Chapter 691 Slip of the Tongue (Thanks for waiting, dear readers)
At this time, Natalie had just finished dinner with Flora Lee and her goddaughter... or was it niece?
Following her successful debut show, Flora Lee's career had soared to new heights. She had been swamped with work, with countless international socialites seeking her to design their gowns and numerous luxury brands inviting her to join their design teams.
She was, one could say, very much in demand. Even with her busy schedule, Flora Lee always made time to spend with her daughter each day.
Natalie was just about to suggest taking Tina out to pick out some toys. Tina didn't need to buy clothes, given that her mom was a designer, when her phone began buzzing with a flurry of texts.
Mia: [Natalie, have you and Mr. Windsor made up?]
Mia: [Natalie, you two made up a while ago, didn't you? Mr. Windsor was on the show pretending to chase after you, how romantic, haha!]
Mia: [Goddess! Can you give me a shoutout, please? Please satisfy a fan!]
Mia: [Goddess! I need some sweetness, boo hoo hoo! All the girls are waiting!]
Natalie was puzzled.
‘What fan?’ Her eyes zeroed in on the phrase "on the show," sensing that something had happened that she wasn't aware of.
"Flora, something's come up; I have to go. Let's hang out some other time," Natalie said, informalities were typical between close friends. Turning to Tina, she asked, "Auntie didn't buy you any toys today, do you want to go over to Auntie's place to play?"
Tina tilted her head to think for a moment, then asked, "Auntie's place, is it the smaller house or the bigger one?"
The smaller house referred to Natalie's apartment at Maple Villa, and the bigger one was the Rosewood Estate.
"The bigger one," Natalie replied.
"Then I don't want to go," Tina said, clinging to Flora Lee's leg, and with a look of devotion to her mother she told Natalie, "Daddy is a bad guy, Daddy is like the mean driver for Bobo, Tina can't play with Bobo."
Natalie almost wanted to give the little girl kudos for her insight, but she couldn't help asking, "Tina, how... did you come to think that?"
Though Tina had called Arthur "bad" right from her early years, Natalie had sensed that deep down, Tina was quite fond of Arthur.
Setting aside the previous issues between Arthur and Flora Lee, objectively speaking, Arthur was a competent and good father. He always took his daughter with him wherever he went, and due to Tina's presence, he had even recruited a team of elite bodyguards within the Windsor Group to ensure Tina's safety.
But in Natalie's eyes, there was no "objectively speaking." To her family, Arthur was nothing but a jerk!
Flora Lee was somewhat surprised when her daughter, Tina, made an unexpected remark.
It was known that Tina had recently returned to live with Flora Lee, and she had even occasionally spoken well of Arthur which indicated that Arthur must have treated Tina kindly; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so favorable toward him.
"It was my brother who said it," Tina declared proudly with her little chest puffed out, proclaiming, "Whatever brother says is right!"
Natalie was puzzled. The words sounded so familiar to her as if she had heard them before. She looked questioningly at Flora Lee, who understood her daughter and immediately thought of someone. "I think I know who," she said before turning to her daughter, "Tina, are you talking about Donovan, your brother?"
"Yes, brother Donovan!" Tina struggled to pronounce "Donovan" and simply referred to him in a childlike manner.
"That kid is Donovan Blake, the son of a friend of mine, and he's about five or six years older than Tina," Flora Lee explained.
Natalie raised an eyebrow imperceptibly. She noticed the brief pause in Flora's speech and emotions when she referred to him as "a friend." The relationship seemed like it was more than just friendship.
Since Flora Lee didn't elaborate, Natalie decided not to pry. After exchanging goodbyes, Natalie dialed the number of her friend Mia.
"Mia, what's this about CP fans? And you calling me... a goddess?" Although many online did refer to her that way, Natalie was surprised that Mia, a lady from a distinguished family, would use that term for her.
Mia fell silent for a moment before speaking awkwardly, "Uh, Natalie, that message was a mistake... do you believe me?"
Natalie responded skeptically, "What do you think?"
Mia, feeling a bit flustered, conceded, "All right, all right! It was me! I was just quietly shipping a couple; I didn't mean to disturb you... Can you not let Mr. Windsor find out, please? I'm begging you, goddess."
Natalie was more shocked than offended, and with a touch of resignation, she reassured, "Don't worry about it."
"I'm not nervous around you, but Mr. Windsor, that's a different story! Just by looking at him, you can tell he's got a short fuse. His temper is even worse than it seems. All polished and aloof on the outside, but he's also got a heart of stone... It’s terrifying!"
There was silence on Natalie’s part as she admitted to herself that Oliver did come off as quite standoffish, and he didn't seem to have the best temper. But to call it terrifying? That seemed a bit... exaggerated?
"Ah! Goddess, I swear I'm not trying to badmouth your man. Please, don't be mad at me, and don't tell Mr. Windsor. I've only been enjoying life for twenty years, I..."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything. And you don't need to be so tense. Oliver's temper is quite..." Good? No, Natalie couldn't bring herself to say something that felt so against her conscience.
Having revealed her true feelings and knowing that Natalie was kind-hearted, Mia let herself fully unwind, saying, "Goddess, so you and Mr. Windsor truly made up, right? I won't accept a no for an answer. I knew something was going on between you two at summer camp!"
Even though during the earlier part of summer camp the two of them hadn't reconciled, Natalie still nodded in agreement.
After getting the gist of the situation from Mia, Natalie checked Instagram.
Oliver's recent interview had blown up, reaching the top spot in the trending searches with fans screaming in excitement or shock.
The likes had crossed three hundred thousand, with comments in the tens of thousands, and the numbers were still climbing.
A glance at the other trending topics showed that nearly all the top twenty were dominated by her and Oliver.
Natalie was bewildered. What on earth had gotten into this man?
With her mind full of questions, she drove back to Rosewood Estate. Oliver was seated on the couch, reviewing documents, smoothly penning his signature.
Marjorie had gone back to the Windsor family's ancestral home to pay respects and would be away from the Rosewood Estate for a couple of days.
"What's up?" Oliver noticed Natalie peculiarly looking at him.
Did she know about what he'd said on the show? Would she be angry?
Well, even if she was, it was too late now. He had said what he had said, and he was quite content about it.
In just a few seconds, a myriad of thoughts went through Oliver's mind, but his outward appearance remained calm as he looked back at Natalie.
"What's going on?" Natalie asked, showing him the video of his interview on her phone.
Oliver took a casual glance and replied, "Ah, just slipped up."
"...Really? Mr. Windsor, could you be less obvious in your insincerity? And slip of the tongue?" Natalie thought about rolling her eyes then and there.
She even knew the phrase 'slip of the tongue'? Natalie started to wonder if Oliver, the old-fashioned gentleman, had started secretly learning to surf the web.
"Upset?" Oliver raised an eyebrow at her.
Natalie wasn't upset, more surprised and confused.
But, since Oliver asked, she felt a bit obliged to nod as if to validate the rarity of Mr. Windsor's self-awareness today.
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