I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 311

The air in the private room went completely still. Every pair of eyes focused on Natalie and Alexander. His words hit her like a cold stone to the chest. She knew he was making things difficult on purpose.

Alexander was famous for his pool skills. In their circle, people even called him the king of the table.

Bruce Ward frowned, stepped next to him, and lowered his voice. “Why are you doing this? She just wants to talk. You don’t have to put her in this spot. If you’re not interested, just let her go.” Everyone there knew no one had ever managed to beat Alexander at pool, especially not Natalie, who, as far as they knew, had never played a game in her life.

Alexander shot Bruce a look, his words leaving no room to argue. “She made her choice. If she doesn’t want to play, there’s nothing else to say.”

Bruce opened his mouth to push back, but Natalie spoke first. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

She pressed her lips together and stared right at Alexander, her eyes steady.

Everyone turned to look at her, surprised she’d actually agreed. Some people smirked, others watched with a kind of amused disbelief, like she was in way over her head.

The man in the dark gray shirt, the one who’d been playing pool with Alexander earlier, leaned on the table with a mocking smile. “Ms. Watson, you’re braver than I thought.”

A woman, probably someone’s date, giggled and added, “Ms. Watson, don’t cry when you lose and miss your chance to talk.”

Natalie didn’t respond.

Alexander glanced at the man in the gray shirt, who took the hint and stepped away from the table.

“Let’s get started,” Alexander said, his face unreadable.

Natalie set her bag down, walked over to the table, and picked up a cue. She tested the weight in her hand, her eyes cool and focused, as if the snide remarks hadn’t touched her at all.

Alexander watched her, a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes. As far as he knew, Natalie had never played pool. He’d never seen her hold a cue before. But right now, she looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.

Her turn came up again.

She drew in a slow breath, bent down, and focused on a colored ball.

“There aren’t many left, Ms. Watson. If you miss this, you might not get another shot,” the man in the gray shirt reminded her.

Bruce nudged him. “Just stop talking.”

The man went silent.

Right then, Natalie took her shot. The white ball hit its mark, and the colored ball rolled straight into the pocket with a satisfying click.