Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

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Lucas, swayed by Olivia and Noel's advice, decided to wait for Natasha to apologize first before forgiving her.

But as he stared at his silent phone day after day, it suddenly hit him-over half a month had passed.

They'd never gone this long without contact before.

Regret crept in. He knew Natasha was stubborn. ‘Why did | have to pick a fight with her?‘

And then... he thought of grandma’s burned-down courtyard.

Though the Clark family tried hard to hide it, fearing Olivia might get upset in her fragile state, Madeline had to

cclean when Olivia brought up transferring the property.

Without the emotional weight of the courtyard, it was just a piece of remote wasteland. The so- called “lucky

charm” the fortune-teller once mentioned no longer held water.

Olivia was heartbroken. “That was Grandma's most treasured place. How could Natasha be so cruel?”

Madeline comforted her endlessly, promising to find her an equally meaningful antique.

“It’s not about me. I'm just sad that now there’s no Grandma... and no her hanymore.”

Lucas watched Olivia, wrapped in Madeline's arms, lost in sorrow, but his mind wandered.

Having grown up with them, he knew Natasha's bond with Grandma ran deeper than Olivia's.

‘If Olivia was this devastated... what about Natasha? What was going through her mind when she lit the fire?

How had things gotten so bad for her?’ He suddenly regretted not being there when she needed him most.

But his calls went straight to voicemail, and no one answered the door at her place. Lucas panicked.

If Sadie hadn't chewed him out over the phone-at least confirming Natasha was okay-he’d have called the cops.

With all worst-case scenarios ruled out, only one possibility remained: Natasha was truly done with

him.

Lucas spiraled into anxiety.

Lately, he’d been camping outside her building like a stalker, watching her lights turn on at night. But Natasha

never opened the door. When he knocked too long, she’d just call security.

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4:29 pm PS

Chapter 21

In just a few days, Lucas looked like a wreck.

His mom, Margot was not happy about it.

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She watched those kids grow up. Natasha was adorable as a child, the apple of the Clark family’s eye, so

naturally, she doted on her a bit more.

But after Olivia cinto the picture, Natasha drifted apart from her family, and she grew dissatisfied too.

One day, seeing her son chdefeated again, she blurted out in frustration, “Might as well swap the

engagement to Olivia.”

But her son's terrifying expression scared her.

“Olivia and | have nothing. The only one I'll marry is Natasha.” Lucas snapped.

“Then why do you always pick Olivia over Natasha?” Margot scoffed.

She only brought it up because she sensed her son and husband's true feelings-one cared more about a foster

daughter than his own girlfriend, the other preferred a daughter-in-law who could milk more benefits from the

Clark family.

She was just poking at the festering wound, yet somehow ended up the villain.

Lucas’s heart ached.

Even his parents could see how the Clark family favored Olivia. His Natasha grew up in that environment, while

he, out of guilt toward Olivia, kept siding against her.

‘What had | even done?’ he asked inwardly.

Leaving home, Lucas returned to Natasha's place.

He really wanted to talk to her, to hold her, but she seemed genuinely angry, dead set on giving him the cold

shoulder.

‘No big deal. Natasha was always softest on those she cared about. I'd win her over eventually,’ he thought.

But to others, his persistence painted a very different picture.

‘Disgusting! Like a bug drawn to someone else’s rose, shamelessly buzzing around. Lower than a cockroach in

the gutter. Should | chop off his legs or gouge out his eyes?’ Alexei pondered darkly.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with Lucas. Back when he was investigating Natasha, this npopped up frequently in

the records.

Not long ago, the guy had just been dumped by Natasha for picking the wrong side.

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Chapter 21

Lr

‘Like, seriously, how blind could he be? Oh, and let's not forget the failed proposal.

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‘Even though he kept insisting there was nothing between him and Olivia, well, you know what they say-where

there's smoke, there's fire.” Alexei had already judged him guilty inwardly.

Between squashing this annoying bug and rushing hto feed his little rose, Alexei didn’t hesitate to choose

the latter.

Sure, he'd never been in a relationship, but he'd heard the saying-a corpse of a first love would always wreck

you harder than a breathing human.

Not that he was planning to date Natasha or anything. But he sure as hell wasn’t gonna let his pet keep pining

over someone else.

Instead of letting Lucas die a quick death, peeling back his fake, hypocritical layers to expose his rotten, fickle

heart-now that would be satisfying.

Making sure Natasha felt nothing but disgust every tshe thought of Lucas? Perfect.

With malicious glee, Alexei ran through 108 different ways to tear them apart.

Standing by the greenery, Lucas suddenly felt a chill running down his spine, like sunseen murderous intent

was aimed at him.

But when he looked up, all he saw was a car speeding past, nearly brushing against him.

‘Probably just a resident nearby, but damn, that driver had zero manners. No apology, nothing! Lucas frowned.

‘Once | made up with Natasha, I'd move her to a new place. No way am | letting her live next to such trashy

people.

‘Though... Thinking back to that fleeting glimpse of a profile in the car, he shook his head.

‘

No way that guy would be here.

, oR q q

Wasn't he missing? This kind ofr

neighborhood vag Wey behesth

RN Ke him. Even if it was him,

so what? It had nothing to do with