Author: BTMBeta

Sebastian thought that this conversation was ridiculous.

He sneered and lifted his chin ever so slightly.

His dark eyes gleamed with a cold and contemptuous light.

“You must know very little about me.Based on your relationship with me, why do you think I’ll actually help you? What are you giving me in return? Do you plan to give me a job of serving drinks and sweeping the floor? Is this your idea of a joke?”

The members of the Klein family were all stunned by Sebastian’s blunt remarks.

Was this fierce man in front of them really the same good-for -nothing Sebastian? Regardless of the reaction of the other Klein family members, Sebastian grabbed hold of Natalie’s wrist and said in a whisper, “Let’s go now.”

After having said that, he directly left with Natalie by his side.

Every member of the Klein family was left stunned as they didn’t expect Sebastian to speak to them like that.

After all, he was usually the quiet type who would endure everything in silence.

Ritchie was so angry that he almost forgot that they were at his grandmother’s birthday party.

Clenching his fists in rage, he cursed aloud, “Sebastian’s a loser. How dare he behave so arrogantly?”

Before her straightforward son could say something that would get him into trouble, Elissa quickly stopped him.

“Watch your language, Ritchie.We are at your grandmother’s birthday party.Behave yourselfl”

It was Elissa’s fault for spoiling Ritchie as a kid and turning him into a person who lacked emotional intelligence.

Ritchie eventually kept his mouth shut and stood aside after he got scolded.

With a look of disappointment, Ritchie’s grandmother pointed at Ritchie and said, “How many times do I have to tell you that you need to control your temper? Why are you always causing trouble?”

“That’s not fair, Grandma. You’re always taking Sebastian’s side.He’s just an illegitimate child and he’s not that close to you.Why do you like him so much?”

Ritchie’s anger rose to new heights.

After all, he was smart enough to see what was going on.

Although Nora had never defended Sebastian in public, she was always good to Sebastian in private.

“Shut up, Ritchie!” Elissa glared at Ritchie furiously.

After all, she didn’t want to make a scene in front of all the guests in the hall.

“Go to your room at once!”

Frustrated, Ritchie snorted and walked upstairs.

Although there was no expression on Elissa’s face, a sense of crisis arose in her heart.

Ritchie was right, and it was getting more and more difficult to see through Sebastian.

Sylvia Larson was known for her forbearance and perhaps Sebastian inherited such a character trait from his mother.

For some reason, the moment she looked at Sebastian’s face, she thought of Sylvia.She never found anything odd about Sebastian, even though he was pretty meek in his younger days.

Surprisingly, as the years passed, Sebastian grew up to be a composed and respectable person, just like his mother, Sylvia.

During all the years that Sebastian spent living a humble life in society, Elissa was too busy thinking about the Klein family’s company instead of making things difficult for Sebastian.

However, it became clear as day to Elissa that Sebastian was no longer the shy boy he used to be.

Elissa feared that Patrick would attach great importance to Sebastian after finding that he had great potential.

The thought of Sebastian returning to the Klein family was intolerable for Elissa because she wanted her two sons to take over the

Klein family business.

Elissa walked to Patrick’s side and tentatively said, “It seems that Sebastian is all grown up now.He seems to have what it takes to speak with Curt.”

Patrick never paid much attention to Sebastian in the past, but now he seemed very keen on him.

It had been shocking news that Sebastian managed to befriend Curt; after all, they both came from .

different worlds and they shouldn’t have had crossed paths.

After pausing to think, Patrick fiddled with his thumbs and stared at the backs of Sebastian and Natalie, who were walking away.

“Sebastian isn’t the same person anymore.He doesn’t seem to be as shy and cowardly as he used to be,” he finally said.

Elissa gritted her teeth contemptuously.

She knew that it was time to take action as Sebastian might soon pose a threat to them.

Sebastian and Natalie left the party venue and walked to the bus station.

Because the two of them were both well-dressed and good-looking, they attracted many people’s attention.

Passers by couldn’t help but stare as they walked past.

Suddenly, Natalie thought about Sebastian’s and Curt’s conversation.

She asked curiously, “How did you know that Curt? You seem to be good friends.”

“I liked hiking years ago.One time, Curt had a stroke half way up the mountain and I was the one who rushed him to the hospital. We got to know each other because of that.Later we found that we had a lot in common so we hung out a lot,” Sebastian explained.

In fact, that was only part of the story.He didn’t actually like hiking.

All he ever did was work.

While it was true that he had joined a hiking club, it was only because he wanted to befriend people like Curt to begin with.

But it was true that they had become friends because they shared similar interests and got along well.

