Natalie gazed at Marcus with an icy detachment. Turning to Lincoln, she asked, "Lincoln, would you visit Sophia with me?"


    "Of course, I''ll apany you." Lincoln''s spirits lifted at once.


    His sister shouldn''t be won over so effortlessly by any man, even if that man happened to be Marcus. It was simply out of the question.


    Natalie said, "Marcus, don''te to my house anymore if you have no reason to, and stop trying to find me. I don''t have feelings for you, and you shouldn''t have any for me, either."


    Marcus remained silent, his eyes locked on Natalie without a blink. Her words left a trace of sadness and disappointment in his deep, dark eyes.


    Witnessing his reaction, Natalie couldn''t help but remember when Marcus sat alone in the Helianese restaurant, enveloped in a heavy cloud of mncholy. But then Lincoln tugged at her arm. "Nat, let''s go see Sophia together."


    "Alright," Natalie replied. She turned away from Marcus, not ncing back, and quickly walked away with Lincoln.


    Marcus stood in the Walker residence''s living room, watching as Natalie and Lincoln walked away.


    Ethan stood behind him, trembling slightly. Marcus'' intense demeanor was undeniably intimidating.


    However, Marcus soon managed a slight smile. "Ethan, take this document to Ms. Walker."


    "Yes, Mr. Marcus."


    Ethan took the document and went to the main entrance to wait for Natalie.


    Meanwhile, Marcus got into his car. In the back seat sat a beautifully wrapped bouquet of gardenias and a brand-new box of choctes.


    Marcus had an overseas chocte factory create a new vor, which was flown in early that morning. He hadn''t gotten any sleep the night before.


    That morning, he visited a flower shop to buy gardenias and, with the airlifted choctes in hand, eagerly went to see Natalie.


    Marcus picked up the choctes with his fingers. He knew winning Natalie over wouldn''t be easy, and there was significant resentment toward him from the Walker family. But that didn''t matter to him. If he could call off the engagement, he could propose anew.


    ...


    At the entrance of the vi, Natalie and Lincoln soon emerged.


    Ethan quickly approached them. "Ms. Walker, please ept this document!"


    Please thank Marcus for his generosity, but I must decline," Natalie stated firmly. "Lincoln and I have ns; we can''t host you and Marcus."


    "Ethan, tell Marcus not toe to our home unless it''s necessary," Lincoln said bluntly to Ethan.


    Ethan appeared ufortable and replied humbly, "Mr. Lincoln, Ms. Walker, I''m just an employee. If I don''t deliver this document to Ms. Walker, I''ll lose my job.


    "I beg you, Ms. Walker. I have an elderly mother to care for, a newborn son who needs to be fed, a father addicted to gambling, a sick mother-inw, and a sister infatuated with a delinquent. My entire family relies on me. Without this job, my family will go hungry. Please, Ms. Walker, Mr. Lincoln."


    "Ethan, don''t make me p you!" Lincoln warned through clenched teeth.


    He was well aware of Ethan''s true circumstances. Ethan could easily spout such stories meant to deceive the naive.


    "Please, Mr. Lincoln." Ethan bowed deeply, holding the document out to Natalie with both hands.


    He continued, "Ms. Walker, Mr. Marcus didn''t sleep at allst night. When I saw him this morning, he was staring out the window, lost in thought, and chuckled asionally. Sheldon mentioned that he had been like this since returningst night.


    "Mr. Holden Senior said Mr. Marcus ispletely smitten, that he''s fallen hopelessly in love."


    Ethan fully exposed Marcus'' situation.


    1.n


    "Sheldon attempted to convince Mr. Marcus to get some rest. However, Mr. Holden Senior advised against it, suggesting that since he had previously acted impulsively, he should now face the repercussions namely,


    of ending the engan


    the challenge of winning back Ms. Walker.


    "Ms. Walker, it''s alright if you make Mr. Marcus work hard to win you over, but please don''t make me lose my job!"


    "Don''t worry about losing your job. It


    just so happens that I need some help on my end," Natalie said with a smirk "If you get let go from Marcus''pany, you cane work for Walker Group. I''ll pay you double."


    "Wow!" Ethan was taken aback, now uncertain about whether he should ept the offer.


    "Ethan." Marcus called out in a deep voice from a nearby car, rolling down the window.


    Ethan quickly handed the document to Natalie and sprinted back to the car.


    Once inside, he respectfully reported, "Mr. Marcus, I''ve given the document to Ms. Walker."


    Marcus'' face was stern and emotionless, but the tense atmosphere in the car clearly reflected his displeasure.


    Ethan and the driver barely dared to breathe, both feeling nervous.


    This was Marcus'' first experience of falling in love and pursuing someone so openly. And so far, it wasn''t going well.


    "Marcus, hold on," Natalie called out, clutching the document as she hurried to the


    car.


    In an instant, Marcus'' demeanor shifted. He quickly opened the car door and stepped out. "Nat."


    "Marcus, take this," Natalie insisted, trying to hand the document back to him.


    Marcus took a step back, his lips pressed in a firm line as he gazed at her.


    "Marcus, it would be best if we just remain friends," Natalie said firmly, mirroring his expression. "If you keep behaving this way, it might make me reconsider our friendship."


    "You''re my savior," Marcus replied.


    "I don''t care," she responded.


    A flicker of pain crossed Marcus'' eyes. "I''m sorry. I spoke out of turn."


    Natalie had never intended to use the fact that she saved his life to demand


    anything from him. It was Marcus who was being maniptive, trying to leverage his gratitude to get closer and dere his feelings.


    "Marcus, things were fine the way they were before, weren''t they?" Natalie softened her voice. "We agreed to work together to take over Sinir Group and pass it on to Sophia and Samantha. But honestly, you did all the work. I can''t take credit for it."


    "But you saved my life," Marcus replied with a slight smile. "I''m sorry for any trouble I''ve caused you. As you suggested, let''s just go back to how things were before. Is that alright?"


    "What?" Natalie was taken aback. She had expected Marcus to be difficult to deal with, but he surprisingly agreed to her suggestion without hesitation.


    "Let''s go back to how we were. Now, hop in the car. Let''s visit Sophia together." Marcus opened the car door and stepped aside, behaving like a gentleman. "You won''t refuse, right?"


    Natalie blinked, feeling as if something was amiss. But Marcus had already returned to his usual aloof, distant, yet noble demeanor.


    His expression gave no hint that he had ever confessed his feelings for her or expressed a desire to pursue her.


    "Are you worried about something?" Marcus asked, noticing Natalie''s hesitation. His deep, maic voice was calm and resolute. "Or do you not trust me?"