Otherwise, given her ego, she’d think she was inferior to the people around her. If that happened, a shift in their relationship dynamics would be inevitable.
Silas scratched his chin as he thought about Shane’s words. “You’re right. I’ve seen many people in close relationships who decided to work together, only for them to fight and fall out eventually.”
Shane shot him a glance and said curtly, “Natalie and I won’t fall out!”
Silas realized he had inadvertently said the wrong thing and immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, Mr. Shane. That wasn’t intentional.”
Shane scoffed and stepped into the elevator, not saying anything more.
Grateful that Shane wasn’t going to pick on him further, Silas heaved a sigh of relief and hurried after him.
Natalie was extremely busy in the days that followed.
Soon, work had gotten even busier for Natalie and Joyce because they had converted their studio to a company. They spent such long hours outside that Natalie would sometimes only reach home in the wee hours. Her kids had even started whining about not seeing much of their mother.
It took about a week before their company was finally up and running. At long last, Natalie could take a breather, but she had also lost a ton of weight.
Shane’s heart ached upon seeing her sunken eyes and dark circles under her eyes, a hint of regret overcame him for having given her the funds.
Yet, that feeling of regret soon passed.
He knew that given her talent, it was a matter of time before she could set up her own company. When that time came, she would still immerse herself fully into work to get it all set up. As such, it seemed like a better idea to get it over and done with sooner than later.
One morning during breakfast, Natalie suddenly set her spoon down and turned toward Shane. “I almost forgot to tell you, but I’m going overseas in two days.”
“Overseas? What for?” Shane replied as he looked up at her.
“Ms. Mackenzie’s birthday is coming.”
Upon hearing that, both kids looked up excitedly. “Mommy, we want to go too!”
“Okay, I’ll bring both of you along.” Natalie smiled and patted their heads.
Shane slowly picked up his coffee and took a sip. “Let’s go together then.”
What?
Natalie was stunned by his response and stared at him, baffled. “Shane, you’re coming along too?”
Ms. Mackenzie wanted to keep her birthday celebration small and cozy and thus only invited a few relatives and friends for a gathering.
Shane nodded. “I’m your boyfriend. Can’t I go with you?”
“Of course, you can,” Natalie replied, almost choking on her water.
But if he goes, would that be equivalent to meeting the parents?
Natalie was embarrassed by the mere thought of that and her face turned a blazing shade of red.
Sharon curiously blinked at her mother and reached out to touch her face. “Mommy, what’s wrong? Your face is burning!”
Her words drew the attention of Connor and Shane, who were both now staring at Natalie.
With their full attention on her, Natalie felt very uncomfortable. She forced a smile and brushed it off. “I’m fine. Okay, hurry and finish your food. It’s almost time for school.”
Sharon, as obedient as ever, nodded and continued eating.
After breakfast, Mrs. Wilson sent both kids to school.
Since work had been hectic for both Natalie and Shane, Mrs. Wilson had taken over the duty of sending them to school daily.
Thankfully, the children had no complaints about it as they rather enjoyed having Mrs. Wilson accompany them.
“Come on, I’ll send you to work,” Shane said to Natalie after having packed his things.
Natalie hummed in reply, taking his arm in hers as they left the villa.
Half an hour later, Natalie arrived at her apparel company.
The company name was still the same as the studio’s, except it had gone from Studio Nouveau to Nouveau Corp.
After bidding goodbye to Shane, Natalie stepped into the building.
Their office location had not changed either. It was still in the same building but on a different floor. Joyce had rented an entire floor and converted it to their office. They had finally climbed the ranks and expanded to become a small and medium-sized business.
Even the number of employees had increased to over a hundred now.
As soon as she entered the office, her employees all came up and greeted her warmly.
Natalie smiled and nodded in response before going into her office.
Knowing she had just come in, Joyce bounded into her office and exclaimed, “Nat! There’s good news!”
“What good news?” Natalie asked as she hung her coat up and took a seat.
