Ch. 371..375: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 371-375

Chapter 371: Reiner – Ride with My Knight

“Did you drive here?” Kat asked.

“Not today...” I replied.

“It’s late. Why don’t you sleep over at my place? It’s close by...” Kat offered kindly.

“Thanks, but I’d rather head back. I have to work tomorrow so...” I said before trailing off with a ‘you know’ look.

“Oh, right. Your day job and all,” Kat murmured in understanding.

I gave her a tired smile because that was all that I could manage at that moment.

“Let’s go...” I told her as I got up from my chair.

It was late but since many people got off work at this time in the entertainment district there were many cabs running at this hour. Getting a ride back to the mansion should be a breeze. It might be a little expensive though, but that was fine by me.

I stretched my arms up high above my head as I walked out of the bar with Kat at my side. The silhouette of a very tall man standing right outside the bar’s entrance stopped me in my tracks.

“Who’s this?” Kat asked as she looked the man up and down with sparkling eyes.

Why is he here? How did he find me here?

“Knight...why are you here?” I asked with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

Was Reiner really here? Why?

Kat elbowed me before she leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“Who is he? Do you know him? He’s so hot and so tall...” she whispered, speaking very fast.

“He’s...Knight...” I replied with Reiner’s codename.

“Huh? First you have prince charming and now you have a Knight too?” Kat teased before laughing.

“It’s not like that. He’s...umm...he’s my boss...” I tried to explain.

“Your boss?” Kat said, clearly shocked.

Ok, Reiner doesn’t look anything like Jamie. Jamie is also my boss, so I didn’t blame Kat for her confusion. She probably didn’t expect my boss to be so young and so hot.

“He’s my boss from my daytime job...” I quickly clarified.

“Oh...I see...wow...” Kat said as her eyes returned to Reiner.

“Hi, my name is Kat and I work here with Natalia. It’s nice to meet you,” Kat said flirtingly as she smiled up at Reiner.

“I’m Knight. Thank you for taking care of Natalia,” Reiner replied politely.

“Sure thing...” Kat said cheerfully.

“Umm...why are you here?” I repeated my question again, hesitantly.

“I’m here to take you back to the mansion,” Reiner replied bluntly.

“It’s very late. You didn’t have to come pick me up...” I said softly.

“It’s late and you don’t have a car. How do you plan to get back?” Reiner asked as if he was interrogating me.

Suddenly, it sounded like I did something wrong, and I was now in very big and deep trouble. However, I didn’t do anything wrong, and I didn’t ask him to pick me up or anything. He can’t just turn up and blame me for everything.

“Well...” I murmured.

“Never mind. Come...” Reiner said impatiently as he reached out a hand and quickly grabbed my wrist.

“Umm...ok. I’ll be heading home first. See you later, Kat,” I turned to bid farewell to my friend as Reiner began dragging me away from the bar.

Not wanting to make a scene right in front of the bar, I let Reiner led me to where he parked his car. Wordlessly, Reiner continued dragging me behind him. He opened the car door for me and made sure that I got in before he closed the door. Still stunned at Reiner’s sudden appearance at my workplace, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. My exhaustion was quickly catching up to me and I didn’t want to get into an argument with him. Reiner got into the car and began driving us home without saying a word to me. Since it was clear that he wasn’t going to explain anything to me, I decided to ask the question that I had on my mind.

“How did you know where to find me?” I asked a little suspiciously.

“I asked Queen,” Reiner replied with his eyes on the road.

“Oh...I see...” I mumbled.

Our conversation died there with Reiner not saying another word and I wasn’t sure what I should say to him. It felt strange that Reiner came to pick me up; however, what I felt wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. I glanced over at him and wondered if he was just worried about me. I kept telling me that he didn’t need to be and that his actions would just be misleading. As a matter of fact, I just told him that again last night.

Is he trying to mislead me on purpose? I narrowed my eyes at him as I continued to watch the handsome side-view of his face. It wasn’t a short ride to the mansion, and I knew that I had some time left to think up something to talk to him about.

