Ch. 526..530: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 526-530

Chapter 526: Reiner – Desperate Solution

Maybe because he was new, Nick worked harder than any of us. Reiner and I worked long hours, but Nick worked even longer hours. He basically slept in a room in the orphanage and worked first thing in the morning until he went to bed at night.

“I like this place. I think this is a good orphanage. The kids are good kids too. The teachers are kind and the food tastes great,” Nick complimented everything like this was a real paradise on earth.

“You’re right,” I agreed with him before I started laughing quite loudly.

Reiner approached our table before taking the seat next to mine. He gave Nick a brief smile of greeting before he got straight to business.

“Natalia and I are flying back to the main island tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice but I think it would be better for us to talk to King as soon as possible and King agrees. We’re leaving this place in your care until we’re back. Ok?” Reiner asked without giving Nick much of a choice.

This was the first time that I was hearing about our sudden trip back to the main island too, so I was as surprised as Nick was.

“We’re leaving tomorrow...already?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes. Hopefully, when we get back, we’ll have some type of longer-term solution for this place. You two may or may not know this but this isn’t the only orphanage that King is running. So, there’s a lot of work to be done if there are similar cases of fraud in the other places as well...” Reiner said before he pressed his lips into a thin line.

Fraud in other places...

I didn’t even want to think about that. It was bad enough that we were dealing with fraud and the lack of management in this one place.

“Oh...” I murmured without knowing what else to say.

“Don’t worry about this place. I’ll manage somehow when you’re gone. The teachers and other staff here are great people and very responsible so nothing can go wrong,” Nick replied with outstanding optimism.

That was another one of his good points. Outstanding optimism.

“Thank you, Nick. We’ll try to be back as soon as we can,” I promised before offering him another smile.

...

The following day, Reiner flew us back to the main island where we had a meeting scheduled with King right away. As if he knew that we wanted to come home, King gracefully offered to have the meeting with us at home rather than at the office. Although it hadn’t been that long since I’ve returned to the mansion, it felt so great to be back home.

King was waiting for us in his study and when we arrived, he had a deep frown in between his brows. The scowl on his face made me immediately nervous.

“Welcome back,” King said without much emotion in his voice.

Reiner and I took our seats opposite him from his large work desk. King was clearly not in the best of moods, and I could guess the reason why.

“Thanks for sending Nick. He’s a great help,” Reiner began on a light note.

“Let’s get to the point,” King urged before his eyes rested on the two of us.

My mouth clammed shut and I didn’t hesitate to let Reiner take the center stage for this one.

“We need a team to manage the orphanage and we probably need to repeat the auditing process that we did with this one with the other orphanages. First things first, we need someone to manage the orphanage first because Natalia and I can’t keep on managing it forever and Nick isn’t going to cut it if he works alone no matter how much determination and motivation he has,” Reiner summarized everything quite nicely.

King’s emotionless face turned thoughtful as he seemed to consider what Reiner had just reported. I watched King as I waited for his verdict on how we should proceed. As always, I couldn’t read King at all, and I had no clue what he was thinking.

“The real issue is that we don’t have anyone to manage that place. There isn’t anyone readily available in the company who can and is willing to take on the role. We can start the hiring process but it’s going to take time. It’s not an easy role to fill even if I decide to pay more than the market rate for compensation,” King stated matter-of-factly.

I had guessed something as much. Celine and her team probably stayed because they could pocket a lot of extra money from committing fraud.

What should we do now? We can’t just leave the children, the teachers, and the staffs like that.

“What do you want to do?” Reiner asked for King’s direction.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll probably have to leave it for now while we try to recruit. I want you back in the office too, we can’t have a senior manager hanging around to manage an orphanage that isn’t even part of the main business,” King stated bluntly.

“I understand...” Reiner said emotionlessly.

I could understand why the conversation was taking the direction that it was taking but I just didn’t like it one bit. No one is talking about the welfare of the children at all. What is going to happen to them?

“Umm...what is going to happen to the children?” I spoke up in a small voice.

Even if I couldn’t speak up for myself, I had to muster up all the courage that I had to speak up for those children.

King’s blue eyes shifted from Reiner to me, and I bit hard on my lower lip. Maybe I did speak out of turn but...those children need help.

“If we can’t find someone to run that orphanage then we might have to move the children somewhere else. Combine them with another orphanage somewhere else that has capacity,” King replied

“That’s...” I murmured.

Does that mean that the children will have to be separated on top of the fact that they have to move?

