After lunch, they waited for a while before stepping out of the restaurant to his car.
He held her hand while they were in the car, caressing her. Natalie didn't pull away.
She wasn't in the mood to continue with his madness.
Her mind was made up. Her body was definitely going to get the memo soon; she would not be deterred by any form of weakness.
Natalie looked out the window. The glasses were tinted, thereby shielding her from the outside world, but she had a clear view of her surroundings, the cars and the high-rise buildings along the way.
Not long after, they drove up into the estate where the Clay manor was situated.
Natalie hurriedly unbuckled her seat belt. She needed to move as far away from Daniel as possible. However, before she could open the door, Daniel held her hands, looking at her. This left her with no choice but to look at him.
"Can you unhand me, please? I need to get out of the vehicle." She spoke quietly, not looking at his eyes.
Daniel took this as an opportunity to lean in and tilt her chin to face him that way, so he could plant a kiss on her lips.
"Dan-" Her words were swallowed by his mouth.
It didn't take long for her body to betray her.
Was it because he knew her so well?
Maybe because he was her first.
Natalie gave in and kissed Daniel back. Lacing her fingers around his hair. He deepened the kiss and thrust his tongue deeper.
She moaned.
Finally, he broke off the kiss, his breathing raspy with desire burning in his eyes.
"I love you." He whispered.
Natalie didn't respond; she turned to pick up her bag and got out of the vehicle.
Daniel sighed and hit his head on the car's headrest in frustration, then got out and walked quickly to catch up with her.
The moment Natalie got to the door, it swung open before she could place her hand on the doorknob. The manor staff were all smiles as they greeted her warmly. She was alarmed by their behavior and eyed them suspiciously until the music caught her attention.
Then she saw the roses.
Gosh, there were so many of them.
The entire house was filled with them; there was only a tiny walkway created in between them. She stepped in to look around, letting the music fill her spirit.
Natalie took a few steps and looked up the stairs to see an array of roses. She was so overwhelmed, she turned back to look at Daniel questioningly, but her breath caught at the sight of him. He was bent on one knee while he asked her to forgive him.
Natalie was so overwhelmed that a tear slipped down her face. She looked at him silently, unable to say a word. Then, Daniel stood up to walk to her and wiped off her tears. He then held up her hand as they took the stairs to the rooftop.
James, his assistant, had prepared their dinner date at the rooftop, taking advantage of the breathtaking view. He had also arranged some paparazzi in the next mansion, giving them a perfect view of the angles.
While Daniel was in the process of gaining Natalie's trust, to the onlookers, it appeared like a romantic dinner between couples.
The netizens were blowing up the blog feeds, gushing over the loved-up photos and caption on the site. Not long after, it went up to the most trending gist in the city.
Natalie was overwhelmed by her emotions. She could not deny the effort it took Daniel to pull this off in less than twenty hours.
She was a sucker for these kinds of romantic gestures; she started tearing up again.
"Baby," Daniel smiled. He held her in his arms as she wept silently on his chest.
"It's beautiful." She whispered.
"Do you like it? I want to make you happy." He whispered.
She swallowed.
"Why now? You haven't cared in years." She looked at him as she took a step back.
Daniel nodded slightly.
"I know. I've been a fool." He said as he looked into her eyes.
She shook her head and took a deep breath.
"This doesn't mean I forgive you." She said, looking away as she struggled to tuck her hair behind her ears.
"I agree. I understand, and I'm sorry." He said.
He held her hands and placed them around his neck, then moved his hands to her waist, then swayed gently as some sound of the music trailed towards them. They stayed that way for a while and had a conversation at dinner.
It was mostly Daniel cozying up to Natalie and apologizing for all his scandals.
In the process of their conversation, they heard a loud gasp. Daniel and Natalie turned in the direction of the sound to find Julian looking around with her mouth open.
She turned to face the couple and frowned when her eyes landed on Natalie.
"Don't tell me you made Daniel spend so much money on those useless flowers. You turned the house into a garden. Are you a child?"
"Mum!" Daniel shouted, causing Julian to frown and look at her son quizzically.
"What? What she knows how to do is to spend your money and not work for it." She replied angrily to her son.
"That's enough, okay." He replied, frustrated at her sudden intrusion. She wasn't supposed to interfere with his apology date with Natalie.
What was she thinking?
Natalie looked between the mother and son duo. She was tired; these were also part of the things she couldn't deal with. Daniel also never provided any lasting solution to these conflicts between his mother and her.
She had gotten to her breaking point, so she simply stood up to leave.
Daniel looked at his mum angrily and chased after Natalie.
He wasn't going to let anything or anyone ruin what he had meticulously planned and moved the impossible to achieve.