dan joined them shortly after.

"I’m sorry you all had to handle everything on your own while I was gone during such an important time," Natalie began.

"Ms. Natalie, you had already planned everything so well that even in your absence, we were able to carry out everything smoothly," Ella said. "Moreover, Ms. Mia was here. It felt like we were still working with you—she didn’t let us face any trouble at all."

Natalie turned to Mia. "Thank you for taking care of my responsibilities when you already have your own company to manage."

"Ah, it’s no big deal," Mia replied casually. "But I must say, your assistant Nora is truly impressive. In your absence, she made things so much easier for me." She glanced at Nora, who gave a small, grateful smile. Mia continued, "I got so used to working with her that I practically claimed her as my own assistant and even had her help with my company’s work. She was assisting with the production side, and honestly, she was not only eager but incredibly efficient."

Natalie shifted her gaze to Nora, understanding the underlying compliment in Mia’s words. "Nora is indeed very capable. That’s why I chose her as my personal assistant—I knew she wouldn’t disappoint me."

Nora’s smile remained pleasant, but her innocent eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness. She wasn’t accustomed to receiving so much praise at once.

"Where’s Victor?" Natalie asked, changing the subject.

"Don’t even mention him," Ella groaned. "He’s been nothing but a headache, constantly asking about your whereabouts. Somehow, Mia managed to send him off to his work, and now he’s shooting in another city. He’ll be back tonight for tomorrow’s perfume launch."

Natalie turned to Mia with a skeptical expression, raising an eyebrow. "He listened to you?" Her tone carried a mix of disbelief and curiosity. "What did you say to make him agree?"

Mia’s confident demeanor faltered slightly as she smiled awkwardly. "That’s between him and me, alright? Let’s just say he’s not just the brand ambassador for my company’s product now—he’s also my friend."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Mia, silently warning her to spill the beans. But Mia quickly stood up. "I have to go check the venue for tomorrow’s launch party. I’m leaving."

Before Natalie could say a word, Mia dashed out of the office, mumbling under her breath, Natalie watched her friend’s hurried exit, unable to shake off the feeling that something was amiss.

No one knew Victor better than she did, and she was certain he wouldn’t listen to anyone else when it came to her. Mia must have struck some kind of deal with him to get him to comply, and the thought of what kind of deal it could be made her uneasy.

----

"I heard Natalie is back in her office," Clara said with a sly grin. "I wonder which hole she was hiding in after seeing you grab the spotlight as the star."

Briena scoffed, crossing her arms. "She knows her place now. She probably won’t dare show her face in front of me."

"And after tomorrow’s event, she’ll crawl back into that hole, never to return," Clara added with a laugh.

"Did we get what we need?" Briena asked, her tone turning serious.

"Not yet," Clara replied. "But your grandma is confident we’ll have it by the end of the day."

Briena chuckled smugly. "Grandma is so resourceful. She’s been an incredible help in getting Natalie out of my life."

"Her hatred for Natalie runs deeper than you think," Clara said, leaning closer.

Briena tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "But why does she hate her so much? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled she does, but knowing the reason might come in handy one day. We could use it to completely destroy Natalie."

"Your grandmother always hated Caryn, so I imagine that hatred has simply been passed down to Natalie," Clara suggested.

"But still, Natalie is her son’s daughter," Briena pressed. "There must be something more. I’m certain that Natalie or her mother must have done something to make Grandma hate them this deeply."

Clara paused, thinking it over. "You might be right. I never thought much about it before, but I’ll look into it."

Ana entered the office. "Briena, we have to leave for the shoot. Today You have a shoot with superstar Tristan."

Clara gasped, "With Tristan, already?"

Briena smiled, "They want to hurry up the not so important part of the movie first so later we will move the most important part which is only focussed on me and no other star had any place in it, other than me."

Clara chuckled, "I forgot my daughter herself is going to be a superstar so other superstars won’t tempt her."

Carrying the smug expression on her face, Briena stood up to leave as she said, "You are absolutely right mother. And in this movie I am going to outshine every one of them."