Bab 3: Irresistible
The following day, after finishing an assignment:
"Oh, God! I am bored!" Nathan mumbled as he collapsed onto his bed.
As he did that, his mind wandered back to the mysterious message from the previous night.
He grabbed his phone, scrolling through the series of texts that had been haunting him for nearly a week.
"There are things you need to know. About your beloved father!" That was the first message he had received from the unknown sender.
And he had ignored it, believing it was from one of those fraudsters who knew who his father was and needed money.
"Your father has something he is hiding from you... Don't you wish to find out what that is?" The same sender had sent that two days after the first one.
"Time is running out." That was sent four days after.
"If you know what is better for you, you will reply to my messages." And that was the recent one.
"This is getting ridiculous. You must think I am a novice to any of this, you fraudster." Nathan stated as if the sender could hear him just by talking into the phone and scoffed in annoyance.
"Enough of this going back and forth." He decided as his finger hovered over the block button. Without further hesitation, he blocked the number, releasing a heavy sigh.
As he lowered his phone, his eyes caught Scarlett's contact information, and a smile instantly replaced his frown.
He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since the previous night.
"Her confidence, her strength, and that sharp wit that keeps me on my toes..." He mumbled and his smile grew bigger at just the mere thought of their interaction.
"Am I really falling for someone I just met?" He wondered aloud, running a hand through his hair.
"This has to be what they call love at first sight, right?"
Before he could stop himself, his fingers were already typing out a message to her.
"So, do you make a habit of saving helpless rich boys, or am I special?" He sent to her.
The response to his message came almost immediately and he was so pleased.
"Oh look, the damsel in distress remembers me." Scarlett replied.
Nathan laughed out loud, his earlier worries forgotten.
"Damsel in distress? No, the correct term here should be a grateful survivor! Aren't you smart enough to know that?" He shot back and it was Scarlett's turn to let out a loud laugh.
"Can I face time you?" Nathan asked after a moment of talking.
"Bold of you to assume I want to see your face again." Scarlett said half-seriously.
"That is a yes, right?" He inquired with a knowing look.
And a moment later, his phone lit up with an incoming FaceTime call. Scarlett's face appeared on the screen, her eyebrow raised in that challenging way he was quickly becoming addicted to.
"Still need saving, huh, handsome in distress?" She teased, her eyes twinkling.
"Maybe, but this time from boredom." Nathan grinned, adjusting himself to sit more comfortably.
"Ah, the terrible plight of the wealthy. However will you survive?" She replied, smiling.
"Well, I have a suggestion, let me take you out to dinner." Nathan said, his heart beating a little faster as he awaited her response.
Scarlett's expression shifted slightly, a mix of surprise and something else he couldn't quite read.
"Dinner? With you?" She asked then pretended to think it over.
"I don't know... Are you sure you can handle being seen with someone who doesn't have a trust fund?" She added after a moment's hesitation.
"I'm willing to risk the scandal." Nathan played along, then added more seriously.
"I really want to get to know you better."
"Hmm. Well..." Scarlett started, but before she could finish, Nathan's phone buzzed with another incoming call.
His father's name flashed across the screen.
"Hold on a second, please. I need to pick this call." Nathan told Scarlett, and quickly switched the calls.
"Hey, Dad-" He had just begun but his father cut him off.
"Where in the world are you?" Richard West's voice boomed through the speaker.
Nathan winced, holding the phone away from his ear.
"I'm at my apartment, what is happening?" He inquired cluelessly.
"What is this that I'm seeing about you in the paper?" His father shot at him.
"Paper?" Nathan repeated, sounding unsure.
"What are you talking about?" He added.
"I should be asking the questions, young man. Don't try to play dumb. You know what you have been up. You know my status in the society yet you want to be going around spilling dirt on my name?" Richard bellowed.
Nathan was surprised.
"Dad, I don't know what you are talking about. I..." He was saying but wasn't allowed to finish.
"Get over here right now, this instant!" Richard commanded and the call ended abruptly, leaving Nathan in stunned silence.
"Now, what is going on?" Nathan wondered, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
Then he switched back to Scarlett's call.
"Is everything okay?" Scarlett asked gently as she immediately noticed his changed expression.
Nathan cleared his throat.
"Erm, nothing much. But I... I have to go. My Dad..." Nathan trailed off, running his fingers through his hair again – a nervous habit.
"Let me guess – the king summoned you to the castle?" Scarlett tried to joke to ease the tension.
Despite his anxiety, Nathan couldn't help but smile at her submission.
"Something like that. Can we do the dinner tomorrow? Please don't say no." He requested.
"We will see, Prince Charming. Try not to need any rescuing before then, though." Scarlett replied him with a smile.
"That is a yes. Thank you, damsel. Take care of yourself." He said before ending the call.
As he stood up to get changed, his mind couldn't stop thinking about his father's words.
"Papers? What could possibly be in the papers about me?" Nathan wondered aloud.
His father's controlling nature had always been suffocating, but that felt different. The anger in his voice...
"I'm in trouble again." Nathan whispered to himself, a chill running down his spine.
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