Natalie’s breathing caught as soon as he looked up at her.

No... It wasn't Jullian. His eyes weren't this dark, and his hair wasn't black.

A shiver ran down Natalie's spine as soon as he looked at her.

What was worse... She could hardly make up the expression on his face, but she already felt so scared.

For a moment, he didn’t even look at her face.

His gaze went directly to the twins... Maybe if she had seen his face, she would have seen the look of surprise that ran through his eyes.

Then he looked at her.

And Natalie felt her entire body tense instinctively, and her legs unconsciously moved backwards.

He took one slow step toward her, then another.

The sound of his polished shoes against the pavement echoed loudly in the silence.

Natalie backed away immediately.

“Stay back,” she warned weakly, though her trembling voice ruined any intimidation.

The man stopped.

Close enough now for her to see his face clearly beneath the dim streetlights.

Handsome... No beautiful.

Jullian was one of the most handsome people Natalie knew, but compared to this man in front of her, he was less than ordinary.

But just like the other men around her, his face was expressionless.

Natalie frowned slightly.

She had seen him before.

But where?

The man slid one gloved hand into his pocket casually.

Her pulse quickened.

“What do you want?” she asked carefully.

The man’s gaze lowered briefly toward the twins again.

Something unreadable flickered through his eyes before disappearing completely.

Then he finally answered.

“You.”

Natalie’s face paled.

Fear exploded inside her chest.

Natalie swallowed hard.

Her body screamed in pain, exhaustion clawing at her limbs, but adrenaline forced her to stay standing.

“Who are you?” she whispered. The man didn't answer. He just stared at her.

Natalie’s fingers tightened protectively around the twins.

“What do you want from me?” she asked again, panic slipping into her voice now.

The handsome scoffed, a smirk spreading across his lips. “You’re coming with me.”

Natalie’s heart nearly stopped. She shook her head, moving backwards. “No.”

But his face remained calm... “It wasn’t a request.”

As soon as he said that, the men who stood behind her took a step forward, as though reassuring her that she had nowhere to run.

Fear surged violently through her chest.

She ignored the obvious message and tried to escape. Her body moved before her brain could catch up.

She turned abruptly, but pain shot through her abdomen immediately, nearly making her collapse. Strong hands grabbed her before she hit the ground.

Natalie gasped sharply, panic exploding inside her. “Don’t touch me!” she cried out desperately.

One of the guards reached for the baby carrier instinctively.

Natalie jerked away violently.

“No!” she screamed. “Don’t touch my children!”

The entire street fell silent.

Even the guards paused, they looked up to their boss for the next move.

The cold handsome man stepped forward slowly.

Close enough that Natalie could smell his cologne now... His dark, expensive, and dangerous perfume.

She looked up at him with visible fear.

And Lucien spoke quietly.

“You’ll die if you stay out here tonight.”

Natalie’s lips trembled.

Maybe he was right.

But going with him felt worse somehow.

“I’d rather die,” she whispered.

The man smirked and then leaned down to whisper in her ears... "That can be arranged later." And then he snapped his fingers. "But not with the twins."

What did he...

Before Natalie knew what was going on, she felt something pressing on her nose and mouth from behind, and she couldn't even struggle... The last thing she saw was his handsome face staring at her before her eyes closed, and she fell unconscious.

...

Lucian looked down at the unconscious woman in his arms. He caught her before her body hit the ground.

She was finally in his arms.

He gave an order for the twins to be taken into the car before carrying Natalie.

Lucian couldn't help but stare at her face. He had gone to the hospital to see her only to be informed that she had insisted on leaving. It was only by luck he saw her.

Judging from her situation, he was certain that his idiotic brother... Her husband had gotten the divorce that he wanted... So maybe they could be used for something greater.

A flicker passed through his eyes as he stared at the twins.

Jullian could leave his wife after she just gave birth... Yet he was the cruel one.

...

Natalie winced, turning on the bed. It took a few seconds but she finally opened her eyes, one after the other.

As soon as she did, her lips bent downwards to form a frown.

This... She wasn't at the hospital. She was already used to the white walls, ceiling, and smell of that place after staying for two days.

And... This wasn't her bedroom back in her husband's... Wait, ex-husband's home either.

It was way smaller than this. Julian had moved her to the room on the ground floor a few months ago with the excuse that her belly would be too big to climb the stairs and it would be dangerous.

She had thought then that he cared about her, but thinking about it now... He only wanted space so he could be with his mistress.

This wasn't her room back at her father's house either.

Natalie suddenly sat up and looked around.

Where was she?

"Where am I?" She asked no one in particular as she stared at the huge bedroom, her heart slamming hard against her chest.

Slowly, memories of last night came back to her.

"What the hell..." Natalie exclaimed, standing up from the bed. Then she realized something...

Her children.

Her eyes widened and she ran to the door.

"Hey! Where are my children? Hey! Get me out of here! Give me back my children!" She yelled, hitting the door mercilessly.

"Ma'am, can you please stop that?" A voice suddenly said from behind Natalie, and she turned around quickly.

