He didn''t even care if he''d had enough to eat.
In the past, she would always worry that he hadn''t eaten enough. She''d coax him to have a little more, saying he needed to eat well to stay healthy.
He had taken that meticulous care for granted back then, but now, it was gone for good.
Sebastian''s hands, resting on his knees, clenched slightly. He watched her bow her head to reply to a text, his handsome features gradually knitting into a frown. "Natalie, can''t you just eat first? You''re staring at your phone, and the food''s getting cold."
Hearing the slight reprimand in his voice, Natalie looked up at him, her eyes wide. "What''s wrong?"
Sebastian''s lips thinned. His voice was low. "Eat first.”
"Oh." Natalie saw she only had a few bites of rice left. She quickly finished them, then stood up to take her te to the sink.
There wasn''t much to talk about with Sebastian.
Sebastian watched the distant and indifferent Natalie, a frustrating annoyance churning inside him.
Seeing her back as she worked in the kitchen, he sighed softly and went upstairs for a conference call.
He had been incredibly busytely. Work was piling up, leaving him exhausted. Coming back here was the only thing that brought a bit of warmth to his heart.
After washing the dishes, Natalie came out of the kitchen. Not seeing Sebastian, she went back to her room to rest.
She had been looking over the rules for the designerpetition.
It was a standardpetition, but winning it would be a good way to get noticed.
After careful consideration, Natalie decided it was best to let Joanna take the spotlight. She would operate from the shadows while her enemy was out in the open.
After all, this wasn''t the right time for her to be making a name for herself.
Back in her room, she didn''t work on any sketches tonight. Instead, she went back to watching the stock market.
The moment she opened herptop, she got a call from Marshall.
"Hey!"
"Natalie, it''s rising! The stock is going up and up! It''s incredible! It had nearly hit its lower limit when we bought in, and now it just keeps climbing. You''re a genius."
Natalie smiled. It was a good thing she had a sharp memory, or she would have missed this opportunity.
Even the titans of the stock market probably hadn''t predicted this stock''s surge.
But in three days, it would plummet.
"Marshall, when it peaks, you have to sell everything."
“What? But it''s doing so well, it''s practically skyrocketing. Why would we sell?"
Natalie said with a smile, "Trust me. What goes up muste down. That''s how the market works. Don''t get greedy."
Marshall replied, “Okay, okay, I''ll listen to you, Natalie."
"Good. I have to go now."
"Alright!" Marshall''s voice was full of cheer.
Natalie hung up and continued to stare nkly at the market trends on her screen. She couldn''t stop thinking about Sebastian offering to help with dinner earlier.
Why would Sebastian want to help cook?
Ugh, she had beenpletely blindsided by his actions.
In her mind, the real Sebastian was incapable of showing such a gentle, concerned expression.
She rested her head on her desk, mulling it over for a moment before giving up, Alf Sebastian cared about was business; he didn''t care about
her.
It was true what they said about idle hands. As soon as you had a free moment, your mind started to run wild.
She shut down herptop and went to organize her closet.
Sebastian had bought all these clothes, and the fabrics were incrediblyfortable.
Right now, their rtionship wasn''t at a breaking point.
Everything was different from her past life,pletely off track. That meant her own fate would change too.
Natalie thought that in this life, they
wouldn''t have a child, and the events that followed wouldn''t happen. So, they might as well coexist, peacefully.
Letting hatred cloud her judgment was irrational and would only lead her down a path of no return.
Natalie silently cautioned herself. Having convinced herself, she began to tidy the room with renewed focus.