“You should quit working in a place like that,” Reiner spoke up before I could start another conversation with him.

His sudden suggestion more than surprised me. It started to tick me off...

“Why?” I demanded to know.

“Why would you want to work in a place like that?” Reiner asked in return.

“What do you mean by ‘a place like that’?” I asked as my mood more than soured.

“A bar where shady people gather. Did you bust your ass studying and working just to become a bar girl?” Reiner said without even bothering to look at me.

What’s wrong with being a bar girl? We worked hard and we did legal work to earn our pay. We never caused trouble for anyone.

“My preferences aside, I would appreciate it if you stopped insulting the bar, the people who work there and our customers,” I snapped heatedly.

“Take my word of advice and stop working there. You’re not going to come across any good people there, Natalia,” Reiner advised sternly.

“That’s rich coming from someone who abandoned me the moment that I got here. You didn’t seem to worry or care about me then. Where would I go? What would I do with my life? I’d have you know that while you were turning your back on me those people at the bar took me in. Kat is the first friend that I made on this island. She’s my friend, all the staffs are my friends, so don’t go insulting bar girls,” I said quite loudly.

Chapter 372: Reiner – Best For Me

I knew it was a mistake getting in the car with him. I should have just taken a cab home or stayed over with Kat. Now I’m stuck with him in the car until we returned to the mansion.

“You should go back home. It’s not too late. If you go back now, I’m sure Lucien will take you back. We all make mistakes and wrong decisions; he won’t hold it against you. He might punish you some but, in the end, he’ll be more than happy to have you back,” Reiner stated with certainty.

Lucien would take me back. Even I knew that without him needing to tell me. However, that wasn’t the problem here...

“I’m not going back,” I spat without a second thought.

“Don’t be so stubborn, Natalia. You were raised as a Rosenhall. You were not born one but that was how you were raised. You had everything and an easy life. You were given the best education and all the comfort in life that money could buy. You can’t survive here on your own like this and there is no need for you to put yourself through so much hardship. Go back and enjoy your life as a Rosenhall,” Reiner advised sternly.

It doesn’t make any sense. Nothing that Reiner was saying was making any sense and I had no idea how he could even think that what he said made sense. Does he honestly think that going back would be better for me?

“Do you truly think that going back would be best for me?” I asked, trying to sound patient and open-minded.

“Yes. You can go back and live a normal and comfortable life. You’re Lucien’s sole heir by law. You don’t have to lift a finger to work, and you’ll still be set for life. You definitely don’t need to be working two jobs. You don’t need to be my secretary and you definitely don’t need to serve food and drinks late at night to random guys at a random bar on a random island,” Reiner said as he tried to reason with me.

“Maybe what you’re saying makes sense, but have you ever considered my feelings?” I asked as I stared at him.

My words must have had some impact on Reiner because the car came to a brief stop on the side of the very empty road. It was very dark outside with only the streetlight as the main source of light. Reiner heaved a sigh before turning to look straight at me.

“Why are you being so stubborn about this?” Reiner asked as he frowned at me.

“I’m not being stubborn at all. I just don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be a Rosenhall anymore!” I shouted.

“You shouldn’t be here. Why don’t you try to live your life elsewhere? Where do you want to go? I’ll help you,” Reiner said firmly.

“Why can’t I stay here? Am I...in your way?” I asked, my voice shaking with emotion.

I thought that things were improving between us and the new life that I had worked so hard on was starting to take shape. Why is he still chasing me out?

“This place isn’t normal. For sure, you know that. No one on this island has a normal life,” Reiner replied calmly.

“We’ve talked about this so many times already. I think by now I kind of get it that you probably won’t change your mind about this. So, why don’t you get it already that I’m also not going to change my mind about this. I’m not leaving. If one day I do, then I’ll leave by my own choice not because you’re telling me to,” I shouted back at him.

“You followed me here and I’m telling you now that we can’t be together. So why are you still so stubborn in staying?” he asked without hiding his frustration.

