Chapter 47 Chapter 47 " Natasha ." Alexei's magnetic voice drifted down from the stairs . 20 vouchers Alexei leaned lazily against the banister , his eyes smiling as he reached out his hand to her . " Let's go ." Natasha rushed over excitedly . " What took you so long ? " She was honestly speechless . This family was so scheming , even the little kids were full of tricks . Alexei glanced at the twins , who looked guilty as sin . They were one of his uncles ' kids . He felt that they probably figured Natasha looked young and easy to fool , so they sent the kids over to fish for information . If that didn't work , they wanted to cozy up to her and get her to put in a good word for them later . However , Natasha was impenetrable . No matter who tried , she never took the bait . A smile flickered in Alexei's eyes as he looked at the complaining Natasha and gently ruffled her hair . " Did anyone give you a hard time ? " Natasha shook her head . They'd tried , but they had failed . He chuckled softly . " Alright , let's go . " Nobody was worth for him to stop for a chat . The whole room just watched in silence as they walked away . As they walked out of the Turner Manor , Natasha glanced back before getting into the car . This place looked gorgeous and grand on the outside , but all she could sense was a thick stench of rot lurking beneath its beautiful surface . In the car , Alexei turned to Natasha . He asked , " So , what were you chatting about with them ? " Natasha put on a dead - serious face . " How to handle a spy crisis . " 1/6 5:06 pm D Chapter 47 He laughed . " Didn't you say you'd always have my back ? Was that just talk ? " Natasha shook her head , dead serious . " There is no way ! 20 vouchers I barely know those people . You're more important to me . If you ever get into a fight with them , I'm taking your side ." He asked , " So , if you get closer to someone else , you'd ditch me for them ? " " Yeah , that's how it works . " " So , how close are we right now ? " Natasha wanted to say a little bit . Truth be told , they didn't know each other that well . She'd never really gotten a read on Alexei . But then she thought about how much they'd crammed into such a short time . They were living together , sharing a bed , cooking , and taking walks . She even met his parents today . That was something only people who were very close to each other would do . She picked something in the middle . " We are as close as average friends . " Alexei didn't react . He just gently pinched her earlobe , his voice low and meaningful . " Natasha , remember what you said ." It didn't matter how close they were now . Sooner or later , he would make sure to become the person closest to her . He was always patient . He'd make sure to become the person who meant everything to her . There was still a while before the birthday party kicked off . Technically , as the star of the night , Natasha was supposed to head over to the Clark family and start getting ready , But Natasha just went straight back to her apartment to crash and get some serious sleep . Alexei just followed her lead . Alexei casually climbed into her bed like it was the most natural thing in the world . Natasha didn't say a word , just gave him a long , silent look . Alexei looked totally innocent . " The couch is covered in stuff . I don't have anywhere else to 2/6 5:06 pm D Chapter 47 rest . " 20 vouchers Since they still needed to do her hair and makeup later , Lisa and the others had left some of their tools behind . Natasha had told them to go home and get some rest , just come back a little early tonight . She wasn't taking the birthday party nearly as seriously as she had the Turner family gathering . She figured she'd just show up and go through the motions . She had no intention of playing along with their act . If Alexei hadn't insisted on doing her hair and makeup , she would've just gone in a t - shirt and jeans . The problem was , there was only one room in the apartment , and the couch was piled with stuff . So there was really just one bed left . She'd need him around later tonight , so she couldn't just kick him out of bed now . Natasha just stood there in her freshly changed pajamas , staring at him helplessly . " We've slept together before. Don't worry , I promise I won't try anything . " He raised his hands in surrender . She realized that there was that one night when , for no reason at all , they somehow ended up sharing a bed . Since Alexei had already trampled all over their boundaries , Natasha figured there was no point fussing about it anymore . She stacked the blankets right down the middle and waved her hand with authority . " You take the left , I'll take the right ." Maybe all the scheming at noon had drained her . Even with Alexei lying right there , Natasha was out like a light in no time , Alexei , lying on the left side , listened as her breathing slowly grew steady . Suddenly , his eyes snapped open , Those eyes , deep as a bottomless lake , were churning with a storm of complicated emotions . ***** They both slept soundly , each sticking to their own side , until Lisa and the others showed up 3/6 D 5:06 pm 30 Chapter 47 X20 vouchers and rang the doorbell that evening . They dragged their feet and didn't leave until seven . By the time they finally rolled up to the Clark family , they were already late . Since Natasha had blocked them , she had no clue they were blowing up her phone . Meanwhile , the Clark family noticed she still hadn't taken them off her block list , and every single one of them was looking sour . With all the guests already here and the party about to start , Natasha was still nowhere to be seen . They were starting to suspect she was standing them up on purpose . Olivia stood beside Madeline Clark and let out a sigh . " If Natasha didn't want to come , she could've just said so . Why wait until everyone's ready before bailing ? " Thomas Clark's face turned ugly . " She's always been this headstrong . " Olivia bit her lip , looking worried . " What about all the guests ? " Andrew Clark snorted . " If she doesn't want to celebrate her birthday , then forget it . " Cancel the birthday part . Emmanuel and I will just announce the engagement when the time comes ." Olivia dug her nails into her palm and thought , ' Even if Natasha doesn't show up at all , they're still determined to marry her off to the Wright family ? They are a family by blood , after all . ' She said , " Isn't it kind of bad for the bride - to - be to be missing ? Maybe we should just pick another day ... " " Everything goes as planned . " Lucas Wright's cold voice cut through the room . He stood there , face blank , jaw tight , but his attitude was rock solid . His gut told him Natasha probably didn't show up because of Alexei . But he refused to think about whether that guy already meant more to Natasha than her grandmother's keepsake . Every time he wondered about it , the pain in his chest was almost unbearable , He hadn't told anyone about Alexei . After tonight , he would be her fiancé . 4/6 5:06 pm 3D Chapter 47 " But ... " Olivia started . E 20 vouchers Before she could finish , Lucas cut her off . " I'll just tell everyone she's sick and couldn't make it . " The invitations already went out , so we didn't change the date . Given how close we are , no one will question it . Everything will be fine . " He spoke fast - not just for the others , but to convince himself too . Olivia watched as Lucas turned and walked into the venue . She let her smile fall away , her face going blank as she stared at his back . She thought , ' I've already given him a chance . ' They're pushing me to do the extreme things now . ' " Olivia ... " Noel Clark came over , looking for news about Natasha . He was startled when he caught Olivia's icy , distant look , but she switched to a smile so fast Noel thought he must've imagined it . He rubbed his eyes , quickly pushing that strange look out of his mind . " She still hasn't shown up ? " he asked . Olivia gave a wry smile . " So much has happened lately . Maybe Natasha's just trying to get back at us . " Noel's face flushed with anger . " She's trying to get back at us ? " She burned down the house , hit people , and mouthed off at Mom and Dad . Every single thing was her doing , and she still has the nerve to blame us . " " Noel , don't talk like that . She's still your sister , " Olivia said gently . " I don't even want to call her my sister . She's a disgrace , " Noel shot back . Then , still fuming , he added , " She's nothing but trouble ! " He thought . ' She used to throw a fit every year because we wouldn't throw her a birthday party , and now that we're doing it for her , she's acting so rudely . ' Fine , I'll just go throw away the gift I got her later ! No one in the Clark family thought that Noel was being too much . 5/6 5:06 pm S Chapter 47 20 vouchers Just as they were about to head back into the venue to deal with this mess , a clear , teasing voice cut through the air . Natasha said , " Well , my lovely sister and brother . What juicy stuff are you whispering about me this time ? " 5:06 pm D