The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 236

Natalie felt like she had just heard the joke of the century. “Friends? Are you sleepwalking right now? You actually think we could ever be friends?”

Her voice dropped, growing icy. “Just spit out what you really want.”

She absolutely refused to believe this woman sought her out just to play besties.

Sure enough, Gardenia showed her true colors. “You know Nancy's new robot design has seen a massive surge in sales, right? She has incredible potential in this field. I know Professor Adler's lab is obviously the better choice, but we can offer her significantly more money. We want to collaborate with her again, but she turned us down.”

So that was what this was all about.

“Then you can politely get lost.”

The absolute disgust in Natalie's tone was entirely unfiltered. “She is never joining the Carlson Group.”

A silence hung in the air for a moment.

“Natalie, you are truly pathetic.” A sudden scoff echoed from the other side of the door. “You'll spend your entire life desperately clinging to the title of Mrs. Carlson, acting like a useless trophy wife while thinking you're actually someone important. You honestly believe everyone is dying to steal your crown. Let me tell you, I couldn't care less about it. I'm not some woman who lets herself get trapped by domestic life and a man's affection. I've never even viewed you as competition. You're the one hallucinating, treating me like your imaginary rival. It's honestly hilarious.”

Natalie let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Hilarious? You've clearly brainwashed yourself at this point.”

She leaned her slender back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as she cast a dismissive glance toward the door.

“Right, you don't want to be Mrs. Carlson, but you certainly want to enjoy all the privileges of the title. You're 'not trapped by a man's affection,' yet you demand he stays glued to your side 24/7. And then you have the audacity to stand outside my door and claim you don't want what's mine? Please.”

Gardenia retorted, “Hassan and I aren't just friends; we're superior and subordinate. I generate massive profits for the company. What exactly do you do? Look, I don't want to argue with you. Even if you refuse to introduce me to her, I'll achieve what I want through my own hard work.”

With that, Gardenia turned and left. If Seven hadn't blocked her the second their previous collaboration ended, she never would have humiliated herself by coming to Natalie in the first place.

In Gardenia's mind, the only logical reason Seven blocked her was because Natalie had been whispering poison in her ear.

What kind of vision could a spoiled canary kept in Hassan's golden cage possibly have? If Gardenia were in her shoes, she would have ruthlessly leveraged a connection like Seven to her advantage. Instead, Natalie acted like a petulant toddler, demanding her friends boycott someone just because she didn't like them.

Walking back into her suite, Gardenia spotted a colleague and asked, “Where's Hassan?”

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