“I could ask you the same thing. Why are you so desperate to chase me away?” I asked in a strained voice.

“I just want what is best for you and that doesn’t exist here,” Reiner stated resolutely.

“I’ll judge for myself what is best for me,” I spat.

“You’re young and confused. You don’t know what is best for you,” Reiner replied with a shake of his head.

“I do know. What is best for me, is right here...but I can’t have it...” I said passionately as I stared deeply into his concerned blue eyes.

Slowly, I reached out a hand and placed it on the side of his face without breaking eye contact. His skin felt warm against my cool hand and for a moment, the fierceness in his eyes relaxed.

“Natalia...” he said my name like he didn’t know what to else to say.

My hand dropped away from his face, and I looked away from him. This is all so useless. No matter how many times I say it, Reiner was determined to push me away over and over again. I kept my eyes down as tears started stinging the back of my eyes. I knew that I was about to cry and I didn’t even have the strength left in me to hold them back in.

“Thanks for the ride...” I whispered before reaching for the door and opening it.

It was dark and I had no idea where we were. I had no idea how far we’ve come from the bar or how close we’ve gotten to the mansion. I didn’t have any next steps planned but I didn’t care. The car door opened, and I jumped out of the car as fast as I could. My chest felt tight, and it hurt. I felt wetness stain my cheeks as tears fell from my eyes.

I turned and started walking away from the car as fast as I can. I didn’t know where I was going, and it didn’t matter. I just wanted to get away and be alone for now. The longer I stayed the more I could feel that Reiner didn’t want me.

“Natalia!” Reiner called after me loudly.

I could hear his footsteps against the road and knew that he was catching up to me. Knowing that I could never outrun him, I didn’t even bother trying. I couldn’t outrun anyone in these heels anyways. I decided to ignore him and keep walking with my eyes focused on the dark path in front of me.

“Natalia...” Reiner called my name, and I could hear panic and concern in his voice.

Chapter 373: Reiner - Walking Away

He was already walking by my side, but I decided to ignore him and continued walking forward. Suddenly, he grabbed my arms and pulled me against him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Reiner asked as he stared down at my face.

The grip he had on my arm tightened as his worried expression turned into a scold. He’s getting mad...like I care.

“Away from here...just like what you’ve always wanted...” I hissed as I tried to shake my arm free of his grip.

I screamed and Reiner had no choice but to let go of my arm. I continued walking and he followed close to my side.

“Come back, Natalia. Let’s go back to the car. It’s not safe here...” Reiner continued talking to me.

“Stay away from me...” I muttered.

“Natalia!” Reiner called my name loudly.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms. Automatically, I began struggling but his arms around my body tightened, pulling me even closer against his body. He hugged me tightly as his large hand pressed my head against his hard chest. I could feel the heat from his body as his heart beat loudly against my ear. I pushed against his chest and in response, his arms around my body tightened even further.

“Let go...” I said in frustration, my voice coming out sounding like a broken sob.

“Stop struggling. It’s dark and this place is not safe,” Reiner replied calmly as his hand started stroking my hair comfortingly.

“I told you to let go!” I cried out loudly against his chest.

“No...” Reiner said firmly followed by a sigh.

Feeling so helpless and so stupid, I started crying and sobbing against his chest as my hands clutched at the front of his shirt.

“I’m not quitting my job at the bar and I’m not leaving this island!” I cried out determinedly as my fist beat on his hard chest.

“Ok...Ok...” Reiner murmured as his hand continued to stroke the back of my head comfortingly.

“Stop trying to chase me away!” I wailed.

“Ok...calm down, Natalia. Calm down, let’s head back to the car...” Reiner said softly and calmly.

Without waiting for my response, Reiner carried me into his arms and quickly walked back to the car. He helped me into the passenger seat before getting into the driver’s seat. I looked out the window so that I didn’t have to look at him. I turned my face and my body away to the other side.

