Wife by Day, Boss by Night

When Natalie fell into the water, she swam to the farthest comer in no time, keeping a wide berth from him.

Perched above her, Brian looked down with an intense and unreadable gaze. He began to strip off his clothes, and it was only then that Natalie cursed her stubbornness. He might have let her go it she had softened and listened to him earlier.

She knew that Brian was the type to yield to tenderness, not force.

Left in nothing but his boxer briefs, he made his way into the pool step by step.

Natalie was so flustered that she didn’t know where to look.

“Come here,” he said, his voice a low command.

Weighing up her options, Natalie dutifully came back to his side, her gaze downcast, “I'm beat,” she confessed.

Brian's earlier words turned out to be his way of teasing her.

He grabbed a big fluffy towel from the side and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace and settling her onto his lap.

Natalie didn’t struggle. Her cheeks flushed from the hot spring steam, and she sat still in his arms.

Brian's hand gently circled through the towel and pressed the spot where she had been injured before.

The stitches from her old wound had left a scar barely an inch long. Even through the fabric, Brian could feel it. He had planned to bring her there for a while, knowing the hot springs would help her heal.

“Natalie,” he whispered her name, letting out a sigh, “What am I going to do with you?”

If she weren't so headstrong, if she would yield a little, they wouldn't be in this mess.

He had thought bitterly of all the wasted years when she abandoned Nate. She was like an ingrate, siding with her mother against him and leaving their son behind.

In his eyes, no woman could be more cold-hearted than Natalie.

Leaning against Brian's shoulder, Natalie didn't look up at him. She had thought about mending their relationship, too. In the first few months abroad, she had been

on the verge of a breakdown, her previous struggles with depression nearly resurfacing. She couldn't live without Brian.

But Brian had abandoned her first, discarded her, indifferent to her fate and their child. How could she ever forget that?

And yet, he had moved on, fathering a child with another woman, doting on someone else, without guilt for their late son, Zephyr.

He didn't care about it, but she did.

“It's too late for all that,” Natalie said with a bittersweet smile, her voice soft.

Brian's hand, still resting on her scar, froze.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Do you know why I had that severe bleeding last month?” Natalie lifted her eyes, her gaze settling faintly on Brian.

“It was a complication from the difficult birth.” Her tone was casual as if she was discussing the weather.

Brian's expression shifted subtly, his eyes focused on her, silent.

I 5Whenever the muscle spasms in: : »pain there, I think loro He iA Pal fal ing her smile and peaceful tone.

It was a pain, both physical and emotional, which she had endyred SP fimeseobeh fhe past three ykars. he had become almost numb to it.

Natalie had not intended to reveal so much, but since ih (9d brought it fae Hey wefe iy ne, she thought it Was time he understood.

She also wanted to know if he, who loved Nate so much, had ever felt a fraction of the pain for their son Zephyr.

Brian watched her quietly for a long moment before asking softly, “Does it hurt every time you have your period?”

Natalie let out a weary sigh, offering no reply.