Chapter 1064 Depths Of Hell
Helma’s heart was thumping as she looked at the man she had fallen for since she was a little girl approaching her.
As long as she could finish the first dance with Bastien, everything would progress as her father had told her. After that night, she would become Bastien’s chosen fiancée.
If Bastien became the king in the future, Helma would follow in Frieda and Cynthia’s footsteps, attaining an exalted status and bathing in glory and honor for the rest of her life.
Meanwhile, standing next to Helma, Natalie was shocked to her core as a look of utter disbelief spread across her face.
She had assumed that the man addressed by others as Mr. Nine was either affluent or influential, but little did she know his identity was more remarkable than she had ever imagined.
I can’t believe this man is Loang’s Prince Jonathan, as well as one of the strongest contenders to become the future king of Loang. How is this possible?
Bastien strode toward Natalie and Helma.
Helma stretched out her hand in anticipation at him.
To her surprise, the man she liked did not come to a halt in front of her.
Instead, he stopped beside her and reached out to Natalie.
Helma’s gorgeous smile froze on her face. She was overwhelmed by astonishment and incredulity.
“You—” Natalie widened her eyes at Bastien.
“I’m sorry for informing you of my identity in this manner.” Bastien wore a gentle countenance and regarded Natalie with a passionate gaze. “Today is my birthday. May I have the pleasure of asking you to join me for a dance?”
At that instant, everyone shifted their attention to Natalie.
Although there was never an official announcement about Bastien and Helma’s marriage, that arrangement had become an implicit understanding in their circle due to the frequent interactions between the two families in recent years.
Geert’s facial expression stiffened as he exclaimed, “Why is this happening? Shouldn’t Prince Jonathan ask Helma to dance?”
“Natalie, s-she—” Heidi furrowed her brows.
Frieda was baffled by the turns of events as well, but due to the presence of the others in the banquet hall, she could only grasp the armrest of her seat in anxiety.
Before the start of the banquet, she had reminded Bastien of the significance of the first dance and told him to invite Helma to dance with him no matter what. To her bewilderment, he was now asking a girl she had never seen to join him for the dance. What Bastien is doing is simply outrageous!
Cynthia and Shirley exchanged mocking glances and smirked at one another. They were eager to observe how things would turn south from that point onward.
Mikhail sat at the head of the table. When he saw Natalie, he was instantaneously caught in a flashback, as if he was seeing someone in his memories from twenty years ago.
They look so alike. She looks so similar to her, the woman I can never forget in this life!
Bastien’s abrupt action aroused different thoughts and speculations in everyone inside the banquet hall. They were all waiting to see how Natalie would respond.
Bastien had been holding out his hand for over ten seconds, but Natalie merely stared at his extended arm in a daze.
“Can you really bring yourself to reject me in public?”
Natalie looked up and shot him a piercing look. “You lied to me. I won’t feel bad for rejecting you.”
“You—”
“However, I shall agree to your invitation to save you the embarrassment since I owe you a favor.” Natalie lowered her voice and spoke at a volume discernible only by both of them. “Anyway, I’m just joining you for a dance. I’m leaving right away after we finish this dance.”
With that, she bowed at him following Loang’s tradition before placing her hand in his palm.
Bastien was slightly taken aback. Still, he thought he had achieved his goal regardless of the process.
A beam of white light shone upon Natalie and Bastien as they stepped onto the middle of the dance floor. Then, they began dancing to the elegant waltz music.
Bastien had been receiving lessons on royal etiquette from a young age. Naturally, he could dance very well.
On the other hand, Natalie’s movements were not as practiced as his, but her motions were graceful. She wore light makeup and did not put up any coquettish or flirty demeanor. In contrast, she even gave off an indifferent vibe, dressed in her evening gown.
Almost everybody’s eyes were trained on Bastien and Natalie.
Helma’s mood had taken a roller-coaster ride from initial joy to utter shock, then to complete disappointment as she stared at the two. The transitions between the various states of mind occurred in less than three minutes, but that short period was sufficient to let her feel as if she had fallen from the peak of heaven to the depths of hell.