It was then she realized that someone had been in here all along. He was one of the guys from last night. She walked towards him and demanded, "Where are my children? Where am I?"

She held his shirt and the guard raised both hands up. He couldn't dare touch her. "Ma'am..."

"Do you know who the fuck I am? My husband wouldn't sit still once he found out that I'd been kidnapped."

"The same man who divorced you?" Natalie heard someone reply to her. Her fingers holding the man's shirt froze because the voice sounded familiar.

Next thing she heard was the door being opened, and she turned around.

It was the same guy from last night.

Her gaze made Lucien's heart beat faster. "Does she remember?" He thought to himself as he walked towards the other side of the room.

But it took him just a few seconds to realize that she didn't.

She was only looking because of his face.

He cleared his throat. "What are you staring at?"

Natalie heard the handsome man who walked in less than a minute say and she immediately blinked before shaking her head.

"No... nothing."

She had gotten carried away for a minute. But then again, how could she not? He looked even better in the day.

"L... Let me go." Natalie shook her head, this wasn't the time for her to be distracted. "How did you know about my divorce? It's barely been a day."  She added.

Or did... Did Jullian publicly announce their divorce?

If he did, then her father might already know.

"You can't lock me up like this..." Natalie continued. She inhaled before bluffing again. "Even if my husband doesn't do anything, my father will!"

"Your father?" Lucien scoffed again.

'Does this woman think she can lie to me?' he wondered as he stared at her. " The same man who pushed you to marry your husband despite knowing that he had no feelings for you... You think that man would save you from me?"

Natalie's eyes went wide.

He knew about that too.

She panicked, backing away until her back touched the wall.

"Just who the fuck are you?!" She cried.

It wasn't her father... it was Jullian... she had no enemies. "What do you know about my family? How do you know about them?!"

That wasn't the main issue.

Julian and her father didn't exactly keep their hate for her hidden.

Fuck it. "Give me back my children!" She yelled again.

Children... That reminded Lucian.

He gestured to the man in black who quickly went to stand next to him.

"Boss..."

"Prepare the nursery, and the pediatrician on standby." He instructed, ignoring the shocked expression on Natalie's face.

Confused, the man nodded. "Yes sir."

Before he could turn around, Lucian continued. "Instruct the chef to make postpartum meals for the mother."

Meals?

"Y..yes sir." The man nodded again. "And double the security around the entrance." Lucian paused, for a second before he continued. "It's unlikely that anyone would save her, but it's possible."

"Yes, boss." The man in black nodded before he turned around and left the room.

"I'm right here," Natalie spoke after the man left, and Lucian nodded. "I know."

Bluffing wouldn't work on him... Natalie realized that. "This isn't acceptable, I don't even know who you are. Please... Just let me go."

Lucian walked towards her slowly, a brow raised. "Why would I go through the trouble to get you if I'm just going to let you go?" He asked.

'So he wasn't going to let her go?' Natalie wondered, her heart beating loudly in her chest at his proximity.

She got her answer almost immediately from his next words.

"You're never slipping out of my hands ever again."

Her heart dropped. "What?"

The next thing she heard was a sharp cry...

"What's that sound?" Lucian stepped back.

Natalie realized the cry... It was one of the children. But before she could say it, the door was pushed opened and a woman walked in holding the boy.

"Boss..." The woman greeted Lucian with a bow.

Natalie's eyes followed her. "My baby..." She breathed.

"This one wouldn't stop crying, boss." The woman holding the child explained, gesturing to the baby.

Natalie forced herself to stand up so she could take him from her hands, but before she could get there, she heard the handsome man say "Give him to me."

"Boss..." Even the lady holding the baby was surprised. But she handed the baby over anyway.

Natalie panicked. "Hey, you..." The rest of the words she wanted to say disappeared as soon as the handsome man held her baby.

Why?

Because he stopped crying.

Natalie's eyes went to the man's hand. His suit had shifted downward a bit revealing the tattoo on his wrist... Something she hadn't noticed last night because he was wearing gloves.

It was two letters.

LV

Then her eyes went back to look at his face, at the way he held her baby.

It was soft... And calm.

Jullian didn't even bother to hold their child, he didn't even want to see them.

She felt something in her chest as she watched the harsh man being so gentle with her baby.

Harsh... Could she even classify him as that?

Apart from kidnapping her, everything else he had done was gentle.

So what did he want from her? And more importantly... Why her?

“Don’t mistake kindness for softness,” she heard him suddenly say, and Natalie shook, snapping out of the trance she had unknowingly been in by watching him. "... I'm not the person you should stare at like that." The man said, his voice back to being cold.

"You asked who I was right?"  He turned away from her baby to look at him.

Natalie stared at his seemingly family face, and the tattoo on his wrist flashed in her mind.

LV.

V...

There was only one powerful family that had the initials V, but they only had one son.

Wait... Her eyes widened as she stared at him.

They had two!

She stumbled backwards... But the son was banished from the country... How could he be...

"Lucian Vale."

Lucian stared wide-eyed at the lady who just called his name.

"How did you..." He began, shocked. "Did you remember?"

Did she remember who he was already?

