The Tyrant's Wife

303 Iressitible offer (1)

Natalie was furious when Nathaniel’s bodyguards finally let go of her. She had yelled for them to let her go and tried to fight them off for most of the ride here. When she realized they had no intention of doing as she said until she was brought to their master, she stopped putting on a fight. These didn’t look like kidnappers who would grab people off the street for a ransom. They had another agenda and their instructions were to deliver her to a specific location. Apparently, that was Nathaniel’s mansion.

“Is this your way of reuniting, grandfather?” She mocked. She had heard tons about Nathaniel Su before meeting him but she still couldn’t believe this sly fox was related to her.

In response to her outrage, Nathaniel snorted. “News travels fast, doesn’t it?”

“If by ‘news’ you mean the uncountable tales of your debauchery, then yes. News does travel fast.” She shrugged the bodyguard off who looked ready to grab her if she tried to bolt away. “It is such a small world, if you think about it. What are the odds that a woman I met through my childhood friend would turn out to be my boyfriend’s greatest fan, and at the same time my cousin? You must have been quite determined with those wild oats, grandfather.”

He looked like he was on the verge of exploding but he kept it in.

This was exactly why she was not afraid to offend him. He had gone through all the trouble to kidnap her because he needed her. He couldn’t blow it up by killing her. No matter what, at least her life would remain intact. Though the thought of it made her wonder if he could hurt her as long as it was not enough to kill her.

“Sit down, Natalie.” He pointed his hand to the love seat in the living room and sat across from it. She walked over but was yet to sit when a female bodyguard walked up to her and patted her down.

“What the hell?” She shrieked.

“We can’t risk Luci sneaking around. My dear daughter is way too smart for her own good, if you ask me. Now, where were we?” he fiddled with his golden walking stick and set it aside. “We were just getting started.”

.....

She waited for him to shoo off everyone else and finaly get to it.

“Speaking of Luci, my wife should have named her Lucifer instead of Lucinda. The former would go with her personality.” He chided, looking like he wanted to call Lucy over and strangle her. Before Natalie could remark, he sighed. “We had an agreement that you may or may not have heard about. She works for me and in return, I stay away from her children.”

“Apparently she should have mentioned her niece in that agreement because here I am.” Natalie mocked.

“I’m glad she didn’t. Just like I forgot to clarify some matters which, when you think about, are self-explanatory. Luci decided it would be funny to try and blow up my daughter.”

Natalie laughed, because that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “So now you care about your family.” She knew he didn’t. The only thing that upset him was everyone finding out that someone had messed with his family and gotten away with it. He did not want to be made into a clown and it was the only reason why he was bothered by Lucy’s behaviour. She was not stupid enough to think any of it had to do with being worried that his daughter and son-in-law could have died in the blast.

“Why didn’t you bring your dughter here and have her help you seek Aunt Lucy out for what she did?” She asked, trying to get a rise out of him.

She didn’t succeed. Instead, the man looked more honest than ever. “I would have brought Ava here. Heaven knows she is better suited for the job than you. But not only does Luci have her under her watch, but the woman is also too arrogant to see that this is for her.”

“If she doesn’t care for her revenge then maybe you shouldn’t care either.” Natalie said in almost a whisper.

“Are you stalling for time?” Nathaniel caught on her little play.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She forced a smile. He was right. She had been kidnapped on her way to pick up ingredients so she and Devonte would cook dinner together. He was waiting for her at her apartment. If she was out for too long, he would look for her and probably notify Desmond and Lucy while at it.

But now that she had been caught, she couldn’t stall for much longer. She could only hope Devonte tried to call her soon enough. They both knew that if she was not working or sleeping, it didn’t matter what she was doing. She would answer his call, even if to let him know she couldn’t talk and would call back.

Since she couldn’t let Nathaniel know she was waiting for that to happen, she crossed her legs at her knees and snickered. “I thought the worst part of your hospitality was the improper welcome. But now, you won’t even offer your guests drinks?”

He ignored her rant. “Dawn will be yours if you want it.”

Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “What?”

“Dawn. You know, the subsidiary of Twilight that Lucy wanted you to be a temporary owner of?”

She shook her head. “Aunt Lucy already offered it to me. Why should I be interested in you giving it to me? Besides, it’s not yours to give away.”

“Yes it is.” He sing-songed. “And just so you know, there is a huge difference between a temporary owner and the ultimate owner. Lucy is offering you the former. She is using you as a marketing strategy. On the other hand, I could give it to you for free.” He waited for the words to sink in and added, “How I will get hold of it should not be any of your concern.”

“You are asking me to steal from her. To betray her.” She muttered.

“Those are strong words. You will not steal from her. You will only get what you deserve that’s still in her name. She did try to take away the only family you have, after all. Think about it, why would you want to be loyal to her?”

“It’s…”

He cut her off with a raise of his palm. “A woman who would leave the very man she claims to love very much. A woman who would ditch her daughter. Why would you trust her?”

“Interesting. She gets that from you, doesn’t she? The ditching her child part.” She scoffed. Once again, Nathaniel looked like he would gladly rip her apart if he didn’t need her.

“No way in hell am I letting Luci or her spawn inherit any of the wealth I have worked hard for. That leaves you, Natalie. It could help you with you startup. You could launch Dawn without a single setback and overtake Twilight in a matter of a few years. I am a firm believer that our latest creations always surpass their predecessors and Luci, well, you know her.”

For these tempting offers, she knew there was a huge price to pay. “What do you want in return?”

“Now, Natalie, let’s not get excited yet. I am not done.” He smirked. “Apart from Dawn and the guarantee to be able to launch it successfully, I do not believe your lover intends to act all his life. I mean, sure, he could do it, but it gets boring after a while. He will want to retire when most of the fun fades and only do it for fun. Unless, of course, he has nomething to fall back to.” He lowered his voice temptingly. “I could give him something permanent to retire to, if you want.”

At this point, Natalie was certain he was going to ask for her life. She asked again amid a laugh, but what he asked for was much worse.

“Lucinda tried to end my daughter’s life. I believe it is rude to not return a favor.”

“You want me to kill Zaria?” She gasped.

“Don’t give me that. It’s going to be super easy for you. Just tell me all the details about her wedding. When the time is right, you will not need to betray your beloved cousin.”