The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

As soon as the little boy asked the question, the other children quickly gathered around, surrounding Marcus in a tight circle. Their clear, curious eyes stared up at him.

"He's not my boyfriend," Natalie said with a smile. "He's my husband. You should all call him Mr. Marcus."

"Mr. Marcus!" The kids shouted in unison. Their chirping voices came all at once, catching Marcus completely off guard.

Natalie stepped forward, standing just outside the crowd of children, smiling as she watched them.

Marcus looked up and saw Natalie's radiant smile. After such a long and tiring journey, and after trudging all this way, she should have been exhausted. But in this moment, her eyes sparkled with stunning brilliance.

She had genuine love for this place and for these children.

Marcus' lips curved upward. He no longer found the children noisy. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of chocolates, passing them out one by one.

"Here's some candy for you all. Go massage Ms. Natalie's shoulders and legs. She went through a lot just to come see you." His voice was soft, his gaze gentle.

In the past, Marcus never had this kind of patience or tenderness for kids. It was quite the opposite, actually. He used to find children noisy and annoying and preferred to stay far away from them.

But now, looking at the smile on Natalie's face, he suddenly thought these kids were actually kind of cute.

After receiving the chocolates, the children became even more excited and swarmed even closer to Marcus.

"Mr. Marcus, when did you and Ms. Natalie get married?"

"Yeah! Why didn't you invite us to the wedding?"

"We want party favors-and candy!"

"Mr. Marcus, did you bring any?"

Marcus blinked, caught off guard. "Party favors?"

Party favors in this context? That was new to him.

"They mean the little gift bundles," Natalie said, stepping up and gently tugging Marcus forward with a smile.

"When there's a wedding in these parts, the bride usually prepares small keepsakes like handkerchiefs for the kids. On the wedding night, the kids go around asking the bride for them, and she gives them out with a few sweets inside."

"It's a local tradition," she added. "The kids take turns giving the bride their well wishes in exchange. It's their way of joining in the celebration."

Natalie gave Marcus a quick cultural lesson, then turned to the kids.

"The chocolates Mr. Marcus just gave you count as your wedding candy, alright? Now off you go home with you lot," Natalie said, waving them along. "We need to rest here at school. We'll see you all tomorrow morning."

"Ms. Natalie, come eat at my house!"

Anya Lopez, referred to as Una, stepped forward and grabbed Natalie's hand. "My mom and dad have been keeping the food warm, waiting for you all."

Una, Dossie, and Tressa were sisters. Their parents had three daughters in a row and were still trying for a fourth, determined to have a son.

Their real names were Anya, Dorothy, and Theresa Lopez-names not chosen with care or celebration, but out of misplaced hope. They weren't expected of anything, let alone cherished. Each name was little more than a placeholder, a quiet wish that the next child would finally be a boy.

When Natalie first came here, their parents had refused to let the girls attend school, insisting that they stay home to do household chores and prepared to marry them off as soon as they were old enough.

It was only after Natalie offered money-and used some forceful means-that their parents reluctantly agreed to let them attend school and promised not to marry them off before adulthood.

Later, Natalie's team built the school, led the villagers into the mountains to dig herbs, taught them how to plant fruit trees, provided fertilizer and seeds, and later bought the harvest back in cash or supplies. Only then did the villagers begin to genuinely accept them.

It all sounded like a simple few sentences, but the effort behind it had been beyond description.

"Ms. Natalie, Maverick's family also prepared food," Taylor said as he approached her. "Why don't we all go over, have a bit to eat, then rest at the school?

"It's been a while since the villagers last saw you. Now that you've returned and brought Mr. Marcus with you, I think they'd all love to meet him."

Natalie looked at Marcus. He gave a slight nod. He, too, wanted to meet the people she had once lived among.

"Alright. Let's go, then. We'll head to Maverick's house. Una, tell your parents we won't be stopping by tonight."

"Okay. Ms. Natalie, I'll bring you some breakfast rolls tomorrow morning."

Una was a thoughtful older sister, always looking after her two younger siblings

and doing well in school. Natalie had been planning to change their names eventually.

But unless their parents had a son, they refused to let the girls change the names they were called by.

So Natalie could only wait.

The group went to Maverick

Zanders' home. Sure enough, a meal had been prepared. The dishes were simple, hearty comfort food. The vegetables came from the backyard garden, and they had cooked up one of their own chickens for a spicy stew.

There was a side of steamed cornmeal, and a bottle of homemade grain whiskey

to go around. It wasn't fancy, but it was warm, welcoming, and made with care.

"Natalie, come in," Maverick greeted them warmly.

"Maverick, let me introduce my husband, Marcus Holden," Natalie said, taking Marcus' hand. "We got married not long ago. These are

wedding candies We morninet

brought for

everyone. Tomorrow morning, I'll need your help to distribute them."

As she spoke, she handed over a large bag of candy.

"Ah, congratulations!" Maverick beamed. "A few of the girls are about to turn 13. Natalie, should they stay in school or should I arrange something for them?"

"Maverick, what kind of question is that?" Natalie narrowed her eyes. "We agreed from the beginning that the girls are my responsibility. It doesn't matter how old they are. Why are you thinking of marrying them off again?"

"It's not me, but their parents," Maverick said, grinning awkwardly. "You've been gone for a while, and people want to know if your promises still hold. "Since you came, life here has gotten a lot better. So I figured I should ask first. You're the real boss around here, so I'll just follow your lead."

He then turned to Marcus. "Natalie's husband, what was your name again?" Marcus nodded politely. "Marcus Holden."

"Right, Marcus Holden. Marcus," Maverick said with a friendly grin as he stepped closer. "Natalie's like the heart of this place-everyone respects her. So if you're with her, that puts you in pretty good standing around here."noveldrama

Marcus glanced at the man, who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, his brow slightly raised.

He didn't quite know how to respond to that.

Natalie, on the other hand, was used

to it by now. In this village, respect wasn't given-it was earned. People didn't care about titles or

QU

background. They respected money,

power, and grit. Whoever was

tougher, louder, or more capable called the shots.

Even though Natalie was younger than most of the villagers, after they were firmly put in their place, they all respectfully started calling her "Ms. Natalie". Now, seeing Natalie, it was only natural that Maverick would try to please him too.

Natalie pulled Marcus to sit down. "My husband's even more capable than I am. If

I'm not around and you have anything you can't decide on, just talk to him directly."

Maverick grinned. "Alright. I'll be sure to speak with Marcus."

Marcus didn't say anything, but the way Natalie kept casually calling him her

husband had his mood soaring. He might have kept a straight face on the outside, but inside, he was definitely enjoying every second of it.