Chapter 11 Break-up
After Natalie took off the wedding dress, she didn't change back into her clothes.
She put on the elegant golden velvet dress with a square neck and long sleeves which Forrest had specially prepared for her.
Originally, she planned to go home and calm down, but the assistant tried to persuade her again and again, saying that Mr. Hart had told the partner that she was on her way, so he would be embarrassed if she didn't show up.
She had been raised by the Harts, so she didn't want the business of the Hart Group to get into trouble because of her. She knew her place and had seldom made trouble willfully, so she had to go.
Maybe that was why Forrest liked to take her out for social events. She was good-looking and obedient, and she had never disgraced him.
Every other man envied his girlfriend.
The assistant then drove Natalie to the hotel.
At the crowded intersection, they passed the army green Wrangler which was coming in the opposite direction.
But when Natalie sat in the car, she closed her eyes and did not look out the window.
When they arrived at Orange Hotel, the assistant led her inside.
Orange Hotel was the most high-end hotel in Alcomara which was decorated like a magnificent Chestnut palace. With many crystal chandeliers, it looked resplendent, and Madam Hart also booked a hall here for Forrest and Natalie's engagement banquet.
When Natalie arrived on the fourth floor, Forrest was chatting happily with Carlos.
There was a large table for fifteen people in the 1,000-square feet private room. But except for the waiter, there were only two people inside.
Forrest introduced Natalie to Carlos and said she was his fiancée.
It was strange that Forrest didn't like to use the word "girlfriend" on social occasions related to business as if this word was not high-end enough.
"Mr. Hart, your fiancée is fair-skinned and beautiful. You know how to enjoy yourself!" Carlos hypocritical teased. Then he stood up with a glass of wine and said, "Ms. Moore, nice to me meet you. Would you like to have a glass of wine with me?"
He had a receding hairline, so Natalie knew he was not young at a glance. He had a beer belly like many other male managers, so his white shirt was slightly bulged out. He parted his hair at the side, which was shiny and smooth.
After he spoke in a slick tone, he silently scanned Natalie from head to toe with his small eyes.
Natalie felt disgusted and silently hid behind Forrest.
"She's a light drinker," Forrest laughed. "I'm afraid she can only drink juice."
Carlos showed an annoyed expression and said, "No way! What about half a glass of wine?"
It was not polite to refuse him again, so Forrest glanced at Natalie with a gentle look in his eyes and said, "Can you drink a little?"
His tone sounded very soft, and Natalie could not disgrace Forrest, so she took the wine over and nodded.
Carlos smiled and raised his glass, saying, "Ms. Moore, cheers! You don't need to finish all the wine in the glass."
Natalie frowned and drank half of the wine in her glass.
"Forrest..."
Her throat hurt because of the red wine, so she said in a low and hoarse voice to ask whether she could leave, but Forrest squeezed her shoulder before she could finish speaking.
And then, he whispered into her ear, "Stay here. Be obedient."
Natalie became more disappointed with him, but she did not disobey his order.
However, she didn't want to say a single word or participate in the two men's conversation at all, so she ate the food quietly and slowly.
No matter what she wanted to say to Forrest, she had to wait until this meal ended.
During business meals, the participants were not close friends, so everyone was double-faced because they were all shrewd. They cooperated only because of their common interests.
Now, Alcomara No.2 Hospital was shaky, and Carlos, on behalf of Noah, invited the Hart Group to acquire it together, and the two sides were negotiating harmoniously.
Hearing them talking about this matter, Natalie suddenly froze. She could not believe her ears, so she put down the silver cutlery slowly and said, "You want to partner with the Bennington Group to acquire Alcomara No.2 Hospital? Why?"
Forrest must know how the reorganization would affect the people of Alcomara. Natalie had always believed that the Hart Group was an ethical enterprise instead of a profit-seeking exploiter.
But now, Forrest was so greedy and selfish that he wanted to do such cruel business.
Natalie suddenly felt that she had never really known him.
"Accurately speaking, the Hart Group will not cooperate with the Bennington Group but with a company under Mr. Bennington's name." Carlos didn't intend to hide his insidious intention at all, so he said, "Ms. Moore, I invited you here for a reason. I heard that the employees of Alcomara No.2 Hospital are not very cooperative, so I hope you can help persuade them. When we get the right of management, you can get the position you want in the hospital."
