Bye-bye Trash! Hello Queen! novel Chapter 285

Just as he called, Natalie was leaving Matthew’s house. She spotted the paparazzi lurking nearby and felt a surge of irritation. She hated having her life scrutinized, but these people had nothing better to do. This was Jared’s handiwork, no doubt—his way of getting revenge for Joanna.

Jared doted on Joanna, ready to give her the world. In her past life, Natalie would have been consumed by jealousy. In this one, she was just waiting for him to die. Jared, overconfident in his schemes, would eventually meet his end at sea, drowned by his obsession with a woman who was his very own siren song—a woman placed in his path by Joanna. Natalie thought of the kind-hearted Susan White and sighed. Why was it always the good people who got hurt?

Although the timeline had shifted, some things were inevitable. Joanna’s machinations were still in motion.

Natalie decided to take the long way home to avoid the cameras. Matthew offered to drive her, but she refused. She couldn't drag him into her mess. His bodyguards stepped in, blocking the photographers and allowing her to slip away.

A few steps later, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She almost ignored it, assuming it was another person she’d blocked, but the ringing was persistent.

“Hello?”

“Natalie, where are you?”

She was surprised to hear Sebastian’s voice. He had called her only a handful of times over the years; it had always been her calling him.

“What does it matter to you where I am? I thought we agreed not to contact each other unless it was about the divorce.”

There was a moment of silence on his end before he said, “Stay away from Matthew.”

His voice was thick with an emotion she couldn’t place, not that she cared to try anymore.

With that, Natalie hung up and blocked his number. Again.

When Sebastian tried to call back, he was met with a dead line. He stood in the dimly lit hallway, his expression dark and unreadable.

He re-entered the private room and looked at Sean. “Find out who’s behind this trending topic.”

Sean, who had already seen it, didn’t need to investigate. “It was Jared,” he said quietly. “He owns an entertainment company that’s been doing well lately. I think he got back in the country a couple of days ago.”

Sebastian’s brow furrowed. “Is Jared an idiot? He’s paying paparazzi to slander his own sister?”