The Promise of Happiness novel Atalie and Samuel

Chapter 879

Natalie's eyes narrowed sharply to a slit the instant his voice trailed off, and it took a while for her to compose herself.

“You have to be kidding me, surely. Am I right, Mr. York?”

“Did I give the game away?” Knowing that that might have exceeded her boundaries, Samuel accepted the opportunity she provided to backpedal.

“Whatever that was, I'm sorry to say that I wasn't amused.” Natalie's slender brows bunched up in seriousness. “I am quite sincere about repaying you, but may I ask that you not try to have a laugh at my expense? The affair of the heart is an extravagance that I can neither afford to deal with nor clamor after, ever again.”

Once bitten, twice shy.

That episode with Samuel had stung her so badly that just the very thought of it had her hurting.

Though Natalie's visage was pretty much bereft of emotion, Samuel was nonetheless able to sense through his silver mask that she was merely putting on a brave front.

He wanted so badly to reach out and caress her lovely face, which made it a massive struggle for him to refrain from doing so.

“If you've nothing else for me, Mr. York, I shall like to take my leave.”

toward Samuel,

that clung to his sides wound themselves so tightly that

the time Natalie returned to her own place, it was already five in

she did when she got back in was to head upstairs to check on her five children. She could not help but be amused by the haphazard postures they had adopted on their own beds amidst

frustrations she had endured prior dissipated as soon

everything, there was the certainty

windows by the time she was done attending to the children, and since she was no longer fatigued, she decided to go downstairs to fix them some

dough to set, her own face

capable as Natalie was of many things, the talent for cooking

lack thereof then snuck up on her. Akin to a fine needle of steel, it stabbed right into

as she had her mind made up about not thinking about him, those intrusive inclinations of hers kept barging in against her will. It was

unable to accomplish anything without Samuel? She refused to allow herself to become convinced of

a pair of scissors, Natalie unsealed a pack of yeast with the intent of

When she saw Natalie in action,

Natalie, whose face had