Chapter 693 Planning a Get-Together
Half-awake, Natalie heard a sound that startled her, instinctively shrinking to the side, trying to evade Oliver.
But she didn't escape; Oliver's strong arms held her firmly in place. The man had been insatiable that night... in his words, “the evening was worth celebrating.”
.Who knew what kind of thought process that was?
Sensing his ‘presence’ getting closer, Natalie buried her head deep into the blankets, her whole being resisted: "I can't do this anymore, just no..."
Oliver was silent for a moment, wondering to himself what was going on. Was he being too imposing?
"Got a question for you," Oliver pulled the covers back, allowing her to breathe freely, "Who's called you in the past couple of days?"
The sound of Oliver's voice and his question echoed in Natalie's head, in one ear and out the other, leaving no impression and even less desire to deal with him.
Noticing her indifference, Oliver's eyebrows raised slightly as he leaned in and murmured, "Sweetheart, if you don't talk, you can forget about getting any sleep."
"Gasp!" Natalie jolted, almost shocked into awareness, "What, what did you just say?"
Oliver rolled his eyes momentarily before repeating his question, "Who has called you these last few days?"
"Flora, Tina, Emily, some brand reps..." Natalie rattled off distractedly.
Oliver cut her off, "Besides work-related calls."
Natalie's mind wasn't in the place to discern work from personal; she just listed anyone she could think of.
Finally, Oliver zeroed in on a name, "Mia? ...Mia?"
At that moment, Mia was blissfully unaware that her cover was blown, having successfully conned her husband Ethan into doubling her allowance after a night's "laborious negotiations."
She used the money to celebrate her favorite couple's compatibility!
Oliver's internal clock was frighteningly precise; no matter how late he stayed up, he was always bright-eyed first thing in the morning, even sticking to his routine workout at dawn.
After exercising, Oliver showered in the guest room before returning to the master bedroom where Natalie was still deep asleep, her cheeks rosy and buried in the pillow.
Oliver nudged the air conditioning up a degree and sipped water while he scrolled through his WhatsApp couples' group.
One user, hiding behind the pseudonym "Overnight Porridge" had posted a comment.
Overnight Porridge: [Natalie doesn't deserve Oliver, right?]
The rest of the couple's fans fiercely reacted to the online troll.
Oliver wanted to have the user reported but wasn't quite sure how to do it, so he screenshotted that comment along with several other unsavory remarks.
The internet trolls commented.
[Does Natalie have issues? A model hits the trending topics too often to be some rich family outcast.]
[Oliver's just using Natalie for fun, what true feelings would high society have, haha.]
[Can't wait for these two to break up again.]
After compiling the screenshots, he sent them all to Jamie.
Jamie was slow to react to the sudden influx of messages, questioning what to think next.
Oliver Windsor: [Ban them.]
Oliver Windsor: [They were all talking nonsense!]
Oliver Windsor: [If they couldn't speak kindly, then it was better that they didn't speak at all.]
Jamie: [...Understood!]
A voice message was sent by Jamie to Oliver.
"At first, I thought you were going to ask me to make a personal appearance to warn him, but fortunately, you haven't lost your mind yet," a voice commented.
Oliver added, "To warn him in private anyway."
Jamie replied reluctantly, "All right, I'll handle it."
Indeed, when it came to matters involving his wife, one couldn't expect too much from a husband, especially on issues of reason and morality.
Mr. Windsor seemed utterly oblivious to something called "freedom of speech."
In Mr. Windsor's world, only he had the privilege of "freedom of speech."
Oliver faintly heard some murmuring and looked over to see Natalie had woken up. She was propped on the quilt, rubbing her eyes, still groggy, and asked him, "What are you doing?" Her voice was exceptionally soft and mushy, reflecting the state of just having woken up.
Oliver walked over and kissed her forehead, asking, "Want to sleep some more or get up?"
Natalie glanced at the time; it was almost eleven. She simply uttered, "Get up."
Although she said she wanted to get out of bed, she didn't move an inch, lying there limp and languid.
Oliver, both helpless and doting, hooked his lips up and helped her sit, then pointed to two sets of clothes on the bed and asked, "Which one do you want to wear?"
He had chosen them for her after his morning workout, one a smoke-blue dress and another a mermaid-inspired mini skirt. Both were new designs he'd picked up for her that year.
"Are we going out today?" asked Natalie, slightly taken aback. She didn't have work scheduled for the day and typically wore loungewear if just staying home.
"Yeah, going out after lunch," said Oliver. "Barrett has organized a get-together."
Natalie acknowledged with a simple "Oh," thinking to herself how Barrett hadn't changed, still so fond of organizing little social gatherings.
Looking at the two sets of attire, she swiftly picked the mermaid-inspired skirt.
Oliver deftly dressed her from inside out and then carried her over to the bathroom vanity to squeeze toothpaste onto her toothbrush.
"I can do it myself," Natalie protested, feeling handicapped, even though her legs and waist were merely sore.
Oliver stood beside Natalie, propping himself on one hand against the basin, encircling her in his arms as she brushed her teeth, while he texted Barrett.
Barrett had been roused by his father to join him for a late breakfast or ‘brunch’ as some call it. To his surprise, he noticed that he had received a text message from Oliver.
Oliver: [Organizing a get-together today.]
Barrett immediately got excited and swiftly responded.
Barrett: [Wow! It's so rare that my brother would initiate a social event!]
Then he realized something was amiss. His bro would never organize an event, not in a hundred years.
Barrett reread the message carefully, feeling like he finally got what the other person was hinting at, and asked through a text message.
Barrett: [You mean, you want me to set something up, bro?]
Oliver did not reply immediately.
Barrett sensed that the silence was Oliver's way of saying, "If not you, then who?"
Barrett messaged again.
Barrett: [On what pretext? Whom does bro want to meet?]
After Natalie finished brushing her teeth, Oliver skillfully prepared the water for her and helped her with the facial cleanser.
Only after attending to his beloved wife did Oliver reply to Barrett.
Oliver: [Celebrate me and Natalie getting back together? Invite whoever. Use your head.]
It felt like an eternity before Barrett could reply.
Barrett: [What? Wait a second...]
Barrett: [Aren't you two already back together?]
Barrett: [And now you want to throw a party?]
Barrett: [And what do you mean... 'Use your head'?]
Barrett was angry but dared not lash out.
"What are you doing? If you're eating, then eat. Stop playing with your phone!" Mr. Sinclair chided his younger son, who had been clutching his phone for over ten minutes, "Did you get another girlfriend? You lied to us before, saying that you and Cadence were an item. Now look, such a good match, and you let her slip away!"
"I didn't get a girlfriend!" Barrett rolled his eyes. ‘What's this about Cadence being a good match? Since when were female pilots a dime a dozen?’ he thought to himself.
"I'm talking to brother," Barrett retorted.
Mr. Sinclair's mood instantly improved, "Oliver? Oh, that's okay! Spend more time with Oliver; he's such a successful man. When you were little and caused trouble, it was always him who cleaned up your messes!"
Barrett thought to himself, ‘I might as well not be his real son.’
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