"No, thanks. Doctors must be licensed before working, and I don't want any other position." Natalie said calmly but was suppressing her anger.
"Nata." Forrest squeezed her hand under the table.
Carlos gave a weird smile and said, "Mr. Hart, your fiancée is a real personality."
Forrest had gotten along with the people in the business circle for a long time, so he could hear Carlos's implication. He was implying that Forrest was useless because he could not control his woman.
Forrest was a proud man, so he would never allow himself to be looked down upon. He smiled, "She is just killing her time in the hospital now and will resign when she is tired of the job. How can I let my fiancée work in that small hospital for a long time?"
"Forrest Hart!" Natalie blurted out angrily.
When Forrest turned his head, he found she was furious, so he looked into her eyes and said patiently, "Come on! Don't be angry with me. You have seen it. I don't have time today. I'll company you there some other day, okay? "
Natalie felt the air around her become colder.
Even when he coaxed her, his words were so perfunctory.
"Ms. Moore, you're too young, so you don't know how good it is to sponge off a man!" Carlos walked up to Natalie with a glass and a decanter and poured her a glass of wine, saying "Beauty, why don't you take a shortcut? If the current one doesn't work, you can try another one..."
He then laughed while staring at her, and the look in his eyes was meaningful.
His tone sounded scurrilous, and obviously, he was implying something nasty.
Then, he raised his glass and wanted to clink it with Natalie's.
His gaze was like a pair of hands that were stroking her body, making her want to vomit.
Natalie couldn't bear it anymore, so she raised her hand and pushed the glass he was holding in front of her away, refusing to drink the wine. Unexpectedly, this cunning man took the opportunity to pour all the wine on her dress, pretending that it was an accident.
Natalie exclaimed, abruptly stood up, and hurriedly use the napkin to wipe her dress.
The wine was poured from the collar, flew down along her chest, and damped a large piece of her dress. Fortunately, the dress was black and nonabsorbent, so there was no wardrobe malfunction.
Forrest quickly draped his coat around her shoulders and said in a low voice, "Mr. Toledano, you're drunk."
After the plot failed, Carlos pretended to feel sorry and said "Ms. Moore, I'm so sorry! Hurry up to wipe..."
Natalie struggled to prevent herself from trembling, and she was panting heavily as if she were suffering from a lack of oxygen.
She was goaded beyond endurance.
Mr. Toledano had done it on purpose, and Natalie was sure Forrest could see it, but he hadn't done anything to defend her.
"Go to the bathroom and deal with it. I'll ask my assistant to fetch you clean clothes..."
"Am I just your choice after you weighed the pros and cons?" Natalie lightly said, abruptly interrupting Forrest's words.
Forrest was startled and said, "What?"
After a moment of silence, Natalie put on a poker face and said in a surprisingly calm tone, "Go on enjoying your meal. I'll go to the bathroom by myself."
After she finished speaking, her eyes turned red, and then she clutched her chest and walked outward without looking back.
"Nata!"
Her high-heeled shoes made angry and loud sounds when she strode on the tiles.
Before Natalie escaped from the room, a cold and deep voice sounded, "Is it fun?"
Natalie paused her steps, and all the movement in the private room abruptly stopped.
The man's leather shoes stepped on the tiles steadily, and his every step was leisurely, but everyone could feel his uninhabited vibe.
The voice sounded familiar. After Natalie froze for a second, she looked up at the corner like the two men in the room.
Natalie was stunned when she saw Luke.
Luke was a few steps away from her, his left hand was in his pocket, and his right arm was hanging over his chest, so his suit jacket could only be draped over his shoulders. He was wearing a formal black business suit, but he looked very casual.
Three buttons of his black shirt were unfasten from the neckline, partly exposing his strong muscles. A thin silver shirt chain was hanging down, making him look both noble and ruffian.
Natalie had never seen any other man who looked so arrogant in a business suit. In other words, no matter how formal the clothes were, they could not suppress his arrogant and savage temperament.
But she had to admit that he looked attractive when dressed up like this.
His slender figure and well-defined facial features were eye-catching.
Luke was also looking at her.
