After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 1164

"I've rested for two days, and I feel much better. I genuinely have urgent business to handle personally. I'll explain it to Jordan so you won't be held responsible."

Natalie walked past the housekeeper toward the door.

The housekeeper followed close behind, asking anxiously, "Should I arrange a driver for you, Mrs. Lane?"

"No need. I'll drive myself."

"Given your current condition, it's best if you don't get behind the wheel."

"I know my own body. Stop hovering."

Shut down so bluntly, the housekeeper had no choice but to bite her tongue.

The young mistress of the house had become increasingly difficult to please lately.

In contrast, the new mistress treated the staff with far more respect.

Minutes later, Natalie drove out of the Lane Estate and headed straight for the Cabinda Hotel.

All the way there, her mind raced, wondering why York had summoned her.

The Cabinda Hotel was a highly public venue, and she was a regular. Practically every staff member there recognized her.

If she wasn't careful, someone would spot her meeting with York.

That devil had to be doing this on purpose.

Natalie gritted her teeth in pure hatred, but she was entirely at his mercy.

York still possessed those incriminating photos.

He had mailed them to Isabella, but instead of leaking them to the press, Isabella had handed them over to Jordan. Naturally, Jordan kept it quiet to save face. To the outside world, she was still Mrs. Lane Junior, half of a perfectly happy marriage.

No one knew the filthy, degrading ordeal she had endured.

But if she pissed York off, he could post those photos online in a heartbeat. Her reputation would be annihilated, dragging both the Gates and Lane families through the mud. She couldn't even stomach the thought of the fallout.

These men were York's most trusted enforcers—ruthless and unfailingly loyal.

They were the ones who carried out his dirty work.

When York had set her up, some of these very guards had taken her bare in the aftermath. Seeing them now made a suffocating wave of despair and sheer panic crash over her.

"Why did Mr. Austin ask for me?"

Natalie kept her voice to a fragile whisper as she questioned Blake, one of the men who had violated her.

He met her gaze with predatory coldness. "Young Master Austin tells you to come, you come. Go inside and keep your mouth shut."

Natalie pressed her lips into a thin line. She took a deep, steadying breath, knocked on the heavy oak door, and pushed it open only after hearing York's voice.

York was lounging on the sofa, casually flipping through a newspaper. He didn't even bother to look up when she entered.

Sunlight spilled over his broad shoulders, casting a warm, deceptive glow around him. But Natalie knew the truth. She knew exactly how heartless this demon could be.