Chapter Two
Natalia wanted to follow them into the office, but her mother stopped her, telling her that if her father had wanted her with them, he would have said so.
Natalia said: "Mom, I want to go in there; I want to hear what they are saying. Perhaps they are discussing a new deal. I have the right to participate, listen, and learn." Her voice was tight with frustration.
It wasn't just curiosity; she felt a deep, almost desperate need to be present, to prove her competence, and to ensure that her future was being handled correctly.
Marilyn replied, shaking her head: "Natalia, I told you this morning that you would become obsessed, but you have been obsessed for a long time." Natalia shrugged in disagreement and said: "I am not. I just want to be the smartest."
Then she looked intently at Marilyn and asked: "Why didn't you tell me that that fool was coming to the house with Stuart as well? His presence is unnecessary."
Natalia's hatred for Cedric wasn't just a petty annoyance; it was rooted in the dismissive way he always spoke, thinking he knew everything.
Marilyn was surprised by her daughter's words and the reason she saw Cedric as a fool and hated his presence. She asked: "A fool? You mean Cedric?" Natalia said: "Yes, who else? That fool! Didn't you see how he looks down on everyone, hardly listens to a word I say, and thinks he's royalty?"
Natalia felt that her mother was being intentionally blind. Marilyn was shocked by what she was hearing, knowing that her daughter had never judged people this way, especially the son of her father's closest friend, who was unfailingly polite, albeit reserved.
She said to her: "Since when do you judge people like this, Natalia? I didn't raise you this way! How can you speak of him with such rudeness?" Natalia seemed unaffected by her mother's words and replied: "I am not rude; I am just stating the truth as I see it."
Then she continued: "He is nothing like his brother William—how polite and respectful he is, and he knows how to speak so nicely. His presence makes it hard for you to ignore or deny him."
Natalia's eyes sparkled as she spoke about him.
Her mother answered, seeing the change in her daughter's features: "I see you are describing William in quite a dazzling way."
Natalia noticed her words and said: "I am just comparing them." Marilyn replied mysteriously: "Hmm... I think you got quite carried away in your description." Natalia averted her gaze from her mother, then felt a surge of cold determination.
She knew that her only way in was to create a justification. She rose from the table and said: "I'm going to make coffee as an excuse to enter the office."
She left Marilyn with a cryptic expression, a strange mixture of fear and resignation, thinking to herself: "I don't know how she will react when she discovers her father's decision."
Natalia hurried to the kitchen and found Tanya the maid, who rushed to her and said: "Yes, Miss, what do you need?" Natalia rebuked her: "How many times have I told you not to call me 'Miss'? Just call me Natalia."
Tanya smiled kindly and said: "I'm sorry, but you know that Mrs. Marilyn doesn't like that." Natalia said while pressing the buttons on the coffee machine: "I don't care what my mother likes. I don't want you calling me Miss." Her need for personal control extended even to her title.
Then she said in a low voice: "I wonder how that arrogant man likes his coffee? I hope it's strong enough to keep his ego awake." Tanya asked: "Excuse me, Natalia, I didn't hear what you said."
Natalia replied: "I didn't say anything, Tanya. Can you prepare three cups for me? I'll ask my mother something and be right back."
She left the kitchen to find her mother, who was sitting quietly on the sofa, and asked her: "Mom, do you know how he likes his coffee?" Natalia felt a strange, cold shiver, knowing she was manipulating the situation, using her mother's knowledge against her.
With her legs raised, Marilyn asked: "Who?" Natalia answered curtly: "Mom, I mean Cedric.
How does he drink his coffee?" Marilyn answered: "Black coffee with a little sugar."
Natalia ran back to the kitchen and found Tanya had arranged three cups on a round black tray.
Natalia began pouring the coffee, taking careful care that her father's and Stuart's cups were perfect, while she poured a slightly larger amount into Cedric's cup, making it dangerously full.
Then she picked up the heavy tray and left. She found her mother blocking the entrance to the hallway. "Natalia, you are going to upset your father with this behavior.
Take the coffee and go back to the kitchen immediately!" Natalia continued on her way, ignoring her mother's plea, feeling the usual spark of rebellion igniting.
When she reached her father's office, she knocked on the door and heard Jonathan say: "You may enter."
She entered carrying the tray and said: "I think you need coffee to continue this important discussion you are having in total secrecy here."
Stuart smiled, with a knowing glint in his eyes, realizing that Natalia wanted to satisfy her killing curiosity, and Jonathan also knew the real reason behind this coffee delivery.
Natalia served the coffee to her father, then to Stuart, her hands steady despite the rush of adrenaline. Then she turned toward Cedric.
As she approached him, the room seemed to tilt slightly. Suddenly, she felt the cup become heavy and hot.
It slipped from her hand—a genuine and honest accident stemming from the tension and the weight of the moment—and the hot black coffee erupted from the porcelain, soaking the front of Cedric's pristine white shirt.
