Justin remained unfazed, his tone calm and asured. "As long as my wife accepts , I don’t care about anyone else’s approval." His gaze didn’t waver as he added, "And certainly not from soone she clearly dislikes."
Sephina scoffed, her disdain evident. She turned to Albert with a mocking grin. "Did you hear how he talks? And you expect to welco him into our family."
Albert’s frown deepened. "Sephina, watch your words. This is Natalie’s husband—how can you..."
Before Albert could finish, the door opened, and Natalie stepped inside, her gaze steely. "What my husband is or isn’t isn’t any of your concern, Grandma."
Sephina’s lips curled into a cold smile. "I wouldn’t concern myself if your grandfather wasn’t so stubborn about you." She turned back to Albert. "Clara has arranged a small gathering for our anniversary—just close friends and family. Naturally, they’re invited too."
"There’s no need to celebrate," Albert said flatly. "Neither I nor they will be attending."
Sephina rose from her seat, her eyes narrowing. "What are you afraid of? That our relatives will see the kind of man your granddaughter married?"
Albert’s expression didn’t change. "That’s the last thing I’d ever worry about."
"I’m not here to argue with you." Sephina’s tone remained cold but steady. "If you insist on keeping her in the family, then she and her husband will attend. If they don’t, it’ll be clear where they stand." She turned her sharp gaze to Natalie. "Let your husband see what kind of family he’s tied to. Maybe after that, he’ll learn so manners."
She stepped toward the door but paused, adding with a sneer, "You’ll receive the invitation soon. No need to bring anything—you can’t afford anything good, and I won’t accept anything cheap."
With that, Sephina left the room to talk to the doctor, her presence lingering like a bitter aftertaste.
Albert turned to Natalie, his eyes filled with regret. "Don’t take her words to heart, my dear. You don’t have to go. They’ll only use it as an excuse to humiliate you."
"Don’t worry, Grandpa," Natalie said softly. "We’ll be there."
"Are you sure?" Albert asked, concern creasing his brow.
Natalie nodded and turned to Justin. "Is that okay with you?"
Justin t her gaze calmly, his expression unreadable. "Whatever you decide."
As they left the hospital, Natalie broke the silence. "Are you sure you want to go to the Fords’ event?"
Justin gave her a sidelong glance. "Are you worried they’ll try to humiliate ?"
She scoffed lightly. "That’s the last thing I’m worried about. No one can outdo you when it cos to humiliating soone."
Justin smirked. "I’ll take that as a complint."
As they reached the car, Natalie asked, which she had been wondering for a while now. "When will John return to work?"
"Never," Justin replied casually.
Natalie froze, staring at him in disbelief. "What do you an, never?"
Without a trace of concern, Justin answered, "Exactly what it ans."
An uneasy feeling began to creep into Natalie’s heart. "Justin... what exactly did you do to him? I haven’t been able to contact him—his phone is off."
"You don’t need to know," Justin replied calmly, his expression unreadable. "Ryan will—"
"I want John, or no one," Natalie snapped, cutting him off, her voice sharp with frustration. "You might not care about him, but I do. I haven’t even thanked him properly for protecting that day. If you insist on assigning soone to stay by my side, it has to be him."
"That’s not possible," Justin said flatly, as if the matter was already closed.
Natalie’s anger flared, her eyes glinting with fury. "I’m not obligated to obey you, Justin!" she exclaid, her voice rising. "If you’ve killed him, you’d better bring him back to life and send him to ! I want John or no one—got it? And if you can’t make that happen, you can go to hell."
She turned sharply toward Ryan, who stood silently nearby. "And don’t you dare follow . If you do, you’ll find out exactly what I’m capable of."
With that, Natalie stord to her car, slamming the door behind her before driving off, leaving both n standing stunned in her wake. Just monts ago, she had been calm and composed—now she was like a volcano erupting without warning.
Ryan let out a breath, glancing cautiously at Justin. "So... what are we going to do now?"
Justin’s gaze darkened. His voice was cold, devoid of emotion. "Rules are rules—they can’t be broken for anyone."
Without another word, he climbed into his car. The driver pulled away, leaving Ryan standing there, still processing the heated confrontation.
-----
Inside the Car
"Mr. Harper," Noah began, his tone calm yet focused. "We’ve located the person we were looking for."
Justin arched a brow. "And?"
Noah continued, "He’s not ordinary. In fact, he seems well aware of our actions. It’s almost as if he wants us to find him—he isn’t even trying to hide."
Justin’s gaze darkened thoughtfully. "Next, he’ll ask to et ."
"That’s what it looks like," Noah agreed.
"Accept the eting," Justin said after a brief pause. "Let’s see what kind of person my lookalike really is."
"Yes, Mr. Harper."
---
In another country.
"Mr. Shaw, we’ve done as you instructed. They’ve reached us," said a tall, muscular man dressed in a crisp black suit. "What’s our next step?"
The handso man sitting in the chair behind his desk, looked at him. "Wait for a while and ask to et their boss when I tell you to."
"Yes, Mr Shaw," the man replied and added, "the arrangent to take Ms Shaw to Imperial city and the stay has been made. We can leave whenever you ask Ms Shaw is ready."
The man in the chair simply nodded, and just then Eric entered the study in a hurry. "Aiden, Ms Shaw’s reports are here and they don’t look good." He put the file on desk.
The man looked through the file and frowned, "Seems like it can’t be delayed now."
Eric nodded, "Even if we take Ms Shaw to the Imperial city, how are you going to get Natalie?"
"By telling her the truth," the man in the chair replied and looked at the man in the black suit, "Leo, it’s ti to et the other party."
"Yes, Mr Shaw," he said and left.
"What truth are you going to tell Natalie?" Eric asked.
"What she deserves to know," he replied, "And stop giving that worried look."
Eric definitely felt worried. "The one who is looking for you seems to be really powerful person. We can’t tell what would happen. I don’t want you to be in any trouble."
"You worry for nothing," he replied, "Now calm down and prepare to leave for Imperial city."
"Ms Shaw will never agree," Eric comnted.
"Who asking her?" the man said, "All she has to do is to keep living."
Eric could not say anything as he worried for the woman as well.
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