Chapter 1643
No.1
After dispersing the angry crowd and arranging for the damaged cars to be fixed, Isabella returned to her office. She studied the pregnant woman before her with a curious gaze. “To what do I owe this visit, Ms. Kensington?”
“Mr. Blackwood sent me. He thought it was a smart move. Anyone else handling that mob might have gotten hurt. But me?” She gently rested a hand on her rounded belly. “Nobody’s going to hit a pregnant woman. I could say anything out there, and they’d just have to take it.”
Isabella had to admit, Nathaniel’s logic was sound. Those people, though paid to cause trouble, still had a strong sense of right and wrong. They despised home-wreckers. Attacking a pregnant woman was a line they wouldn’t cross.
Mr. Blackwood? So it was Nathaniel’s doing after all…
Wendy continued, a warm smile on her face. “He had me come out, and he’d already deployed hundreds of his staff to sift through those phone records long before you even started looking. He treats you exceptionally well, my dear. He respects you deeply. You should cherish a man like that.” She gave Isabella’s shoulder a gentle, knowing pat and a wink before taking her leave.
A faint blush rose to Isabella’s cheeks. A peculiar, warm feeling blossomed in her chest. Harrison and Arabella had met frequently at the office, but their phone calls continued for hours even after work. Over the years, there were over a thousand calls. Some long, some short, most conversations seemingly trivial. Finding the crucial evidence meant listening to each one, often multiple times. That’s why her team, working through the night, had hit a wall.
Without Nathaniel’s intervention, she might not have found the evidence until the next day. She had explicitly told him not to interfere in her affairs. Yet, he had helped her silently, from the shadows.
The thought of all his quiet support made her expression grow solemn. If not for the incident five years ago… she would have given him a whole brood of children without a second thought.
But first, she had to settle the storm raging inside her.
No.2
She could only repay him with her gratitude for now. She turned to Adrian and Julian. “Handle things here. Keep an eye on Arabella. I might be tied up for the next couple of days.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Adrian said, thumping his chest confidently. “You handled the big crisis. I can manage the clean-up. It’s under control!”
With a nod, Isabella left.
Julian watched her go, his thoughts drifting to the retired, pregnant Wendy Morrison. His gaze darkened. It seemed Nathaniel Blackwood had stepped in to help again. Was Isabella finally opening her heart to love once more?
Isabella stepped out of the building only to remember her car had been impounded for repairs.
It would take days before she could get it back.
She pulled out her phone to call a ride when a sleek black sedan pulled up beside her.
The window rolled down to reveal Oliver’s excited face beaming from the backseat.
“Mommy! Get in, get in!”
No.3
Both Nathaniel and Oliver were inside.
Isabella’s lips pressed into a thin line. They came to pick her up? How did they know about her car?
She scanned the area cautiously before slipping into the vehicle.
Oliver had already claimed the window seat. That left the middle spot open—right next to Nathaniel.
“Sorry, Mommy,” Oliver said with an innocent shrug. “I get carsick. I need the fresh air.”
Isabella almost laughed. Since when did Oliver get carsick? And in a car this luxurious with perfect air circulation?
Nathaniel’s calm voice broke through her thoughts. “Did everything get resolved?”
“Thanks to you, it did,” she replied, offering rare praise.
Oliver clapped enthusiastically. “Daddy’s amazing! So amazing! Mommy, what are you giving Daddy as a thank you?”
No.4
Isabella hesitated. She had planned to find a gift later, but now they were here.
“How about a five percent stake in the Gray Diamond Empire?” she offered. “As a token of gratitude.”
“I don’t care for material things,” Nathaniel said smoothly. “And you don’t owe me anything.”
Nothing? He’d mobilized hundreds of employees, even pulling a retired executive out of maternity leave. That was far from nothing.
“Nathaniel,” she said firmly, “I don’t like owing people. If you helped me, I will repay you. Name your price. Anything.”
“Anything?” he repeated, his voice low and intentional.
She nodded. The fewer favors between them, the better.
“Then marry me.”
Isabella choked. “Nathaniel Blackwood! That’s unreasonable!”
No.5
“You said anything,” he countered, his tone deceptively mild.
“Mommy, you always say we shouldn’t lie,” Oliver chimed in. “You have to keep your word!”
She coughed awkwardly. “I—I meant anything within reason! Not something this serious!”
Nathaniel thought for a moment. “Then a kiss. Three seconds. That should be reasonable, shouldn’t it?”
A kiss? Three seconds?
Before she could protest, Oliver cheered. “That’s so easy! Daddy and Mommy kiss all the time! You can’t say no this time, Mommy!”
Isabella froze. If she refused now, what would Oliver think?
Fine. It was just three seconds. It wasn’t like they hadn’t kissed before.
She leaned forward, looping her arms around Nathaniel’s neck.
No.6
Her lips met his.
Isabella moved with lightning speed.
Her lips met his in a sudden, electrifying contact.
Nathaniel jolted at the unexpected softness.
His eyes narrowed instinctively.
Just as he began to savor the moment, she pulled away.
She straightened in her seat, composing herself.
“Time’s up,” she stated calmly.
Had three seconds truly passed so quickly?
No.7
Nathaniel didn’t dwell on the brevity.
He slowly licked his lips, a faint smile forming.
This marked the first time Isabella initiated a kiss.
It satisfied him for now; more opportunities would arise.
Her heart raced uncontrollably.
She felt a flush of embarrassment at her boldness.
Reflecting on it, the kiss felt excessively forward.
What exactly defined their relationship now?