“He must be a very influential man. They all seemed to respect him.”

Natalie could tell that all the people at the party were practically in awe of Curt.

“Well, despite his high status, he’s very easy-going.”

Noticing that Natalie was rubbing her arms vigorously, Sebastian shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

Then, he pulled her into his arms and asked, “Are you tired? We can take a cab back. Your hands are freezing.”

Natalie buried her head in his chest, eager to feel his warmth.

Looking up, she could only see the sharp angles of his jawline.

Natalie could tell from the way Sebastian behaved today that he wasn’t afraid of the Klein family.

To be more precise, he didn’t seem to care about them too much.

Sebastian was a sophisticated visionary.

He and Curt were the same type of people.

That was why they became fast friends.

As Natalie thought about it, she suddenly had a sinking feeling about this.

“What if the Klein family comes after us?”

Sebastian raised his hand to hail a taxi and then helped Natalie into the car.

“Nothing has happened yet.Worrying too much about the uncertain future brings nothing but trouble.” Sebastian spoke like a wise sage.

His identity of Brandon was enough to protect him.

But he was siill a little hesitant to let her know about that.

After all, Brandon and the Klein family were at war.

If people found out that Natalie was Brandon’s wife, she would be in more danger than if she was just Sebastian’s wife.

“It’s really none of your business.Stop sticking your nose in other people’s business!”

Kaya’s words were harsh but Natalie knew it wasn’t the right time to argue with her.

She planned on getting rid of Kaya away as soon as possible, But how could Kaya let go of Natalie so easily? Kaya still held a deep-seated grudge against her.

How could she let go of such a great opportunity to get back at Natalie now?

“Hey, don’t leave now!  I’m right, aren’t I?”

‘It’s apparent that you don’t in fact live a good life, Natalie,” Kaya said, continuing to pester her and grabbing her wrist to stop her from leaving.

Meanwhile, several well-dressed playboys still surrounded Sebastian and mocked him ruthlessly.

One insult after another flowed freely.

Suddenly, a passing guest accidentally broke a bottle of La Romanée-Conti wine.

The guest looked around and ordered, “Waiter, have this cleaned up.”

Ritchie shoved Sebastian aggressively and said, “Are you deaf or something? He told you to clean up, waiter!”

Sebastian shot a frigid glance at Ritchie.

His sharp and threatening look made all the young men around shudder.

Another person stepped forward to diffuse the situation.

In a persuasive voice, he said, “Mr.Klein, let this go.”

After all, the blood of the Klein family ran through Sebastian’s veins.

Although he was well aware that Sebastian was an illegitimate child, how could they let him work as a lowly servant? Ritchie turned a deaf ear to the persuasive words and remarked with a wry smirk, “The work Sebastian does on a regular basis is quite similar to this in any case.I heard that his job was unloading goods in a convenience store.That’s right! Sebastian is well suited for this kind of cheap, physical labor.”

“Hahaha, Ritchie has hit the nail on the head! He calls a spade a spade!” the others echoed and burst into laughter with renewed vigor.

When Ritchie noticed that Sebastian didn’t move, he pushed him roughly on the shoulder and shouted, “Hey! Sebastian, I ordered you to clean this mess up.Are you really ignoring my instruction?”

Just then, an old man donned in a tunic came over with his walking stick in hand.

With a cough, he said, “Excuse me, boys.Please give way for me to pass.I have to go to the bathroom.”

Ritchie was overcome by rage because someone had the audacity to interrupt him.

He turned his head with a dark, forbidding expression on his face, and was astounded to see that it was none other than Curt

Benton who had the gall to interrupt him.

Curt was a distinguished guest invited by the Klein family.

He was a key person in the business circle.

After a momentary pause, Ritchie nodded respectfully, and said to the others, “Make way for Mr.Benton.And who put this couch right here to block the way? Move it this instant.”

Everyone made way for Curt.

“This way, Mr.Benton,” Ritchie said.

It was clear that he wanted to assist Curt.

Curt, however, managed to dodge his help at the right moment.

He threw a cursory glance of displeasure in Ritchie’s direction and said, “Thank you, Mr.Klein.But you are the noble young master from a strong family.How can I bother you?”

The color drained from Ritchie’s face and he looked frighteningly furious.

The business area into which the Klein family had recently decided they wanted to expand fell under the jurisdiction of Curt.

The reason they had specifically invited Curt this time was not only because they wanted to celebrate Nora’s birthday but also because they wanted to obtain cooperation with Curt.

Accordingly, they couldn’t afford to offend Curt the slightest bit.

