From Divorce To Dominance novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25
“What things?” Howard suddenly stopped feeling sad. “Come on, Darren, tell me. Even Ethan, who was sitting nearby, leaned in with interest.
Darren’s handsome face was half-hidden in the flickering light. He nervously rubbed his hands together. One was his ex- wife, and the other was his friend. There was no way he’d let them be together. Natalie admitted that she still liked Darren, and she wouldn’t truly care for anyone else. Howard was bound to get hurt if he fell for her, and Darren wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“Come on, Darren, spill it, Howard urged, almost bouncing in his seat. “What do you know about her?”
Darren took a moment to consider his words, his voice low and steady. “Rumor has it that she’s a country girl and not really a match for you.”
Howard waved his hand dismissively. “So what if she is? I imagine she lived in a beautiful place before coming to this city, and that’s why she’s so amazing. If she likes me, and we get married, we can live in the countryside and have a cozy life together.
Darren couldn’t help but remember how Howard used to joke that Natalie was like a cavewoman-wild and uncivilized
Howard continued, his enthusiasm growing. “I’ll build us a nice little house, grow some veggies, and maybe even get a dog. Just thinking about it makes me happy!”
Darren chuckled. “That might be wishful thinking. Women from the countryside usually settle down and start families early.”
This ought to discourage him. Howard is picky when it comes to women; he never settles for anything secondhand, Darren thought, calmly picking up his drink and feeling quite confident about his point.
Howard scoffed. “That’s not always true. Nat must be different. She’s special.”
Darren raised an eyebrow. “A friend told me she’s married and has a son.”
“Which friend? Do I know him? How does he know about Nat? Rumors like that can be harmful, Howard frowned
Darren sighed. “Why would anyone spread rumors about her?”
“You never know. She’s super popular now and has lots of fans and haters. The haters can make up anything,” said Howard Darren couldn’t believe how stubborn Howard was. “What if it’s true? What if she really is married?”
For a moment, Howard hesitated, but only for a second. ‘I’ll still marry her after she gets divorced.”
Ethan burst out into laughter. “But what if she doesn’t get divorced?”
“I’ll talk her into it,” Howard surprised himself with his own words “I can even be a homewrecker for her. I really love her. She’s n
my perfect match. I’m definitely going to make her mine!”
Ethan was nearly on the floor laughing, nudging Darren. “Don’t even try to reason with him; he’s too far gone.”
Howard didn’t care about their teasing. He was full of energy. Tm going to follow Nat on social media. I didn’t even say goodnight to her
Sering Howard’s determination, Darren felt a mix of emotions and thought, ‘How can I convince Howard to let go of someone who doesn’t love him back?
Howard was eager to text Natalie again and couldn’t look away from his phone.
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Chapter 25
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Ethan checked his watch. “You guys keep talking. I’m heading out to pick up my daughter from school”
“I’m leaving too.” Darren caught up, and they both left the room
As they stepped outside, Ethan stole a glance at Darren, noticing for the first time how grim his expression was. He raised his eyebrows playfully, his flirty eyes shimmering. “Natalie is your ex-wife, isn’t she?”
Howard might be clueless, but Ethan was sharp. He connected the dots quickly.
Darren glanced away for a moment and said, “Yeah, she still has feelings for me. That’s why I don’t want Howard to get hurt.”
Ethan’s grin widened. “How do you know she still loves you? I heard she’s got a whole squad of gorgeous guys chasing her.”
Darren rolled his eyes. “That’s just her way of provoking me. I’m not falling for it.”
Ethan’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he shrugged, clearly unconvinced.
Meanwhile, Natalie returned to the villa from the Sweet Love Base. As soon as she stepped inside, she spotted Lynn dressed to the nines, her face radiating excitement.
“Hey, Mom. Got some party to attend?” Natalie asked as she let the maid change her into slippers and flopped onto the couch, where someone immediately started massaging her shoulders.
Lynn shot her a playful wink. I’m off to go on a date with your dad.
“He’s back from mining already?” Natalie waved her hand. “Have fun then. Tell Dad I miss him and that my heart’s been aching
him.”
“He’s my man. Keep talking like that and I’m gonna get jealous. Lynn playfully tapped her stilettos.
“Alright, alright! Go on and have fun.” Natalie quickly conceded
Lynn blew her a kiss like a happy little butterfly and fluttered off
Natalie closed her eyes and basked in the service provided by the maids. The gentle massage made her feel incredibly relaxed, and soon she started to drift off to sleep. Just then, her phone rang. Seeing Christian’s name flash on the screen, she lazily answered, “So, how are you planning to thank me?”
Christian replied excitedly, “Since the show aired, over 100,000 people have signed up to learn boxing! I’m impressed!”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” Natalie said nonchalantly. “Give me something real.”
“Are you serious? You really think I’ll skimp on your rewards? What kind of person do you think I am? Christian rattled off with exaggerated annoyance.
“Who knows?” said Natalie.
Christian grumbled between clenched teeth, “Meet me at Lillian’s Restaurant at noon tomorrow,”
“Okay.” Natalie perked up, whistling happily. “Thanks, Christian, How generous you are.”
After ending the call, Natalie quickly gulped down dinner, took shower, held Rafael, and headed to bed.
At 9 PM, the villa was dark. Everyone was deep in dreamland. Meanwhile, the online frenzy was just kicking off. Following today’s performance, videos of Natalie had gone viral all over the internet, with many people declaring her a star.
Under her boxing video, the comments were generally complimentary, but that wasn’t the case with the comments on her Chapter 25
dance video, where two groups of fans were embroiled in a heated debate..
[Natalie dances well, but do we really need to hype her up to the heavens like this?]
[Exactly! I like Natalie, but Tessa is great, too. Why do we have to tear one down to lift the other?]
[Anyone saying Tessa can’t dance should probably get their eyes checked! She’s a national dance competition champion. Who are you to judge?]
[Tessa only won because Nat wasn’t competing! If Nat was there, Tessa wouldn’t stand a chance!)
[Natalie’s fans, please dial it back! Is it so hard to admit others are good too?]
[Can we please stop talking about Natalie? It’s so annoying! Hope she gets eliminated soon!]
[Eliminate Natalie! Eliminate Natalie!]
In front of her computer screen, Tessa’s face glowed with excitement. This was the peak of her fame since debuting. With growing support online, she finished editing her post and hit publish.