The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

Zachary's tone was gentle but firm. Though he hadn't spent much time with

Natalie, he trusted Marcus. And because of the help Natalie had given Sophia, he was also willing to trust her. In other words, Zachary believed in Natalie and Marcus as a couple.

The car sped along smoothly. They stopped every four hours to refuel, rest, and eat. When night fell, the GPS finally prompted them to exit the highway and led them into a small county town.

Once inside, the surroundings changed. It was nothing like the bustling city of Dithoria. The street lamps cast a dull yellow glow, barely lighting the roads and serving more as decoration than illumination.

Most of the shops along the streets had their lights turned off and doors shut tight. Even among the restaurants, only a few remained open.

"This place is called Everwyn County. From here, we still have a long drive through the mountains. After that, the roads only get worse," Natalie said, opening the map on her phone and showing it to Marcus.

"We'll stop near the edge of town to grab dinner and find a motel for the night. We'll continue the journey early tomorrow."

"Alright." Marcus nodded. "Nat, aren't you tired after sitting in the car for so long? We should've just taken a helicopter."

Natalie chuckled. "We can't use a helicopter here. If we would, do you think I'd have arranged for us to drive?"

"Poor Mr. Holden," she teased, reaching over to pinch his cheek. "I bet you've never been to a place like this before."

Marcus nodded honestly. "I really haven't."

"There are lots of poor counties like this in the country. The routes are bad, resources are scarce, and they can't attract business or investment. Most of the locals leave for work elsewhere," Natalie explained.

"The ones with talent or strong academic skills try to squeeze into the big cities. Once they make it there, they fight to keep their place. Those left behind are usually the older folk or people with no way out."

Leaning back in her seat, she continued, "You think this place is poor, don't you? Then, you'd be wrong. There are places far worse than this-dozens, maybe hundreds of times worse.

"In some of those places, there aren't even roads leading out. Just one mountain after another. Girls born there aren't treated as human beings. They're never seen as having any hope or worth from the moment they're born.

"Their value lies in either being exchanged through arranged marriages to benefit their brothers or sold off elsewhere for money and food.

"That's where we're going-Coalmarsh," Natalie said, pulling up the map and pointing it out. "I funded a school there and hired qualified teachers to educate the children.

"I also found people to teach the villagers how to identify herbs in the mountain and harvest them. Then, we arranged regular pickups. Money doesn't matter much there. What they lack is all kinds of supplies.

"Because of the terrain, I also brought people in to teach them how to grow suitable crops."

"Nat, that must've been hard," Marcus said, heart aching a bit. The more remote a place was, the harder it was to change the locals' way of thinking.

"It really was difficult in the beginning," Natalie admitted, leaning back again. "The people there are rough but united. We tried all kinds of approaches. In the end, we had to use force to suppress them.

"They were ruthless, so we had to be even more ruthless. They were aggressive, so we had to be fiercer. Only then were we able to gradually bring some order to the place.

"And don't ask why we didn't just relocate them," she added bitterly. "Their mindset is incredibly closed-off. Mr. Langton once said that they've grown roots in the place. The fact that they accepted outsiders in the county to manage things is already a big deal.

"Trying to make them leave would push them to desperation. They'd rather burn everything down than give in. Mr. Langton sympathized with the girls most. They were truly pitiful.

"What we can do might not amount to much, but even changing the fate of just one child is already something extraordinary.

"You have no idea. Some baby girls were drowned in water jars the moment they were born. Some, at just 11 or 12 years old, were forced into marriage.

"Mr. Langton couldn't bear to see it, so he started doing something about it.

"It's been almost ten years since he began, but Coalmarsh was only discovered in the last couple of years. That's why development there has been slow and rough."

"Nat, Mr. Langton is incredible. And so are you," Marcus said. He now understood why Natalie worked so hard to make money, yet dressed and lived so simply.

"I'm not incredible," Natalie said with a faint smile. "I just want to help those little girls who were once like me.

"Honestly, when Selena first returned, I had no intention of fighting her over anything. I knew she'd had a hard time out there, so I never tried to provoke her.

"If she hadn't come for me, we probably could have coexisted peacefully. But reality rarely goes the way we hope. The human heart is hard to predict."

"Nat, you're just too kind," Marcus said as he pulled her into his arms. "Even after everything Selena did to you, you still forgave her. And you gave your adoptive parents another chance too.

"You even let them stay and work at the hospital in Balford. If I were you, I don't think I could've done that."

"Mr. Langton said that if someone

truly wants to change, then we should give them a chance when we can. No one stays bad forever, and no one stays good forever either. We

need to guard our hearts, but we also have to believe in genuine sincerity."

Natalie rested against his chest. "So many of the things I believe in, so many of the values I live by, came from Mr. Langton. I want to finish what he started and fulfill his wish.

"Mr. Langton might seem playful and carefree at times, always traveling like a free spirit, but most of the places he visits are remote and desolate places like Coalmarsh. He barely has any time to enjoy life.

"Mr. Langton is the person I respect and admire most in this world. I don't expect to live like he did, but I hope I can carry on the spirit he ingrained in me.

"Marcus, I'm really grateful to you for never stopping me from doing what I want to do."

"Nat, if being with me meant you had to give up everything, or even a big part of who you are, then I wouldn't deserve to marry you," Marcus said, his voide low in her ear as he held her close. "I'm truly lucky to have such a wonderful wife."

"Nat, whatever you want to do, go ahead and do it. I'll support and stand by you. Marrying me doesn't mean sacrificing your dreams or your freedom. On the

contrary, you'll have more strength to do what matters to you.

"Nat, just go forward boldly and do it without worry."noveldrama