Brandon did know, in a way. Natalie seemed to be in a good mood these past few days. She was always either at W Marks or the hospital, taking care of him. She never once mentioned Derek whenever she told him about her day.
Brandon assumed Derek had been keeping his distance from Natalie since the car accident. Perhaps he had given up on her from that day on.
Brandon didn’t answer and Derek was left speechless. He smacked his l*ps. He had never known what to say to someone as arrogant and pretentious as Brandon. Derek’s elder brother was the same as Brandon. They were both so cold whenever they were talking to others.
Derek lazily stretched before turning to the fruit basket he brought and picking out one of the apples. He began eating it.
The corner of Brandon’s mouth twitched. He regarded Derek with a cold glare as he desperately wanted to kick the impolite man out of the room.
“If you’re going to eat, go out. This is my ward.”
Derek took a few more bites at the apple before speaking. His words slurred.
“No, I need to tell you something. It’s important.”
Quickly swallowing the apple, he added, “I’m here to thank you and Natalie. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been sitting here. You risked your life to save me.”
“It’s good that you know it.” Brandon’s fist was really itching to punch someone right now, but he did his best to hold back the urge.
“Are you done? If you are, get out!”
“What a rude person you are. Why does Natalie even like you?”
Derek puckered his l*ps in bewilderment. He had such a bright and sunny personality yet Natalie wouldn’t even waste a second to look at him. Her taste in men was really bad.
Brandon was just lifting the quilt to get up when Derek took another bite of the apple and sighed.
“But of course, you must have some good qualities in you. Otherwise, Natalie wouldn’t love you and only you.”
A glint of envy was in his eyes as she whispered, “Alas, I saw real love from you two. And I think that deserves to be respected.”
Derek threw his almost finished apple in the trash can, and then stood up and said, “It’s about time. I should go now. Have a good rest.”
He was already at the door when a thought occurred to him. Looking back, he plucked a document from the bag of snacks.
“I heard you haven’t found the perpetrator yet. So, I guess you may be interested in this.”
Brandon opened the file that Derek gave him. It had information about Roger, the man he had also investigated before.
“There’s no news about him now. Where did you get this information?” A cold glare fl**kered in Brandon’s eyes. He wasn’t expecting Derek to investigate the matter as well.
Derek decided to tell the truth.
“I’m too busy with the endorsement and modeling all day long to investigate something like this. But my brother found out about the accident. He was so angry so he looked into it. He dug about everyone related to Roger, but the information he had was only up to Roger’s disappearance. It was very strange. My brother checked the surveillance footage across the whole city and only found the last place he appeared. You can go there when you have time.”
Brandon turned to the last page of the document. The last place where Roger was seen was a deserted building in the suburbs. It was a place developed by the Turner Group.
“It’s a snake pit with the Turner Group.” Brandon put the document on the table and his eyes hardened like steel.
Derek’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he asked, “Are the Turners the ones pulling the strings against Natalie before?”
This was Derek’s educated guess. Last time, while they were in danger, he had asked Natalie about it. At that time, Natalie had told him that she would reveal all when they were out of danger. He smiled bitterly and thought that perhaps he would never have the chance to know the truth even though they were both safe and sound now.
“This is bet**en us and the Turners. Stop stressing about it.” Brandon didn’t want to drag Derek into the quagmire.
Derek said arrogantly, “Do I really look like I need to know?”
Then he stormed out of the room. Before opening the door, he couldn’t help but glance back.
“I won’t tell a soul. Don’t worry.”
At that moment, Brandon suddenly stopped him.
“Your information is a goldmine for us. Name your price and I’ll have my assistant transfer the funds to your account.”
Derek sniffed disdainfully and looked back.
“Do you think I’m a beggar? I was not in this for the money. That stupid murderer almost killed me. I can’t just let that go.”
Brandon’s eyes grew darker, a frown marring his face.
“Do you need me to say something to Natalie?” he asked, knowing the power of his words.
Derek was caught off guard by the question. After a moment of contemplation, he lowered his eyes and said, “Help me take good care of her. I don’t want to see her get hurt again.”
“She is my wife, and she’s mine to worry about. So just mind your own business,” Brandon replied, with a hint of possessiveness, marking his territory.
Derek was livid at the response. He glared at Brandon, gnashed his teeth, and spat out, “Then why did you ask me if I had something to tell her? You were just messing with me.”
The two men in the room were like oil and water, but the two women outside the room couldn’t stop laughing.
“Is Derek really that clueless?” Gilda grinned from ear to ear as she listened to Natalie talking about Derek.
At first, when Natalie saw Gilda, she thought she was a shy and quiet woman, but she quickly realized that Gilda was actually a chatterbox.
She couldn’t understand why such a wonderful girl would want to date a player like Derek.
Natalie couldn’t help but ask, “For how long have you known Derek?
You were both models, so you must have been old acquaintances,” she added, trying to make sense of the situation.
But Gilda denied any prior knowledge of Derek with a sly smile.
“Derek is a famous model, but I didn’t know him personally before.
Believe it or not, I have only known him for a week.
Five days ago, there was a sudden thunderstorm in Barnes. Gilda was picking up a friend from the hospital when she saw Wilder’s car parked outside. She was about to say hello when she overheard Wilder talking to a man with a tall, chiseled figure.
Gilda soon realized it was Derek. He was very gorgeous, particularly with his perfect facial features. He had an infectious, positive, and attractive vibe that made it hard for women to resist him.
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.
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