Chapter 532
“Why would you ban their accounts?” Natalie complained. “Some of them are my fans, you know. They defended me and showed their support.”
She never imagined having a fan base, at least not this early. She was still just a rookie designer, after all.
Despite that, a good number of netizens were speaking up for her amidst all the slander and hate speech. The only catch was that their wording seemed a little… strange.
“I am a good friend of Natalie’s. I assure you that she will never cheat on her husband. Why would she, when they love each other very much? Her husband spoils her at every turn. Not only that, he is also good-looking and an excellent cook.”
“That’s right! Natalie’s private life is spotless. She goes home on time every day after work. She’s a workaholic who’s obsessed in design. There’s no way she would look at other men apart from her husband.”
“Stop besmirching her name, or you will be receiving a lawyer’s letter from me soon!”
The more that Natalie read the comments again, the more bizarre she found the whole situation. She fell into a pensive silence as her mind raced.
No way… Brandon couldn’t have anything to do with this, right?
Natalie continued to browse the comment section until she reached the bottom, where she found the most inconspicuous comment yet.
“She is the best wife in the world. I forbid you to spout such nonsense.”
Brandon was still barking orders at Sean, so he failed to notice the shift in Natalie’s mood. When he was done, he said, “Stay away from Draco. I don’t like it when people gossip about the two of you.”
Natalie sniffed and pounced on him, hugging him tightly. “I will.”
Brandon was taken aback by her prompt compliance. “Good girl,” he crooned and stroke her hair before kissing her cheek.
“Come on, I’ll drive you to the studio.”
Moments later, their car stopped in front of W Marks.
Natalie thought about the paparazzi that had hounded her at the studio’s entrance last time. She still harbored some fear due to that incident. She couldn’t bring herself to get out of the car as she looked around nervously.
“Are you afraid of the paparazzi?” Brandon asked, and laughed when he saw her frown.
Natalie glanced at the reporters hiding behind the pillar just outside the studio. She cl**ked her t***ue and sighed. “They’re here to snap some photos secretly, but they don’t even know how to hide themselves properly. I can see all of them from here.”
She didn’t want to get out of the car, but Brandon had to go to work, too. He couldn’t just stay and wait for her to muster the courage to expose herself to these intrusive reporters.
“Don’t worry.” Brandon gently reassured Natalie, and then got out of the car to open the door for her.
As soon as she stepped out, Natalie was surrounded by an onslaught of blinding flashes and the sound of shutters, the paparazzi swarming towards her like bees. Frightened, she fled back to the safety of her car.
The reporters who had gathered outside the vehicle turned their attention to Brandon. “Mr. Larson, how are we going to take photos if Mrs. Larson doesn’t show herself?”
At these words, Natalie looked at Brandon in disbelief. “You called the paps here?”
Brandon said nothing to deny it. Instead, he led Natalie out of the car and explained, “Someone has to do some damage control. We have to make this believable if you want to convince people that you’re not having an affair with Draco.”
Natalie quickly understood. The next moment, she was sl*pping an arm around Brandon’s shoulder, pulling him closer. It was a picturesque portrayal of intimate lovers — a tall, handsome man and a beautiful woman locked in a tight embrace. The two pulled off a convincing performance.
Natalie planted a soft k**s on Brandon’s cheek and leaned on his shoulder, whispering, “I’m going to work, Honey.” Brandon responded by turning his body to capture her lips.
Heat flooded Natalie’s face as Brandon kept on kissing her, paying no mind to the pairs of eyes locked on them. She had never k**sed her husband so passionately in public like this before. It took a moment to gather her wits, the sensual movement of his lips making her knees weak. Pushing him away, she complained, “They’re taking pictures.”
Brandon looked down at her burning face with a wicked smirk. He let her go, raising a fi**ger to gently fl**k at the tip of her nose. “Exactly. I gave them good material. Now go in, you little scaredy cat.”
Holding her flaming cheeks in her hands, Natalie walked into the studio.
A familiar face greeted her once she was inside. Elizabeth had come back. It had been nearly a month since they last saw each other, and Elizabeth was looking much better than before.
“This is rare. You’re late for once,” Elizabeth said softly.
Natalie was unable to hide her excitement at seeing her. She walked over to Elizabeth quickly, beaming as she took her hands. “You seem well. I’m glad. How’s your aunt?”
Elizabeth returned her smile with one of her own. “She was discharged from the hospital a few weeks ago. I can’t thank Brandon enough for helping us find the best doctor. My aunt wanted to thank you too. She’s very grateful. She said that you have to taste the desserts she makes next time.”
Natalie nodded, her smile never leaving her lips. By now, some of the excitement from the warm reunion had dissipated, and Elizabeth had become aware of the eyes watching them. Natalie then turned to the staff and explained in a loud voice, “From today on, Elizabeth will be back to work. As for the rumors about me and Mr. Wesley, Dalores might have been the one behind them. However, even if I want to take legal action, Dalores had been in a car accident that killed her yesterday. There is no other way but to let it go.”
The disaster from the day before had been a serious incident. The national highway was blocked off, and the media flocked to the site to report on the situation.
Everyone in the studio had seen the news, but none of them knew that the victim was Dalores.
A heavy silence fell upon the room. Dalores had worked in the design studio for a long time, and the sudden news of her death came as a shock to all of the staff members.
Elizabeth’s voice then pierced through the gloom that had enveloped the space. “I know that this is a lot to take in. no-vel-oչ.-c-om You have worked with Dalores for a long time, so it’s understandable that you would feel shocked. However, we cannot afford to let this loss drag us down. A lot of things have happened to W Marks, and with Mr. Wesley’s absence, we have a lot on our shoulders. It’s not going to be easy, but this is also precisely why we can’t lose focus at such a crucial time. We can’t let the name of our brand fall behind. Our other competitors would make a mockery out of us.”
Elizabeth rarely exp**ssed herself in so many words.
Hearing this, Tasha couldn’t help but chime in, “I… I also think W Marks needs everyone! We should stick together and all do our best!”