Ritchie could clearly hear the sarcastic undertone in Curt’s comment but all he could do was bottle up his anger. He nodded and bowed reverentially. He looked at the huge pool of red wine before him and impatiently clicked his tongue at Ethan. “Ethan, do you want me to teach you a lesson before you clean up this mess?”

Ritchie’s loud tone attracted Curt’s attention.

Sebastian? Curt turned to look at the tall, well-postured man who Ritchie had addressed and was dumbstruck.

He then smiled at Sebastian and said, “You brat, what are you doing here?”

Sebastian had met Curt Benton on a hike five years ago.

At the time, Curt had a sudden stroke halfway up the mountain, and it was Sebastian who carried him down the trail and drove him to the nearest hospital.

Since then, the two had kept in touch, and soon realized that they had a lot in common.

Needless to say, they had become very good friends.

Curt was also among the few who knew Sebastian’s real identity as Brandon Larson.

He had been doing business for decades, after all, and was quite well-informed about the business of his peers, both public and private.

Sebastian reached out and shook hands with his old friend.

“I’m here for my grandmother’s birthday party.” He winked at Curt then, silently telling the latter not to say anything regarding

Brandon Larson.

Being a shrewd man, Curt instantly understood the subtle message.

He refrained from asking more questions and just said, “I haven’t seen you for a long time, you brat!”

He hobbled closer to Sebastian and glanced at the wine spilled on the floor.

“Find a servant to clean this up, or it might ruin Mr.Klein’s shoes.”

Curt’s assistant nodded and waved a staff over to relay the instructions

“Now,” Curt said, turning to Sebastian.

“Let’s go and talk about the good old days. You brat, did you ever realize we haven’t spoken in over half a year? Are you avoiding me because I’m He winked at Curt then, silently telling the latter not to say anything regarding Brandon Larson.

Being a shrewd man, Curt instantly understood the subtle message.

He refrained from asking more questions and just said, “I haven’t seen you for a long time, you brat!”He hobbled closer to Sebastian and glanced at the wine spilled on the floor.

“Find a servant to clean this up, or it might ruin Mr.Klein’s shoes.”

Curt’s assistant nodded and waved a staff over to relay the instructions.

“Now,” Curt said, tuming to Sebastian.

“Let’s go and talk about the good old days. You brat, did you ever realize we haven’t spoken in over half a year? Are you avoiding me because I’m too old to be doing what you cool young ones are into these days? Anyway, do you remember those stocks that you said had huge potential? Well, I bought a bunch and ended up making a tot of profit.”

The man who was always aloof and distant to others was now gushing like a teenager.

“What are they doing?” Nora said indignantly, “Didn’t I already tell them not to pick on Sebastian? Why didn’t they listen to me?”

Elissa immediately made her way up to Nora and blocked her line of sight.

“I’m sure they are only catching up. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Would you like to see some of your gifts? There’s a painting and I’m sure you’d love it.It took Patrick a great deal of effort to find it.”

As she said this, she exchanged glances with Ritchie, grabbed hold of Nora’s wheelchair, and was about to take her up the stairs.

Seeing that Sebastian was flanked on all sides by a group of men in suits and leather shoes and that the men were doing everything in their power to humiliate him, Natalie was pissed off.

She pursed her lips tightly, wanting to stand up for Sebastian Just as she was about to walk to Sebastian’s side, her wrist was grabbed tightly by someone.

“Natalie! What are you doing here?” Natalie turned around and discovered that it was Kaya.

Kaya was wearing a Chanel dress, with her short hair braided and a pearl hairband on her head.She seemed to have some work done recently.

Natalie observed that her eyelids, which used to be single-folded and unique, were now double-foilded.She decked out from head to toe in luxury brands, like any wealthy lady.

If it weren’t for the way she addressed her, which sounded gentle but tinged with sarcasm, Natalie would have trouble realizing it was her.

“What’s wrong?”

Glancing over in Sebastian’s direction, Natalie didn’t have time to make small talk with her.

Now it dawned on Natalie that after Kaya ruined her works by “accidentally” pouring coffee on her computer, she was completely disgusted by Tiffany and repulsed by all their colleagues.

After that, she didn’t think she could continue being employed under the Larson Group, which was why she resigned.

Natalie had no idea why Kaya was here.

Kaya let go of her hand and crossed her arms in a proud manner.

“I’m a part of the Klein family now so why shouldn’t I be here?”

Natalie asked impatiently, “Are you the help here?”

