Chapter 13
After that night, Gabriel frequently used business trips as an excuse to avoid coming home.
With his frequent absences, Natalie was free to do as she pleased, spending her days either at the spa or getting styled at high–end salons.
Without anyone to drive them to and from school, and with Natalie constantly calling in fake excuses to take them on outings just to win their favor, Ethan and Emma quickly followed suit. They started skipping classes entirely, spending their days playing hooky around town.
Natalie knew about this but couldn’t care less.”
“Madam, young Master and Miss have been skipping school frequently. Their teacher has called the house, hoping you and Mr. Westbrook could address the issue,” the butler reported.
“They won’t listen to us staff. Perhaps you could return home and convince them to attend school?”
“I got it. I’ll handle it later,” Natalie replied languidly, lounging in her beauty chair, admiring her freshly done nails
“No need to bother Gabriel about this. He’s busy enough without adding to his worries.”
After hanging up, a friend sitting nearby teased her:
“Seriously? You’re actually going to deal with those two brats? I mean, marrying a billionaire bachelor is great and all, but being stuck with his kids? What a hassle.”
“Who said I was going to deal with anything?” Natalie yawned lazily, her eyes gleaming with calculation.
“I’d rather let them go wild. That way they won’t compete with my future children for the inheritance.”
With that, she dialed another number–Ethan and Emma’s homeroom teacher.
“Teacher, our children need to stay home for a while. Don’t worry about their attendance; as you know, with our family’s situation, they don’t need to focus too much on school.”
“Also, Gabriel is very busy lately. If there are any issues, please contact me directly, not him.”
After hanging up, she dismissed the matter completely from her mind, already scrolling through her phone for the next salon appointment.
That evening, after her beauty treatments, she made a rare return to the mansion.
The living room was in chaos from the children’s play. Seeing her arrive, they joyfully rushed toward her:
“Auntie Natalie, you’re finally back! We missed you so much!”
Chapter 13
To their surprise, the usually warm and smiling Natalie looked decidedly cold.
She impatiently brushed them off: “Yes, yes. I’m busy. Go play by yourselves for a while.”
Ethan, assuming she would cater to them as always, angrily threw his toy on the floor:
“No! Auntie, play with us!”
Hearing this, Natalie’s expression suddenly turned frightening instead.
Those eyes that had always seemed gentle and kind now contained not a hint of warmth.
“What did you say?” Her voice turned icy. “Who do you think you’re yelling at?”
“Don’t you understand? I’m about to marry your father and become this house’s new hostess.”
“Your father never liked that worthless mother of yours. Soon enough, he’ll grow tired of you two as well.”
The children clung to each other in fear, barely daring to breathe.
Where was their former confidence when bullying Cassidy?
“If you understand, good. Remember, in this house, everything goes my way from now on. If you raise your voice to me again, don’t blame me for being unkind.”
With one last warning glare at the children, she turned coldly and headed upstairs.
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