The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

Seeing Marcus smile, the corners of Natalie's lips curled up slightly. Marcus was easily jealous but also easy to appease.

"Let's go inside," Natalie said. "Since my brothers are all here, let's not ruin the mood, okay?"

"Sure. I won't ruin the mood." Marcus looked aggrieved. "I'm well-behaved."

"Yes, yes. Mr. Holden, you're the best-behaved person." Natalie reached out, and Marcus immediately lowered his head so she could ruffle his hair.

Shawn, who was standing nearby, watched as Marcus performed that action naturally. He could tell that Natalie must have ruffled his hair quite often.

The intimate actions between them were truly enviable. However, it wasn't something he should long for.

"Alright! Let's go inside!"

"Okay."

Hand in hand, the two of them returned to the club.

Shawn remained standing where he was. When he had stepped outside earlier, he had forgotten his coat. It was already autumn in Dithoria, so the evening breeze carried a chill.

"Achoo!" Shawn suddenly sneezed. His vision blurred. As he wiped his face, he realized his cheeks were wet with tears without himself knowing.

His heart felt as though a piece had been hollowed out.

In the past, he didn't get to confess. And now, there was no chance for him to do so in the future.

This one-sided crush had ultimately come to an end.

Perhaps, Natalie would never find out when he had first met her or when he had fallen for her. To her, he had always been just a stranger.

So, what right did he have to expect her to acknowledge his feelings and respond to them? It was all just his own wishful thinking.

When Natalie and Marcus returned inside, the music had been turned off. Natalie's brothers were all seated together, while Celeste sat alone across from them.

It was clear that an interrogation was going on.

As for Olivia and Connie, they kept their distance, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Natalie raised an eyebrow and walked with Marcus in tow. "Lincoln, Hector, Timothy, Mason, what are you guys doing?"

"Nat, you're here!" Celeste's eyes lit up when she saw Natalie, as if she had handed her a lifeline. "Nat, please save me. I had no idea Shawn liked you."

"Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?" Lincoln asked. "You're Nat's cousin, so you surely knew she had already registered her marriage with Marcus and that their wedding was just around the corner.

"That was why you organized this gathering and invited us here, claiming it was to celebrate her wedding. However, you insisted that Marcus couldn't come. In reality, wasn't it to create an opportunity for Shawn?"

"Lincoln, how could you accuse me like this?" Celeste cried out. "Do you think that I'm morally corrupt?"

Lincoln's tone remained cold and devoid of warmth. "Before, I wasn't sure. But after this gathering, I can confirm that you are."

"That's right. How could you do such a thing? You told us it's a private gathering with family and close friends and that we shouldn't bring Marcus. That's the only reason we agreed," Hector chimed in. "But Celeste, what you did was out of line."

"Celeste, do you really think Shawn is any match for Marcus?" Masson asked. "Do you think he's more handsome? Taller? Or even richer?"

As Marcus' biggest fan, every word that Mason spoke made Marcus feel even better.

Silently, Marcus pulled out his phone and transferred money to him. His way of showing love for Mason was straightforward-by sending money.

Mason continued praising Marcus when he suddenly heard a string of notification pings from his phone. He took it out, glanced at the screen, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Transfer of 10000 dollars received."

"Transfer of 10000 dollars received."

"Transfer of 10000 dollars received."

Mason looked up and gave Marcus a big thumbs-up for being so generous.

Just like that, Shawn seemed even more insignificant.

Marcus smirked slightly and turned his gaze to Celeste, who was sitting across from him.

"Celeste," Marcus began with a smile. "Nat and I just walked Mr. Haines out. He said he likes you and wants to pursue you. But he said you already have someone you like. I wonder, when are you going to bring your boyfriend out to meet us?

"I'd love to organize a gathering for you too, so Shawn can have the opportunity to express his love for you."

Marcus pulled Natalie to sit next to him, his lips curling into a smirk as he eyed Celeste meaningfully.

Fortunately, Natalie's brothers were on his side. They didn't support Celeste in helping another man try to steal his wife. These brothers-in-law weren't so bad, after all.

"I don't know. I'm not aware. It wasn't me!" Celeste hastily denied. "Nat, you have to believe me! I would never do something like that."

Natalie shook her head. If she were to say she believed Celeste, her brothers and Marcus would surely turn their focus onto her instead.

She wasn't a fool.

Besides, she truly had no idea Shawn had feelings for her. She didn't even recall ever having any significant interactions with him before.

A one-sided crush like this was nothing but trouble. It was best to nip it in the bud.

Natalie didn't want Marcus to misunderstand, not even a little.

Furthermore, if Marcus hadn't come with her to this gathering today, once she got home, she wouldn't be able to clear her name, no matter what she said.

At that moment, Natalie didn't believe Celeste's words one bit.

"Celeste, why are you so anxious?" Marcus asked. "Why don't we ask Mr. Haines

to come over and confess his feelings to you?"

He looked at Mason and added, "Mason, would you mind fetching Mr. Haines for us?"

"Of course not!" Mason had just received a lot of money from Marcus and was in high spirits. He quickly stood up and walked out of the club.

After a while, Mason returned with Shawn by his side.

"Mr. Haines, don't be shy! Love should be expressed boldly. We're all here to

cheer you on." Mason nudged Shawn toward Celeste and looked at them with a grin.noveldrama

Celeste remained silent.

Shawn also didn't say a word, his face deathly pale.

"Shawn, is it true that you like me?" Celeste was the first to break the silence "How could you like me? You told me that you're gay. And that you wanted to be my bestie. How could you backstab mè?"

The Walker brothers lounged on the couch with their arms crossed, watching the

scene unfold without a word.

Natalie's gaze flickered between the two of them.

Shawn was gay? That was clearly impossible.

Not far away, Olivia and Connie perked up their ears, eagerly eavesdropping.

After all, this was really entertaining.

"Celeste, has no director ever told you that your acting skills are terrible?" Marcus remarked.

He added, "I didn't spell things out

for Shawn earlier when we were outside. But since he's back now, I'm sure Lincoln and his brothers could tell that there's another intention behind this gathering. So, I won't hold back anymore."