CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: NATALIE’S TROUBLED HEART

The wind on the mountaintop was strong, blowing Natalie Vaughn’s slightly disheveled long hair. Strands of hair covered her eyes. She raised her hand to brush them aside, but just as she tucked them behind her ear, the hair on the other side was lifted again by the wind, covering her eyes.

Over and over, the wind seemed to understand her inner turmoil.

Natalie hadn’t told Phoebe all of it; she did kiss Zane out of some impulse, which contained desire, but there were other things mixed in too.

There was probably a spark of attraction.

She had never liked anyone, didn’t understand what attraction felt like, but she remembered that strong heartbeat in the car just now.

Zane, when racing, was completely different, sharp and intense.

She was strong, naturally drawn to strength. Strong and excellent people always caught her eye. Getting a close-up view of the elegance of a god five years ago in the racing world was too deadly an impact on the soul.

Natalie raised her hand to touch the lip Zane had bitten, lifted her eyes to look at the man not far away. He stood at the mountaintop, with the car he loved behind him, and the view of the mountain base in front, as if he had returned to the peak five years ago, overlooking the most beautiful scenery.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she sensed a hint of rain in the wind, gradually blurring her vision.

The weather changed in an instant.

Phoebe glanced at her movements and asked.

"Still savoring that kiss?"

Natalie’s fingers couldn’t help but press on the wound, without the feeling of Zane wiping her blood.

"Yeah, the kiss of that bastard man is quite addictive."

Natalie murmured softly, her voice so light it was blown away by the wind in an instant.

She withdrew her hand, unconsciously rubbing her fingers.

Phoebe hesitated for a moment, watching Natalie’s manner for a long time. She knew Zane was a very charming person, and believed, sooner or later, Nina would succumb to someone like him. But she didn’t expect that day to come so soon.

Zane used a race as simple as could be, and Natalie seemed to have been moved.

In this moment, she was clearly in the company of fascination, oblivious to her stirred emotions.

The rain suddenly intensified; the sky on the mountaintop darkened faster, and the group finally planned to go down the mountain.

Felix saw Zane open the door for Natalie, paused in his steps, and asked Theodore beside him.

"What do you think?"

Theodore was puzzled, unable to make sense of it.

"About what?"

Felix’s eyes slowly lost focus.

"A few years ago, no matter how we advised, there was no use. How long has it been, and Natalie can already make Mr. Thorne break his vows. Doesn’t it seem strange to you?"

Theodore pressed his finger against his chin in thought, unable to figure it out, could only say something naturally.

"The sister-in-law is Mr. Thorne’s wife, can brothers compare with the wife?"

Theodore’s words, though rough, had a point, but the problem was, Natalie was just a blind date to them, they didn’t know each other before, let alone have any emotional foundation.

In such a short time, Natalie can make Mr. Thorne go to such lengths, if he truly fell in love, wouldn’t Mr. Thorne place Natalie at the center of his heart, spoiling her?

Felix suddenly laughed.

Laughed at the miraculous fate in this world, also glad that back then he genuinely helped Natalie resolve that online issue. He had a premonition that in the future, whenever anything needed Mr. Thorne, they could approach through Natalie.

For Zane, touching a race car once more after five years was a joyful thing for everyone. The club had a courtyard, also a rain shelter, just perfect for a crowd to have a barbecue.

Natalie changed her clothes, went to the restroom to tidy her hair, and when she looked up at herself in the mirror, she was completely stunned.

Her hair was messy, the corners of her eyes were red, lips slightly swollen, lipstick color had faded, revealing her naturally pink lips, and the place Zane bit had turned dark red, especially conspicuous.

Anyone could tell what happened by looking at her.

No wonder the looks they gave her were so strange.

Natalie moistened a tissue with water to wipe her lips, wiping off all the remaining lipstick, found some powder to barely cover the wound, and reapplied a new lipstick color.

When she finished tidying up and returned, everyone was already busy in the courtyard. At a glance, Zane was nowhere to be seen; her brows moved slightly, just about to ask, she heard a familiar voice from the hallway beside her.

It was Zane and Aaron Channing. Natalie raised an eyebrow, stepped forward to greet them but saw a look on Zane’s face she had never seen before, and even Aaron had his brow furrowed.

Natalie did not step forward.

If she remembered correctly, Aaron and Zane weren’t close enough to have private conversations.

Zane suddenly lifted his head and looked over, seeing it was Natalie, he stopped talking to Aaron. The two of them came over, Aaron noticed Natalie’s newly applied lipstick, paused for a moment, then jokingly smiled.

"Make sure you eat less barbecue later, I don’t carry medicine with me."

Natalie: ....

After speaking, Aaron left the two of them heading straight into the courtyard.

Natalie looked up to Zane, his face was already devoid of any emotion, as if she’d just seen wrongly.

Pressed her lips, asked casually.

"Are you familiar with Aaron?"

Zane glanced at Natalie’s lips, eyes deepening a bit.

"Just exchanged a few words after bumping into each other."

Natalie didn’t believe it, knowing Zane’s personality, he wasn’t someone for casual chats. She didn’t continue asking.

"Shall we go over?"

In the courtyard, the group had already set up the barbecue rack, clearly intending to do it themselves.

Zane raised his hand, gently rubbing Natalie’s head.

"You go ahead, I’ll have a smoke."

Natalie gazed deeply at him for a moment, her lips twitched slightly, then she turned and walked towards the courtyard.

He could smoke anywhere, Zane clearly had something on his mind.

Phoebe and Aaron quickly blended in, talking business and leisure, while Natalie, the intermediary, seemed a little distracted.

Zane’s cigarette took too long, the sound of rain dripping on the canopy was irritating, making Natalie’s heart grow uneasy.

Watching Zane racing, she became even more unable to understand. How could such a prodigious child be willing to give up his beloved racing?

Natalie suddenly realized she couldn’t stand the heavy look in Zane’s eyes.

Aaron noticed her abnormality, quietly drank a sip of wine, asked.

"What’s the matter?"

Natalie frowned at him.

"What were you talking about just now?"

Aaron chuckled.

"Nina, it seems you’re more than just interested in him now."

Natalie frowned, subconsciously ignoring Aaron’s words, asked again.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Just saying hello."

How could Zane react like that just from saying hello? How can he still be smoking in the hallway after just saying hello?

Natalie intended to keep probing, but noises came from outside the door.

It was the sound of various racing car engines mixed together.

The previously laughing racers in the club all stopped smiling.

Jay Sterling, quick-tempered, rolled up his sleeves and headed towards the door, cursing.

"These son-of-a-bitches think we’re afraid to deal with them."

Everyone went to the door, including Natalie and her friends.

Outside the club, several racing cars were parked, headlights all turned on, with a few people standing in the rain, whistling provocatively as they came out.

"Heard your club lost a street race to a guy who hadn’t touched a race car in five years, how trashy, or were you going easy on him because he’s the boss?"

The words were barbed, grinning mockingly.

Hearing this, Natalie’s face turned completely dark.