He jumped to his feet immediately, his face contorted not just from the pain of the scalding liquid, but from raw, cold anger. The air filled with the smell of hot coffee and burnt fabric.
Natalia was instantly horrified. Her strategic maneuver had gone wrong in the most tragic and painful way. She stammered, apologizing over and over, watching him retreat toward the hallway bathroom, muttering a curse under his breath.
She looked at her father and then at Stuart, desperate for them to acknowledge that it was an accident. Stuart, the perpetual peacemaker, said: "Calm down, my daughter, nothing happened; it's just coffee."
Natalia's panic was visible: "It slipped from my hand! I swear I didn't mean it!" Jonathan, his face stern and unforgiving, said simply: "Fine, Natalia. Go now and bring him one of my shirts. Be quick."
Natalia rushed to her father's room, picked up a sky-blue shirt, and hurried to the bathroom. She knocked on the door, her heart pounding hard in her chest: "Cedric, can you hear me? Can you open the door?"
He pulled the door open violently. He was shirtless to the waist, his torso bearing a red burn mark, and his eyes were burning. "Did you enjoy what you did, you devil?" he spat the words. The insult was like a physical blow.
He had confirmed every bad judgment she had ever made about him; she was right—he was toxic. Nevertheless, she swallowed her bitterness and managed to say: "I brought you a shirt from my father. I think it will fit you."
He didn't take the shirt; instead, he grabbed her arm above the elbow, his grip strong and painful. "Do you think you can fool me? I know you did it on purpose. You hate me, don't you?"
Natalia was truly shocked. Yes, she thought he was arrogant, but the act of deliberate malice he was accusing her of was unthinkable.
She wrenched her arm away forcefully, her composure cracking: "It was an accident! I have no reason to hurt you, you fool! I'm not crazy!" Cedric smiled, a slow, mocking smile that made her blood freeze. "Crazy people always think they are sane."
Natalia reached the breaking point. All the pent-up resentment and the injustice of the situation exploded. She screamed: "Who do you think you are to talk to me like this?"
The sound was sharp, drawing everyone's attention. They rushed toward the commotion to find Natalia throwing the shirt at his chest, screaming: "Take this, you arrogant and condescending fool!"
Jonathan was shocked. "What is this inappropriate behavior, Natalia?"
Natalia looked at her father, tears of sheer rage burning her eyes: "Father, he thinks I did it on purpose and says I'm crazy!" Cedric, wiping the shirt from his face, immediately changed his tone.
"Jonathan, she misunderstood what I meant. I only told her that I knew she wouldn't do it on purpose because she isn't crazy, but she interpreted my words differently."
Natalia stared in disbelief. He was denying everything, twisting the truth, playing the perfect victim! "Are you going to deny your words now and try to make me look like the one who misunderstood?" She looked desperately at her father: "Father, this fool is trying to deceive you, believe me!"
Jonathan exploded. He shouted in a voice that was like a whip of authority: "Enough, Natalia, enough! I saw you throw the shirt in his face and call him names, and you are still insulting him. This is unacceptable! Apologize to him now!"
Natalia felt a dizzying sense of betrayal. Her father, her role-model, was choosing the manipulative liar over his daughter. She looked at Stuart, who refused to meet her gaze, confirming his silence. She turned to her mother, who was rigid and unmoving, like a stone statue.
Natalia swallowed the lump in her throat and declared: "Father, I will not apologize."
Jonathan's face darkened, and his entire posture shifted into the terrifying persona that both Natalia and Stuart knew. "Natalia, apologize now. This is my final word, and I will not accept any further objection."
Natalia shook her head in stubborn defiance. She felt the weight of her academic achievements, and her years of hard work, vanishing and turning into nothing because of a spilled cup of coffee and an arrogant man. "I will not apologize, Father. Not for something I didn't mean and not to a liar."
Jonathan's voice dropped, becoming eerily quiet, yet it cut through the silence of the hallway. "How long will you act like an immature and spoiled child, Natalia?! You are eighteen years old, and you are acting recklessly, which is unacceptable for someone who carries my name! This irresponsible behavior is exactly what I was trying to avoid! You are not ready for the responsibility you crave!"
He took a step closer, towering over her. "Stuart and I finished the matter in the office before you arrived. Since I will never allow a stranger to marry you and take control of the company, and because your behavior proves you lack the maturity necessary for full control, you will abide by the old agreement we made to protect the empire."
He delivered the fatal blow, his eyes locked on hers: "You are going to marry Cedric. This is our final decision, and you will abide by it."
The world seemed to swim around Natalia. The high ceiling, the faces of her family, a cold resentment mixed with dread painted on Cedric's stiffened face, as if he too were witnessing the sealing of his fate publicly... everything began to fade.
Her father's voice, harsh and decisive, rang in her ears: "You are going to marry Cedric." There was no escape. No university, no CEO position, no future of her own making. There was only the cold, unyielding reality of a prison named Cedric.