Natalie knew Marcus well. He rarely talked this much all at once, so for him to suddenly open up meant something was definitely weighing on him.
He fell silent for a moment. After a long pause, he let out a sigh. "Was it that obvious?"
Natalie nodded. "Yeah, pretty obvious. What's going on?"
Marcus pressed his lips into a thin line. Another stretch of silence passed before he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pulled Natalie into his arms.
"Nat, I don't want to be apart from you. Ever since our honeymoon started, just thinking of going back to work with endless meetings, reports I can't finish, and conversations that never seem to end, I just don't want it to be over."
Now she understood. Marcus was back to being clingy. He couldn't help himself; he needed to be close.
"I have to work too, you know," Natalie said, gently patting his shoulder. "I've got just as much on my plate.
"We might not see each other much during the day, but I'll do my best to come home every night for dinner and sleep. If I take on any patients, I'll let you know ahead of time. Okay?"
Marcus didn't answer. That didn't sound okay to him at all. He wanted to be with Natalie every second of every day.
Especially when he thought about her treating patients like she had with Charles. She'd stayed at the patient's home or even at the hospital for long stretches of time, right up until they recovered.
Just thinking about that made Marcus uneasy all over again.
"Nat, if you take on a patient… can you bring family members with you?"
"Nope," Natalie replied bluntly. "Only people who are actually useful. When it comes to healing, you wouldn't be able to help.
"But you can help me run Nouvelle Zara and Goodwill Pharmacy. That way, I can focus entirely on treating patients and not get caught up in everything else. I'd still have plenty of time to spend with you."
"Really?" Marcus' eyes lit up. If helping her meant taking some weight off her shoulders, then going back to work didn't sound so bad anymore.
"Really." Natalie smiled and nodded. "But it would make things harder on you."
"Not at all." Marcus grinned. "I've got a whole team of skilled, professional staff. When the time comes, I'll just delegate the work to them."
"Oh?" Natalie laughed. "That works too. If you've got a solid executive team managing things, you'll have more time to relax and be with me."
"Yeah. Holden Group's in my father's hands now, so I don't need to worry too much for the time being. Let's just enjoy our time together. Everything else can wait."
"Okay."
They held each other for a while longer in the woods before Marcus finally let her go.
"Nat, teach me more about herbs."
"Sure."
The two of them went back to searching for herbs in the forest. As they walked, they chatted casually. Time passed quickly, almost without them noticing.
…
At that moment in Ashford Vale, inside Hope Elementary School, Maverick had just finished surgery.
Taylor and Declan immediately arranged for someone to take him home.
After dropping Maverick off, Declan gave Lorraine a few instructions on what to watch out for, but she kept glancing anxiously toward the school.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)
This one gets us readers asking for more! Excellent story, great twists......
Hope Grandpa Charles lives long enough to see Marcus and Nat's children, please. It will make him happy to see life is still worth living and that he didn't fail raising Marcus at least. Let him be happy at least in this aspect. Thanks...
Finished till 538....Waiting for more...
This really hurts. I am confused if Yvette sent a msg saying old love to Charles through Charlene. Why isnt it in her confession. Or did she actually set vivian up into sleeping with that man? And later blackmailed vivian with it till vivian commited suicide? Did Yvetty yhinks Charles would marry her after vivians death but he remained loyal. Hence her anger?...
Hope Nat can cure Marcus' mom. Looking forward to new updates. Thank you...
When will other chapters be updated...
Every chapter gets sweeter..and oh! I'm sure Nat's new patient is Marcus' mom - though the illness is quite intriguing....anyway, looking forward for the next updates! Thank you...
What an ending to the chapter...nice one..hoping for more updates...thank you...
OMG, OMG, OMG, this is getting better and better. Nat and Marcus are getting married!!!!! Yehey! Please update more..after a big drama ot is really nice to have love and a little happy events in between. Pretty please, update more. Can't wait!! Thank you so much!...
Recent updates are so good. Natalie's and Marcus' love story is also progressing...so, so good and exciting. Please update more. Thank you...