The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 11

Magnus found himself questioning, “Was this young woman now his wife? She looked so youthful, like a little girl.”

He thought of Lucius, drowning in bourbon in a private booth in the afternoon, and suddenly straightened up, his gaze fixating on Natalia lying on the bed. A smirk appeared on his face. Of course, if she wasn't beautiful, Lucius wouldn't be in such agony.

His eyes turned icy in an instant. He reached out to switch off the bedside lamp, then he maneuvered his wheelchair out of the room.

Returning to his own bedroom, he stood up and walked to the window, gazing out at the dark ocean, a sense of loneliness was welling up within him.

Soon, Linden knocked on the door and entered, spotting Magnus standing on the balcony. He approached Magnus softly. "Mr. Magnus, I have found out!"

"Ma'am did not make any phone calls today. She only sent texts to three students from Melfort College!" Linden handed over the satellite information to Magnus.

Magnus' deep gaze fell upon the information sheet in Linden's hand.

"Melfort College students? She didn't contact Lucius?" Magnus thought back to Lucius' drunken state earlier that day. Could it be that he was not upset over a phone call from this woman, but drowning his sorrows for another reason?

"No, I checked her call logs. She has never contacted Mr. Lucius!" Linden said, noting Magnus' frosty expression, then discreetly exited the room.

No contact. She must've changed her phone before coming here. Just how cunning was Lucius?

This woman was crying here, while Lucius was drowning his sorrows in a bar. Magnus' icy gaze in the dark seemed to emit a chilling light!

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Natalia was awakened by a knock on the door. She sat up immediately. Standing at the door was May. "Ma'am, Mr. Magnus has requested your presence in the dining room."

"What?" The sky had barely started to lighten, and she was already being summoned to the dining room.

"Alright, I'll be right there." She quickly dressed, washed up, and went downstairs.

Magnus was sitting elegantly at the dining table as two maids served him breakfast. Natalia glanced at Magnus, then at the spread on the table. Such a lavish breakfast. Could he finish all of it on his own? What a waste!

Despite her thoughts, she went over and poured him a bowl of soup. "Please, have some soup.."

Magnus' lips tightened. "Peel the shrimp."

Natalia immediately sat down, peeled the shrimp, and placed them in his bowl. Her small, fair hands skillfully peeled the shrimp in front of him, as she occasionally glanced up at him.

He was frowning slightly, looking somewhat displeased. "Don't you have gloves? Don't you know I'm a germaphobe?"

Natalia's ears turned red. He was a germaphobe! She quickly picked up the shrimp from his bowl and ate it herself, then went to the kitchen to get gloves and continued peeling.

Magnus watched her actions, his face darkening even more. "I told you to peel, not to eat!"

Natalia was stunned and paused, looking at Magnus. "You didn't want to eat the ones I peeled without gloves, right? So, I had to eat them!" She couldn't just throw them away!

Magnus remained silent, watching as his bowl quickly filled with half a bowl of shrimp. His expression was as dark as a pot bottom. What was this woman thinking? Did she plan to peel the entire plate of shrimp? Couldn't she peel something else? What about the crab?

"You peeled so much. You're going to eat it all!" Magnus picked up a sushi roll and started eating.

Natalia stopped and looked at him. "Didn't you ask me to peel the shrimp?"

Magnus finally lost his temper, slamming his fork down. "I asked you to peel, not to peel the whole lot. You can't even do this simple task. What can you do?"

Natalia looked up at Magnus, whose eyes were frosty, and pursed her lips, "You asked me to peel the shrimp, and I did a pretty good job! If you can't finish, I will. It's a waste to throw them away!"

Magnus looked at Natalia's blue eyes and the half bowl of shrimp and pushed the bowl towards her. "Eat up!"

Natalia removed her gloves. "Aren't you eating anymore?"

"I'm full just looking at all these shrimps." He then maneuvered his wheelchair out of the dining room, leaving Natalia staring at the half bowl of shrimp.

She pouted, well, if he didn't want to eat, then so be it! She picked up the chopsticks and started eating the shrimp.

In the elevator, Magnus caught sight of Natalia at the dining table, gobbling up the shrimp. He awkwardly turned his gaze away. She ate as if she hadn't had a meal in days. This was hardly the behavior of a well-bred lady. His brows furrowed at the thought.

Upon entering his bedroom, he closed the door and stood on the balcony. His tall, straight body exuded an aura of cold aloofness.

Linden quietly pushed the door open and saw Magnus standing on the balcony. He quickly closed the door. "Mr. Magnus, here are the books you asked for."

Magnus turned and saw Linden holding a stack of thick books, which he placed on his desk.

"Do you really want Ma'am to read these?" Linden began to feel a bit sorry for the woman downstairs.

"Didn't she say she wanted to take care of me? By reading these books, she'll learn how to do so. If she lacks patience, she'll start making a fuss in a few days. I want to see how long she can keep up the act!"

Magnus turned and sat at the desk. "Tell her to come up when she's finished eating!"

In a few days, they were off to France. He wanted to see how long this woman could hold out!

"Yes,."

As Linden was descending the stairs, Natalia had just finished eating. He smiled at her. "Ma'am, have you finished eating? The young master has asked you to attend to him in the study!"

Again, he wanted her in the study. What was he going to have her do this time? The bathroom was cleaned just yesterday, there was nothing much to tidy up in the bedroom. She nodded and went upstairs to knock on the door.

“Come in!” Magnus’ deep voice was always cold.

She pushed the door open to see him sitting in his wheelchair. The sun was already streaming in from the balcony, casting a glow over him, and outlining his silhouette with a halo of light.

"Mr. Magnus, what can I do for you?" Natalia stood at a distance of three meters from him.

"I need daily massages for my legs to prevent atrophy. This will be your daily task." He looked at his legs, then slowly turned his gaze towards her.

Natalia blinked. "But Mr. Magnus, I don't know how to give massages. Should we hire a personal doctor to come regularly?" After all, she wasn't a medical professional.

Magnus pointed to the books on the desk. "Those books can teach you. If you don't know how to do it, you can learn. If I wanted to hire a doctor, why would I need a wife?"

He was sitting against the light, making it difficult for Natalia to make out his expression. Without even glancing at her, he wheeled himself over to the desk and began looking at some documents.

Natalia wandered over to the table, her eyes falling on the stack of books piled high. Titles like "Massage for Dummies," and "Helping the Paralyzed Stand Again" were among them. Natalia looked at these books and didn't utter a word. She picked one up, intending to retreat to her bedroom to read, but a deep voice stopped her. “Read here, you’re starting work tonight.”

“But, I...”

“What? Having trouble? I remember on your first day, you boldly claimed you could take care of me. Are you already getting fed up?” The man lifted his icy gaze, fixing it upon the girl’s charming face. He locked eyes with her innocent and shimmering gaze.