Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 12

“So, what do we need to talk about?” Lucien asked, the usual warmth in his voice gone.

Edward sat down in the armchair opposite Lucien. Time to put his plan in motion.

“Stay calm and hear me out. It’s about Natalia…” Edward began to explain.

“What about Natalia?” Lucien asked with narrowed eyes. Whatever it was, it clearly was not good news.

“She told me today that there seems to be a stalker stalking her these days. She says she feels unsafe although nothing concrete has happened yet…I think we should take the ‘better safe than sorry approach’. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…and what do you propose?” Lucien asked his brother. So, he’s telling me that Natalia chose to confide in him rather than coming to me for help? This seems highly unlikely given the bad blood between the two prior to this. No matter how charming I know Edward can be, winning Natalia’s trust in a week seems over the top. What does he plan to gain from this…?

“I want Natalia to have a bodyguard to keep her safe if need be. I know a very talented and trustworthy bodyguard working for the elders at the main house. I suggest we request for him to be her bodyguard. Natalia is a young lady now and with our social standing, she could be in harm’s way any day.” Come on Lucien, put the safety of your daughter first and agree to my proposal.

“…I see. That’s actually a good idea and if he is from the main house, they should also agree with the idea compared to bringing in an external bodyguard. So, who is this guy?” Lucien replied with a warmer tone. Regardless of whether the stalker incident is true or not, Natalia having a bodyguard is not bad. However, a bodyguard from the main house? The main house couldn’t give two fucks about Natalia’s safety because they’ve never viewed her as part of their bloodline and therefore not part of their family.

“His name is Reiner. I don’t think you’ve met him but he has guarded me more than once on my trips abroad and seems to be trustworthy. Of course, he will be guarding her 24/7,” Edward explained.

“Ok. That settles that. If you trust him, then I trust him. I’ll make a request to the main house for him to be Natalia’s bodyguard. Thank you for letting me know about this matter. I’m happy to see that you’re worried about my daughter,” Lucien thanked his brother with a flat voice. Now my turn to ask some questions…

“Where did you take Natalia today?...let’s start off by being honest,” Lucien asked. I know you didn’t take her ‘shopping’. Judging by the state Natalia was in they went somewhere outdoors plus none of Natalia’s close sales assistants at all those upscale fashion boutiques contacted the maids for them to pick up her purchases either.

“Where do you think I took her?”

“Don’t answer my question with another question, Edward,” Lucien warned as he stared his brother down.

“You don’t need to know where I took her. What you need to know is why I took her there.”

“…I see. Why did you take her there?”

“…Because I no longer want to be forgotten.” Edward’s direct replied shocked and confused Lucien. What is he referring to? Natalia has known Edward since my marriage to her mother and from then till now they’ve been in contact. True, their relationship can’t be called the warmest but no one would think that she has ‘forgotten’ Edward. Once again, life is complicated and therefore none of this shit is making sense.

“…I guess you’re not going to explain to me anymore than that, am I correct? Let’s leave it at that today. There’s nothing wrong with taking your niece out on an outdoor adventure but please realize that Natalia is frail and she dislikes the wild. She is a city girl after all.”

No. She’s not. You all made her that way…

“I’ll be leaving for today then. Please take care of Natalia…”