Chapter 7

Everything fell silent as soon as Miss Natasha entered the hall. The air seemed to have thickened and was pressing down on everyone.

Like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline, Haven turned toward her, his face beaming with victory. "Miss Natasha! Thank God you are here!"

"What exactly is going on here?"

He sounded urgent and desperate. "This man—" he pointed a finger at me, "has been disturbing this event and being a nuisance. He has no business being here. I demand that he apologize to not only me, but also to Mrs. June and Isabella. And then, he should leave."

I did not move an inch. I did not even respond. I simply watched Natasha take slow, deliberate steps towards us, her heels clicking against the polished floor.

She maintained a neutral, unreadable expression.

Isabella breathed a tiny sigh of comfort. Her confidence, which had been about to crumble, came back.

She sat up straight, tossing her hair over her shoulder as though victory was already certain.

"Miss Natasha, this man ruined everything," she continued in a poisonous tone. "He should be arrested for interfering with such a significant occasion."

Murmurs echoed through the small crowd like ripples on water.

"He really should not have come," I heard someone say.

"Does he believe he is someone because he dresses well?" another added.

"He remains a nobody."

I ignored their words and let them pass over me. Allow them to think whatever they want. What they thought did not matter.

When Natasha finally arrived, she was only a few feet away from us. First she turned to look at me, then at Haven. She glanced at Mrs. June and Isabella, then back at Haven.

"So you want him to apologize, right?" she said in a frighteningly quiet voice.

With eagerness, Haven nodded. "Yes. I have been humiliated in front of everyone by him. He should immediately leave after apologizing."

A small smile appeared on Natasha's lips, but it was not a joyful one. It was the type of smile that made even the most arrogant men hold back.

"Interesting," she thought. "I concur that an apology is necessary from someone."

The smiles spread across Haven's face. Isabella gave a sly smile. With a satisfied expression, Mrs. June crossed her legs and eased herself into her chair.

Natasha then turned to look directly at Haven.

"You need to apologize to Mr. Johnson."

Silence.

For a second, no one moved. All of them believed Natasha had made a mistake.

Haven blinked, obviously disbelieving what he was hearing. "What?"

"You heard what I said." Natasha's voice was composed but firm. "Apologize to Mr. Johnson, or you will be escorted out. And right away, I will submit a formal query against you."

The room echoed with a group gasp.

The arrogant looks on the faces of Mrs. June, Isabella, and Haven disappeared in a moment.

Mrs. June suddenly sat up quickly, gazing at Natasha as though she had gone insane. Haven appeared completely bewildered, and Isabella's mouth dropped open.

I would not blame them. All they knew about Natasha was that she was Mr. and Mrs. Ben's daughter.

They were unaware that she had a brother, whom they had never seen her with in the company's existence.

And her brother happened to be me!

"Miss Natasha," Haven replied after a moment, his voice strained, "you must be mistaken. He—he is the one causing problems! He is not even supposed to be here—"

Natasha's eyes grew sterner. "Are you disputing my decision?"

Haven's mouth formed a thin line. He was wise enough not to confront her head-on

.

As everyone in the hall waited to see what he would do, they were all frozen in anticipation.

Haven's hands tightened slowly. The humiliation burned in his face, but there was nothing he could do. In fact, he had believed that Natasha and I were dating.

He took a deep breath and made himself turn to face me. Even though it was difficult to hide the hatred in his eyes, he managed to spit out the words:

"I apologize."

I did not reply. I just watched him. 

His mouth moved. He looked at Natasha, anticipating her approval.

"Apologize appropriately," she said coldly. "Or would you prefer to be thrown out?"

Haven appeared to be on the verge of an explosion. But, in the end, he did what was instructed.

"I apologize, Mr. Johnson," he said, his voice hardly audible above a whisper.

I grinned. "Haven, speak up. Not everyone, I believe, heard you."

His nostrils opened wide. He seemed like he wanted to punch me. He had no choice, though, with everyone watching him.

"I apologize, Mr. Johnson," he said again, this time he was firm.

Natasha nodded contentedly. "Okay. Now you can leave."

Haven's entire body tensed, but he knew that he had no control over this. He turned on his heel and walked toward the exit, maintaining as much dignity as possible.

He was obviously angry, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Isabella and Mrs. June remained amazed and could not move at the moment.

"Escort them out as well," Natasha commanded, gesturing to the guards.

Immediately, the security team took action, they made them move.

"Hold on! You cannot do this!" Isabella screamed as the guards grabbed her by the arm. "What the hell are you doing, Miss Natasha? You can not simply throw me out!"

"Watch me," Natasha said calmly.

Mrs. June screamed in anger as she struggled against the security's hold. "Are you aware of who I am? This is ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous?" I said, observing their struggle. "I felt exactly that way when you treated me like I did not exist."

They continued their protests, but they could not hear the doors opening. One by one, they were dragged from the hall.

As the doors closed behind them, the room became silent once more.

I reached for my wine glass and sipped, enjoying the taste of victory. Everything had gone according to plan on the anniversary night of the company.