Natalie was surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stephen\u2019s reputation in Caspia City was far from stellar. He was considered a lost cause, so how did Johnson and Chandler end up hanging out with him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She asked, \u201cStephen, did you close those business deals?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah!\u201d Stephen nodded, his tone dripping with pride. \u201cThey went really well. I made a small profit, so I\u2019m treating everyone tonight. Don\u2019t try to steal my spotlight!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie couldn\u2019t believe it. \u201cReally? It\u2019s done?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely!\u201d Stephen confirmed again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could even process it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. \u201cI\u2019ll send you the address and the private room number later. Come join us tonight. Chandler set this up, and the guests are all important people. You might even get a chance to expand your gallery\u2019s business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the way\u2026\u201d He leaned closer to her ear and lowered his voice. \u201cDon\u2019t get too caught up in your work. You have to pay attention to your personal life too. Johnson is a great guy. You should give him a chance. Otherwise, another woman might swoop in, and you won\u2019t even know what hit you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie lowered her voice and replied, \u201cStephen, don\u2019t you think something\u2019s off?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s off?\u201d Stephen asked, confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJohnson\u2019s willing to help you, I get that. But why would Chandler be willing to do the same?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t he?\u201d Stephen shrugged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Foster family and the Bennett family are practically in\u2013laws. Helping me out is the least he could do. Not everyone\u2019s like Jeffrey, who only cares about the Wright family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie still felt that something was wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, you can\u2019t handle seeing me succeed?\u201d Stephen asked, his voice slightly defensive. \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business is going great. If everything goes smoothly, we\u2019ll be rolling in millions this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie thought for a moment and then sighed. \u201cJust be careful not to get scammed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stephen laughed it off. \u201cNah, that won\u2019t happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that, he waved at Chandler. \u201cChandler, I\u2019m guessing this is your first time here, right? I\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 94\u00a0<\/p>\n
know this place, so let me show you around. Nat, I\u2019ll take care of him, so you stick with Johnson.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnson walked over to Natalie, his gaze fixed on her face. \u201cYou\u2019ve lost weight. Have you been too busy or too tired?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHave I?\u201d Natalie smiled lightly. \u201cI haven\u2019t been eating well. My appetite\u2019s been off lately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only she knew how many times a day she had to hide in the bathroom to deal with her morning sickness. She couldn\u2019t even stand the smell of meat. Sometimes, she\u2019d feel nauseous for no reason at all. Her stomach would churn, and she\u2019d feel sick to her core.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d gone to the doctor, who said it was normal during pregnancy. Everyone\u2019s body was different, so the severity of morning sickness varied. The only solution was to ride it out. There was no other way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, she just had to push through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnson sighed softly. \u201cYour chin\u2019s gotten so sharp. Seeing you like this, I kind of regret helping you with the gallery.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached up and gently brushed her hair, then quickly pulled his hand back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From across the room, Chandler stood in front of a painting, pretending to examine it closely. But his eyes kept darting toward Johnson and Natalie. Seeing Johnson\u2019s intimate gesture, he smirked, clearly pleased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment, he excused himself and went to the bathroom. As soon as he was out of earshot, he texted Abigail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She replied immediately. \u201cGot it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie arrived at Lux Bistro as promised. The private room, which could fit 20 people, was packed. She put on her best smile and switched into full social mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Stephen sat on her left, Johnson on her right, and Chandler was directly across from her. With these people around her, she felt safe, confident, and completely at ease. She talked nonstop about her gallery, feeling more comfortable with each word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had never been shy at these kinds of events. Back when she accompanied Jeffrey to high- profile gatherings and parties, she always knew how to navigate the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, she was applying that same social savvy to her own career, and it felt like the perfect fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 95\u00a0<\/p>\n
12\u00a0<\/p>\n
Divorced While Pregnant The Ex-Husband\u2019s Collapse 94 Natalie was surprised.\u00a0 Stephen\u2019s reputation in Caspia City was far from stellar. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-divorced-upgraded-and-married-rich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}