He saw her clutching the collar and holding back tears. Although she was wearing bright makeup, he knew she was pretending to be strong.
When their eyes met, Natalie froze for a while in embarrassment, and then, she lowered her head, passed him, and walked out quickly.
She just wanted to get out of here immediately.
Luke could not tell how he was feeling now. When she passed by, the aroma of wine that should not have belonged to her had drifted into his nose as if telling him about her grievances.
Luke's eyes darkened as he glanced at Carlos not far away.
His sudden appearance was like a bolt from the blue for Carlos, frustrating his plans.
Carlos rushed forward in panic and said with a flattering smile, "Luke, what brings you here?"
Hearing this, Forrest finally knew who the comer was.
He wasn't stupid. Seeing this, he excused himself and went after Natalie.
As soon as Forrest walked out, Mark stepped into the room, asking, "Luke, why is Dr. Moore crying?"
Luke turned a deaf ear to this question, walked slowly to Carlos with an extremely cold look in his black eyes, and asked, "Is it fun?"
Anyone who knew Luke's temper could tell that he seldom repeated his words, so his repetition made Carlos shudder with fright.
"There must be a misunderstanding!" Carlos smiled flatteringly as if he had turned into another person. After all, he had been very arrogant to Forrest and Natalie just now. He said, "I heard that you have been hospitalized, so I didn't invite you..."
Carlos thought it was because the fact that he secretly discussed cooperation with the Hart Group made Luke annoyed, so he hurriedly asked Luke to sit and ordered more food and wine.
Luke raised his head high and looked domineering even after sitting down. If it weren't for the rehabilitation belt on his right arm, no one would have been able to tell that he was injured.
And this made Carlos even more frightened.
"Were you discussing the matter of Alcomara No.2 Hospital just now?" Luke crossed his long legs and leaned back in the chair, saying, "Tell me, how's it going?"
Carlos couldn't find a way out, so he could only reply, "It is Mr. Bennington that asked me to come to Alcomara today..."
"Noah's words don't work for me, understand?" Luke grabbed a glass of wine and joggled it slowly.
Carlos felt frightened and said, "Yes, I understand..."
Luke raised his sharp chin and drank the wine.
And then, he slammed the glass down hard.
With a sudden crackling sound, the glass shattered into countless pieces.
Carlos shuddered violently and didn't dare to breathe loudly.
Luke pointed to the decanter and said casually, "Pick the fragments of glass up and put them in the decanter."
Carlos did not dare to offend him and couldn't guess what he was thinking, so he could only do it obediently, putting all the sharp fragments of glass into the decanter with shaking hands
"You like to bully girls, don't you?" Luke spoke slowly and stood up leisurely, and then he added, "You should have watched your mouth..."
Then, he tapped his fingers on the decanter and said, "Drink it up."
The red wine was mixed with fragments of glass, and Carlos thought it looked like the blood gushing out from a cutthroat now.
He was shocked, so he suddenly said excitedly, "If I drink this, I will die!"
He was scared because he knew that Luke dared to force him to drink it. He was not bluffing.
"You don't want to drink it? Fine." Luke stared at him and said, "You know I'm a reasonable person, right?"
The look in Luke's eyes was cold, and every syllable of his words was cutting Carlos's heart like a knife blade.
"If you see that girl next time, you must hide away from her. Otherwise, I will tear your stinking mouth to shreds!"
Carlos finally realized why Luke was so angry, and he fell to the ground in fright.
Luke sneered and tilted his head.
Mark behind him understood his hint and stepped forward, saying, "Luke, what should I do?"
"Make sure Mr. Toledano remembers my words."
After finishing speaking coldly, Luke ripped off his jacket with one hand, threw it on one shoulder, turned around, and walked toward the door.
Mark had not fought for a long time, so he had long felt uncomfortable. Hearing Luke's words, he responded excitedly, immediately rolled up his sleeves, and started his "exercise".
-
Natalie sat in the hotel lobby instead of leaving.
The decoration here was very extravagant. The dome with sculpted reliefs was huge, and the crystal chandeliers illuminated the lobby and made it brighter than outside. The owner must have spent a lot of money on every detail. Even the green plants placed next to the sofa looked like expensive works of art.
She lowered her head and thought silently about what she was like in this relationship.
