CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: NATALIE VAUGHN THROWS A TANTRUM AND ACTS OUT IN FRONT OF ZANE THORNE

Zane Thorne carried Natalie Vaughn to the sofa, found a blanket to cover her, and then turned around and left the room. The crowd saw his displeased expression and assumed the two had quarreled. However, Zane walked straight up to Phoebe Quinn.

"She’s on her period. What does she need?"

Phoebe was momentarily stunned but quickly understood.

"Nina got caught in the rain, so she needs a hot shower to wash away the cold, some ginger brown sugar soup to warm her stomach, a change of clothes, and sanitary products. She’s usually in pain on the first day, so it’s best to have some painkillers ready."

Zane nodded.

"You go accompany her in the shower, and I’ll go buy the other things."

Having said that, Zane hurried out. Phoebe immediately went into the lounge to check on Natalie.

The others stood there, looking at each other.

Felix Langdon finally waved his hand.

"Alright, we’ve been at it for so long, everybody’s starving. Let’s get some food."

Theo Langdon sidled up to Felix Langdon, asking quietly.

"Is Mr. Thorne going to buy those things?"

Felix gave him a sidelong glance.

"Any problem with that?"

Theo awkwardly scratched his head.

"Don’t you think it’s a bit odd?"

The thought of Zane Thorne, with his buzz cut and scars, buying women’s products at a store seemed peculiar.

Felix patted his shoulder.

"You’ll understand when you have a girlfriend."

Theo raised an eyebrow.

"You’ve bought them too?"

Felix:...

...

The club’s showers were all showers, no bathtubs, so Phoebe feared Natalie wouldn’t be able to stand and wanted to accompany her inside.

Natalie waved her off.

"I’m fine."

Phoebe saw she wasn’t as weak as Zane had suggested, so she didn’t follow her in. Instead, she went to the kitchen to make ginger brown sugar soup for her.

The hot water ran over, finally allowing her tense body to relax.

Natalie pushed all her hair back, her mind a mess, thinking about Zane’s anger. She had trapped herself in a dead end, stubbornly clinging to Zane’s lack of trust in her.

She knew from Zane’s perspective, he wasn’t wrong. Yet she pushed herself to hold onto that grudge, as if this could help her ignore the changes happening.

She stayed in the shower so long that Zane had already returned with the supplies, and he even began to worry something had happened to her inside the bathroom.

The man knocked on the door, his voice somewhat stern.

"Natalie."

No answer.

Natalie was lost in her own turmoil, the steam clouding her eyes, making her head fuzzy.

"Natalie."

Zane knocked louder.

"If you don’t respond, I’m coming in."

Still no response.

Zane frowned, feeling uneasy. The sound of running water continued, but Natalie remained silent.

His hand on the doorknob, he turned it, and with a click, opened a small gap. The steam rushed out eagerly. Zane refrained from pushing the door open further but called again.

Natalie was jolted back to her senses by the sudden cool breeze, and upon seeing the door ajar, she heard Zane’s voice.

"Zane, are you a pervert? I’m in the shower, and you just open the door like that!"

Zane:...

"I called you several times. If I were really a pervert, I’d already be inside."

Natalie, infuriated, threw a bottle of shower gel toward the door.

"So it’s my fault?"

The man raised an eyebrow, sensing her liveliness, and chose not to delay further.

"I brought you clothes. Do you want them now or should I leave them by the door?"

Natalie didn’t respond, and soon, a fair white hand poked out from the door gap.

"Hand them to me."

Zane lowered his gaze at Natalie’s fidgeting fingers, finding them somewhat silly yet cute. He handed her the clothes and sanitary items he bought.

Once Natalie was dressed, she saw Zane still standing by the door, startling her.

"What are you, a door god?"

Zane turned around, noticing Natalie looked much better, easing his frown. He handed over the hairdryer brought by someone.

Natalie glanced at it but didn’t take it.

Zane knew she was still upset and regretted having been harsh outside. He moved forward, seating her on the sofa and taking up the hairdryer to dry her hair himself.

Having never used one, Zane wasn’t aware of the different heat settings. Natalie, subjected to the cold wind, couldn’t help but smack his hand.

"Can’t you set it to warm?"

Zane paused, examined the handle of the dryer carefully, and adjusted the heat setting to warm.

Not realizing it, he held it too close, and the heat made Natalie move away immediately.

"Are you trying to burn me? Lower the airflow a bit."

Zane:...

"Natalie, stop being difficult."

"Me, difficult?"

Natalie looked like she might actually laugh in anger, grabbing the dryer from Zane and directing it at him.

"Try it yourself and see if it’s too hot."

Zane:...

Indeed, it was too hot, and he had held it too close, with her delicate skin.

For once, the man was slightly embarrassed as he took the dryer back from Natalie’s hands, lowering the airflow.

"Is that okay now?"

Natalie crossed her arms, taking on the demeanor of a young lady waiting for Zane to serve her.

When her hair was completely dry, Zane finally spoke.

"There’s a difference between reality and theory; I trust your physics skills, and I believe you can calculate when to brake, but what if there’s a deviation?"

Natalie sat up straight, a bit stiff, turning back to look at him.

"Racing is inherently different from other driving. You’re unfamiliar with the car’s mechanics, the accelerator and brake sensitivity, the poor lighting, it was raining, and you didn’t know the road conditions well."

"Natalie, under those circumstances, I couldn’t trust you because you were gambling with your life."

"In short, those people aren’t worth it. I’m happy you want to stand up for me, but not at the risk of your own safety."

"Is it really worth doing something so dangerous just because a few boys said something nasty?"

"If something happened to you, how could I ever make it up?"

This was the first time Zane had said so much in one go in front of Natalie, causing her eyes to shift as she listened.

She really hadn’t considered any of that.

In hindsight, she had indeed been naive and reckless.

Natalie pursed her lips, looking at Zane with her tear-filled eyes.

"Then you yelled at me?"

Zane:....

The man felt a headache coming on.

Now this girl wasn’t stuck on whether he trusted her or not, but on the fact that he yelled at her.

Why was it so complicated?

Zane instinctively raised his right hand to pinch his left wrist.

"What do you want, then? An apology?"

Natalie noticed his action, her eyes moving slightly. She had seen Zane do this several times already.

"I don’t want an apology."

Zane knit his brows.

"Then what do you want?"

Natalie lifted her gaze, looking into his deep eyes once more.

"I want you to comfort me."

Zane:...