Natalie eyes glanced at the tattoo on his wrist which was covered again before looking up at her kidnapper.

"Remember?" She repeated. "Remember what? I've never met you before."

How could she remember someone she had never met before? His face was too striking, she definitely couldn't have forgotten such a face.

"Yeah, you haven't."

Why did he sound relieved? Natalie wondered to herself, looking at him.

Maybe if she has given it more thought, she could have figured something out. But her head wasn't in the right place, and seeing her baby in the hands of her kidnapper wasn't helping either.

He didn't look like he was going to hurt her child, but Natalie wasn't ready to make any bets.

Lucian eyes dropped to look at the sleeping child in his arms, and his heart melted.

This was the first time was holding a baby... It weird, but good.

After watching the baby for a while, he returned his gaze to the mother, only to find that she had been staring at him like a hawk, as though waiting for him to make a wrong move so she could pounce on him and take her child back.

His eyes lingered on her protective mother expression before speaking. "This is your bedroom now, I'd advise you to get some rest." He said slowly, his tone considerate. "You just pushed two lives out of you."

Natalie blinked.

Something about his tone told her that he actually cared. Unlike the bastard of a husband she had.

But she didn't care.

"That's none of your business." She spat coldly.

After signing those papers, she had severed all ties with the Vales.

Why was she now entrapped by one? Not just anyone, but the Lucian Vale... The ruthless other son who had been exiled all these years?

Something told her that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.

The man wasn't exactly in good terms with his family.

"What does a Vale want with me?" She asked, matching his gaze, "You already know about my divorce. There is nothing tying me down to that family, so just let me go." Her voice sounded tired.

She was tired.

Lucian noticed. He walked towards Natalie slowly, and she shifted back

"Are you sure you want that?" He asked, his tone dropping.

Even while holding a child so carefully in his arms, he still managed to sound intimidating.

Natalie stepped back again, only for her legs to hit the bed.

"You have nowhere to go," Lucian stepped closer, "No money, and no friends. Shouldn't you be at least grateful to me for not only giving you shelter and every other essential thing, but protection from your father as well?"

Shouldn't she?

Natalie's face turned red.

Did she beg him for it?

"You..."

"Save it and get some rest," he interrupted her, his tone dismissive. "You have a long day ahead of you."

A long day?

This definitely wasn't good news.

It sounded like he wanted to use her. What other thing could exiled Vale son want to use her for apart from... Revenge.

Just as the thought came to her head, Lucian handed her the baby. "Here."

All Natalie's thoughts flew away in an instant, and the only thing she could think about was her child. She took him in her arms, and hugged him to her chest before sitting down on the bed.

"Baby..." She sniffled, feeling his warm body against hers. "I'm sorry."

She was sorry that they hadn't spent up to twenty hours alive and they were already kidnapped.

She was sorry that the world she brought them up in was a lot more terrible that she had thought.

She was just... Sorry.

Lucian stepped back, watching the mother hold back her tears.

He gestured to the man who stood not too far from him, and he immediately came closer, and bent his head.

"Bring the other one in," Lucian instructed, his eyes never leaving Natalie for a second. "I doubt she would sleep if she doesn't see her twins."

The man nodded, have Lucian a bow before walking away.

No sooner than he left did Natalie look up at Lucian. "Hey, Mr. Vale." She called him.

She didn't have to, she had all his attention.

Natalie blinked as she realized that he was already looking at her, then she cleared her throat  "You can't keep me locked up here for long." She began. Since trying to instil fear wouldn't work, she might as well tell him that she would escape.

"Since you know about my father, you probably already know who that I don't like being confined." Natalie said, with a small cold smile on her face.

Her words earned a scoff from Lucian. "Yet you stayed in that marriage for four years." He smirked, shaking his head at her. "Four years you buried yourself for that bastard just to obey your father."

The smile slowly disappeared. Natalie clenched her jaw in anger. "You don't know..."

"I know more than you think Natalie, much more." Lucian interrupted her, the smirk still fixed on his face. "Plus, I would love to see the real you. Without her father's control, without her husband's hold, who is Natalie Gerald?"

Natalie clenched her jaw as she stared at him.

"If you don't let me go, you'd definitely find out." She said through gritted teeth, her heart beat sounding in her ears.

Lucian wasn't in any bit frightened. He was enjoying every second of it.

"I anticipate it." He replied, his voice came out as a low whisper, before walking away.

As soon as he left, the other few people who were present in the room as well began to leave as well, and in no time, Irene was left alone with the baby in her arms. 

Outside, Alan walked up to Lucian as soon as he saw him come out. He had heard the conversation between them. It didn't feel like the lady was blushing when she told him about not liking being in confined spaces.

He had thought she was an ordinary girl until after doing a background check on her, now he couldn't help but worry.

"Boss," he bowed respectfully to Lucian before speaking. "Should I get more guards to watch Ms Natalie?"

Lucian halted in his steps, then turned around to look at Natalie's closed door. "She just came out from a cage, she needs space to run." He mumbled to himself before returning his attention to his assistant.

"No need." He replied. "Even if she does escape, she can't get too far."