The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 517

Hearing that, Nathalie's heart did a nervous flutter. She quickly covered for them. "I think they look fine. They're just a bit camera-shy, that's all."

She immediately stood up and walked over to them. Under the guise of fixing Damaris's hair, she leaned in and whispered, "You two need to make this look real. Octavia just said you look completely fake."

Damaris's eyes went wide with panic. She whispered back, "But what am I supposed to do? Every time he touches me, my first instinct is to punch him in the throat! I can't control it!"

Bagot muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "You better learn to control it fast. If my sister figures this out, my whole family figures it out, and the entire deal goes up in smoke. Unless you want Lawrence to drag you away? Because once he has you, you're never coming back."

Damaris went completely pale.

That was terrifying.

She shot Bagot a death glare, took a deep breath, and tightly locked her arms around his waist.

"Just relax," Nathalie soothed. "Pretend you're in a movie. There's a room full of people here, nothing bad is going to happen."

"Okay. Okay, I can do this."

Damaris silently hyped herself up.

Looking down at her expression, which looked more like she was stepping up to an executioner's block than the altar, Bagot's lips twitched. Was fake marrying him really that much torture?

He hadn't done anything to her, had he? Why did she resent him so much?

He pushed the thoughts away, leaned in, and followed the photographer's instruction to gently kiss her forehead.

Both of them were rigid, their palms sweating.

But on camera, the chemistry finally clicked.

Watching from the sidelines, Nathalie let out a breath of relief, but a nagging sense of unease settled in her stomach.

Was letting Damaris do this really the right choice?

...

The photoshoot dragged on all afternoon. By the time they finished, Damaris was dead on her feet. She fell asleep the second she got into the car.

They grabbed a quick dinner together, and afterward, Octavia climbed into Nathalie's car.

When they pushed open the door to the private dining room, Lance was sitting alone at the large table.

Octavia clicked her tongue at the massive spread. "Ordering a full banquet for one person? You're practically burning money."

"If it bothers you, feel free to pull up a chair," Lance replied evenly.

His dark gaze immediately shifted to Nathalie, sweeping over her carefully to ensure she was unharmed before he looked away.

Octavia pulled out a chair and sat down, shaking her head. "I already ate. I'm stuffed."

Lance looked at Nathalie. "Do you want some soup? They make it incredibly well here."

Nathalie sat down across from him. "No."

Lance ignored her refusal, already ladling the rich broth into a small bowl. He set it in front of her and casually said, "He came to see me today. He said he spotted his first-night girl."

Nathalie's head whipped up, her heart stopping.

"First-night girl?" Octavia instantly leaned forward, her curiosity ablaze. "What is that?"