“What? No! Who the hell are you calling the help? I happened to marry into the Klein family not too long ago, to Mrs.Nora

Klein’s niece’s son.His name is…”

Natalie kept on watching Sebastian and didn’t pay attention to Kaya’s words.

She could recall that Kaya came from an ordinary family.

How in the world did she manage to marry into the Klein family? Kaya discovered that Natalie was not listening to what she was saying at all.

She looked in the directian of her gaze, sneered, and lifted her chin in an arrogant manner.

“Is that your husband?” Natalie nodded.

She, in fact, wanted to go find Sebastian, but Kaya had gotten in her way.

Finally, she stared Kaya down and said in a cold voice, “What on earth do you want?”

Kaya was now very smug.

She kept right on talking, “Why did you decide to marry that bastard? I heard that he’s actually poor and that he can’t even get a decent job.Life must be very hard for you.No wonder you have to work so hard.If you don’t, you might even starve. That’s why I think every woman should marry a rich man.See? Work is a thing of the past for me.”

Soon, the guests began whispering among themselves, though they didn’t really bother to keep their voices hushed.

“Isn’t he the illegitimate son?”

“Oh, the son of that dead woman from the Larson family?”

When Natalie heard these words, she sneaked a sideways glance at Sebastian.

To her relief, he didn’t appear to care about the chatter.

If anything, he ignored everyone else and ushered her in another direction.

Taking his cue from him, Natalie mustered her courage and did her best to hold her head high.

Sebastian led her to an inner room, where a radiant old woman was sitting on a wheelchair.

“Grandma,” Sebastian greeted with a polite smile.

“Hmmm, it’s good to see that you are here.” Nora nodded briefly at him before turning her attention to Natalie.

Sebastian put an arm around Natalie’s shoulders and pulled her forward.

“This is my wife, Natalie.” Natalie acknowledged the old woman by calling her Grandma, then offered her well wishes.

“You look so beautiful,” Nora crooned, seemingly in high spirits.

She nodded wistfully and sighed.

“You got married in the blink of an eye, huh? That’s good.I’m relieved.” Elissa watched the interaction from a distance.

Not wanting Sebastian to steal any limelight that wasn’t meant for him, she signaled at Ritchie.

“Grandma,” Ritchie called as he ambled toward them.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Sebastian.Can you give us some time to talk in private?”

He slung an arm over Sebastian’s shoulder and grinned at him, as though they were close brothers who had been apart for quite some time.

Nora shot Sebastian a tentative look and said nothing.

“I’ll come and talk to you again later, Grandma,” Sebastian said in a cold, clipped voice.

He followed Ritchie to the side, his face darkening with every step he took.

Sebastian was invited, too, and he decided to take Natalie with him.

They drove to the outskirts of the city and through winding roads that led to a manor sitting at the foot of a mountain.

Already, a long line of luxury cars snaked from the entrance of the venue and past the driveway.

It was a shocking sight for Natalie.

For a brief moment, she expected to step out of the car and onto a red carpet leading inside the manor.

It finally dawned on her just why everyone looked up to the Klein family.

Based on what she had seen so far, they might very well be a prestigious clan from legends of old.

“Watch your steps now,” Sebastian said, offering his hand to Natalie as he helped her out of the car.

He was dressed in a sleek, all-black suit that complimented his elegant bearing perfectly.

Natalie held on to Sebastian’s arm as they glided into the manor.

A huge chandelier hung over the main hall, its countless crystals glimmering in the bright light.

All around, people garbed in exquisite evening attire loitered and engaged in light conversations.

As they waded their way through the hall, Natalie realized that dozens of sharp eyes were fixed on her.

No, to be exact, they were fixed on Sebastian, following his every move.

Elissa and Ritchie were standing in a far corner of the room, their disdainful gazes also locked on Sebastian.

Soon, the guests began whispering among themselves, though they didn’t really bother to keep their voices hushed.

“Isn’t he the illegitimate son?”

“Oh, the son of that dead woman from the Larson family?”

When Natalie heard these words, she sneaked a sideways glance at Sebastian.

To her relief, he didn’t appear to care about the chatter.

If anything, he ignored everyone else and ushered her in another direction.

Taking his cue from him, Natalie mustered her courage and did her best to hold her head high.

Sebastian led her to an inner room, where a radiant old woman was sitting on a wheelchair.

“Grandma,”

Sebastian greeted with a polite smile.

“Hmmm, it’s good to see that you are here.”

Nora nodded briefly at him before turning her attention to Natalie.

Sebastian put an arm around Natalie’s shoulders and pulled her forward.

“This is my wife, Natalie.”

Natalie acknowledged the old woman by calling her Grandma, then offered her well wishes.

