Chapter 581 Natalie, Are You Feeling Guilty?
Natalie's mind was elsewhere all morning, and she had no intention of cooking for Oliver.
When Natalie and Oliver showed up at the restaurant, everyone was surprised. Oliver was known to be picky, while Natalie was a fantastic cook. Back when they were on good terms, she would even carve out time from work to prepare meals for Oliver, which his assistant would deliver. Yet today, they had returned to dine at the restaurant.
Oliver received a call before entering the restaurant, leaving Natalie to sit with Lucas and Lilian.
"Natalie, did you not get a good rest last night?" Lilian asked with concern, noticing Natalie's distracted demeanor.
Natalie rested her chin in her hand. She numbly gulped down a mouthful of coffee and murmured an acknowledgment.
"Oh."
Across two tables, Lilian exchanged a knowing look with Mia, the message was clear, “See! I knew it, a night of passion takes its toll!”
"Lilian, what's with that look?" Natalie was uncomfortable as seeing Lilian's mischievous grin.
Lilian glanced at Lucas, who was up to fetch their meal, and asked with excitement for confirmation, "Did you and your cousin spend the night?"
Lilian and Mia had seen Oliver carry Natalie into the house the previous night, and Mia had speculated that the two must have surely slept together.
But she couldn't let Lucas in on this—it was their secret woman-to-woman!
"What?" Natalie confused.
Lilian's grin made Natalie almost wish she'd zip it, "the kind where you can make babies!"
Natalie nearly spat out her coffee in shock. "Who taught you that?"
Lilian was such a naive girl, bursting with innocence.
Lilian blinked, then exclaimed with a dawning realization, "So you two really did that!"
Natalie massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on, as she repeated "No," but Lilian didn't buy it for a second.
Not just Lilian—everyone doubted her, especially when they saw Natalie looking like she hadn't gotten any rest. They all figured she was up all night locked in a passionate encounter!
Some daring souls even thought of sneaking up to Mr. Windsor's door last night to eavesdrop for a little action. They couldn't picture frosty and dignified Oliver or graceful Natalie getting it on.
Well, if they couldn't see, at least they could try to hear something, right?
Turned out, there was nothing to hear, with Oliver's bodyguard posted right at the door, keeping everyone away.
Natalie wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt people were looking at her differently... Ah, it all made sense now; Oliver's claim that she'd publicly kissed him had to be true.
Good heavens, they were divorced! Why on earth would she do something so scandalous after a few drinks?
"Hey sis, I grabbed this dish—anything else you want to eat?" Lucas wheeled over a breakfast cart. "You spacing out?"
Natalie waved him off, signaling all was good.
After partying till the wee hours, there were no planned activities this morning. Breakfast was dim sum and could be an all-morning affair, after which everyone was free to wander and enjoy themselves.
Of course, there was one thing to do: announce yesterday's competition results.
Oliver walked in, fresh off a phone call. Natalie felt awkward the moment she saw him, straightening up a bit more.
"What's wrong?" Oliver's eyes crinkled with a rare, roguish smile. "Natalie, you look outright guilty."
Natalie opened her mouth, then shut it, terrified he'd bring up last night's mess.
She offered Oliver a custard cake, saying, "Eat more, talk less."
"I don't like this," Oliver prodded the cake with his fork, his nose wrinkled in distaste.
Lucas glanced over, "Take it or leave it. I got it for my sis, not you, it's not like it was meant for you. Be glad you've got something to pick at, spoiled much!”
Though Lucas had never dated a girl, he wasn't clueless. As a guy who had certainly not been sheltered from all adult content, he couldn't help but imagine what might have gone down between his sister and Oliver last night. There was no cold shoulder from his sister toward Oliver this morning, either. As her brother, Lucas felt peeved but couldn't really say anything about it.
Even though Oliver's severe aversion to food had improved, his interest remained mainly in the dishes Natalie prepared. He quickly ate a few bites and then stopped, sipping his coffee and watching Natalie enjoy her meal.
"Ladies and gents, if I may have your attention during breakfast, I'd like to announce two things!" The camp director stepped in and announced, "One of them you might already be aware of, which is the outcome of yesterday's activity. First place goes to Miss Lilian and Master Lucas. They completed all the photo tasks and earned three points. Congratulations!"
That Lucas, again!
Everyone had heard of Lucas' sharp wit, but it was at that moment they truly realized the obscure Watson family kid's brains might be even more effective than they'd imagined.
It wasn't just effort and luck that found all the photo spots; it was brains.
The runners-up included a married couple and a pair of sweethearts.
As for the bottom three pairs, each faced the punishment of a room without signal, without WIFI, and with cramped twin beds.
As the names of the six were called, a sense of mischievous joy bubbled up, with some eagerly stirring up chaos. The six promptly sought sympathizers at the camp, trying to crash in someone's room or borrow a bed. But their friends turned out to be less accommodating than expected, either jokingly refusing or bargaining with conditions.
The dining hall quickly became a scene of playful commotion.
"There's one more thing. For everyone's safety, Windsor Group has dispatched bodyguards to discreetly look after you all."
After the director finished, there was a brief pause before Barrett quipped, "Thanks, Oliver," and others followed suit, emboldened to express their gratitude to Oliver:
"Appreciate it, Mr. Windsor!"
"Thanks a bunch, Mr. Windsor!"
"Mr. Windsor, you're the man!"
The Windsor family maintained a team of personal security guards, many of whom were veterans with specialized training provided by hired instructors. The internal system of the security team was competitive—a combination of elimination and promotion to ensure that only the best served the Windsor Corporation. It was a given that the Windsors preferred their own people to ensure their safety.
Amidst the flattery and adulation from the crowd, Oliver managed a polite, though not quite heartfelt, smile—a gesture that only seemed to reinforce his gentlemanly facade and the cool detachment it masked.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
