Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Natalie’s gaze shifted, locking eyes with Gavin for a brief moment. Gavin’s eyes were complex, tinged with a hint of disappointment.

“All that he has is yours for the taking if you so desire, but you…”

Natalie couldn’t fathom how things had come to this point. It seemed nothing was the same since King revealed his feelings for her.

She was not driven by greed. All she desired was to maintain an everlasting family bond between her, King, and Nina.

Yet, even King appeared to be drifting away from her.

“Sorry, I need to use the ladies‘ room,” she finally murmured to Gavin after a long silence.

She stood up, pushed open the door, and headed toward the restroom around the corner.

Brian had just exited the elevator and looked up to see a familiar figure rushing past him.

He paused, glancing toward the room Natalie had just left.

From his angle, he could see into the partially open room where Gavin stood alone, his back to the door, gazing out the floor–to–ceiling window.

Natalie stood in front of the sink, calming herself for half a minute before turning on the faucet and splashing her face with water.

As she looked up, catching a glimpse of dress pants in her peripheral vision, her heart skipped a beat. She turned sharply to see Brian standing at the adjacent sink, washing his hands elegantly.

Even though Natalie had heard someone enter the restroom, she hadn’t suspected it would be

Brian.

“What did you have for dinner?” Brian asked softly after drying his hands with a paper towel, not looking up from his meticulous task.

He had seen Gavin. A tightness gripped Natalie’s chest as she pressed her lips together, observing Brian’s chiseled profile quietly.

“Didn’t you say there was nothing between you and Gavin?” Brian tilted his head slightly, his gaze shifting calmly towards her.

“We are just friends,” Natalie replied in a low voice.

“Friends? What kind of friends would dine together in a private room?” Brian couldn’t help but smirk, though his eyes were filled with an icy resolve. “Do you think he sees you merely as a friend?”

“Perhaps you could also explain that $90 million he gave you. What was that about?”

Chapter 187

Natalie couldn’t admit to Brian that she was FireWing and that the James family had given her shares as a token of their gratitude,

“If your explanation is reasonable, I might consider letting the James family off the hook,” Brian continued after a pause.

“Rosie was supposed to come, but I met with him to discuss renegotiating my contract. I’m on a temporary one, and he wanted to switch to a long–term deal,” Natalie said, her fingers tensing at her sides. “They gave me the money because I saved Michael once. They wanted to

compensate me, and I refused at the time. But now I need the money, so I asked for it. And I am just friends with…”

“Natalie!” Brian turned to face her. His presence was so intense that Natalie could barely breathe.

She looked up at him, steeling herself to respond in a low voice, “If it bothers you, I can return the money to them.”

Before she could finish, her phone, resting next to the sink, vibrated.

Her scalp tingled as she glanced down. Gavin was calling. She had been in the restroom too long, and Gavin was checking on her.

Before she could pick up. Brian snatched the phone, glanced at the caller, and smashed it against the mirror in a fit of anger.

Shards of glass scattered everywhere, with a few slicing across the back of Natalie’s hand.

She trembled in pain.

“Do you realize that you speak unusually fast when you lie?” Brian asked, his gaze fixed on her as he gently grasped her chin.