No matter how hard Natasha tried not to glance once at Tristan who kept his gaze on her the whole time she spent taking photos with her family and friends, she failed.
His eyes on her made her attentive but she kept trying to keep smiling and looking joyful for the photos.
However, she kept feeling as if Tristan could see through her smile and she hated it.
The photos were eventually taken and she was on her own by the table drinking wine.
Natasha was watching her daughter and her new husband playing together when a figure came to stand beside her.
"He must be enjoying the moment now but these moments are limited. I'll have my wife and daughter back whether he likes it or not."
His voice irritated her but as much as she wanted to respond to his rants, she chose to stay quiet. Natasha felt like she shouldn't waste her energy on a man who stated that he didn't want a female child and left.
Just when she was about to leave the table and join her new family, Tristan grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the hall to a room he found earlier when he was looking for her.
George had been monitoring Natasha and Tristan. He saw the struggle Natasha went through to not notice her ex-husband but she couldn't defeat it. She eventually met his eyes while they were taking photos.
And now, Tristan had taken his wife away but George wasn't bothered. He was currently enjoying his time with Rebecca and didn't want to interfere in Natasha and her ex-husband's matter.
But when he noticed how long she had been gone, he decided to look for her.
Meanwhile, in the room, Tristan locked himself with his ex-wife. Natasha was feeling the anger in her rising the more she felt her ex-husband's presence.
Tristan turned to her after locking the door to see her glaring at him.
"What are you doing?" She asked with gritted teeth in anger.
"What you want, do whatever you want with me. I know you are upset and…"
"What? Upset with you for four years? Do you think I'm still in love with you, you bastard?!" Natasha yelled.
She had been holding the feelings suffusing her heart ever since she heard that he was in town.
Tristan stayed quiet, watching as Natasha expressed her feelings harshly at him. "You literally left me on the hospital bed when I was in labor! What type of man are you?!"
Natasha couldn't even believe how she was still standing in front of him without having to break his skull into pieces.
But then, she recalled that she had a reputation she shouldn't destroy.
Natasha was relieved about the fact that no one knew what her ex-husband looked like so his presence in the party didn't cause any disadvantage to her.
However, she still didn't understand how George knew exactly who Tristan was and what he looked like.
Natasha stayed silent for a while after realizing that she was slowly becoming emotional in front of the man who deserved to know nothing about her.
"I should leave. You definitely aren't worth my time," she declared and headed for the door.
"To think that we were in a serious relationship, got married and you never told me that you are the daughter of the owner of AMI company. I am disappointed but I believe you have your reason. Hear me out please and I'll hear what you have to say."
His statement made Natasha pause her movement. The anger in her suddenly broke out.
Natasha couldn't hold the feeling any longer. She turned around and faced Tristan. "You wanna hear me out?" She asked, her eyes turning red as she threw at him a killer glare. It felt as if her heart was made of a balloon and the feelings suffusing her heart were getting bigger and bigger the more she looked at her ex-husband, reminding her of his actions in the past.
The feelings were now starting to feel overwhelming that it could cause her balloon-like heart to burst but she was trying to compress the feelings because she believed that he wasn't worth her time or deserved to know about any of her feelings. She hated him.
"You bastard!" She roared after using her hand to hit his face tightly and hit him one more time because he turned to face her even after the first slap she landed across his face. "How dare you say to me that you are disappointed? Who do you think you are?" Natasha went closer to him and grabbed him by his collar.
Tristan didn't mention a word. All he did was listen to her. He was wrong to leave her all by herself for those years.
The truth was that he never left her because she had a female daughter but because the true love of his life came back to him.
He had parted ways with his true love because she chose her career over him and when she became successful and came back for him, he couldn't resist her presence and left his wife and child.
But after spending years with her, he realized there was no love between them anymore and when he heard about his ex-wife's position, he chose to come back.
Now, his main goal was to win his ex-wife's heart and prove to her that he was ready to commit to her and become a good father to his daughter.
Hence, he stayed quiet and even wanted her to hit him as much as she wanted but he could see in her eyes that she didn't want to be the woman she once was. The woman who never hesitated to let him know how she truly was feeling and the woman who felt comfortable telling him about whatever was bothering her.
Natasha thought about her reputation after realizing that she was on the verge of killing the man in front of her.
She bit her lower lip so hard in anger until the inside of her mouth started to bleed.
"I hate you!" She cried after releasing him from her hold.
Oh, Tristan hated to see her in this state but he wasn't in the position to try to comfort her because he was the reason for her pain.
Natasha faced the floor for a moment, looking at her wedding dress that reminded her that she had a new husband that she could control because she actually hired him and there were no feelings involved.
'I definitely shouldn't allow this man to see my weak side,' Natasha told herself and began to take deep breaths in. She didn't want to appear as a loser to her ex-husband.
Natasha raised her head and kept it high, facing the door to leave the room.
"Natasha," however, her ex-husband called her back.
"My husband must be looking for me. I shouldn't keep him waiting," she said, pushed the door open, and then walked out of the room.
When Natasha walked out from the area where the room was located, she entered the hall and began to look around but while she was busy looking around thinking about her wedding with her ex-husband back then, she caught those brown eyes gazing at her with care.
'Although he's fake, he is still acting as my husband. I should embrace him if I don't want Tristan to win,' Natasha thought and decided to approach him but before she could take her first step, George started to come to her.
She was still his bride.