Chapter 278
“Text me when you land in London, okay?” Arianna Mitchell said, giving Natalie Watson’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and flashing her a warm smile.
Natalie grinned. “I will. Promise p>
She took the boarding pass from Arianna and headed toward security, her footsteps steady. The airport hadn’t changed at all, not since the day three years ago when she’d left in a rush or now, coming back to headquarters for her review. Everything looked the same. The only real difference was inside her.
Back then, she’d been hurt and hopeless. Now, she felt calm. Sure of herself.
Arianna watched Natalie until she disappeared into the crowd, then finally turned to go. Just as she did, something caught her eye in the corner of the terminal.
Was that… Alexander Ramirez?
She blinked, thinking she must be imagining things, then looked again. There he was, standing by a marble pillar in a sharp black suit. Tall, impossibly handsome, his expression unreadable as he watched the gate. But in his eyes, for just a second, there was something. A deep, quiet longing.
It was definitely him.
Arianna froze. He was supposed to be at his engagement party right now. Why was he here? She didn’t want to think about it too much. He wasn’t Natalie’s concern anymore. He was someone else’s fiancé.
So Arianna didn’t say anything. She just walked straight to the parking lot.
Alexander stayed where he was, staring at the security gate long after Natalie was gone.
Behind him, Aaron Lee checked his watch and spoke quietly. “Mr. Ramirez, the engagement ceremony has already started p>
Alexander finally turned away, his face set, and walked off.
When Natalie got to London,
aught
everything moved fast. She jumped right into her work meetings, up with colleagues over dinner, stopped by Madelyn’s place it was three days before she finally had a quiet moment to herself.
Sinking into the beanbag chair by her apartment window, she realized she’d only texted Arianna a quick “I’m safe” and hadn’t actually talked to her yet. She pulled out her phone and hit call.
They chatted about nothing for a bit,
then Arianna asked, “Did you see the news? Alexander Ramirez was supposed to get engaged to Camila, White, but he never showed up Camila did the whole thing alone. I can’t even imagine how awkward it was p>
Natalie blinked in surprise. Since she’d landed, she hadn’t paid any attention to what was happening back home-especially not celebrity news Honestly, she’d been avoiding it on purpose. The Ramirez family’s engagement was bound to be all over the headlines, but she never thought it would be because Alexander didn’t show.
“Oh, and listen,” Arianna said, lowering her voice. “After I dropped you off, I saw Alexander at the airport p>
Natalie went quiet.
“He was just standing there, watching you walk through the gate p>
Outside, thick fog had rolled in, hiding the bright city lights and even the boats on the Thames. It felt just like her thoughts-cloudy and confusing. She had no idea what Alexander was thinking.
If he loved her, why had he slept with Camila and had a child with her? But if he loved Camila, why skip his own engagement and come to the airport to see Natalie off, all without her even knowing? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