“You look so beautiful,” Nora crooned, seemingly in high spirits.

She nodded wistfully and sighed.

“You got married in the blink of an eye, huh? That’s good.I’m relieved.”

Elissa watched the interaction from a distance.

Not wanting Sebastian to steal any limelight that wasn’t meant for him, she signaled at Ritchie.

“Grandma,” Ritchie called as he ambled toward them.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Sebastian.Can you give us some time to talk in private?”

He slung an arm over Sebastian’s shoulder and grinned at him, as though they were close brothers who had been apart for quite some time.

Nora shot Sebastian a tentative look and said nothing.

“I’ll come and talk to you again later, Grandma,” Sebastian said in a cold, clipped voice.

He followed Ritchie to the side, his face darkening with every step he took.

The Klein had an extensive family tree, and most of the younger generation were present in the event.

The moment they saw Ritchie pull Sebastian aside, they flocked to them, bombarding Sebastian with inane greetings that ranged from tepid pleasantries to sarcastic comments.

“Sebastian, long time no see!”

“Say, what do you do now?”

“How is your life, huh? Do you have a job? Or perhaps, would you like me to recommend you for a job opening somewhere?”

Someone even reached out and tugged at Sebastian’s suit.

“Where the hell did you get this? Wow, the fabric feels as cheap as it looks. Didn’t you know that these synthetic fibers are bound to harm your skin?”

The thing was, although Sebastian looked decent enough for high society, he still stuck out like a sore thumb among the other guests who had lived their lives in endless luxury.

Natalie whined, her teeth chattering.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

She shouted, “The eggs! I forgot all about them!”

She broke free from Sebastian’s embrace and ran to the kitchen in a hurry.

Sebastian followed behind her.

He stared at Natalie, who was extremely flustered, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“You silly girl! I told you to keep an eye on the eggs!”

Shaking his head, he gently pulled her to the side while he cleaned up the mess himself in the kitchen.

Twiddling her thumbs, Natalie stood in the corner, restlessly watching Sebastian clean up after her.

“I’m sorry.I thought you were talking to Charis, so I rushed to you and forgot I was cooking.”

Sebastian had guessed this.

After drying his freshly washed hands, he raised his eyes to look at Natalie seriously.

“It’s my fault.I didn’t give you enough sense of security.”

After saying that, he spread out his arms and said gently, “Come here.”

Natalie obeyed and leaned her face against his chest, blushing slightly.

Then, thinking about the invitation from Patrick, she murmured, “The Kleins treat you badly, especially Ritchie.He hates you and

I just got him into trouble.He probably has a huge grudge against us. Won’t something bad happen if we just go there?”

Sebastian smiled at her dotingly and raised his hand to rub the tip of Natalie’s nose.

“You’re a smart girl.”

After he mulled it over for a while, his expression became unreadable.

“I’m sure my grandmother’s birthday isn’t the sole reason why Patrick’s summoning me.He must have something else up his sleeve.”

After all, the Klein family must’ve heard about the so-called plagiarism issue.

They probably would’ve been really happy if Natalie’s reputation was ruined in the process, but in the end, it was Ritchie who married his own name by his own doing.

Natalie could feel that Sebastian was a little unhappy.

So she softened her voice and said with a small smile, “Then we’d better not go, right?”

She was thinking that if avoiding all this potential conflict was an option, she’d take it.A simple and happy life with Sebastian was all she wanted.

Hearing this, Sebastian chuckled.He gently tucked Natalie’s hair behind her ear, revealing her beautiful, fair face.

After looking into her clear eyes for a long time, he finally said, “I don’t want to go either.But because Ritchie has stirred up trouble for us, I can’t ignore the Klein family any longer and neither can they.”

He could hide for a while, and he couldn’t hide forever.

Even if he refused to go this time, the Klein family would look for other opportunities to make life difficult for him.

Besides, Sebastian wasn’t the kind of man who would let someone push him around.

Disappointed and depressed, Natalie lowered her long eyelashes and mulled over things for a while.

“Well, I guess you’re right. We can’t keep avoiding the Klein family forever.Now that they’ve come to us, we have to face them.”

Natalie looked down as she spoke, which worried Sebastian.

“Is there something else on your mind? Are you upset?”

Natalie shook her head, absent-minded.

“No, no.”

Sebastian’s expression immediately darkened.

Without warning, he scooped Natalie up and made her sit on the kitchen counter.

Before the woman could respond, he grabbed her chin and stuck his tongue into her mouth, his fingers moving restlessly towards her crotch.

“Hmm… Sebastian!”

