CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: A CALCULATED TRAP, LURING THE PREY

The slightly strange yet seemingly reasonable atmosphere between the two made Quentin Donovan frequently glance in their direction. What puzzled him the most was the way Natalie Vaughn looked at Zane Thorne.

Because Natalie Vaughn wasn’t very responsive to him, he didn’t really understand some of her small habits.

However, Natalie Vaughn was truly bold, without a hint of concealment, her eyes were filled with curiosity towards Zane Thorne, the kind of curiosity a woman has towards a man.

He had heard from James Vaughn that the Vaughn Family would arrange a marriage with the Thorne Family, and he also knew today was the day Natalie Vaughn was to meet Zane Thorne for matchmaking. It was precisely because he knew this that he couldn’t understand it.

By rights, given Natalie Vaughn’s nature, being arranged for matchmaking should be more than enough to make her resistant, and her resistance should extend to the matchmaking partner as well. But it wasn’t like that. Could Zane Thorne be that charming?

Thinking of this, Quentin Donovan looked at his good friend of more than ten years, indeed, Zane Thorne was the type many women would like. But he was not convinced, why couldn’t he get close to Natalie Vaughn after so many years, yet Zane Thorne easily caught her interest?

"Nina, you’re still so young, why are you in a rush to get married? Uncle and Auntie like me so much, why not arrange a matchmaking between us? We’ve known each other since we were young, we make a good pair."

Natalie Vaughn’s brow twitched upon hearing the name, feeling quite disgusted.

"If you don’t want me to call you Tanna, you’d better change the way you address me."

Quentin Donovan compromised.

"OK, Nina, how about it, consider your childhood friend?"

Quentin Donovan had an agenda, being so wanton in front of Zane Thorne, but the latter just lazily glanced at him, showing no dissatisfaction at all, even watching playfully.

Natalie Vaughn just felt Quentin Donovan was acting foolish.

"What kind of childhood friend are you?"

Quentin Donovan: ....

He really just wanted to make Zane Thorne uncomfortable, but why did he end up being the one hurt?

"Nina, after all, I’m friends with your brother, I’ve been pretty nice to you since you were young, maybe not a childhood friend, but at least half a brother, right? Could you be a bit kinder to me?"

With his head of silver hair, Quentin Donovan looked quite out of place pretending to be pitiful.

Natalie Vaughn always thought he was too unreliable, so she used to avoid interacting with him, but after watching a game today, she indeed felt a bit different about him.

Only....

Natalie Vaughn curled her lips.

"What’s wrong with going on a date with Zane Thorne?"

Though the words were directed at Quentin Donovan, her eyes were fixed on Zane Thorne, blatantly, as if asking.

Zane Thorne, what’s your thought on going on a date with me?

Such a gaze was not unfamiliar to Zane Thorne, it was exactly like that outside the restaurant at noon. Quentin Donovan wasn’t wrong, Zane Thorne was indeed a type that many women liked, he had seen numerous women showing goodwill towards him, in various ways, but had never seen someone like Natalie Vaughn.

He could see from Natalie Vaughn’s eyes her interest in him, but she didn’t express it clearly, as if in a chess game, planning one step at a time, inviting him in. Clearly, she made the first move, but she expressed her intention with her eyes, enticing him to say the words she wanted to hear.

The sky darkened, it seemed like it was going to rain again.

Zane Thorne repeatedly squeezed his left wrist with his right hand, he no longer looked into Natalie Vaughn’s eyes, instead, he took a cigarette out from his pocket and lit it.

Natalie Vaughn’s eyelids moved slightly, she withdrew her gaze, crossing her arms in front of her chest, raising her eyebrows.

She didn’t believe Zane Thorne would keep avoiding the question.

Quentin Donovan, of course, wouldn’t speak ill of Zane Thorne, in fact, he thought if Natalie Vaughn really got together with Zane Thorne, he might use that opportunity to get closer to her.

The original company of two turned into a trio with Quentin Donovan’s addition. After dinner, because of Quentin Donovan’s loudmouth nature, everyone who had a good relationship with Zane Thorne flocked to his bar.

Everyone was curious about what sparks would fly between Zane Thorne and the Vaughn Family’s eldest daughter’s matchmaking.

Upon entering the bar, Natalie Vaughn deliberately passed by the bar counter, letting the bartender see her, along with Zane Thorne and Quentin Donovan behind her.

After seeing the surprise on the bartender’s face, Natalie Vaughn felt she finally relieved the grievance of that night.

Zane Thorne saw it all and upon noticing the faint pride on Natalie Vaughn’s face, he found her bold and haughty, yet she still retained some innocence and habits of a young girl.

She seemed capable of seamlessly switching between being a young woman and a girl, without even realizing it herself.

Natalie Vaughn finally entered the private room she saw that day.

Three people were already seated inside the private room.

The lighting wasn’t bright, and at a glance, Natalie Vaughn could only clearly see two people.

One was the emerging rapper Theodore Langdon, and the other was Felix Langdon, the eldest son of the Langdon Family, who left his family to start his own entertainment company.

The third man was sitting in the shadowy corner, unrecognizable to her.

But as soon as Zane Thorne entered the room, the first person he greeted was the man in the corner.

Their relationships were obviously very good, Natalie Vaughn didn’t feel constrained, but she did become more serious.

Since Zane Thorne brought her to meet his friends, it indicated that he had already acknowledged their relationship.

They were soon to become an engaged couple.

In the past, Quentin Donovan would have already joined the group for a drink, but today he stayed dutifully at Natalie Vaughn’s side, behaving like he was representing her family in lieu of James Vaughn.

Zane Thorne gave Natalie Vaughn a deep look, then introduced them one by one.

Natalie Vaughn finally knew who the man in the corner was, Caleb Lawson from Astra City’s most reputable and upright family, the Lawson Family. No need to ask, Natalie Vaughn knew he was in the military.

Among the three, Theodore Langdon was the most lively. From the moment Natalie Vaughn entered, his eyes hadn’t left her.

"Haven’t we met somewhere?"

There wasn’t much interaction between the Langdon and Vaughn Families, and Theodore Langdon was from a side branch, if they had met it would only have been at a large gathering. But Natalie Vaughn had always disliked such gatherings.

Quentin Donovan snorted coldly.

"You see a beauty and claim you’ve met before, when would you have had a chance to meet my Nina."

Theodore Langdon had always been an arch-enemy to Quentin Donovan, upon hearing this he rolled his eyes, then continued to stare at Natalie Vaughn.

"I’m sure we’ve met before."

A face like Natalie Vaughn’s was hard to forget once seen.

"We indeed have."

Natalie Vaughn smiled and pointed downwards.

"Once you came to perform here, I was sitting below watching."

Theodore Langdon’s eyes widened, remembering.

That time he came out of interest to sing a song, dressed low-key and wearing a hat. He was in a good mood that day, and Natalie Vaughn’s looks and demeanor stood out, so he had looked at her several times.

"How did you recognize me?"

He had sung an early piece of his, never released, only hummed briefly in a video.

Natalie Vaughn smiled slightly, a rare hint of shyness appearing on her face.

"I’m a fan of yours."