The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus) novel Chapter 220

Marcus snapped out of his thoughts and gave a slight nod. He unlocked his phone and slid it across the table to Natalie.

"Mr. Holden, do you have my second brother's number? Lincoln?"

"I do. Just search for it in my contacts."

"Alright, thanks."

Natalie found Lincoln's number in Marcus's contact list and dialed.

After three rings, the call connected. "Marcus?"

"Lincoln, it's me, Natalie." She glanced at Marcus before continuing, "My phone died, and I happened to run into Mr. Holden, so I borrowed his phone. I'll send you my location, so can you come pick me up?"

"No problem. Stay right there. I'll be there soon."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Natalie returned the phone to Marcus. "Mr. Holden, could you send Lincoln my location?"

"Sure."

Marcus pulled up Lincoln's WhatsApp, sent the location, and received a quick "Got it."

"Done."

Just as they finished speaking, three knocks sounded at the door before a waiter entered to serve the food.

Once the dishes were placed on the table, silence settled between Natalie and Marcus once more. Neither spoke.

After a long pause, Marcus finally broke the quiet. "Ms. Walker, let's eat."

"Alright, thank you."

Natalie began dishing out the sides for herself and Marcus. "Mr. Holden, here."

"Thank you."

Silence settled between them once more.

Natalie focused on her meal, while Marcus, though not particularly hungry, absentmindedly took a few bites.

She ate with graceful movements, but her pace wasn't slow. In just a few minutes, she had finished her meal.

Setting down her spoon, she spoke calmly, "I'm full. Take your time, Mr. Holden."

Marcus was momentarily speechless. "At least have some salad. Drink something."

Natalie shook her head. "No need. I'm already full. I'll leave once Lincoln arrives."

"Alright."

Marcus didn't insist. He set down his spoon, and silence fell between them once more.

The quiet was suffocating. Natalie found it hard to just sit there, so she stood up. "Mr. Holden, would it be alright if I walked around the restaurant?"

"Of course. I'll have Noah show you around."

Marcus turned to the door. "Noah, take Ms. Walker for a tour."

"Yes, Mr. Holden. Ms. Walker, this way."

"Alright, thank you."

As Natalie followed Noah out of the private dining room, she glanced back at Marcus. He remained by the window, gazing outside.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass, casting a soft glow on his face. From her angle, she noticed how long his eyelashes were—his sharp, defined features appeared less intimidating under the warm light.

Yet, there was an undeniable melancholy surrounding him.

Since the day she had met Marcus, she had never seen him like this.

But then again, whatever he was feeling had nothing to do with her.

Following Noah, Natalie took a tour of the second floor, then the first, and finally the third. However, he didn't take her to the fourth or fifth floor.

"Can I take a look at the fourth and fifth floors?"

She paused, then asked, "Lincoln, did you know this Helianese restaurant belongs to Marcus' mother?"

Lincoln frowned slightly. "No, I didn't. But I do now."

"I only just found out myself."

He asked her, "What were you even doing there?"

"I was supposed to go with Sky, but I got out of the car halfway."

Natalie didn't feel like bringing up Emma, so she kept her explanation vague.

But Lincoln's expression instantly darkened. Without hesitation, he connected to Bluetooth and called Sky.

The moment the call connected, he snapped, "Sky, are you out of your damn mind? Why the hell did you leave Nat on the side of the road?"

"Lincoln, have some respect. I'm your older brother," Sky shot back, irritation clear in his voice. "And I didn't leave her. She got out on her own, alright?"

"Oh? And when she wanted to get out, you couldn't have gotten out instead and given her the damn car?" Lincoln fired back coldly.

"You left her, a woman, alone in the middle of nowhere. What if something had happened to her? What are those two legs of yours for? Decoration? Would walking a few steps have killed you? Or is that lump on your neck just there to add a few inches to your height?"

"Lincoln!" Sky's furious voice blasted through the speakers. "Watch your damn mouth!"

"You don't even respect Nat, so why the hell should I respect you?" Lincoln retorted icily.

"Sky, don't think I don't know what's going on in your head. You must've said something to piss Nat off. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left the car. And don't think you can just brush this off.

"I'm telling Mother and Father about this. Nat suffered for years in the Langley family, and now that she's finally home, do you think she should put up with your bullshit too? Why the hell should she?"

"Lincoln, put Natalie on the phone!" Sky's anger flared, his usual "Nat" replaced by her full name.

"Sorry, but Nat doesn't want to talk to you," Lincoln said bluntly and then hung up.

Natalie sat there, completely stunned.

She had never expected Lincoln to go off on Sky—his brother of over 20 years—all because of her.