The next day, Natalie and Marcus woke up as usual, guided by their biological clocks. Nataliey in Marcus'' arms in an intimate embrace.


    "Good morning," Marcus'' deep, husky voice sounded in her ear, carrying a trace of sleepiness. "Did you sleep well?"


    Natalie kept her eyes closed for a moment longer before nodding lightly in his embrace. "I did. What about you?"


    "I did too," Marcus replied, smiling slightly.


    After his showerst night, Natalie hadn''t asked him anything else about Sheldon. Instead, they had simply gone to bed together, engaging in the intimacy of married life.


    He had always thought of himself as not being overly driven by desire, but reality had proven him wrong. Natalie indulged him, and sometimes he found it hard to control his impulses.


    "My mom set up an appointment for me to try on wedding dresses today. Are you free?" Natalie asked, resting against Marcus, neither of them in any hurry to get up.


    The feeling of just lying together and talking wasforting.


    "I remember you having things to do today," she continued. "How about I go pick out the wedding dress on my own? Once you''re done with work, you can meet me afterward. How does that sound?"


    Marcus grinned, hugging Natalie tighter. "You''ve already nned everything, so can I even say no?"


    He didn''t want to get out of bed at all. "Nat, I don''t want to work. I just want to stay like this, holding you."


    "That''s not happening," Natalie teased, poking his abs. "Don''t forget what you promised me."


    "I haven''t forgotten," Marcus mumbled against her shoulder. "I just don''t want to leave you. Nat, I feel like we never had a real honeymoon phase."


    They had skipped past dating and gone straight to marriage.


    "We''re in it right now." Natalie chuckled. "Isn''t this what being in love looks like?"


    "But you''re still making me go to work," Marcus mumbled, lifting his head to look at her. "If you really loved me, you''d cling to me and refuse to let me leave. Or at the very least, you''de with me and keep mepany at the office."


    "You know I''m not that kind of person," Natalie said, yfully pinching his ear. "I want our wedding to be perfect. Once it''s done, we''ll have all the time in the world to ourselves.


    "I''ll pick out the wedding photos and send them to you. Meanwhile, you can finish up at Holden Group. Then, we''ll take the photos together. That way, everything stays on schedule."


    Marcus sighed, tightening his arms around her. "I don''t think that''s a good n. Nat, I''ll have my father step in for me at work for a few days. He hasn''t been around for years. He didn''t fulfill his duty as a father, nor as a son.


    "Now that Mom is better, he has no excuse to neglect his responsibilities anymore. He''s at the perfect age to take charge. What do you think?"


    Natalie chuckled. "Yeah, that makes sense. Go talk to him, then we can go look at the wedding dresses together."


    "Alright. I''ll go now," he said.


    Marcus kissed Natalie''s forehead and held her a little more before reluctantly letting go. "You can sleep a bit longer."


    Natalie sat up, running her fingers through her hair before shing him a small smile. "I''m already up. Do I look like a mess?"


    "No," Marcus said with a grin. "My wife looks beautiful."


    Natalie blinked in surprise. Since their marriage, this was the first time he had called her his wife. Before, it had seemed like the words wouldn''te, but now he said them so naturally.


    "Shocked?" Marcus teased, pinching her cheek with a fond smile.


    He truly, deeply loved her. If not for what Grace had said in the beginning,


    perhaps they would have gotten together much sooner.


    "Come on. It''s time to get up," she said.


    Natalie felt a little flustered by his affectionate gesture, even though they had already been much more intimate.


    They were a married couple, but it still made her blush to have him tenderly pinch her cheek.


    Natalie silently scolded herself for overreacting, but on the surface, she remainedposed. With an air of nonchnce, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.


    Marcus quickly followed suit, and after washing up, they entered the walk-in closet together to pick out their outfits.


    In the past, Natalie''s wardrobe


    Natalie''s


    consisted mostly of utility pants and sportswear. After returning to the Walker family, she had gradually started refining her style. She no longer had to worry about Diana''s disapproval or fear that looking too beautiful would invite mistreatment.


    Now that she and Marcus were officially married, he had every reason to choose outfits for her.


    "Wear this today," Marcus said, holding up a red slip dress paired with a white button-down shirt and matching heels. "I''ll have a styliste byter to do your makeup and curl your hair."


    Marcus had already nned out Natalie''s hairstyle for the day. As soon as he finished speaking, Natalie knew exactly what he had in mind-voluminous curls, a slip dress and high heels.


    He was aiming for a sultry, fiery look.


    However, Natalie reached for a different outfit. "I''ll wear this one."


    She picked a loose-fitting white blouse with delicate embroidery and paired it with


    a ck skirt that draped perfectly, also embroidered with the brand logo at the


    hem.


    After changing, she turned to Marcus and smiled. "It''ll be easier to change when we try on the wedding dress."


    Marcus watched her with


    admiration. Her fair skin, delicate features, and naturally tousled hairplemented the elegant


    l.ne


    simplicity of the outfit. She exuded a fresh, radiant beauty that was hard to took away from.


    "You look great," he praised.


    "I''ll head downstairs first," Natalie said, pinching his cheek yfully. "You can go with the ck suit."


    Marcus smiled and said, "Got it."


    After Natalie left the closet, Marcus changed into one of his signature ck suits. Most of his wardrobe consisted of hand-tailored, high-end suits—ck being his go-to color.


    After getting ready, he made his way downstairs and headed for the back garden, where he found Wesley and Laura.


    Laura''s flower shop n was already in motion, and Wesley had been apanying her daily to help her choose flowers.


    "Mom, Dad," Marcus greeted them respectfully.


    Laura smiled warmly at him. Since her return, Sheldon had helped her ovee


    her fear of Holden Residence.


    "Marcus, your father said that even though we''re divorced, he''s still willing to help


    me."


    the


    "That''s great, "Marcus replied, noticing how happy Laura seemed. He resembled her a lot, inheriting best traits from both parents, though he took after her more "Mom, I need to discuss something with Dad. Can I borrow him for a


    fel.ne


    bit?"


    Laura agreed immediately. "Of course! What''s there to discuss? If you need him,


    just call for him."


    She turned to Wesley. "Right, Wesley?"