On the way back from the hospital, while driving her car, Natalie wondered what she was going to tell her grandpa about her husband once he woke up. Unlike others, would he even believe her?
Having something in her mind, she parked the car on one side of the road and picked up her cellphone.
"It seems like this is the only way to find that Aiden Handrix." Her hand gripped her phone before reluctantly deciding to dial that particular number which she never wished to dial.
The call was answered after just a few rings, and a familiar, flirtatious voice greeted her. "My little sweet, I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away from me for long."
Natalie’s brows furrowed in annoyance. "I called because I need your help."
The man on the other end chuckled. "Good to see how much you still miss me, my little sweet."
"Cut the crap and tell me if you’re going to help me or not," she snapped, her voice growing more irritated by the second.
"This is not how you talk to the man you love."
"When will you stop being delusional?" she shot back.
"I’ll stop when you finally return to me." His tone turned serious from the flirty one. "The three-year timeline I gave you will be up in a year. Considering how your so-called love story with your first love ended, I’m confident it won’t be long before you crawl back to me before I even drag you back myself."
"Are you keeping tabs on me?" she demanded, her voice rising in anger. "We agreed you would let me go and stop watching my every move."
"The scandal you’ve caused—I couldn’t ignore it even if I wanted to," he countered smoothly. "And I must say, it was a clever trick to get rid of that mongrel by telling him you were already married. That fool was never good enough for you anyway."
Natalie pressed her lips in a thin line, wondering what would this man do if she told him it was not a trick, but she was indeed married and someone else had tricked her. She could feel another headache coming her way and could imagine him coming to her and dragging her back to the Xyros city where she didn’t want to return.
"I just praised you. Why so silent, my little sweet?" His voice jolted her back to the present.
"Will you help me or not?" she asked, her patience wearing thin.
She heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "What is it?"
"I need you to find a man named Aiden Handrix."
"Who is he?" his curious voice grew serious once more, "if he is another of your childhood love, consider his dead body delivered to your doorsteps."
For a moment she regretted contacting this man. If he knew they were talking about her husband, she was sure, she would turn widow even before she met her husband.
"Just someone I need to find," she replied curtly. "If you ask any more questions, I’m hanging up."
"Alright, alright," he relented, his voice softening. "Just because it’s you, my love, I’ll do it. But do you have any more information? A picture, perhaps?"
She sure had his picture on her marriage certificate but Natalie didn’t want to give it. What if sooner or later Justin’s face was plastered everywhere as the new CEO of Harper group, then there would be nothing to investigate about. This mad man would go and might kill him.
"No picture. Just the name," she replied.
She heard him frown. "You realize how many people might have that name? Do you think I’ve switched my profession from Mafia kingpin to some useless detective?"
"Alright," Natalie began, "he should be in his mid to late twenties. Dark hair and eyes, has a small mole on the left side of his chin, sharp noble features, very handsome, and he’s married. That’s all."
"If you don’t have his picture, how do you know he’s handsome?" His tone showed he was not pleased to hear her calling another man handsome.
Natalie realized she was unknowingly describing Justin Harper. "I’m just telling you what I heard about him. Just search for him. If you can’t, then forget it." With that, she hung up and immediately turned off her phone, unwilling to receive any more calls from this man.
When Natalie returned home, she found the house empty—Mia was out, busy with work. Left to her own thoughts, she turned on her cell phone only to receive an email from the familiar business email id. Before she could open it, her cellphone rang.
Seeing the name flashing on the screen, she clenched her teeth—another annoying man in her life. She answered the call, snapping, "Can you give me a minute to read that email before calling me?"
"Whoa! Calm down, girl," came the gentle, playful voice from the other end. "Who’s got you all riled up today? Don’t tell me it’s again your stepmother and her daughter."
"Why ask when you already know?" she retorted, not in the mood for his playful banter. "Just tell me what you called for. I’ll listen unless it’s about another project."
"Well..." he hesitated, his tone growing cautious. "It is indeed about another project."
Natalie was about to hang up when she heard his voice pleading urgently, "Please, please don’t hang up. Just listen to me first. It’s really important."
Natalie switched the call to speaker mode and tossed the phone onto the sofa, letting him continue. "I know we agreed that you’d only do two projects a year and you’re done for this year, but I’m begging you to accept this third project. It’s for a VVIP client I can’t afford to turn down. It’s not much work—just a few modifications, and the client isn’t very demanding. You could finish it in a month."
"If it’s that simple, then you can handle it yourself, Sean," she replied, her tone still sharp.
"They specifically requested our best designer, and you know who that is," Sean countered. "I promise, as always, your identity will remain confidential. Plus, I’ll double your usual fee this time. How about it?"
Natalie considered his offer. She didn’t have a stable job at the moment, and her yearly donation installment to the orphanage where her mother had grown up was coming due.
"Alright," she agreed, after a moment’s hesitation.
"Great! Now let me explain—"
Natalie hung up the call, not willing to hear Sean’s chatter and opened the email to go through the details to finish it as soon as possible, not knowing the VVIP person was Justin Harper.