From Divorce To Dominance (Natalie Xavier)

Chapter 17

It was a message from Howard: [Hey, Darren! Am I seeing this right? Why are you in my Nat's backup boyfriend group?]

Darren: [You're in it too?]

Howard: [Of course! Who wouldn't love Nat? I'm number 3011 Pretty cool, right?]

Darren: [What's so great about that?]

Howard: [Wait a minute, bro! You're about to marry Vivian, and how you're switching sides? Don't try to steal Nat away from me!]

Darren rubbed his temples in frustration. He thought hopelessly, 'What is with all this drama?"

Darren: [Natalie isn't my type. I'm not interested in her. I just wanted to meet her once, and then she pulled me into this group.] Howard: [If you're not interested, why even meet her?]

Darren: [It's not me. Grandpa wants her to come to dinner at our place.]

Howard: [No way. I AM SO Shocked.]

Darren: [Are you filled with nonsense? Get lost!]

Darren tugged irritably at his tie. Ever since Natalie returned, it felt like nothing was going right. Business at the company was dull, like some hidden force was working against him. His plan to marry Vivian was also falling apart. Without Henry's approval, Darren felt completely stuck. And now he couldn't even handle Natalie.

He wanted to ask her out, but ended up in this annoying group instead. Plus, he just found out his buddy is trying to go after his ex-wife. Even though he didn't have feelings for Natalie anymore-she was just his ex-it still made him uneasy to think about his friend and her together.

Anyway, everyone knew Howard was a player. He switched girls almost every month, the longest relationship barely lasting a few weeks. Considering this, Darren decided not to mention that Natalie was married and had a kid. Instead, he tried once more to reach out to her. But no luck.

number was still blocked, and even though he could message her on WhatsApp, she must have found it annoying because after

from me forever. Tomorrow you're on that

*****

auditions. After everything that had happened recently, Natalie's popularity shot up-she was practically as famous as top celebrities. Just her

things even better, word was that Keaton was going to publicly apologize to Natalie today. It was practically guaranteed to go

sun climbed higher in the sky, and sweat dripped down everyone's faces. Yet, nobody dared to leave or complain. Everyone was on edge,

erupted in cheers, chanting Natalie's name,

and the excitement was electric. But first, a line of bodyguards stepped out,

from the car, carefully lifting a beautifully carved chair and placing it on the ground. A fair, long leg stepped out, followed by a stunning face that seemed to shine like the sun. The moment

on board,

words, she nodded in reply. She reached out her hand, and Arthur quickly stepped in to help her, guiding her to the chair. The simple gestures showed off her

said lightly, a playful smile appearing

of countless cameras, Keaton forced a smile. "Ms. Xavier, I apologize for my disrespectful

casual but firm, making it clear there was no way out of

expression turned sour. Apologizing publicly was a big deal; now she wanted him to bow! Who did she think she was? Just because she

him frozen in place, Natalie shrugged

someone to mess with. If she walked out like this, he could already picture the headlines mocking him on Twitter. "Ms. Xavier!" he called after her, and then turned to Keaton with a serious warning. "If you mess

Gritting his teeth, he bowed deeply. "Ms. Xavier, I'm truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Natalie paused and gave him a quick look; she let out a

we've got the bow

raised an eyebrow.

let's

backstage, with even more viewers tuning in than the first episode. [What's the deal with Natalie? That's Oscar, and he's treating her with so

should be