Chapter 584Natalie's New Flame
Leonard's rise to power in the Ashford family had already made him a target, and this scandal, which tarnished the family's reputation and tanked their stock prices, would undoubtedly stir distrust among his shaky allies, leaving them to fear becoming the next fall guy.
Leonard would be left to stew over this mess for a while.
"But why would he resort to using poison against you?" Natalie couldn't make sense of that part.
Oliver looked down, a hint of mirth twinkling in his eyes. Natalie was smart, but more often than not, she lacked a certain ruthlessness.
"Addiction can be a powerful tool. Whether to control me, to threaten me, or to play games with the Windsor family's assets and stock value—it's an undeniable choice," Oliver commented. "Besides, if that stuff actually got into my system, wouldn't they be home free?"
If he became dependent on the drug and aimed to cover up the scandal, he absolutely couldn't afford to let the secret slip.
He wasn't merely forced to swallow a bitter pill in silence; he had also become a puppet of the Ashfords!
Upon hearing the full picture, Natalie's forehead beaded with sweat as she recalled the syringe that had been inches from Oliver's body, sending a shiver of fear through her afterwards.
"Scared?" Oliver noticed Natalie's uneasy expression.
He had thought she was unshaken yesterday, and thus, even less concerned today, which is why he had opened up to her about it.
Regaining her composure, Natalie shook her head, took a sip of bottled water, then, unable to hide her anxiety, nodded honestly. "A little," she admitted.
She chuckled at her own naivety, "I didn't realize there were such complications behind the scenes. If you had really been... " She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, her face painted with relief as if she'd narrowly escaped disaster.
She dared not imagine how someone as proud as Oliver, if truly controlled by the drug, would cope. The physical dependency might be secondary, but the assault on his pride would be intolerable.
How could someone like Oliver, who soared above the rest, ever reconcile himself to such a fate?
Lost in these thoughts, Natalie suddenly felt warmth envelop her, surrounded by a crisp, soothing fragrance.
Oliver turned and pulled Natalie into his embrace, his large hand gently stroking the back of her head, murmuring comfortingly, "If something ever did happen, I could kick the habit. It's not the end of the world. I won't let it be a threat to me."
He couldn’t afford to let such an indelible stain tarnish his reputation, as it would become an angle for others to criticize and attack Natalie. Oliver would never stand for that.
Natalie bit her lip, her throat tightening.
Kick the habit? That was easier said than done.
Thankfully, they were both unharmed.
Preoccupied with the recent events, Natalie scarcely noticed Oliver's embrace or how it might look in front of their colleagues.
The mountain road was rugged, and even in their top-of-the-line SUV, some jostling was inevitable. Gradually, Natalie's eyelids grew heavy with sleep.
Meanwhile, Oliver was busy texting his subordinates, managing the fallout from the incident.
Feeling a sudden weight on his shoulder, Oliver realized Natalie had closed her eyes and dozed off against him.
Oliver couldn't help but smirk as he carefully tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear before signaling to one of his bodyguards.
The guards, with years of service under Oliver, understood the silent cue. One retrieved a lightweight throw from the back seat and passed it to Oliver, who then gently covered his 'former' wife.
Who would've thought? The public assumed Mr. Windsor had dumped Natalie, but here he was, silently playing the role of human pillow and blanket layer.
The car was so quiet that the only sound was the soft breathing of its occupants; even the driver slowed down to avoid waking the boss's precious ex.
After a while, the co-driver received a message, startling him upright before turning to look at Oliver.
Catching his guard’s gaze, Oliver raised an eyebrow.
Not wanting to disturb Natalie, the guard silently handed over his phone so Oliver could take a look.
It was a PR alert from RK Group, showing a snapshot from Instagram.
The post was a photo of him and Natalie by the Love Frame at the River - only the side of Natalie's face and his back were visible.
Someone had stirred the pot with a caption: "Natalie spotted with new love interest."
Another picture showed him playfully pinching Natalie's cheek outside a church, both facing each other—with just their profiles visible, it was hard for strangers to recognize them. But someone had tracked down Natalie, captioning it: "Natalie's new fling confirmed."
A marketing account added fuel to the fire: "Natalie, the high-society cast-off, found a new beau just months post-divorce. Quite promiscuous. Heard through the grapevine it was her infidelity that led to the Windsor family divorce. Seems the rumors were true."
To validate their claim, the marketer dug up an old rumor about Natalie and Roger Wild, adding the recent narrative of a wealthy businessman slimming down for love. The post was logical, attracting the attention of gossip-hungry netizens.
Opening the Instagram link, Oliver saw the top comments:
"Even with a limp, Natalie has so many admirers. Is she that good?"
"I used to like Natalie. Ugh!"
"It seems the Windsor family divorce was to prevent—"
There was a rapidly growing campaign against Natalie's return to the fashion world.
Oliver's expression darkened visibly.
These people speak as if they've all seen Natalie themselves!
He glanced at the woman, sound asleep on his shoulder, grateful that she was oblivious to the situation for now.
Flipping through the Public Relations documents, he arrived at the second page, which detailed the origins of the controversy—an inflection point.
The two pictures that started it all came from two high-profile bloggers.
One photo originated from a blogger known for the fandom scene. Her caption simply read: “Waiting for the goddess's return.”
While the blogger’s following wasn't large, her audience was full of influential fans, active Instagrammers interlinked in a rapidly responsive network. The photo—well shot and expertly edited—made a significant impact in the fan circles.
Speculation about the identity of the stunning woman in the picture followed swiftly.
Revealing Natalie was inadvertently straightforward; she had a quiet but loyal fanbase that quickly identified their goddess.
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