Thankfully, Reiner didn’t say anything more and soon we arrived back at the mansion. I got out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. Without turning back, I ran to the door of the mansion with tears in my eyes. I’ve had more than enough for the day and I’m going to go cry myself to sleep in my room like some loser. Tomorrow, I’ll figure out what to do with my life.

I felt so relieved when my hand reached the door and began pushing it open. The door opened with a slightly loud bang, and I rushed inside. A few steps along the hallway, I ran into a very worried-looking Queen. It was late, did she wait up for us to come back?

“Natalia...oh dear...” she said in a shocked whisper. She must have seen my crying face.

I didn’t want to her to see me crying so I tried to avoid looking at her as I continued running towards the stairs so that I could escape to my room. It was probably too late; she had probably seen. I closed my eyes and sighed to myself in disappointment as my legs continued to carry me towards my bedroom.

The silence of my bedroom greeted me with opened arms, and I jumped into my bed and hugged myself into a small ball. My chest hurt and I’ve never felt a pain this deep before. It felt like it was coming from deep inside of me. I struggled just to breathe and started coughing through my sobs and tears. I pulled my pillow over my face and screamed into it.

After crying for a short while in my depression, my mind started to clear. However, that only made me realize that I was an emotional mess. I didn’t know what I really wanted anymore. On one hand, I really wanted to be with Reiner. Even if he doesn’t want me, being close to him and seeing him made me feel better. However, the pain of being close to him was too real. On the other hand, I wanted to distance myself away from him just like he wanted. If he didn’t want me around, why am I shamelessly sticking to him?

I removed the pillow from my face and stared through my tears at the ceiling of my bedroom. I should have done this earlier even if it meant emptying my thinly lined pocket.

It was late and I wasn’t sure if Kat was still up, but I decided to send her a text anyways before I lost all my courage, or something would cause me to change my mind.

‘Are you free tomorrow? Want to check out some apartments with me? I want to move out ASAP...’

To my surprise, after less than a minute my phone beeped. Reaching for it, I found out that Kat had sent me a short and sweet reply.

‘Of course! See you!’

...

I woke up super early the next day. To be honest, I didn’t catch a wink of sleep. I just lay on my bed with my eyes close just to physically rest my eyes. My mind didn’t go to sleep while I waited through the remaining of last night for morning to arrive. I set the alarm for super early and when it rang, my arm reached out for my phone and switched the alarm right off. Immediately, I sat up in bed and got ready to leave the room.

“Good morning, Natalia...” Queen greeted me when I tiptoed past the living room.

Perhaps because of what she witnessed last night; Queen had decided to get up super early too to catch me. Then again, maybe I was just over thinking things.

Chapter 374: Reiner – Divergence

“Good morning,” I replied politely.

“You’re up extra early today,” Queen commented before smiling gently at me.

It looked like she had countless questions that she wanted to ask me. On my end, I didn’t want to talk to her or anyone else for that matter right now.

“Yeah. I’ll be leaving first. See you later,” I replied vaguely as I shifted to go.

“Umm...did something happen?” Queen asked with a sad and worried look in her eyes.

“No. Nothing happened,” I replied in short.

Queen gave me a troubled look, but I decided that I didn’t have anything else to discuss with her about. I turned to leave in a hurry before she could ask me more about what happened last night between Reiner and me. I wouldn’t tell her anything even if she asked anyways. I felt her eyes following my movement as I quickly walked away and exited the mansion.

...

Queen sat on the sofa in the living with a magazine in her hand. She had no idea why she was holding the magazine because she wasn’t even reading it. Natalia came back crying last night although she tried to hide it, Queen saw her face. Reiner rushed in after her after he picked her up from the bar that she was working at. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something happened between the two. Reiner refused to comment or tell her anything as per usual.

A frown creased Queen’s brows before she threw the magazine down onto the coffee table in front of her. At that exact moment, Reiner walked into the living room.

“Natalia isn’t here yet?” Reiner asked casually.

Queen turned towards her son, and she didn’t know whether she wanted to roll her eyes at him or just scream at him for his foolishness. She chose to do a bit of both.

