Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 102 Natalie paused for a brief moment before letting out a light laugh, “Am | not even allowed to have my own feelings now?” Hamilton gazed at her eyes, which, although smiling, held no trace of merriment. His discomfort was palpable.

He much preferred her genuine laughter, “I don’t like it. Smile more, will you? With that, he released Natalie.

Her lips twitched slightly. “Alright.” By the tthey got back to the hotel, it was well past ten.

Natalie freshened up and flopped into bed, utterly spent.

Hamilton stood by the bedside and asked, “Tired?” Without opening her eyes, Natalie murmured, “Exhausted.” Hamilton loosened his tie, speaking leisurely, “Don’t rush to sleep just yet.” Natalie opened her eyes to see him methodically undoing his shirt buttons. She frowned slightly. “I'm really tired today, can we not?” Hamilton's gaze dropped as he tied his tie around her wrists. “What do you think, Ms. Jenkins?” Natalie stiffened.

Hamilton's kiss descended upon her. Dominant, inescapable.

With her wrists bound, Natalie couldn't even muster resistance.

He held her firmly in his embrace, an unmistakable imprisonment.

Late into the night, snowflakes began to drift outside the window. Inside, however, the room was ablaze with heat.

Hamilton had booked their flight for the next day. Natalie was still.groggy when she boarded the plane. After takeoff, she drifted off to sleep.

Waking up as the plane prepared to land, Natalie realized she was leaning on Hamilton's shoulder.

“Sorry.” As she attempted to sit up straight, Hamilton's hand reached out to press her back down.

“Rest a bit more. Once we land, you can head straight hand sleep.” Being fully awake and leaning on his shoulder felt awkward. Natalie shifted slightly, and Hamilton tightened his grip around her waist. She decided to stay put.

“No, | need to go to the office. I've got a pile of work waiting for me.” Hamilton's brow furrowed instantly. “Can’t the company function without you?” Natalie let out a derisive laugh. “Wasn't it you who said the company can’t do without me?” Hamilton's expression darkened. He truly disliked Natalie's backtalk, but he let it go without further comment.

When Natalie arrived at the office, she sensed something was off.

“What's going on?” She asked.

A junior intern pouted. “Tess got hit.” Natalie's brows knitted together sharply. She pushed through her office door and indeed found Tess with one side of her face swollen, eyes red and teary.

“What happened?” Upon seeing Natalie, Tess’s tears began to fall anew. “Boss, I'm sorry, | might not be cut out for this job.” Natalie's heart ached at the sight of the handprint on her face. “Who did this?” Tess remained silent.

“Eveleen Schafer?” Natalie pressed.

Tess finally nodded.

“The New Year's ad campaign should have been out by now, but Eveleen’s is still not finished. She’s been dragging her feet for a while, even taking a trip to Boria City. When she returned, | just asked her to catch up a bit, and then she hit me.” Natalie felt a twinge of guilt; she knew she probably had a hand in this. Her recent confrontation with Eveleen in Boria City had been less than pleasant. Unable to vent her frustrations in Hamilton's presence, Eveleen had taken it out on Tess.

“Sorry,” Natalie found herself apologizing.

Tess pursed her lips. “What are you apologizing tofor?” Natalie didn’t elaborate, simply asking, “Where's Eveleen? Still in the building?” Tess nodded. “She went up to the top floor.” Natalie nodded back. “Grab sice for that swelling. I'll head up.” On the top floor. Natalie arrived to find Eveleen berating the secretarial staff.

“Can’t any of you make a decent cup of coffee?” The executive secretary Linda was quick to apologize.

“Sorry, Ms. Schafer. If you're not satisfied, I'll go make you another right away.” Eveleen was seething with anger. Just as she was about to explode, she saw Natalie step out of the elevator.

With a sneer, she said, “No need. Ms. Jenkins is quite the little homemaker; she should be able to do a better job than you.” Natalie paused in her tracks as Eveleen blocked her path.

“Ms. Jenkins, why don’t you makea cup of coffee?” Natalie's expression soured. “Sorry, I'm not at your service.” “Natalie!” Eveleen bellowed.

Natalie glanced at the CEO's office door.

Linda shook her head. “Mr. Fowler's in the conference room downstairs.” Eveleen smiled. “Even if Hamilton were here, do you think he'd take your side?” Natalie didn’t have the confidence to expect Hamilton to back her up. But with Hamilton around, Eveleen would at least feign innocence.

Linda couldn’t stand it anymore. “Ms. Schafer, I'll go make your coffee.” This time, Eveleen let it go without a fuss. “Go ahead.” Linda hurried off to the kitchen.

Eveleen glared at Natalie with venomous jealousy. She remembered that night outside the private dining venue.

Not only had Ronin seen Hamilton kiss Natalie in full public view, but she had seen it, too.

Hamilton had never been like that before. To him, Natalie was nothing but a plaything. Their relationship was never meant to be public. Yet, there he was, kissing Natalie and even carrying her off in his car.

Eveleen felt like she was going to choke on her envy. After all the years she had been Hamilton's girlfriend, he had never laid a hand on her. Why should this wretch be the one to share Hamilton's bed? Eveleen’s eyes burned with rage as she coldly watched Natalie, a smirk tugging at her lips.

“Do you have any idea what it’s like when Hamilton shows his tender side, Ms. Jenkins?” A flicker of pain crossed Natalia’s eyes as she let out a faint, bitter laugh. “Sorry, Ms. Schafer, I'm not one for gossip. If you're looking to dish about your history with Mr. Fowler, maybe you should find someone else.” The emphasis she put on “history” was not lost on Eveleen, whose face instantly contorted with A Chapter 102 anger and hurt. The sorest point for her was the undeniable fact that she and Hamilton were history.

“You think you're something special just because you've spent a few nights with Hamilton?” Eveleen sneered.

Natalia looked down, her voice steady. “I don’t think that, but if that's what you want to believe, Ms. Schafer, | can’t stop you.” “You!” Eveleen was fuming, but she managed to hold herself back from lashing out further.

Linda cby with a steaming cup of coffee.

Eveleen took it from her and tersely requested, “Fetchssugar cubes.” Linda nodded and made her way to the pantry.

Once she was out of sight, Eveleen let out a sardonic laugh.

“Guess what Hamilton would do if this coffee ended up all over me?” Without waiting for Natalia’s reaction, she deliberately poured the hot coffee over her own blouse.

Natalia watched Eveleen’s self-sabotage in silence. After Eveleen had emptied the cup on herself, Natalia turned back, picked up the coffee Linda had prepared for Eveleen, and, without hesitation, flung it at her.

“Ah!” Eveleen shrieked, caught completely off guard. “Natalia, how dare you splash me?” Natalia’s eyes lifted slightly, a cold light flickering within. “If I'm going to be blamed for it, might as well make it worth the accusation, right? Otherwise, it’s just a waste of a perfectly good scandal.” Chapter 103