“Do you have another way in mind, Natalia?” King challenged as his blue eyes narrowed at me.

Well...

Chapter 527: Reiner – His Rage

There’s got to be another way, right?

“I’ll do it. If you’ll let me, I’ll like to move to manage the orphanage full time,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

I’m sorry, Reiner, but I just can’t think of another solution that it better than this. If no one else is going to take it on, will you please let me do this?

King’s emotionless face transformed into a look of frank surprise while I felt Reiner stiffen next to me as he turned to glare at my face. After saying that so boldly, I had no other options left but to hold my ground. I am not going to back out of my words. Although my idea was crazy at best, I didn’t regret my proposal at all.

“Will you...allow it, please?” I asked King when he failed to give me a response.

“Interesting. Very interesting...” King commented as he rubbed his chin in thought.

“I cannot allow it. We’ll find another way,” Reiner spoke up before King could come to a conclusion.

My head whipped around to face Reiner as my mouth hung open. What did he just say?

“What...?” I whispered in shock.

“I won’t allow it,” Reiner stated resolutely without breaking eye contact from me.

He’s so serious about this. How am I supposed to convince King when I don’t even have Reiner on my side?

“I’ll allow it. You can go if you can convince Knight because I won’t be responsible for any internal disputes,” King said passively as his eyes shifted from my face to Reiner’s.

I could sense Reiner’s dissatisfaction and I was sure that it would soon turn into anger. It was my fault for proposing something so crazy without consulting him first, but I didn’t foresee that what King had in mind either.

As far as King was concerned, the conversation was as good as over. Reiner stood up abruptly from his seat and without saying another word, he headed for the door. I watched his back as he left as a huge lump formed in my throat. I’ve really gone and done it this time...

“Thank you...” I whispered to King before I also got up from my seat.

“Good luck convincing that stubborn son of mine,” King said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Right...” I whispered in response before taking my leave.

Father and son had a habit of saying things as if it was easy to achieve. How am I supposed to convince Reiner?

...

“R...wait!” I called after him, but he didn’t turn around.

I knew that I was loud enough, and that he definitely heard me. The fact that he didn’t even bother to turn around to face me only meant one thing: he’s boiling with anger.

I hung my head low before I sucked in a deep breath. What am I doing?

“R! Wait!” I cried out before panting.

I need to exercise more. Just running the short distance to catch up to him left me breathless. How pathetic...

I grabbed onto his arm before planting myself in front of him to stop him from taking another step forward. Reiner glared down at me with an unimpressed look on his face.

“Can we...talk?” I asked softly as I stared up into his face with pleading eyes.

“What is there to talk about?” Reiner shot back sharply before he semi lifted me out of his way.

“R...wait...” I continued pleading with him as I tried to keep up with his long strides.

Why is he so mad?

Reiner did not pay me any attention even until we reached our rooms. Even though, I knew that I was in the wrong, I didn’t quite understand why Reiner could get this angry about it. Can’t he understand that there’s no other way and if I didn’t do this then the kids will suffer needlessly?

He opened the door to our room with a loud bang before marching in. I sighed before following him into the room and closing the door behind me softly. He’s furious...

Reiner sat himself down on the sofa and began shrugging off his suit while I stood by the door as I hesitated about how to approach him. He’s just going to either ignore me or shout at me and I wasn’t sure which alternative I preferred.

Maybe things will work out if I try to talk this out with him calmly. If he would just tell me why he’s so mad, then maybe I can do something to fix it. Slowly and cautiously, I approached the sofa where Reiner was sitting. He ignored me completely as he unbuttoned and then strip off his shirt. He didn’t even look my way when I sat down next to him on the sofa.

I guess I’m getting the silent treatment option. That was the hardest to deal with out of the two. Clearly luck wasn’t on my side.

“R...why are you so mad?” I asked sweetly as I focused on his stern face.

Reiner gave me a cold stare before turning away from me without giving me an answer. I stared at his broad back as I felt frustration rise inside of me. There were so many issues that I had to deal with and adding an upset husband on top of everything else was just getting to be too much for me to handle.

Slowly, I reached my hand and out and ran my fingertips softly on his naked shoulder before scooting even closer to him.

“R...” I whispered his name sweetly as I gently draped my arm across his shoulder.

Although he didn’t reply to me, he didn’t push me away. I moved even closer to him until my chest was pressed up against his back.

“Talk to me properly please...” I begged in a small voice.

I could feel the heat of the naked skin of his back against my cheek as I laid my face against his broad and muscular back. Reiner’s body stiffened slightly when I wrapped my other arm around his waist.

