Chapter 7

When Lucas realized Natalie had moved out, his chest tightened. Scrolling through their chat history, he suddenly noticed that she hadn't shared anything about her daily life with him for days. In the past, he'd always found her constant updates and concern irritating. But now, all he felt was a creeping sense of panic. He sped through the streets in his Maybach and ended up parking downstairs at the Shaw residence. The window of the maid's room on the first floor was pitch-black. Natalie wasn't home. So where had she gone? Regret hit him all at once. Over the past few days, Zia had suddenly become more forward with him. Distracted by that, he had left everything involving Natalie to Nelson. It was only now that he realized how deeply her coldness had been affecting him. He slammed his fist hard onto the steering wheel. Just then, his phone rang, and he answered almost instantly. But it was Zia's soft, saccharine voice that sounded. "Luke, there's a meteor shower tonight. Do you want to go to the mountain resort and make wishes together?" Lucas frowned distractedly. "I've got something to deal with. Go by yourself." Zia blinked in disbelief. She could hardly believe Lucas, who was usually clingy and devoted, would actually refuse her. She'd clearly seen his car parked downstairs! Before she could say anything else, the call ended. The early winter night was bone-chilling. Lucas waited aimlessly downstairs for a long time. It wasn't until Nelson's Maybach pulled up and Natalie stepped out that he snapped to attention. It was already 1:00 am. Lucas wondered why Nelson and Natalie were still together, and Nelson hadn't even checked in with him. The situation was getting out of hand. Even though he knew Nelson was literally standing in for him at that moment, seeing the two of them part in such a familiar, intimate way made him inexplicably uncomfortable. Lucas wondered what was wrong with him. From the start, his marriage to Natalie had been purely a marriage of convenience. Now that Zia was back, Natalie's only value was helping him please Zia, nothing else. So why was it that every time he saw Natalie with someone else, his chest felt so tight he could barely breathe? Whether it was that night or tonight, the feeling gnawed at him. Lucas thought Nelson had probably made Natalie upset a few days ago, so she'd left the house out of spite. Nelson hadn't said anything, wanting to handle it on his own. That had to be it. Just as Lucas was reassuring himself, his phone buzzed. A message came from Nelson. "There's not enough footage. When are we shooting again?" A smile crept across Lucas' face as he stubbed out his cigarette. He'd finally found his excuse to act and replied immediately, "Tomorrow night. We'll reshoot." Humming to himself, he leaned against the car and called his assistant, Taylor Scott. "Set up a candlelit dinner at the apartment tomorrow night. Then get a bouquet of blue roses. That's her favorite." … By the time the doorbell rang, Lucas was already waiting, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. He hid the blue roses behind his back, his eyes bright with anticipation. But when he saw who it was, his brows knitted in disappointment. "Why are you here?" Lucas asked. Nelson froze. "Didn't you say we were reshooting tonight? Why are you still at home? What if Natalie shows up?" Lucas blocked his view of the apartment with a blank expression. "I said reshoot, not that you needed to come. Tonight, I'll handle it." Nelson's face darkened. "What do you mean? Weren't you the one who said even touching her disgusted you? Weren't you the one who told me to replace you every time?" Lucas' expression turned shadowy. "Having different men do it is even more humiliating for her. Besides…" His voice cooled as he continued, "Natalie is my fiancee. Who does the filming is my call. Why are you in such a hurry? Helping me out a few times doesn't mean you get to lose yourself in the role." The words struck Nelson right where it hurt. "Fiancee?" He let out a cold laugh. "If you hadn't stolen my gift back then, would she still be your fiancee?" The air froze. "No matter how it went, the outcome was clear. And it's obvious that you lost to me." Lucas lost his patience. He tossed out the words coldly and moved to shut the door. What a so-called "fair competition"! Nelson stared at the brother he'd admired his entire life and laughed out of exasperation. For the first time, he felt like a clown being toyed with. Back then, Lucas had insisted on fair competition. Now, he was still talking about fair competition. But in the end, Natalie had become his fiancee, and Zia was in his arms, too. And then there were their parents' shares. Their parents had said the shares would be split evenly after both brothers married, but Lucas had already made a move on his portion. The anger finally broke free. Nelson grabbed Lucas by the collar. Right then, the door swung open with a crash, revealing the entire romantic, candlelit setup. Nelson's face went pale with rage. "All that crap about being grossed out, about substitutes—it was all bullshit. You're still in love with her!" Lucas' expression darkened. "Do you even know what you're doing? Are you laying hands on me just to sleep with her?" "What are you talking about?" Zia's voice rang out behind them, full of disbelief. Their friends had warned her that Nelson and Lucas would try to humiliate Natalie again tonight. Zia had even brought a little meal to snack on while watching the drama unfold. But what did she just hear? The two who had promised to help her humiliate Natalie were actually arguing over who got to sleep with her.