Natalie had once read an article saying that when love was exhausted, the relationship should come to an end.
The author had also said people should walk out of such a relationship politely and then be themselves.
Natalie finally understood the truth of romantic relations. They were adults, so even if they could not get married, they still should be part friends...
The sofa seat to her left suddenly sank, and when Natalie looked up, she saw Forrest.
He stroked her back and lowered his voice, saying, "Let's talk about it when we get back. Don't lose your temper with me outside."
Natalie looked at him and said in a faint voice, "It's cold today."
"Go to change your clothes now?" Forrest replied without thinking.
Natalie was accustomed to his reaction, so she had unknowingly been able to accept it without any emotional swing. She continued without answering his question, "You promised that you would make time today."
Forrest sighed helplessly. He did not want to argue, so he said, "It's all my fault. I failed to keep my promise. Tomorrow..."
"I'm fed up with it."
Hearing this, Forrest paused and looked at her.
Natalie didn't avoid his gaze and said, "To be honest, I'm quite disappointed. At first, I just wished you to show more care for me. But now, I found this relationship is not worth my energy."
Her voice was a little hoarse and choked.
She had been sexually harassed just now, but he did not defend her in time because of the big picture, so he had a guilty conscience.
"If you don't like business meals, I won't ask you to attend them anymore, okay?" He made a concession.
Natalie said softly, "Forrest, Rome was not built in a day."
Forrest pursed his lips and looked at her face, asking, "What do you mean?"
"Thank you for taking care of me for so many years, but we are not meant for each other." Natalie slowly looked into his eyes and said, "I want to break up with you."
Forrest frowned and said with a long face, "Natalie, you're going too far."
She said, "I'm not throwing a tantrum with you."
Forrest stared at her for a moment and said, "Take it back now, I will pretend not to hear it."
He was always treating his girlfriend like a cat, wanting her to obey his every order.
Mia was right, and she should not have expected anything from a male chauvinist.
Natalie shook her head, "I'm not acting on impulse."
Forrest looked away irritably, stared at the ground, thought for a long time, and suddenly said, "Nata, do you remember what you said to me when we began to date?" She had always been so obedient that Forrest had never expected that she would take the initiative to break up with him. He said, "You said you liked me when you were a student."
"Yes, I remember." A wry smile flashed across Natalie's face, and she said, "I did have a crush on you when I was a student."
Forrest quietly listened to her.
"I lived in Athana before moving into your house. When I was five years old, I..." Natalie couldn't hold back her tears anymore, and she stammered, "My dad's wife secretly abandoned me outside. A boy helped me call the police, and then I went to your house. Back then, you knew that I was afraid of darkness, so you accompanied me home no matter how late it was. But now, you even forgot about my allergy to mango. Madam Hart often says that people must make concessions in a serious relationship and that I should be more considerate of you, and I agreed with her words. But do you know I am waiting for you every day? I wait for you to reply to my messages and accompany me when you are free even though you can occasionally drive me from and to work at almost."
Natalie lowered her head, and her hot tears damped her fine eyelashes and were falling drop by drop.
"But you will never try to make time for me. I didn't lie to you, Forrest." Natalie closed her eyes and said, "But you're not that into me."
It was the first time Forrest had seen her cry like this.
She was wearing makeup because she had planned to take wedding dress photos with him. Her lips were red, and she was wearing a black dress, which was a rare sexy look for her.
She was a polite woman, so she cried like a wounded puppy, trying her best to prevent herself from making a loud sound.
The more Natalie spoke, the gloomier Forrest's face turned.
He was not that into her?
It was not true, but he didn't know how to refute her words.
"You will never change, but I don't want to wait for you anymore. It's over." Natalie raised her hand to wipe the tears from her chin, stood up, and said firmly, "We're done."
She had told him all of her real thoughts, so this belated break-up talk came to an end. After Natalie finally said goodbye to him, she turned around.
"Natalie!" Forrest stood up, and his tone was full of anger and warning.
But he suddenly fell silent.
Natalie turned her back on him, but she stood still. Forrest looked over her thin shoulder and saw the man a few steps away.
He slung his suit jacket over his shoulder with his left hand, and the magnificent crystal lights were illuminating him.
Soon, he swung his legs and walked toward them.