Chapter 528: Reiner – Never Want to be Apart

“I’m sorry for proposing something crazy like that without consulting you or getting your permission first but I didn’t have any other choice. You heard what King said about shutting down the place and moving the children to other places...” I explained.

Reiner didn’t reply and that confused me even more. What more am I supposed to say?

“Can you please say something...?” I begged against his back.

Reiner was silent for moment but then I heard him let out a long sigh. Maybe just like me, he had been figuring out what he wanted to say. I felt his hands on my wrists before he began gently removing my arms from around his body. I let him do what he wanted and soon he turned around to face me.

His face was solemn, and I knew that I wasn’t really going to like what he was going to say. However, I was prepared to compromise so that we could both move on happily with our lives.

“Do you even understand what your proposal means?” Reiner asked accusingly.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at...” I replied honestly.

“King said that he wants me on this island and then you propose that you’re going to work at the orphanage. Did it ever occur to you that we’ll be living on different islands?” Reiner asked as his eyes glowered at me.

That’s true...

Well, now that he put it this way, I guess I had to admit that that thought never really crossed my mind before.

“Well...” I murmured.

“You never thought about it. You were too worried about a bunch of children and their lives before you thought about our relationship,” Reiner pointed out without mincing his words.

“Yes, and I am so sorry...” I admitted and quickly apologized.

“I don’t want an apology from you. You’re not allowed to live there alone on that island without me with you and that is final,” Reiner stated bluntly.

I was so stunned at the directness of his words that I couldn’t do anything but stare back at him. Am I understanding this correctly because it sounds like...

“You’re not ok with it because...you don’t want us to live apart?” I asked for confirmation hesitantly.

Am I even getting this right? This doesn’t seem like him at all...so...

It was true that if I went to work there fulltime, we would be pretty much living on different islands that would require a couple of hours flight. I didn’t think that it was a big deal when I proposed the idea to King. Honestly, this issue never crossed my mind but now that he mentioned it, I could see why it may become an issue for us.

“Did you just realize it now?” Reiner asked sarcastically.

“Umm...this long-distance thing will probably be temporary so...” I mumbled.

“If you go out there and live alone, who’s going to take care of you?” Reiner asked as his blue eyes narrowed at me.

“I can take care of myself...” I retorted stubbornly.

It wasn’t like I was a big fan of the idea of living on that island at the orphanage all by myself without Reiner there, but it wasn’t like I didn’t think that I couldn’t survive at all.

“No, Natalia...you can’t. You can’t take care of yourself,” Reiner stated resolutely.

I can take care of myself, but it probably won’t be up the standard that Reiner wanted or the way that he usually takes care of me. I closed my eyes before I sighed at how difficult it was to deal with him.

“I’m not backing down from this. In case you haven’t realized, I’m not being stubborn and selfish for my own benefits this time around. I’m doing this for the children because they need, and they deserve to get this help. Please...please just listen to me,” I pleaded desperately.

This wasn’t like any of my selfish requests in the past that I was doing for myself. I begged him with my eyes for him to at least consider my proposal. Reiner’s face closed off into an unreadable mask and I knew that he wasn’t going to approve of this.

“R...please. Please let me do this. There’s no one else and the children at the orphanage can’t be abandoned. Please...please support me just this once...” I continued pleading.

I felt hot tears sting the back of my eyes in my desperation. It wasn’t just about me, so I had so much to lose. If I can’t go back there, what’s going to happen to all the children? There is no way that Nick can handle that place alone.

Reiner looked down into my face with very cold blue eyes and I wasn’t sure what he was seeing. I’m going to start crying and that would probably make me look more emotional than rational. This is a disaster. This felt even harder than begging him to work at the bar even though this was for a much better cause.

“I am not doing any stupid long-distance relationship. You are my wife, you will stay with me,” Reiner finally spoke, and his tone left no room for argument.

Without even a glance my way, he got up from the sofa as if he was done with this conversation. However, I was far from done. There was no way that I could be done with this until I got what I wanted.

“R...” I called his name as I got up from the sofa and followed him.

“Enough of this, Natalia. I’ll do my best to send someone else there,” Reiner responded coldly without turning back.

“No. I want to go there. I want to do this,” I replied decisively.

It was then that I realized how much this mission meant to me. It wasn’t enough that someone would someday turn up to help the children. I wanted to do it. That person had to be me.

“What’s gotten into you?” Reiner asked as his brows furrowed.

