When Her Death Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel) novel Chapter 2080

Terror flooded Felix's eyes. He nodded so quickly his brown curls quivered. “Understood.”

Only then did Nathaniel let the matter drop.

Felix was not born a terror. With proper guidance, he could have been an ordinary, even likable, child.

When Nathaniel kept the boy near, Felix's worst fault had been harmless pride. Under Miranda's indulgence, that pride had swollen into reckless arrogance.

Miranda's palms were slick with sweat. Afraid Nathaniel might actually make good on his threat, she hurried forward and scooped Felix into her arms.

“Nathaniel, he's only a child. Don't frighten him like that.”

The smug curve that had owned her lips minutes ago was nowhere to be found.

At that moment, Elodie, the store manager, finally placed the face to the name. The boy was Nathaniel's son.

A cold wave sluiced through her chest, as though the air-conditioning had been switched to winter.

Offending Miranda could at worst cost her business its lease. However, offending Nathaniel meant packing her bags and leaving Tudela forever.

“M-Mr. Rainsworth...” Elodie's voice cracked, her composure crumbling fast.

Seeing their manager unravel, the salesgirls who had pinned Jonathan a moment ago felt dread seep into their bones.

They had only followed orders. At that instant, they prayed those orders would not invite retribution.

Even before he crossed the threshold, Nathaniel had spotted his son and a fellow clerk restrained by several attendants. “Who authorized this boutique to lay hands on my son and strip him of his freedom?”

Elodie's spine turned to glass. She shot Miranda a silent plea, eyes wide with desperation.

Miranda simply angled her head away, allowing that plea to shatter against indifference.

Ice spread through Elodie's chest. How can she behave in this manner? I was only following her instructions.

Elodie forced a bow. “Mr. Rainsworth, this is all a misunderstanding. I am terribly sorry.”

Her venom left the staff mute, their protest lodged in throats already burning.

Nathaniel needed no diagram to see who had pulled the strings.

Still, he had witnessed those attendants manhandle his boy, so letting them walk unscathed felt wrong.

Jonathan stepped forward, chin lifted. “Dad, don't trouble them. They're only trying to earn a living.”

He then angled toward Ivy. “Ms. Ivy, you don't have to worry. My dad's a fair man.”

The compliment shackled whatever punishment Nathaniel had been ready to unleash.

A visible sigh deflated Ivy's shoulders.

She still had no idea who this towering man truly was, but the manager's and Miranda's terror proved enough. She knew Nathaniel wasn't someone to cross.