Chapter 7 Slap In The Face

Natalie and Brinley met up in a cafe.

As soon as Natalie arrived, Brinley took her hand worriedly. "Natalie, where'd you go last night? I called you, but you didn't answer! I was worried sick!"

"Brinley, I'm so sorry. I got way too drunk last night." Natalie lowered her head guiltily. "I took a taxi home. Don't be mad at me, please. What do you want to drink? It's my treat."

Natalie didn't dare to admit to her that she had left with a man last night.

"I'm just glad that you're fine. And no need to treat me. I know you're saving your money." Brinley breathed a sigh of relief. "Where will you go now? Back to your father's place?"

"No, that's not my home anymore," Natalie said bitterly. She had moved out of her father's home and rented a small apartment.

If it weren't for the wedding, she never would've returned to her father's home again.

Brinley's simple question reminded Natalie of the horrors of the past few days. Her scheming stepmother, Rowley's betrayal... But she knew that life had to go on.

She had asked for half a month's leave, and it would end tomorrow. If she wanted to survive in this city, she had to go back to work.

After all, she was by no means a rich lady. Other than her surname, everything the Rivera family owned had nothing to do with her.

The next day, Natalie went back to work.

No one in the company knew that she was a rich man's daughter or she almost married Rowley.

Natalie was a little cold and aloof in the office. She never talked about her personal life with her colleagues.

As a result, everyone in the company thought that Natalie was an ordinary single woman.

In the office, Natalie quickly focused on her work. She wanted to busy herself so that she'd forget about Rowley.

After parting with Jarvis that day, Natalie hadn't seen him for more than two weeks. They only sent each other messages.

Natalie was a translator, and she worked overtime almost every day.

One day, she was working overtime in the office until eleven o'clock in the evening.

It was so late. She was the last one to leave the company.

She rushed outside, hoping to catch the last bus.

However, she was late. She could only watch helplessly as the last bus pulled away.

"I guess I have to take a taxi today," Natalie grumbled. Taxis were expensive.

At this moment, a familiar car slowly pulled to a stop in front of Natalie.

The car window was rolled down. Jarvis poked his head out and grinned. "Get in the car, Natalie!"

When Natalie saw that it was Jarvis, she fell into a trance.

The two hadn't seen each other in two weeks. Jarvis never asked her out, and she never asked him out either. In addition, she was busy, so the two of them only exchanged a few messages.

Natalie had practically forgotten that she had a boyfriend.

Seeing that Natalie didn't move, Jarvis got out of the car and trotted over to the other side to open the door for her, like a true gentleman. He looked over at her dotingly and asked, "What's wrong? We haven't seen each other in a while, so you must've forgotten all about me. It seems that I have to work hard tonight to make you remember me."

"What're you doing here?" Natalie came to her senses.

"I got off work early today, so I came to see you!" Jarvis grinned cheerfully. "I'm sorry. I've been pretty busy these days, so I neglected you a little. Are you mad?"

"No, it's okay. I've also been very busy recently." Natalie wasn't angry. On the contrary, she felt embarrassed. She almost forgot that she had a boyfriend.

"You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Let's have dinner together." After getting in the car, Jarvis started driving. "From now on, I'll bring you to work and pick you up after. It's not safe for a girl to be out all alone at this hour."

"No, it's—"

Before Natalie could refuse, Jarvis interrupted her. "You're my girlfriend now. It's my duty to drive you to and from work."

Because it was past eleven o'clock, many restaurants had already closed.

Jarvis ended up going to a high-end restaurant, Chez Colette.

Natalie had come to this restaurant with Brinley once. Even ordinary rich people couldn't dine in this restaurant. Only those from the upper echelons of society could gain entrance.

Besides, this restaurant only received fifty customers a day.

Natalie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "We're having dinner here? We can go someplace else. It's very expensive here. Only VIP can enter, and the requirements are very strict."

Even the Rivera family wasn't qualified to dine in this restaurant.

A family as well-off as the Riveras couldn't dine here, let alone ordinary people.

"Don't worry. The food's really good." Jarvis dismissed her worries. In his eyes, this restaurant was nothing special.

But it was too late and this restaurant was close to them. He was worried that Natalie was starving, so he brought her here.

"Let's go back. We shouldn't spend so much money on a meal. I'm not that hungry anyways," Natalie said stubbornly, reaching for Jarvis' hand.

In her eyes, Jarvis was just trying to impress her. Perhaps he didn't know that a meal here cost a lot.

"We're here already. And Natalie, you don't have to save money for me." Jarvis squeezed Natalie's hand reassuringly and smiled. "It's normal for a boyfriend to take a girlfriend out to dinner."

"But it's too expensive here. Besides, we won't be able to get in—"

Before she finished speaking, a familiar voice sounded from behind them.

"Natalie? You're having dinner here, too? What a coincidence! So are we! Let's go in together."

Without turning around, Natalie knew it was Alisha.

Natalie looked over her shoulder and glanced at Alisha coldly.

She didn't expect that Alisha would have the guts to provoke her again after she beat her to a pulp last time.

Alisha was holding Rowley's arm. "Natalie, I didn't expect to see you here. Who is this gentleman?"

Alisha noticed the tall man standing beside Natalie. When she saw Jarvis' face, her heart skipped a beat. He was gorgeous!

How come Natalie was able to date such a handsome man?

Alisha pursed her lips and demanded, "Natalie, is he your boyfriend? Since when have you two got together? Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Yes, he's my boyfriend," Natalie admitted frankly. She wasn't an idiot; she knew what Alisha was up to. Clearly, her stepsister just wanted to sow dissension between her and Rowley.

But Natalie and Rowley had broken up over two weeks ago, so she wasn't afraid that the latter would find out about her new relationship.

Holding Jarvis' arm, Natalie added coldly, "I didn't think it was necessary to inform you."

Seeing the two act so intimately, Rowley was green with envy. "Natalie, quit being so childish."

In Rowley's eyes, Natalie must've hired an actor to pretend to be her boyfriend and then tracked him down to irritate him.

After all, only a few people knew Jarvis' looks.

Seeing that Rowley didn't believe her, Natalie turned to Jarvis and whispered, "Bow your head a little."

Jarvis didn't know what Natalie was up to, but he was willing to cooperate. He obligingly lowered his head.

Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Jarvis was a little surprised, but he enjoyed it.

Rowley's face turned livid immediately. Alisha watched them kiss in shock. She didn't expect that Natalie would be so bold.

It wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a light and gentle peck on the lips.

Then they pulled away from each other.

Satisfied, Natalie leaned against Jarvis' chest and looked at Rowley with a bright smile. "We're in love."