“It’s as I just said. I really want to do this. Maybe...this is what I really want to do...” I replied honestly.

I wouldn’t say that I was sure that this was my life’s calling right now but it might be something close and I wanted to figure it out.

Chapter 529: Reiner – Can’t Let Go

Reiner went completely silent as his blue eyes stared deeply into mine. He’s so tall and the way he stared down at me made me feel so intimidated...but not this time...

“If I told you that this might be my dream, would you still stand in my way?” I asked although I knew that I was being unfair.

Please answer me before I start crying right in front of you.

Instead of replying to me, Reiner reached out and grabbed my wrist firmly before he tugged on my arm and pulled me into his arms.

“R...” I whispered his name in surprise as I felt the familiar warmth of his embrace surround me.

His arms tightened around my body before his large hand held the back of my head and pressed my face closer against his chest. I could feel the strong beat of his heartbeat against my ear and before I knew it, I had wrapped my arms securely around his naked upper body.

“I can’t let you go...” Reiner muttered softly, and his arms tightened again around my body.

“Then...can you find a way to come with me?” I asked before I tried to tip my face to look up at him.

I knew that I was being very selfish and perhaps that was one of the things that I was so good at. My life with him had been a series of me pushing him around the way that I liked.

“Please, come with me, R...I don’t want us to live apart either...” I continued begging him.

Reiner was silent for a while, and I knew that he was truly considering what I wanted. I pressed my body closer to his as I enjoyed the heat of his body against mine. In the end, we probably felt the same way and we didn’t want to be apart from each other.

“I understand,” Reiner finally said.

“You do?” I asked in surprise.

“I do. I’ll find a way...” Reiner whisper calmly from above me.

“Thank you, R!” I thanked him gleefully.

I never knew back then what Reiner had to give up to accompany me on my mission to right the wrongs of the orphanage and save those children.

...

**A few days later**

“We’re finally back!” I announced loudly and cheerfully as I danced my way into our small office in the orphanage.

No one else was waiting for us there apart from a wide-eyed Nick who was dressed in a basic white shirt and loose jeans.

“Wow! Welcome back!” Nick exclaimed excited as he jumped out of his seat.

I could tell that Nick had been busy and was probably behind on his sleep from the dark bags under his eyes. Apart from that, he seemed as energetic and motivated as before we left him here all alone to deal with all the mess.

“How have things been around here?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t say smooth sailing but we’re keeping it together. The children are happy and not impacted,” Nick reported with a bright smile.

“I have some good news on that front. You see, we didn’t just return alone, we brought some surprise guests with us!” I announced before gesturing with both hands at the opened door.

“Hi!”

“Hello!”

“Glad to be here!”

“Wow! We have a team now?” Nick exclaimed in surprise at the sight of three new members.

After I somehow convinced Reiner to let me return to this island to work on the orphanage and he somehow convinced King to allow him to come along with me, we also managed to gather three new team members. Of course, none of them had any experience in dealing with children or running an orphanage but that didn’t matter to us at all at that moment. The best things about these three new members were that they had the same motivation just like Nick. Hopefully the fire of their passion would help all of us survive as we strive towards our common goal.

“By the way, this is Kat, she’s my best friend,” I introduced Kat proudly as I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

Kat laughed gleefully like she had forgotten and discarded all of her troubles behind her. During the few days that I was back on the main island, I got in contact with Kat and found out that she had been having guy troubles again. That wasn’t surprising, the most surprising part was that she wanted to move to this island to work with me.

‘I’ve had such shitty luck with guys, maybe I’ll do better with little kids...’

That was what she said. Apparently, things have gotten very sour between her and some of the male customers at the bar that Jamie was also relieved that I could take her off his hands. As for me, I was thrilled to have Kat join the team. Kat may have many flaws when it came to how she manages her relationships with men but when it came to working hard, she was a pro.

The other two people who came along with us were staff from the company that Reiner had somehow convinced or fooled to join us. Now that they were here, we just had to pray that Nick’s positivity would rub off on them and that they would stay.

Reiner stood to the side as he watched on as the scene unfolding before him. Sadly, the negotiation with King did not end with him allowing Reiner to help me out with my work. Although he could be here with me physically, he was not allowed to disregard his duties at the main company, and he probably had to fly back and forth sometimes to attend important meetings on the main island.

My lips curved into a small smile as I thought of how thankful I am to him and the sacrifices that he’s made for me. For a long time, I’m going to owe him for this one, if not forever. Somehow, I’m going to make it up to him. Perhaps, I can start by making his time here a lively and happy one.