Natalie tried to push Sebastian away, but it was useless.

She could only let him do whatever he wanted with her.

It wasn’t until he felt that her body was trembling did he finally pull away.

In a hoarse voice, he said, “Tell me the truth.”

Natalie’s fingers reached for his shirt.Her face was scarlet as a tomato.

Pouting, she finally relented.

“Fine.I feel a little upset.”

With his hands on her waist, Sebastian lowered his head and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

With remorse, he murmured, “It’s my fault. This conflict was supposed to stay between me and the Klein family, but you got caught in the crossfire simply because you married me.”

He paused for a few seconds and then continued seriously, “But Natalie, now that you’re with me, I won’t let you suffer.I’ll avenge you.”

Blushing, Natalie shook her head and didn’t seem to notice that there was a hint of viciousness in the man’s voice.

She reached out her arms and wrapped them around his neck.

“We’re a couple.Of course we’re going to have to face problems together.”

Sebastian didn’t say anything.

After a long time of silence, he quietly nodded and lowered his head to plant a kiss on Natalie’s neck.

His kiss was very light yet possessive.

His lips gradually made it’s way to the woman’s lips and the two kissed each other passionately again.

It was not until Natalie noticed that Sebastian was on the verge of losing control that she pulled away shyly.

“Calm down. I’m on my period.”

What with Natalie’s fiasco, the media was having a field day.

In the span of just twenty-four hours, the reputation of Klein Silk Fabric was destroyed and its stock price plummeted.

“There’s nothing we can do to refute the evidence that Natalie posted online. What we can do now is to try our best to keep the news from spreading.Mr.Klein, it was your idea to bring in more reporters there…”

the secretary reminded Ritchie in a trembling voice, picking up the documents Ritchie had thrown on the ground.

Ritchie glared at him, speechless.

He picked up another stack of papers from the table and threw them at the secretary’s face.

“I’m not an idiot. You don’t need to remind me what I said.”

Things didn’t end there.

Brandon sent people from the Larson Group’s legal department to help Natalie file a lawsuit against Klein Silk Fabric.

The second they got the notice of the lawsuit, Klein Silk Fabric responded quickly and held a press conference in the afternoon.

Luna expressionlessly read a script in front of countless reporters, her face pale as a ghost under the limelight.

“I admit that I peeked at Natalie Quinn’s work before the show started.Then I bribed an employee to tamper with the upload date on the database.I falsely accused her of plagiarizing my work, and I did all this to gain fame and attention.1 am responsible for all of this. My actions have nothing to do with Klein Silk Fabric.”

In the Larson Group, Natalie stopped the video on her phone and sighed.

“No class! Klein Silk Fabric made an ordinary employee take the fall!”

Gerda clicked her tongue unhappily.

“Everyone knows they’re using Luna as a scapegoat.She’s just an ordinary employee.How on earth could she manage to do all of this? Klein Silk Fabric is really heartless.”

The other designers had also seen the video circulating the Internet.

They began to discuss in hushed voices, but the general consensus was that Klein Silk Fabric was a cold blooded company.

Natalie pulled her chair and sat down.

There was no point in dwelling on it now that things had been settled.

“I can’t say I’m surprised. Now that Luna has taken the blame, we can’t do anything to Klein Silk Fabric.”

“And what about those designs? Are they really not gonna put them back on the show?”

Gerda puffed out her chest indignantly Natalie smiled at her colleague gently.

“It doesn’t matter.Look on the bright side.I have gained considerable fame because of everything that’s happened.Now, all eyes are on my work.”

In the end, Luna was put behind bars.

And Natalie had become an online celebrity.

Many people now knew her name and saw her designs.

Some even paid for it.

When the dust settled, Natalie poured all her energy into her work.

She had been so busy with this matter the past few days, so now she could finally focus on other things.

“By the way, Quinn, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.How’d you get the evidence?”

Gerda was talking about the videos that Natalie had posted on the Internet, which had amassed more than a million views.

Natalie froze.

After a few seconds, she broke into a smile and waved her hand dismissively.

“A very capable friend helped me get them.”

Gerda nudged her arm and asked curiously, “What friend? A boyfriend perhaps?”

Natalie’s eyes twinkled.

“It’s a secret.Gerda, is it just me or do you have a lot of time on your hands? Have you finished your design for this month? Don’t come running to me again when the deadline approaches.”

“Ah! My God! I still have thirty-four drawings to finish!”

Gerda scratched her head and hurried back to her desk.

Natalie couldn’t help but chuckle.

Suddenly, she thought of the tall and straight back of Brandon.

