The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus) novel Chapter 114

Marcus slammed on the gas pedal, and the car sped forward. Natalie instinctively gripped the seatbelt and glanced at him.

"Mr. Holden, you seem a little on edge," she remarked in her usual calm, detached tone. It was not a question, just a statement of fact.

Marcus cast her a cold, sideways glance and stepped on the gas again, making the car accelerate even faster. Natalie sighed internally as he thought this moody man was clearly not someone to provoke.

After a stretch of tense silence, Marcus finally spoke, his sharp profile tight with annoyance. "Where are you heading?"

"Walker Group headquarters," Natalie replied without further elaboration.

Marcus said nothing more and kept driving. The scenery outside the window blurred as they sped past, but Natalie kept her focus on the view.

She had visited Dithoria State before, but her trips had always been rushed, leaving her no time to appreciate the city. Since there was nothing to say between her and Marcus, she let herself enjoy the passing sights.

The silence lasted until Marcus pulled up in front of the towering Walker Group building. With the press of a button, he unlocked the car doors and leaned back in his seat.

"I'll wait here for you and take you sightseeing once you're done," he said curtly.

"There's no need," Natalie replied. "You can take care of your own business. I don't need an escort."

Marcus let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Grandpa asked me to take good care of you. Surely, you wouldn't want to make things difficult for me."

His irritation was palpable. To him, this woman acted as though she did not want to be around him but still managed to manipulate situations to get his attention.

Even Charles' comment about checking the surveillance footage at his door seemed like a setup, likely orchestrated by Natalie herself to push them together.

In Marcus' view, Charles' open-minded attitude toward "new ideas" was a thinly veiled attempt to matchmake. In truth, he had figured out that Nathaniel was really Natalie and that this supposed "man" was actually a woman.

After Marcus broke off his engagement to Emma, Charles seemingly decided to shove Natalie into his life instead. For a brief moment, he started to see Natalie in a new light.

Nonetheless, Marcus was eventually convinced she was still the same woman he had thought her to be—vain, opportunistic, and willing to feign innocence to climb her way up. To Marcus, Natalie was using her relationship with Charles to not only humiliate her ex-fiancé and Selena but also to get close to him.

What made it worse was that she was Dr. Elim, the one person holding Charles' life in her hands. For the next three months, he could not afford to offend her, no matter how much she irritated him.

The more Marcus thought about it, the darker his expression grew. Meanwhile, Natalie was not someone to tolerate unwarranted hostility.

She was not the type to start trouble, but she certainly would not sit back and take it either. She opened the car door and slammed it shut.

Through the closed window, she said coldly, "Mr. Holden, if this is such a burden for you, why not simply refuse Mr. Holden Senior? There's no need for this passive-aggressive attitude. I'll make it clear to him myself that I don't need you to show me around, nor do I want you wasting your 'precious' time."

She continued, her tone sharp, "If you're going to begrudgingly do someone a favor, only to throw a tantrum and act like you're owed something, then don't bother doing it at all."

Natalie's voice dropped a fraction as she delivered her final words. "In three months, once Mr. Holden Senior is healthy, we'll leave the Holden family. Until then, no matter how 'unhappy' you are, I suggest you keep it to yourself."

Without giving Marcus a chance to respond, Natalie turned and walked away, her posture straight and determined. Her calm yet firm demeanor gave no room for argument, leaving Marcus in silence as he stared after her retreating figure.

To Natalie, there was no debt between them, nor was there a reason for one to act superior to the other. They were equals, plain and simple, and she intended to remind him of that every step of the way.

Marcus froze for a moment, watching Natalie's retreating figure. Then, with a loud smack of his palm against the steering wheel, the car horn blared sharply in the quiet parking area.

Natalie did not even flinch. Without looking back, she strode confidently into the Walker Group building.

"Fine with me," Marcus muttered to himself, his jaw clenched as he glared at her back. "Well played, Natalie. This is how you treat the person who's supposed to be your savior?"