Chapter 530: Reiner – His Selfless Self

Life at the orphanage was a rocky ride right from the start. It truly helped to have more people on the team who could help on all fronts of the work. Nick and another staff that Reiner had recruited over from the company handled most of the administrative work along with me while Kat and the other staff focused on overseeing and helping out with operations.

Kat turned out to be a big help and the fact that I could trust her to get things done flawlessly truly helped me to focus on solving the problems in front of me. Within three months, the orphanage was off to a better start, and we were able to welcome our first new batch of children without having to increase costs at all thanks to optimizing some processes and writing off expenses from Celine’s fraud case.

Now that I thought of it, I never got around to finding out what happened to Celine and her team. When I asked Reiner, he just smiled and told me that I could consider them ‘gone for good’. The way he smiled so coldly at me told me that I shouldn’t delve into any more details.

I stood in front of the orphanage with my small management team and a few teachers and staffs who could make time while we waited eagerly for the arrival of our first new batch of children since we had taken over this place. Because of the issue with Celine, this batch of intake was delayed from her time until now.

Regretfully, it took much longer than I had hoped for us to be ready to welcome these children, but now that they could be arriving at any moment, I couldn’t contain my excitement. The arrival of these children would serve as the first important milestone in my journey of managing this orphanage.

“They’re here! They’re here, Natalia!” Kat exclaimed happily before she turned to throw her arms around my shoulders to hug me tight.

I felt tears swimming in my eyes as I watched a bus approaching our orphanage. The children are finally here. Although this batch only had around ten children, if we could deal with them well, it would be a sure sign that we could welcome more children very soon in the future.

The door to the bus opened and many small children were escorted down from the bus. Kat and the others literally ran forward to support the children while I stood where I was and looked on at the fulfilling and touching scene unfolding in front of me. These children, just like the others, were victims of conflicts and wars that they knew absolutely nothing about. They have lost everything that they had including everyone in their family, so hopefully, they will somehow find happiness, a new family, and friends in this place.

“The kids are so cute!” Kat cried out cheerfully as she lifted a small girl into her arms.

I couldn’t help but smile and giggle a little as a warmth that was quite unfamiliar filled my chest. While I watch the other staff lead the children into the orphanage where they would be taken care off according to their age range, I couldn’t help feeling a little lonely inside. The space next to me was empty and it had been that way for a while now without Reiner by my side.

With his busy work schedule, Reiner spent a lot of time working in his office while I focused on my own work. In a sense, we have become more independent of each other and perhaps that was good in some ways but challenging in others. The only comfort that I had for myself is the thought that other married couples don’t normally spend their every waking and sleeping hours together and perhaps this was what was normal.

We were still close when we got off work and of course, we had our weekends to ourselves now that things have settled down some what at this orphanage. The real battle will begin soon when I start looking into the other orphanages as agreed with King.

...

“We’re having a little party to celebrate the arrival of the new kids later today,” I told Reiner when we sat down to have lunch together.

Lunchtime was a great time for me to spend some alone time with him. Although that meant that I couldn’t chill out with my colleagues, I didn’t mind at all. Nothing beat spending time over a peaceful meal with my husband.

“Sounds like it’s going to be fun. Let me know when it ends, I’ll wait for you so we can go back together,” Reiner replied casually.

“Don’t you want to join in? I’m sure the kids will be so happy if you do. They’re all looking forward to playing with you,” I suggested invitingly.

Given his work and now that we were working separately, Reiner didn’t have that much time to spend with the children and I found that unfortunate. He had gotten better at dealing with children and he seemed much more comfortable with them than before. Sometimes we would spend some time during the weekend or after work with the children if Reiner was free.

“Do you want me to?” he asked.

“If you won’t hate it...” I replied with a small smile.

I didn’t want to push him, but I would feel much better if he was there with me.

“I don’t hate it,” Reiner replied without hesitation.

“Great. So, I’ll be seeing you?” I surmised gleefully.

“Yeah...” he replied before smiling back at me.

Just like I had predicted, the children were very excited to see Reiner. I didn’t personally think that Reiner had any ‘daddy vibes’ about him but the children seemed to have a very different opinion about that. They probably saw him as a father figure from the limited options of hunky male material in the orphanage.

“Knight!”

“Oh...Knight is here!”

Many children exclaimed as they immediately formed a ring around Reiner when he made his entrance next to me. While Reiner returned the children’s warm smiles with his own, I smiled a little to myself as I stood to the side.