Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 67

I woke up at the break of dawn with a sense of dread. Something was wrong. My gut feeling was confirmed when I visited Natalia’s room. Natalia is not in her room, and I couldn’t find her anywhere. No one has seen her since she retreated to her room last night either. Guards of the house and guards positioned at the estate’s outer gates did not see anyone suspicious entering or exiting the estate, Natalia included. Security camera search also came up empty. I hate to admit this, but it seems like Natalia has disappeared. Lucien is going to flip so hard when he finds out about this. I better find her and bring her back before he finds out. Heavens only knows how he would punish her if he found out…

“Where did you take her?” Reiner texted his top suspect. He did take her; the question was where?

He only knew of only one person who could slip in and out of this mansion undetected. That person also happens to have reasons to take Natalia. Nothing is truly a coincidence.

…

I woke up because I was hungry. When I opened my eyes, Edward was no longer with me on the bed.

Sniff…sniff…

I can smell some good food. I hope this isn’t just my imagination running wild because I am starving. I should get dressed. It must be sometime around noon now, I definitely slept in a lot. Rummaging through the bags full of newly bought designer clothing, I picked out something simple. An off-white lacy top and a pair of skinny jeans. Edward’s attention to detail is truly impressive, he also bought me shoes and underwear. All in the right sizes.

I walked to the living room after I got dress, guessing that Edward must be there. I did find Edward there but not quite as I was expecting.

“You can cook?” I asked, disbelief plainly in my voice. I stood with a hand on my waist as I stared at the sight of Edward wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen. Compared to his usual posh appearance, this look seemed a little out of place.

“Do I look like someone who can’t cook?” he shot back without looking at me as he continued doing whatever he was doing.

“Yes,” I replied immediately without the need to think.

Edward shot me a look before redirecting his focus back on cooking. Since I was useless in the kitchen, I decided to take my seat and wait at the dining table. I’m so hungry.

When Edward was done, he served us food. Just like the smell, the taste was also amazingly delicious. I couldn’t help but compliment Edward to which he just brushed off like it was no big deal. We ate and chatted about random things. He filled me in on how my ex-comrades were doing at the lab. How some of the projects I was helping with flourished. He told me that some researchers were clearly surprised and upset that I had to end my internship early. It was good to reconnect back a little to the world outside of the estate, even if it was just through Edward’s words. I enjoyed working at the lab and I hope that someday soon, I’ll be more independent. I want to work for myself to support myself.

Whenever I thought of that dream, reality would ruin my mood. I’m just so far away. Right now, I just ran away from home to figure out the truth behind my nightmares. I am still supposed to be under house arrest as imposed by Lucien. As far as Lucien is concerned I shouldn’t be working because it wouldn’t make any difference to the family’s wealth. Great.

I looked over at Edward silently. Perhaps he is really the only one who would and could support me on the path to achieving my independent life. But what would it cost me?

‘I’ll marry you,’ Edward’s words rang in my head.