The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

"Huh?" Marcus' expression darkened immediately after hearing what Natalie had just said.

"Acting as your boyfriend to see your grandmother?" he clarified.

"Yes." Natalie was furrowing her brows. She honestly didn't want to do this, but she had thought about it thoroughly just now.

Her relationship with the Langleys had fallen apart completely, and she would never go back to Amberton anymore. She also wasn't joking when she threatened Victor over the phone.

It was just that Langley Group was Grace's lifeblood. Since the largest amount of shares were in Natalie's hands, the Langleys were hounding her relentlessly. Moreover, if Langley Group continued under Victor's leadership, it was only a matter of time before it collapsed.

The reason why Grace had always wanted Natalie to marry Marcus wasn't just to get revenge on Selena and Tyler; she also wanted her to enjoy a worry-free life in the years to come.

She hoped no one would bully Natalie ever again.

Hence, if Grace knew how Natalie was dating Marcus, she wouldn't care so much about the shares.

Grace's thinking had become childlike. No matter how much Natalie reasoned with her, Grace didn't get it and would only stick to her original intentions.

No one could change her mind, regardless of how hard they tried.

For instance, after Grace met Marcus, she wanted Natalie to win him over. She was determined to have Natalie marry Marcus, securing her place in the Holden family.noveldrama

And ever since the idea entered Grace's mind, she was never once swayed.

Natalie could only play along rather than challenge Grace. However, she couldn't keep putting this off.

So, Natalie thought she could make use of this incident-where Selena was causing a huge fuss about how she'd commit suicide—to completely cut ties with the Langleys.

The Langleys were after the shares of Grace that Natalie controlled, while Natalie was after Grace's legal guardianship.

Natalie knew what Grace was thinking. The shares Grace had given her worked as her final safety net. If Natalie married Marcus and stayed in Dithoria, Langley Group's stakes in Amberton wouldn't matter much to her.

Conversely, if something happened to the company, she would have to take on a greater responsibility.

Thus, what Natalie had to do now was to bring Marcus to meet Grace, letting her know that Natalie had successfully captured Marcus' heart.

At that point, she would be a part of the Holdens, and Marcus wouldn't want her to get involved with Langley Group's problems. As for the company stakes, they meant nothing to him.

Natalie only needed a green light from Grace. Then, she could resolve the issues with the Langleys immediately.

So she came to Marcus, asking him for his help directly.

"Can you help me with it, Mr. Holden?"

Marcus' gaze was filled with doubt as he remained silent for a while. Thus, Natalie said, "I know this seems a bit too irrational, but I can assure you that after we persuade my grandmother and finish the things I planned, I'll tell her the truth.

"Don't worry, Mr. Holden. We're just putting on a show to deceive my grandmother. I won't let anyone know about this."

Marcus' brows were drawn together. Moments later, he asked calmly, "Why do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend all of a sudden, Ms. Walker?"

If Marcus remembered correctly, Grace had taken a liking to him from the very beginning. She even wanted Natalie to become his girlfriend.

At that time, he and Emma were still technically engaged, for they hadn't called off the marriage.

Though Grace was aware of it, she still allowed Natalie to insert herself into their relationship, which was why Marcus didn't like them initially.

Then, he found out Natalie was Dr. Elim and requested her to treat Charles. When Marcus was drugged, Natalie didn't take advantage of his vulnerability. Since then, his attitude toward Natalie changed.

Despite being upset at how Charles knew Natalie's disguise as a man, Marcus wasn't really mad at Natalie. Yet here Natalie was, asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend to deceive Grace. From the outside, Grace appeared to have the cognitive abilities of a six-year-old, but her words and actions could sometimes seem far too mature for a child that age.

"Grandma gave me a notable portion of Langley Group's shares." Natalie looked at Marcus sincerely. After all, he had the right to know why she needed his help.

"The Langleys have been coveting the shares under my name. But I'm not Grandma's biological granddaughter, so I wanted to get her legal guardianship. That way, Grandma could cut ties with the Langleys completely.

"Grandma's original intention was to back me up, and the shares were my wedding gift as well. Even if I wasn't a part of the Langleys anymore, I can still live a comfortable life."

Natalie paused. She couldn't bring herself to mention how Grace wanted him to become Natalie's husband because Grace had liked him a lot.

She then said hesitantly, "If I want Grandma to believe that I can live well without the shares, I need to bring a boyfriend with me to meet her first."

"So your future is tied to a man, is it, Ms. Walker?"

"Of course not. We're just putting on a show." Natalie furrowed her brows. "Just tell me if you're willing to help or not!"

The corner of Marcus' lips twitched a little. The woman before him sounded like she was asking for his help, but to be fair, she was very forceful about it.

"Sure, I can help."

Marcus agreed to help. "Just let me know when you'd like to meet Mrs. Langley Senior. But if we were to act as a couple, do you think you have to go with a different style?"

"Huh?" Natalie glanced at the outfit she was wearing. "What's with my style?"

Rubbing his brows, Marcus replied, "We look like a pair of good friends instead of a couple when we walk together. Do you think Mrs. Langley Senior would believe us? Since we're a couple, don't you think we should dress alike?"

Natalie was speechless. He wasn't insulting her, was he?

"When will you see Mrs. Langley Senior, Ms. Walker?"

"Around 10:00 pm, after I finish the acupuncture session for Grandpa Charles. I'll bring you to meet my Grandma."

"Okay."

"Alright, it's settled then."

"Yep."

After coming to an agreement, Natalie turned around and went back to her room.

Marcus, too, went back to his room. He went to the desk and sat down, then had Ethan investigate everything about Natalie's life, from childhood to the present.

After looking into it, Ethan couldn't help but feel sympathy for Natalie.

There was a long list of detailed blood transfusion history, one time after another. It felt as though they were transfusing not blood, but the life of young Natalie.

Marcus was shocked after reading the records. Amidst his shock, he began to have doubts.

Grace was injured when she tried to save the 16-year-old Natalie. Why didn't she stop Victor and Diana from transfusing Natalie's blood before then?

Didn't Grace love Natalie the most? Besides, the Langleys were rich. If Diana needed a blood transfusion, they could always pay for it.

Moreover, blood transfusions were prohibited between immediate family members, but Natalie had been transfusing blood to Diana ever since she was a kid. This meant that not only did Victor and Diana know that Natalie wasn't their biological daughter, but Grace must have also known it.