"Yes! I was the one who came after you. I could see your pain, your unhappiness. I understood your past, and I felt both pity and love for you. You were so cold to me, but I foolishly wanted to stay by your side. It was onlyter that I realized you didn''t need my love. You needed Joanna''s."


    "Sebastian, don''t call me again, and don''te to my house. I don''t want anything from you, so you have nothing to threaten me with."


    "I hate you enough as it is. This winter is already cold enough. Please don''t make my heart any colder."


    With that, Natalie hung up the phone.


    The sharp pain in her chest made her close her eyes.


    She tried to suppress the searing ache in her heart.


    Unbidden, the pain still stole her breath.


    She stood up and looked out the window. She couldn''t see the scenery far away, but her mood quickly improved.


    She checked the time. Marshall would be here soon.


    She went downstairs with a smile. Lucien was standing at the bottom of the staircase. "Miss, it''s snowing. How about we have hot pot for dinner tonight?" Natalie nodded with a smile. "That sounds great. Has Mr. Spencer arrived?" Lucien said, "He''s almost here. I''ve already arranged for dinner."


    Natalie smiled and nodded. Sure enough, Marshall entered just a momentter. He was carrying fruit, including several cherimoyas asrge as bowls.


    Natalie beamed. Those cherimoyas looked so sweet. They would be perfect for dessert.


    "Marshall,e in and sit down. It must be cold outside," Natalie called out with a smile.


    Marshall grinned. "It''s alright. It''s warm in here." He took off his jacket, revealing a crisp white shirt underneath. His smile was roguish, full of youthful charm.


    Natalie returned his smile and pointed to the hot pot. "Lobster hot pot. Do you like it?"


    Marshall loved it. Looking at the exquisite and abundant spread on the table, his face lit up, his eyes shining. me, this is incredible! This is rare deep-sea seafood you can''t just get anywhere."


    Natalie gestured to the utensils. "Then dig in."


    "Yeah! I''m starving. I had four meetings after I got back, then worked on my thesis


    for an hour. I didn''t even have a sip of water. I''m exhausted."


    Marshall suddenly looked up at Natalie, his expression serious. "Natalie, I''m just now realizing that it''s not easy being rich!"


    Natalie was slightly surprised, but she understood the sentiment. She smiled. "It''s not easy being rich because you''re always running. around for money. When you were little, your parents probably had very little time for you. To give you a better life, they had to chase. projects and partnerships


    everywhere, giving all their time to


    making money. Is that how it felt?"


    "Exactly, Natalie. I always felt so lonely as a kid, so I started hanging out with a bunch of hooligans and racing cars. But I wasn''t even that good at it. Anyway, being rich meant


    could have


    thing I wanted, and


    racing was the only thing that


    interested me."


    Now that thepany was in trouble, he hadn''t touched a race car since.


    If he kept ying around while the family business was failing, he might not even be able to support himself.


    But if he worked with his dad to run thepany well, their future would get better and better.


    He finally understood that life was about give and take. If he gave up his hobby, the whole family would be better off.


    And outside the vi.


    Sebastian''s cold, deep eyes stared at the vi''s gate, his expression dark and inscrutable. She let Marshall in, but not him.