Her or me?
Daniel's steps came to a momentary halt. He didn't know why, but hearing those words made his heart beat rapidly as though he were at the precipice of losing something valuable.
"It's either you choose her staying or me leaving, right here, right now." She continued, looking at the man she loved. Hoping she could see a fragment of the person she knew.
She had told herself, if she could see even if it was a tiny bit of her old Daniel, she would do all she could to win his heart back to her.
"Get inside, Natalie. We would discuss later. You should be getting ready to entertain the guests, not trying to seek attention." He said, then walked the rest of the stairs and disappeared out of sight.
Natalie stood in shock and was unable to move. She couldn't believe what she heard. Slowly, she turned around and walked back to her room in a daze.
She sat on her bed and looked around the room. Suddenly, she felt so small.
How did it get to this?
Since when did she become a pushover?
Natalie didn't know how long she had sat on the bed for. One of the servants had come in to inform her that guests were arriving.
She barely acknowledged the maid. Suddenly, as if jolted from a bad dream, she picked up her phone and booked a flight to New York, rushed to her closet, and randomly put a few items in her hand luggage.
She changed into a simple black knee-length dress that was a few inches above her knees. The dress was fitted from the waist up and free from the waist down. She quickly tied her hair in a bun, wore white sneakers, and held a black sunglasses in her right hand, where her handbag was snug.
Pausing to confirm her Uber had arrived, she placed her phone in her bag and put the glasses on to hide her puffy face. Then, she held on to her hand luggage with her left hand and walked out of the room.
Natalie got to the stairs and paused briefly. She had not thought about bumping into a few of Julian's guests.
She looked back at her room door, having second thoughts.
What would people say if they saw her walk out like this without acknowledging their presence as Mrs. Clay?
Everyone knew she was the woman of the house, regardless of Daniel's infidelities, which was not new to the netizens; besides, it wasn't particularly news that most of these men had mistresses.
She would be frowned on if she left because she couldn't rein in her anger at her partner's obvious disrespect. Just then, her phone received a notification on the app, indicating that her free waiting time had elapsed, and she was now being charged.
Biting her lips, she squared her shoulders and took the first step down the stairs.
Luckily for her, the party had been moved to the garden behind the house. She stepped out and walked down the steps to the parked vehicle.
Meanwhile, Daniel was in his study on a call with a new business partner. They were coming together on the new rail project in Finley Town. There had suddenly been a change of plans. The project bid they had submitted was suddenly denied, which was quite weird because he was the only one with the highest bargaining power.
"I believe you owe me an explanation. You said you had it covered, Mr. Osborne."
He had to involve the middleman who had assured him that the project was guaranteed on the call.
"Mr. Clay, Sir, yes, it was guaranteed, but I suddenly got a call that there were some anomalies in the bid report. Our numbers, they said."
Daniel frowned, "That's very unlikely. Didn't you grease the proper hands?" he asked.
"I did, Sir. This whole development is quite strange to me. I am looking into it."
Daniel pressed his brows together, "Never mind, He said. "I will get answers." Yanking Osborne off the call.
"Mr. Pierce, perhaps we can schedule this conversation in my office by tomorrow. Then we can visit the state house and have a look at what's going on with the project bid."
"Alright, Mr. Clay," The other person on the call responded.
He sighed tiredly.
This was meant to be easy. Nothing was going his way recently.
He lit a smoke and walked over to the window in his study, lost in thought. He stood there for a while, then decided to change his outfit and join the party downstairs.
He arrived in time to join the festivities, moving from one group to the other, exchanging pleasantries with an occasional smile here and there. As always, he had been cornered by a few ambitious families with the intent to discuss business.
Daniel walked with a smile to his mother and joined her in a dance when the floor was opened to dancing.
"You look good, Mum, as always." He had said, holding her arms to give her a peck on the cheek.
Mrs. Julian tapped her son's cheeks and smiled fondly while she looked around.
"I don't see Natalie here. Where is she? I'm quite tired of giving one excuse or the other to family and friends asking around." She said quietly, just enough to be heard by both of them.
Daniel's thoughts raced. He had thought she was here when he walked in, but when he didn't see her, he had assumed she was busy somewhere, trying to please his mother and to prove she was the perfect wife.
She was perfect in every sense of the world, and she loved him beyond words. Yes, she was no longer the little naïve girl; she had grown and evolved and come to understand his world.
She was his. However, something didn't seem right lately. She was more bold, audacious, demanding answers, and accountability.
He liked her docile and submissive. The little angel, whom he could control, who wore her feelings for him on her sleeves.