Now that she thought about it, she realized that Klein Silk Fabric had gone through all this trouble just to set her up.

It must have cost Brandon a lot to get his hands on the evidence.

Natalie couldn’t help but feel a little strange.

Brandon had helped her countless times, but she hadn’t really ever met him in person.She owed Brandon too much and she doubted she could ever repay him.

After thinking about it for a long time, Natalie finally plucked up the courage to send a message to Brandon.

“Mr.Larson, would you be willing to let me treat you to dinner? You’ve helped me a lot and I’d like to express my gratitude somehow.”

After hitting send, Natalie put down her phone and wrung her hands nervously.

The chairman of the Larson Group had probably tasted all the splendid dishes this world had to offer.

But it was a token of her appreciation.

At the CEO’s office of the Larson Group.

The Larson Group’s stock price had fluctuated over the past few days.

Now that the situation was favorable for the Larson Group and its stock price had more than recovered, Sebastian decided to seize the opportunity to put more pressure on the Klein Silk Fabric.

Garrett hadn’t slept properly in the past three days, dealing with the bad press: He was yawning sleepily when Sebastian’s phone pinged.

“Someone texted you.”

When he saw the name on Sebastian’s phone’s screen, Garrett snickered.

“It seems your wife’s missing you.”

Sebastian smacked Garrett on the back of the head and grabbed the phone.

Instantly, his expression darkened when he read the text.

“What is it? Why’s your face like that?”

Garrett asked seriously, the smile wiped from his face.

“Natalie’s asking Brandon out for dinner.” Sebastian put his phone down and sighed.

“If I refuse, she’ll be very disappointed.”

Garrett leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head.

“Yeah. You can’t have dinner with Natalie without her seeing your face.Last time, when you and Natalie went to the company’s masquerade ball, you almost exposed yourself.lt’d be unwise to take such a risk again.It’s not good for my heart either,” he sighed.

Sebastian frowned and started typing out a brisk reply.

“Thank you, but there’s no need for you to treat me to dinner. You’re an employee of the Larson Group.I helped you to protect the reputation of the company.”

Natalie read his message and quickly replied, “But Mr.Larson, you could’ve just dismissed me.”

“If I dismiss any employee when something like this comes up, how will we keep the talented ones? Keep up the good work.That’s thanks enough, Miss Quinn,”

Sebastian replied politely, keeping things professional.

He had deliberately distanced Brandon from her ever since what happened last time.He didn’t want her to suspect him of anything Reading his reply, Natalie had no choice but to give up.

Sebastian put down his phone, kicked the sofa Garrett was lying down on, and said, “I want you to relocate the one who had tried to force Natalie to resign. Transfer her to a subsidiary company.Then, bring Charis here.”

Garrett was just about to take a nap.

Hearing Sebastian’s orders, he helplessly peeled his eyes open and stood up from the sofa.

He muttered under his breath, “This job will definitely be the death of me.”

Charis had expected that Sebastian would want to have a talk with her, but when she received the notice, her heart still skipped a beat.

“Why did you want to dismiss Natalie?” Sebastian asked in a low voice.

He shoved his hands into the pocket of his slacks, and the light from the window elongated his shadow on the floor.

“I just wanted to protect the company name,” Charis answered defensively.

At this point, Natalie had already plugged the drive to a computer, and one of the videos was playing on the widescreen Ritchie’s eyes widened like saucers as they watched an employee of Klein Silk Fabric tampering with the time stamp on the website.

The scene changed, and this time, the same man was sobbing hysterically as he divulged what he had done.

The clips ended, and a deafening silence fell in the room.

Natalie took the microphone and said, “As you can see, this is what really happened.Klein Silk Fabric managed to get hold of my designs prior to the show.After that, one of their designers, Luna Mccoy, posted my entire portfolio online and edited the details to make it look like she was the original designer. There is your truth.Once again, I thank each of you for coming to hear me out today.If you have further questions, kindly direct them to Mr.Klein.I’m sure he can give you better answers than I can.”

She gave Ritchie a meaningful look, then, and gestured in his direction with a wave of her hand.

As soon as she did, the crowd burst into an uproar.

Shocked, Ritchie cursed out loud, “Fuck that bitch!”

His secretary was also scared silly.

Glaring daggers at him, Ritchie was pissed off and kicked him in the ass.

Painting his finger at the big screen, he cursed again, “What the fuck are you doing standing here for? Turn off the projector right now!”

The secretary stumbled to the stage and proceeded to turn it off.

Ritchie snorted, smoothed over his suit and made his way onto the stage.

