Sebastian''s eyebrow arched, and his deep-set eyes, cold as a winterke, narrowed. "Mr. Monroe, Natalie is still my wife."


    Natalie looked at Matthew. "Mr. Monroe, you should head back first. Don''t worry about me. I''lle find you after I talk to him." Maybe, just maybe, she could finally get him to sign the divorce papers.


    Matthew turned to her, his voice low. "I''ll wait for you in the car, Natalie."


    With a final nce at Sebastian, Matthew walked away.


    Sebastian reached for Natalie''s arm, but she sidestepped him.


    He stared at his empty hand for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Come home with me."


    Natalie scoffed. "Sebastian, what are you doing? You were the one who told me to leave."


    "I thought you were just throwing a tantrum. It''s been over half a year. You should be over it by now. Come home."


    Natalieughed, a bitter, humorless sound. She looked at his chiseled face, impossibly handsome under the city lights-a face any woman would fall for. "Sebastian, why do you always assume I''m the one making a scene? I was only acting out because you were spending all your time with Joanna, and I wanted you toe home and take your medicine."


    "I threw fits, I cried, but did you evere home? No. So why should I leave when you tell me to leave, ande back when you tell me toe back? Let me tell you something, Sebastian. I will never, ever get back together with you. I would rather die than be with a cheating scumbag like you."


    Sebastian saw the raw hatred in her eyes and found himself at a loss for words. She was right. He had been wrong,pletely fooled by Joanna. He had never loved Natalie, so he had never cared about her feelings. But her two years ofpanionship had seeped into the very fabric of his life, making her an indispensable Mrs. Griffith.


    Then Joanna returned, and Natalie''s jealousy and tantrums had worn his patience thin.


    Now, he realized he had been the fool all along. He was the one who had been yed.


    A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes, sharp and cold. His voice was low, almost a whisper to himself. "You''d rather die?"


    Natalie was exhausted. "Yes."


    She didn''t borate, but that single, soft word conveyed a world of finality.


    Sebastian stared at her intently. "But that''s not the ending I want. Wait for me to sort things out, and then I''ll bring you home. Until then, you are to keep your distance from all men, especially Matthew. His influence is primarily overseas, but my overseas power could easily crush him."


    Natalie was stunned. She remembered now-Sebastian had been building his international influence since he was eighteen. It was easily as formidable as Matthew''s.


    "Are you threatening me?" she asked, her face flushing with anger.


    Sebastian''s lips curved into a smirk. He found her indignant expression rather cute. "Natalie, in this world, there is no one who can escape my grasp if I don''t want them to. That includes you. Aside from your


    business coboration, I want you to stay away from him your


    grandfather, your brothers... they are all your weaknesses."


    He smiled, a cruel twist of his lips, and his narrowed eyes held an emotion she couldn''t decipher.


    Natalie stared at him in fury. She


    had been careless. She never should have let Wayne and her grandfather be exposed to him. Her family had always kept a low profile, deliberately staying off the radar of the ultra-rich But could Sebastian really track Wayne down?


    She couldn''t take that risk. In her past life, Joanna had found him, and when Wayne tried to avenge her, Joanna''s assassins had killed him. She would not let that happen again.


    Natalie bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. "Sebastian, my brother and my grandfather are the people who love me most in this world. If you dare to touch them, I swear I will take you down with me. I saved your life twice, and I can kill you ten times over."