CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: ZANE? HUSBAND?

At the dinner table where the Vaughn and Thorne families met, Natalie Vaughn brought up the wedding, and as expected, both sets of parents opposed it. The Vaughn family believed the wedding was a woman’s most important event, while the Thorne family thought it would shortchange Natalie.

However, Natalie was adept at dealing with the elders, and since it was only a temporary postponement of the wedding, under her relentless persuasion, the matter was settled.

The date for the marriage registration was decided at the table, too.

One auspicious day was in October, and the other in November. These were dates calculated by Mrs. Vaughn and Mrs. Thorne respectively, and the choice was left to Natalie and Zane Thorne.

Natalie chose the later date, November 16, wanting to enjoy a bit more of her single and free life as a beautiful young lady. Naturally, Zane had no objections.

After the meal, for once, Natalie felt a bit melancholic.

Who would have thought she’d soon become a married woman?

"It must be because you seem too old, so they’re in a hurry to register."

Zane: ...

The more Natalie thought about it, the more upset she became, and she took it out on Zane.

The man raised his eyelids, noticing the somewhat agitated Natalie. Estimating that she was still a student, he decided not to argue with her.

Then Natalie got even more audacious.

"Mr. Thorne, could this be considered robbing the cradle? No, wait, I mean a tender flower."

"Hey, there’s no way around it with an old man. Thirty is the age to settle down; you can’t keep dragging it out."

Zane: ...

"Natalie."

His voice was somewhat low, but Natalie, not noticing, responded nonchalantly.

"What?"

"I recall you’re almost 24, and I’m only six years older than you, so stop calling me an old man."

At this, Natalie raised her eyebrows at Zane.

"So it’s not just women who care about age. Men do too, huh?"

Listening to her sarcastic tone, Zane’s chest heaved with frustration, furrowing his brows in annoyance.

"Enough, Natalie. I won’t keep indulging you."

If it were the Zane from six years ago, he would have kicked Natalie out of the car.

Natalie was proud as well, and with Zane’s harsh tone, she didn’t put on a pleasant face either.

Until the sound of a ringing phone broke the somewhat tense atmosphere.

It was Zane’s phone.

The man glanced at it, seeing it was a call from the club, and answered. His hand accidentally hit the speakerphone button, and the manager’s voice came through.

"Mr. Thorne, the race cars you asked me to prepare are ready. They’ve been maintained over the years and are as good as ever. When are you coming? The club guys are thrilled to hear you’re racing with them."

Hearing this, Natalie couldn’t bother arguing with Zane any more and sat up straight, listening intently to the commotion beside her.

Zane glanced at her, saw her ears perked up listening to him, and most of his irritation disappeared.

Why was he going head to head with a little girl?

Indeed, she was someone who had been studying well but was now arranged by the family to marry someone six years her senior. It was normal to throw a fit.

But he still needed to correct her bad habit of calling him old.

So, with a cold face and an indifferent voice, he said,

"No race. Put the cars back."

The manager on the other end was puzzled. Zane had never gone back on his word before. What was going on? And on that side, the person who had been eavesdropping on the call protested loudly.

"Come on, Mr. Thorne! You can’t go back on what you said!"

"We’re all waiting here. You’re abandoning us, Mr. Thorne."

"Mr. Thorne, if you don’t come for a race, we’re quitting."

"Yeah, not only quitting, we’ll wreck your beloved car!"

...

The club was full of young guys passionate about racing who got along with Zane and treated him like their brother and big brother, so they dared to speak like this.

But Zane replied coolly,

"Who gave you the courage to be arrogant in front of me?"

Zane, when indulgent, seemed easy-going with people, but once he decided not to indulge anymore, his inherent authority silenced the young, hot-blooded guys with just one sentence.

Listening to the silence on the other end, Natalie was anxious, thinking Zane was really not going to race.

"How can you renege on your word? You promised!"

Hearing this, Zane lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at Natalie, and on the other end of the phone, the sound of a woman’s voice caused an uproar.

Annoyed by their chatter, he hung up the phone.

Natalie pressed her lips, staring at Zane.

"I asked you before, gave you the chance, and you said you would keep your word."

Zane leaned back into the chair, averted his eyes from Natalie, and took out a cigarette, lighting it slowly, taking a drag.

Natalie had never been spoken to like this before; Zane always said what was on his mind.

"Hey, are you going to race or not?"

Zane flicked the ash off his cigarette.

"I’m not ’hey.’"

After a pause, he turned to look at her.

"And I’m not ’old man.’

Natalie: ...

She got it. The man, no, old man, was still being petty about this.

Such a big guy, no, old man, has such a small mind!

Natalie got angry quickly, but it dissipated just as fast, especially since she had no real objections to the marriage. She was just in a bad mood.

"So, are you going to race or not?"

Natalie pondered a moment, then called out,

"Zane?"

Zane paused his actions, squinted, and drew a drag, exhaling a perfect ring of smoke. His mood, like the smoke ring, swirled in the air.

Seeing him silent, Natalie thought the name was still unsatisfactory and bowed her head to think for a moment.

"Hubby?"

Zane’s hand shook, ash falling onto his hand, burning his fingertips—pricking his heart just a little, leaving him itchy inside.

Seeing no reaction from him, Natalie got upset.

"You need to stop too. We haven’t even married yet, and you’re trying to take advantage of me."

Zane stubbed out his cigarette, looking at Natalie.

"I said I would do what I promised."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Then why did you say that on the phone?"

As she spoke, Natalie realized something wasn’t right, raising her eyes to Zane. She saw that his eyes were hiding a smile.

"I was teasing you."

Natalie: ...

Damn!

She’d been completely tricked by Zane!

Zane, amused and in high spirits, laughed heartily.

"When do you want to go to the club?"

Natalie glared viciously at him.

"Today."

Zane raised an eyebrow, not the least bit surprised.

"Alright."

After all, today was a beautiful day.

Since it was Zane’s first time back in racing after five years, setting foot on the track again, Natalie called Phoebe Quinn.

When Phoebe heard the news, she couldn’t believe it and asked repeatedly. Natalie patiently confirmed several times, knowing that for a fan, seeing her idol return to the track was a huge deal. Fearful Phoebe still didn’t believe, she handed the phone to Zane.

"Say something to her."

Zane glanced at her and obliged Phoebe with a response at Natalie’s request.

Then, Natalie deftly hung up the call before Phoebe could start screaming.