The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 79

A presidential suite.

When Natalie groggily regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was Jude Sheridan's face.

She tried to move, but her limbs felt like lead. She was completely paralyzed. Her head throbbed heavily, and she fought to keep her eyelids open, glaring venomously at Jude.

She couldn't even muster the strength to contort her face in anger. Her entire body felt entirely drained, and she couldn't utter a single syllable.

Jude, holding his phone, was video-calling Hassan.

Natalie's eyelids were incredibly heavy, making her vision blurry.

She could only hear Jude's amused chuckle. "Hey Hassan. Your wife is currently in my bed. Don't worry, I'm not in a rush to fuck her."

"Jude, you're out of your damn mind." Hassan's deep voice sounded from the speaker, maintaining a chilling composure. "Let her go."

"I haven't even done anything yet. I just made sure she can't move. You know me, I never like forcing women."

"What do you want?"

Jude scoffed. "All I want is Gardenia. Last time I took her away, you deliberately called my family just to snatch her back. Did you think you were the only one who could play dirty, Hassan? Now it's your turn to choose. Do you want your wife, or the love of your life? Hmm?"

Natalie couldn't see the screen clearly, but she heard every single word.

Realizing that she had been drugged and kidnapped just because Hassan and Jude were fighting over Gardenia made her want to vomit blood.

Were these two men completely insane?

What was she to them? Just a disposable pawn in their twisted game?

Natalie bit down hard on her lip, desperately trying to force herself awake.

But the drug had stripped away all her strength.

How pathetic. Her fate was entirely in Hassan's hands.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Jude taunted. "Send Gardenia to me, and I'll release Natalie. She is your wife, after all. The esteemed Mrs. Carlson. If something actually happens to her, what will people say about you? A man who can't even protect his own woman."

Natalie thought to herself, *He'll agree, won't he? Even if he doesn't care about me at all, he'd at least agree for the sake of the Carlson Group's reputation.*

After a prolonged, suffocating silence, she heard Hassan's voice clearly.

"You can have whatever you want. But not Gardenia."

"But Gardenia is exactly what I want. I gave you time to think. If you say no, I'll start stripping your wife right now. I imagine plenty of men would love to see what the great Mrs. Carlson looks like naked. Her dance video went viral recently, so there must be a lot of guys online eager for an exclusive peek."

A single tear slipped from the corner of Natalie's eye, her pale lips trembling.

*Hassan, do you even have a heart?*

"Do whatever you want," Hassan replied, his tone absolute ice. "I have no feelings for Natalie. If you do that, I'll simply get a new Mrs. Carlson."

Yale stayed quiet for a moment, then sighed softly as he set up the overbed table. "Eat something first."

He opened a takeout container, and a rich, savory aroma immediately filled the air.

Natalie was stunned. It was her favorite seafood soup from that specific deli.

But how did he know?

"How did you know I love this place?" She had almost zero interaction with Yale prior to recent events.

He shouldn't know her personal preferences.

Yale smiled lightly. "You like this? Looks like I got lucky. I just asked the staff to recommend something good, and they picked this out."

Natalie nodded, not overthinking it, and took a small bite.

Yale quietly exhaled in relief, pulled out his phone, and shot off a text to someone.

"How is your body feeling?"

Natalie nodded. "I feel okay. Thank you."

She finally noticed his attire. It felt a bit odd seeing him like this; he still felt like a complete stranger.