“Natalia? She already left,” Queen snapped before rolling her eyes upwards.

“I see...” Reiner replied emotionlessly.

“What happened? You asked me where she was working and I told you, then what happened?” Queen asked as she glared at her son.

“Nothing happened. I picked her up,” Reiner replied flatly.

“You picked her up? Nothing happened? Then why was she crying last night? I saw her. She was crying,” Queen demanded to know.

“I told her to go back home. That’s all,” Reiner replied.

Queen watched as Reiner turned to leave as if the conversation was already over.

“Rachael’s coming over for dinner on Saturday,” Queen said, loud enough for Reiner to hear.

Reiner paused in his steps for a moment but continued to walk away without responding.

“You hear me? Rachael is coming over to have dinner with us this Saturday,” Queen repeated sternly.

“I’m going to work,” Reiner replied without turning back to look at this mother.

...

Reiner drove to the office alone and headed straight for his private office when he arrived at the building. Natalia had left before him, and she was probably waiting for him in his office. He reviewed the work that she left on his desk and thought that her plan to interview the agents was a good move. After looking through the agents that she had shortlisted for him to talk to, he felt that it all made sense. She was very selective in her screening and the criteria that she used was very logical and clear.

He opened the door to his office after thinking through what he wanted to say to her. However, Natalia wasn’t sitting at her desk like she usually did. Reiner strode quickly to his personal office only to find that Natalia wasn’t in there either. He frowned and took out his phone to give her a call only to realize that he didn’t even have her number.

He swore under his breath as he grabbed the phone off his table and began dialing an internal number. After a few beeps, someone on the other end of the line picked up his call.

“This is the secretarial department; how can I help you?” a woman politely spoke through the phone.

“This is Knight. Do you know where Natalia is. She’s my secretary,” Reiner inquired impatiently.

“Hold on a second. Oh, Miss Natalia is on leave today. She called in earlier today to inform us that she’s taking the day off,” the woman replied.

“Did she tell you why?” Reiner pressed.

“Umm...no reason is recorded here. She didn’t tell you that she’s taking the day off?” the woman asked in a surprised tone.

“She did. It probably just slipped my mind,” he lied.

“Right, I see,” the woman replied casually.

“Can you give me her number?” Reiner asked.

“Umm...sure. Hold on a second,” the woman replied after a pause. It was strange for a manager not to have his secretary’s number.

“Thank you,” Reiner replied after the woman had given him Natalia’s mobile number.

Reiner put down the phone and the line disconnected.

Where did she go?

Reiner looked around his empty office as a sense of dread filled his stomach.

...

“I’m sorry for calling you all the way out here and it’s daytime,” I said before laughing a little nervously.

“You make me sound like I’m a vampire or something. I can take some sunlight, trust me,” Kat joked before laughing carefreely.

“It was a busy night last night and you have to work again tonight and all...” I said apologetically.

“No worries. I’m actually very excited. Let’s check out a bunch of places today,” Kat said excitedly.

“Yeah...” I mumbled in agreement.

“Don’t look so down. We’ll find a place that you like for sure!” Kat said encouragingly.

That wasn’t really why I was feeling down but I still appreciated her efforts in cheering me up.

“Thanks again for coming out with me on such short notice...” I thanked her again.

“I’m free so don’t worry about it,” she replied.

Based on Kat’s suggestion, we visited an agent that she used when she was on her search for her apartment. After filling out a form stating my special requests, requirements, and budget constraints, the woman printed out a list of properties from her system and began going through the options with me.

Chapter 375: Reiner - My Own Place

“Basically, these places fit the criteria based on the information that you’ve provided but personally, I would recommend these three places first because it’s ready for you to move in as soon as tomorrow if you need to. You did mention that you were sort of in a rush, right?” the woman said before smiling at me.

I scanned the information and photos of the three places that she mentioned, and they all looked fine. Honestly, I wasn’t picky at that point. As long as the place fit the location requirement, was decently clean, and fits within my budget, then I was fine with it.

