The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus)

"Sophia, wash up and get some rest," Zachary said, noticing how pale she looked.

After the long, exhausting journey, her body was clearly worn out. But Sophia hadn't uttered a single word of complaint the entire time. She had gritted her teeth and pushed through.

It was already late. If they were in Dithoria, they would be asleep by now.

"Okay." Sophia took a deep breath and didn't continue the conversation.

"Zachary, will you stay with me?"

Everything was unfamiliar, and the surrounding mountains made her feel uneasy.

"Of course. I wasn't planning to let you go alone anyway." He stayed with her as she washed up, and afterward, they returned to their room.

They had shared a bed back at the motel, so Sophia didn't hesitate now. She pulled Zachary straight to bed.

"Let's rest. We'll talk about everything tomorrow."

"Alright."

Zachary pulled the blanket over them and held Sophia in his arms.

"Sophia, I want you to be happy. I want you to forget all the painful things from your past. I know it used to be hard, but now that we've come this far, don't let the outside world shake you again, okay?"

His voice was gentle and low. Zachary's tone wasn't forceful. He always spoke calmly, but his words carried a steady, comforting strength.

Sophia nodded and closed her eyes. "I understand. By tomorrow morning, I won't let anything from tonight weigh me down.

"Don't worry, Zachary. I believe in myself. And more than that, I believe in you. I know your feelings are real, so I won't question them."

"Sophia, thank you for believing in me." Zachary kissed her forehead, turned off the lights, and held her close.

"Get some good rest. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Next door, Zane and Connie weren't burdened by such heavy emotions. After washing up, they flopped straight into bed and fell asleep without a word.

As for Elijah, he was staying on the other side of Natalie and Marcus' room so he could respond quickly if anything came up.

After a long day of travel, everyone was exhausted. Not long after, the entire group had drifted into deep sleep.

They slept soundly through the night.

At 8:00 am the next morning, Natalie and Marcus were woken by the school's morning bell.

Natalie sat up and took a moment before heading to brush her teeth and wash up. Marcus followed her into the bathroom, and the two stood side by side, washing up together.

When they were done, Natalie couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"Marcus, I dragged you to a place like this for our honeymoon. Do you feel even a little bit robbed?"

Marcus shook his head. "Not at all. I don't feel wronged one bit. I'm actually grateful to have this chance to be part of your past."

Natalie smiled with her eyes crinkling. "This is my past, but it's also my future."

Marcus couldn't help but smile too. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips.

Natalie didn't need to stand on tiptoe as Marcus always leaned down for her.

They kissed intimately for a while before gently pulling apart, both catching their breaths.

Marcus chuckled. "It's our first full day here. We can't start the day late."

"Right. Let's go. I'll take you to try the school's breakfast."

"Okay."

As they stepped outside, they happened to see Sophia and Zachary coming out too. They exchanged smiles and nodded their greetings.

"Let's eat together," Natalie said. "Are Zane and Connie up yet?"

"No," Zachary replied with a helpless shrug. "I messaged Zane. He said he's still sleepy and wants to rest a bit more. They slept through the school bell, so I let them be."

Natalie said, "Yesterday was a tiring day. Let them rest, then. What about Elijah? Is he up yet?"

"Elijah has already run five laps around the field with the kids," Zachary said, pointing toward the track. "The kids seem to really like him."

"Elijah doesn't sleep much and is energetic. He's got what it takes to handle kids," Marcus said thoughtfully as he looked toward the file. "Might as well start preparing him early."

"Hm?" Natalie looked at Marcus. "What are you implying?"

Marcus answered without hesitation, "I think Elijah's a great candidate for raising kids."

Out on the field, Elijah suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding.

He wondered if it was because he got up too early and caught a chill.

He rubbed his nose. Brushing the thought aside, he continued leading the group

on a jog. With his stamina, a mild cold was nothing. A little rest and warm water would fix it.

After a few more laps, Elijah guided the kids through post-run stretches. Once they finished, he dismissed them to go play.

At that moment, Marcus and Natalie called him.

"Hey, Elijah. Time for breakfast at the cafeteria."

"Okay, Marcus."

Before arriving here, Natalie had reminded Elijah that once they got to the village,

he should drop the formalities and just call them Marcus and Natalie.

Elijah was pleased. Marcus and Natalie sounded much warmer than "Mr. Marcus" or "Mrs. Natalie".

When he got to the cafeteria, Marcus waved him over. "Elijah, come join us!" "On my way!"

Elijah took a few big strides and sat across from them. The school's breakfast was simple-two boiled eggs, a box of milk, and a bowl of warm oatmeal per person.

The group finished quickly. After breakfast, Taylor came to find Natalie and reported on the village's progress over the past six months. He had handed over the list of students who had reached the right age and were qualified to attend

high school.

Natalie reviewed the list. This time, there were three girls and two boys ready to

go.

The girls included Maverick's oldest

daughter, Lynette Zanders, as well

as Sue Sandrell and Ann Sanderson,

who were daughters of other villagers. The boys were twin brothers-Daniel and Denzel Vander.

Just from their fancy names alone, the difference in treatment between the girls

and boys was obvious.

"Ms. Natalie, these kids are ready for high school, but Maverick and the parents of Sue and Ann are against it," Taylor explained, handing over their report cards.

"These three girls are incredibly hard-working. We've only been here for two years, but they've been asking their teachers to help them catch up on their studies faster.

"They finally reached the qualifying scores to attend high school. It would be such a waste if they're not allowed to go."

"What are Maverick and the girls'

parents asking for in return?" Natalie asked, taking the report cards and

handing them to Marcus, who looked them over and then passed them to Zachary. noveldrama