The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus) novel Chapter 287

"Let's get this over with," Natalie exhaled, adjusting her posture. "It's just… the idea of you touching my ear feels kind of weird."

She had never been this physically close to any man before. Even with Nathan, her childhood friend, their relationship had always been more about appearances than any real intimacy.

But since this was all an act, she knew it needed to be convincing enough to leave Emma with no room for doubt.

If they intended to shatter someone emotionally, they had to strike where it hurt the most. Natalie wanted Emma to lose everything—love, family, all of it.

"Alright," Natalie decided after a moment's thought. "Let's do a staged kiss next. You know, the kind where it looks like we're kissing, but we're not actually touching. Are you familiar with that, Mr. Holden?"

Marcus' gaze darkened slightly, but he nodded. "Yeah, I know how it works."

"Great. Olivia, you'll take the lead and guide us."

"On it!" Olivia chirped, giving them a thumbs-up. She began positioning Marcus and Natalie for the next set of photos.

Natalie rested her head on Marcus' shoulder, and he placed his arm on the back of her chair, careful not to actually touch her. When a light breeze drifted through, Marcus' fingers brushed a strand of Natalie's hair aside with deliberate precision.

Olivia crouched and shifted angles, snapping photo after photo.

"Alright, Natalie," Olivia called out, adjusting her lens. "Throw your legs over Marcus' lap and swing them a little."

Natalie froze. "That's… not really appropriate, isn't it?" She hesitated, frowning at the suggestion.

"You're wearing a dress, and Marcus' wearing pants. It's not like anything inappropriate is happening," Olivia reasoned, waving it off. "It's just acting. But if it's too much, we can skip it."

"Skip it," Natalie said firmly, taking a deep breath. She was fine with Marcus pretending to hold her, but draping her legs over him felt like crossing a line. They didn't need to go that far. The vibe they were going for was suggestive, not outright intimate.

"Got it." Olivia adjusted her direction accordingly. From that point on, she made sure to keep the poses less intimate. Even for the fake kiss, she used clever angles to create the illusion of closeness without any real contact.

When everything was over, Olivia joined Natalie to review the photos.

"This one's great. Oh, and this one too." Olivia grinned as she sifted through the images. "We'll send these to Marcus first so he can post them on his feed. Make sure Emma's the only one who can see them."

"Sounds good," Natalie agreed.

"By the way, I got shots of you in the ballroom earlier with your brothers. Want to see?"

"Sure."

Olivia handed her the camera, and the two of them went through the photos, selecting their favorites. Meanwhile, Marcus stood off to the side, listening silently as the two women whispered and giggled over their strategy.

Once the selections were finalized, Olivia organized the photos into groups. "These go to Mr. Holden to post, these go to Mason, and these are for you to share."