“Can we visit these places today?” I asked.

“Of course. I can take you there. They’re all within the same area anyways based on your requirement so it shouldn’t take too long for us to cover them all,” the woman said encouragingly.

“Let’s go then, what are we waiting for?” Kat said excitedly.

Just like that, we were on our way to visit the first apartment. This one was the cheapest from the three options and was located conveniently close to a grocery store. The building was middle-sized for an apartment complex. The building seemed well maintained although it was far from new. There were many small apartment units and the building seemed to be quite packed with residents.

“Come inside,” the woman invited us into the empty studio room.

The room had a large balcony and windows that let in a lot of natural light. The flow of air seemed good too and the room size seemed perfect for one person. There was very basic furnishing such as the bed, a desk and chair, and a small closet. A door led to the adjoined bathroom.

“Do you like it?” Kat asked.

“It’s nice and simple enough,” I replied.

“I think the natural light makes the room seem homey and nice...” Kat comment.

“Let’s keep this in our back pocket for now,” I replied with a smile.

“Yes. Let’s go to the next place!” Kat announced enthusiastically.

Her level of positive energy never failed to amaze me. I wondered how lonely and sad my life would be right now if I wasn’t introduced to her and if we didn’t become friends.

The second apartment was just a short walk from the first option. The building was taller and seemed newer. This studio apartment was a little more expensive than the first option. There was an elevator in the building which helped because the unit was located on the 15th floor. Walking up would be a good exercise but if I forgot something in the room, walking up 15 floors just to get it would drive me insane. Having an elevator was probably a necessity in a building of this height.

“You’re welcomed to take a look inside,” the woman said as she gestured for us to enter.

“Wow...I like this room...” Kat murmured after taking a look inside.

The room was bigger than the first option and the natural light coming in from the outside wasn’t too bright. I opened the door that led to the bathroom and was pleasantly surprised that the bathroom wasn’t super small. The room had basic furnishing that looked new like it had just been replaced. Overall, it seemed like a very good deal.

“The couple that was living here together broke up suddenly and went their separate ways, leaving all the deposit with the owner because they terminated the contract early. The owner of the room wanted to rent it out as soon as possible and that is why the price is what it is. It’s a very good deal. You don’t normally get a room like this for this price to be honest,” the woman informed us.

I wasn’t sure if her story was entirely true, but the room did seem like a good deal.

“Should we see the third option?” Kat asked.

I glanced down at the paper that was in my hand and reread the description of the third option. The third option was even more expensive than this one and seemed to be located further away from the office.

“There’s no need. I’ll go with this room,” I said decisively.

“Oh, that was fast. Great!” the woman exclaimed in delight.

I doubt many of her customers made up their minds as quickly as I did. This room was more than good enough for me right now and I didn’t want to spend more money on rent. Finances were tight and it wasn’t like I had money to spare or throw around.

“If you say so. I like this room too,” Kat said encouragingly.

“You mentioned that I could move in as early as tomorrow, right?” I asked.

“Yes, dear. You just need to pay the deposit and the rent upfront as per the contract and get the contract signed back at our agency. After that is all done, I can give you the keys to this place and you can move in whenever,” the woman explained simply.

“Great. Let’s do that. Thank you very much,” I said before smiling appreciatively at her.

...

After paying for the room’s deposit and advance rent as required and signing the rent contract, I held the key to my new apartment in my hand. It felt strangely exciting but also very fulfilling to finally have my own place. For the first time in my life, I had a place that I could truly call my own. Sure, it was rented but it was still being paid with my own hard-earned money. I used to call Lucien’s mansion my home, but it wasn’t truly my own place because it belonged to Lucien and before that it was his father’s.

I looked down at the key in my hand and couldn’t help but smile. Slowly and bit by bit, I was making some progress in building my own life. Renting out my own place was a big step for me and that meant that now I had more financial responsibility, namely the monthly rent and utility bills.

“Thanks for coming with me, Kat,” I thanked my dear friend.