Escape the Billionaire's Grasp

Chapter 73--The Space Between Us

With a sudden jolt, the car came to an abrupt stop.

Sebastian Wellington tilted his chin up. "We're here."

Natalie snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at the time. It had only taken seven minutes.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed the car door open, and stepped out.

"I'm off," she said, making a quick farewell before hurrying into the building.

Sebastian watched her retreating figure through the car window, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Tonight, Natalie's job was to attend an online live stream event for a media company.

The makeup artist was busily working on her when James Smith suddenly burst through the door.

"What are you doing here?" Natalie asked, surprised.

"If I didn't come, I'd be seeing you on the front page in a couple of days, with yet another gossip piece about you and Sebastian Wellington!"

Natalie was stunned. "What?"

"Have you two patched things up again?" James shook his head, looking thoroughly disappointed.

"When did we get back together? We broke up ages ago!"

"Then why did Amy call you, and he picked up?" James asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"He just came by to collect some things. When he moved out, he left a few of his belongings behind."

James stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, I see. Came to pick up his things and ended up spending the night, right?"

Natalie was speechless. "No! He literally just came for his things!"

James waved her off dismissively. "Alright, alright. I'm just giving you a heads-up. You've got a reality show to shoot in a couple of weeks. Try not to stir up any drama with him until the filming's over. After that, you can do whatever you want."

"I said there's—"

Before Natalie could finish, James had already stormed out of the room. She was so frustrated she could feel the tension in her stomach.

Once her makeup was done, the live stream began promptly at seven o'clock.

Natalie walked out, sitting beside the host, smiling warmly at the camera as she waved. "Hello, everyone, I'm Natalie Sinclair. It's a pleasure to be here with you all."

The comments section was quickly filled with compliments, praising her appearance. But soon, more and more people started noticing the bracelet on her wrist. The host, picking up on the audience's curiosity, smiled and asked, "It seems people are quite intrigued by your bracelet. Is it your own, or was it styled by someone for today?"

Natalie hesitated for a moment, looking down at her wrist, her pupils dilating. When did she put that on?

Forcing a smile, she instinctively raised her hand to cover the bracelet. "It's mine. I forgot to take it off."

The host gave her a teasing smile. "It looks like everyone's quite interested. Was it something you bought yourself?"

"A friend gave it to me," she replied evasively.

"Oh, so this friend must be rather special, then?" the host quipped, the implication clear.

Natalie forced another smile, awkward and thin.

"Speaking of friends, everyone's curious about your ideal partner. What kind of man do you like?"

Natalie pondered for a moment before answering, "I don't really have a fixed type. It's more about the connection."