295 Impossible duo(1)
“Natalie? What are you doing here?” Zaria was the first to stand and face her.
She was behind Norman before she could process it, and the man was protecting her from what he probably thought was an attack waiting to happen.
“If you are here to blame Zaria, you are chasing the wrong target. Desmond is to blame if he did not clearly explain things with you.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “If I had any problem with Desmond, what would I be doing here?”
Norman cursed, realizing why else she would be here. “Is this about Lucy’s feud with Ava? Trust me, you don’t want to get into their fight. They are a pair of nutjobs.”
Once again, Natalie rolled her eyes at him. “I would like to have a word with Zaria, if that’s okay.”
“You have to promise not to try to hurt her.” Norman squeezed his eyes shut when Natalie glared at him. “Fine, fine. I will leave you ladies to it. Call me if you need anything.”
She replaced Norman on the chair he was sitting on and waved Zaria over. When the latter sat, she let out a breath. “I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”
“You didn’t. It’s okay.” She assured her. “I didn’t think you would come around so fast.”
.....
“Trust me, that’s far from happening.” Natalie hissed. “I can’t believe she would make me call her ‘aunt’ without telling me she really is my aunt. What drugs is she on?”
“The kind that make one go crazy with the need for revenge.” She laughed at herself after saying it out loud. “Well, I guess I’m on them too.”
“This is about Nathaniel Su, right?” Natalie cursed. It had not occurred to her yet. That was her grandfather.
“I still want to pretend my family consists of my parents and I and I have no cousins, uncles and aunts and definitely not a grandfather. Can I?”
“Go right ahead.” Zaria chuckled.
Realizing what she had implied, Natalie sighed. “No offense, Zaria. You know how much I adore you. It’s awesome to learn that I’m your cousin, really. Do you know what the craziest part is?”
Zaria shook her head.
“I once impersonated myself.”
“What are you talking about?” Zaria was confused.
“I went to Kara Williams once when I needed to see her, but we are not on the best terms. I had her secretary lie that I’m Lucy Roatta’s niece so she would let me through. I guess that was not such a lie, after all.” She was amused. “No wonder she gave me an odd look.”
It took her seconds to realize why Zaria was so silent. “Hold on. Oh my God! Kara Williams…Zaria Williams. Don’t tell me…”
“I just found out.”
“What the hell?” Natalie had been feeling horrible a moment ago but now, she was not envious of Zaria in the slightest bit.
“How is that even possible? Kara Williams? That woman could never be any more different from us.”
“Sianna is Theo’s little sister.” Norman responded before Zaria did. Apparently, the man had been listening.
“It’s sort of how they met. Lucy and Sianna hated each other and she and Theo fought about it for so long they fell in love. Oh, the good old days.”
Zaria and Natalie exchanged glances that proved they were both thinking about the same thing.
“Yeah, that’s enough talk about family. Come on, let’s go out for some fun. The night is still young.” Natalie placed two hundred-dollar bills on the table even though neither of them had eaten anything.
Knowing she had a lot on her mind and was trying her best to get away, Zaria decided to indulge her.
“Do you have anywhere to do? A place that doesn’t involve drinking, at least.” She asked.
“My place.” Natalie suggested with a wink, then immediately laughed at the distress on Zaria’s face. “Don’t worry. I would never do anything to hurt you. You are family and well, Desmond would kill me if anything happened to you. So come with me, maybe spend the night, and I’ll drop you off at work tomorrow, yeah?”
She still trusted Natalie, but she had expected her to want to be alone after the revelation.
Pursing her lips, she nodded. “Give me a moment to get an overnight bag, okay?”
“You don’t need one. My house is always ready for last-minute guests.”
“Since that’s the case, let’s go. Hold on. I’ll just send a quick message to everyone, to let them know whose basement to check if I don’t show up tomorrow.” She joked, but took out her phone to let Desmond know where she would be spending the night.
As expected, he was not happy about it. “Are you going to let me spend the night alone? It’s going to be so boring.” He complained.
She chuckled. He was cute when he was acting clingy.
“You will not be bored. Watch Frozen with Rosaly. I’m sure she won’t mind watching it for the thirtieth time with you.” She blew him a kiss on the phone, promised to make it up to him the following day and hung up before he could make a dirty joke about her promise. Heaven knew he might just say something that would make her want to bury herself in the ground.
Natalie had just started the car when the call ended. She smiled. “I still find it unbelievable that Desmond acts that way with you. He’s the most serious man on earth.”
“I thought he was a heartless asshole when we had just met.” She told Natalie the story of how they met and as expected, the latter was puzzled.
As the car pulled up into her parking lot, she brought up something she didn’t think she would ever have to.
“You must have heard countless stories about my family.”
“I have.” Zaria did not deny it.
“Would it make you think I’m crazy if I said I don’t want to have a falling out with my parents?”
Zaria frowned, but only because she didn’t know where this was heading.
“I know, they are the most selfish duo on earth. But I’m also certain if anything were to happen to me, they would be devastated.”
Zaria nodded when she finally understood. “You are not going on about them, are you?”
As expected, Natalie shook her head. “It’s sad that he has no one else in his life. Sure, your family will be his family too when the two of you get married, but it’s still sad to not have his own family when his mother is out there, mourning the loss of two of her children.”
It was unbelievable that she was hearing this from Natalie. “You know better than anyone what Alyssa did. Desmond hates her.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this to his fiancée, but no, he doesn’t. He is mad at her, but he also wishes things were different.”
She knew exactly what Natalie was implying but it was not her place. So she neither agreed nor disagreed.
“If they want to reconcile, that’s up to them, Nat. I will not put myself between them and I certainly will not have him choose between me and his mother. But if he decides Rosaly and Izzie are all he needs, I will not force him into anything either.”
She stopped the car and hugged Zaria. “I just want my best friend to be happy. Well, he’s now my cousin-in-law too, all the more reason for me to want him to be happy.”
While she pulled away, her eyes widened. “Did I just feel movement on your belly?”
Zaria chuckled. “Probably not. That often happens in the second trimester according to doc. But I swear I feel it too, sometimes.”
“Maybe my godchild likes me.” She joked and opened the car door, then rushed out to help Zaria out before she could step out.
“I can get out of a car on my own, you know.” Zaria smiled at her sudden urge to spoil her.
“I know. I just want to help you. Come on, let’s get going. The snacks aren’t going to eat themselves.”
Knowing she would not be able to stop her, Zaria gave in to her excitement and hooked her arm around hers as they made way to the elevator.
On the way up, Natalie made a joke about needing balls for what she was planning to do and was yet to explain what she meant when the elevator doors slid open and Ava came into view.
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