This happened to be his territory, not Natalie’s.He lifted his chin and approached her, holding his head up high.

“Natalie Quinn, you better be careful with what you say.As far as I can see, you were just making things up so that you can get yourself out of your predicament!”

As he said this, he turned his eyes from her and exclaimed, “Give yourself up.Apologize right this moment! Don’t waste any more of our time here!”

“Then why did you turn off the projector if I was, indeed, making things up? That’s a sign of guilt.If you’re so sure of yourself, you should allow me to show everyone the proof.I’m sure that everyone here is smart enough to tell if I actually made up the evidence or not,” Natalie smiled and said in a calm voice.

Ritchie was exasperated to hear that.He clenched his teeth tightly and pointed his finger at the door.

“I thought you came here to apologize. If you’re not going to do that, why don’t you leave this place immediately?!”

While smiling, Natalie didn’t say a word.

Instead, she turned to the audience before her and said word by word, “Everyone should know the truth by now.I’m going to sue

Klein Silk Fabric for slandering my name.”

After finishing her speech, she didn’t bother to argue with Ritchie anymore and went ahead to leave the stage.

This scene was live streamed and everyone saw for themselves what had happened.

Everyone in the room and the audience in the live stream room was shocked to say the least.

The audience began to discuss this amongst themselves.

Even though Natalie had only played the videos once, the reporters had gone out of their way to record them.

“Mr.Klein, could you please offer an explanation for what happened just now?”

“Klein Silk Fabric and the Larson Group have been rivals for years now.Was this why you decided to slander Miss Quinn in this way? In order to taint the Larson Group’s name?”

“If your statement about Natalie plagiarizing one of your designers’ pieces was true, is there any evidence to back up your statement?”

The reporters all turned to look at Ritchie and kept on asking him and Luna questions.

“Miss Mccoy, are you going to make a statement? After all, weren’t you the one who accused Miss Quinn of plagiarism in the first place? What are your thoughts on the current situation?”

“Did Mr.Klein instruct you to do this?”

“Tell us, what’s the nature of the relationship between the two of you?”

Being ambushed by the reporters, Luna’s mind went blank and she felt very embarrassed.She said frantically, “I have no idea.Don’t ask me…”

Under the dazzling flashing lights of the cameras, Ritchie couldn’t even keep his eyes open.

He kept cursing out loud while pushing the reporters in front of him away and saying, “Get the hell out of my way! Turn off your damn lights! You’re blinding me!”

His secretary hurried to stop his curses.

If Ritchie’s father found out about this, he would be very angry.

Having been spoiled by the Klein family since he was a child, Ritchie happened to be very irritable at this moment.

Before he took over the company, his parents had to repeatedly remind him to control that temper of his. His secretary cleared the way for him while speaking to the reporters.

“Please, sirs, madams, Mr.Klein can’t answer all of your questions right now.We’ll announce on our official website if we have any comments.”

Finally, Ritchie and the senior executives of Klein Silk Fabric were able to escape the madness of the room.

When she got home, Natalie kicked off her heels and collapsed into bed.

Now, she felt much better.

“It’s finally over!”

After resting for a while, she got up and turned on the computer.

She briskly posted the evidence on the forums Luna had posted to slander her before.

A few hours later, the forums came to life as users discussed this matter heatedly.

The dramatic turning-of-tables that had happened at the press briefing soon made headlines.

Related videos went viral on the Internet.

Suddenly, Natalie’s phone started to ring. It was Tiffany.

“Quinn, I’m impressed.Have you seen the comments on the post? Everyone’s calling you a warrior. You really knocked them dead!”

“Oh, my God! Seriously?”

Natalie moved her cursor to check the comments Tiffany was talking about.

She had been focused on the media’s reports until now and didn’t know what people were saying in the comments.

When Natalie read the comments, she found that the video of her talking on the stage had been spread all over the Internet.

There was a lot of positive feedback.

“Wow.Heart.Heart.She’s so elegant and generous! And a fierce warrior too!”

“She’s a lovely girl.Such a polite and beautiful goddess plagiarized someone else’s work? I doubt it!”

“She’s so pretty, I’d kiss her all day!”

“Even though I’m a girl, I want her!”

Natalie buried her face in her hands, her cheeks blushing furiously.She had never been praised by so many strangers in her life.

The next day, in the Klein Silk Fabric building…

“Nonsense! These reports are all bullshit! How dare they call me rude?”

Furious, Ritchie started trashing his office.He was in trouble, but there was nothing he could do.

In recent years, Klein Silk Fabric and the Larson Group had become two very high profile companies.