Chapter 41: Your Grandpa Is Coming

"We don’t have time for this," he said calmly, gently pushing her aside as he entered her home with his bag, completely disregarding the fact that it was Natalie’s home, not his.

Stunned, Natalie watched as Justin placed his bag on the table and began unzipping it. "Help me arrange my stuff, quickly," he instructed.

"Wait... What’s going on?" she asked, eyeing the bag full of his belongings. "What’s the meaning of this? Why would your stuff be here...?"

"Your grandfather is arriving in the next ten minutes," Justin replied, busy pulling items out of the bag.

All the colours drained from Natalie’s face as she turned pale. "G-Grandpa? Why would he be here?"

"Would you rather let him discover your lies, or help me now so it doesn’t look like your husband doesn’t stay with you?" His voice was cold and impatient. "He’ll be here any moment. Later, don’t blame me for not warning you..."

Before he could finish, Natalie sprang into action as if a ghost were chasing her. She grabbed the slippers he had brought. "Take off your shoes and put these on," she ordered, already rummaging through his bag in a frantic panic. "We need to get this bag into the bedroom and arrange your clothes. The toiletries should go in the bathroom, your work stuff on the desk, and some of your clothes should be drying on the stand..."

"Natalie," Justin’s cold voice cut through her frenzy, stopping her in her tracks.

"What are you calling me for? Didn’t I tell you to change your shoes...?" she started, her voice tinged with frustration.

But Justin gently gripped her shoulders, his hold firm but reassuring, as if trying to snap her out of her panic. Just this afternoon, she had been so confident in front of the reporters, unshakable—but now she was a bundle of nerves.

"Calm down, will you?" Justin gazed into her anxious eyes. "We’ll get everything set before Mr. Ford arrives. Alright? Breathe now."

Natalie took a few deep breaths, and once she seemed a bit steadier, Justin let go and picked up his bag. "Which room?" he asked.

Natalie guided him toward one of the rooms. "You can use this guest room. Feel free to—"

He turned to look at her, his expression slightly incredulous. "You’re not that smart, are you?"

She frowned. "I’m letting you crash in my home; that’s already downgrading my smartness, so don’t judge me now. If it weren’t for my grandpa..."

"He’ll be thrilled to see his granddaughter living in a separate room from her husband, won’t he?" Justin remarked sarcastically as he walked into the guest room, which was newly arranged with a queen-size bed, a wardrobe, and other essentials. "As long as you’re ready to answer his questions, I don’t mind."

Natalie realized what he was implying. "Wait," she grabbed his bag. "This is definitely the wrong room for you. Let’s move to the other room. My grandpa is sharp—he’ll take a grand tour of this small home and notice everything." She quickly dragged the bag to her own bedroom. "We’ll just arrange your things here for show. Don’t get any ideas."

"I won’t." A smirk playing on his lips, as he followed her, "but I can’t guarantee the same about you."

She stopped at the door of her room and turned to face him, her brows knitted in frustration. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean," he replied coolly.

To her, it seemed like he was determined to get under her skin, making all sorts of assumptions about her with that infuriating calmness.

"Well, then make sure to protect yourself well," she shot back with a sarcastic edge. "You never know when I might jump on you." With that, she dragged his bag into her room.

Justin followed her, containing a smile on his lips which was a result of how easily he could rile her up. Seeing her angry and hearing her counterattacks was now getting his best entertainment factor.

But at the same time he was making a mental account of how many things she would regret saying once she knew their true relationship as step-siblings. Would be worth watching her reaction.

As he followed her into her room, Justin couldn’t help but feel curious about her personal space. It was a glimpse into the kind of environment she preferred, and to him, it was a way of getting to know her better.

The room wasn’t overly girly, but it exuded an air of sophistication, the kind that belonged to a grown, mature woman. Everything was meticulously clean and organized. A queen-sized bed was positioned against the wall, with a bedside table holding a lamp and a picture frame featuring a little girl smiling at a woman- seemed to be her mother.

The bedspread was perfectly smooth, without a single fold, and two pillows rested at the headboard, despite her being the only one who slept there. A neatly folded blanket was placed at the foot of the bed.

To one side of the room was a desk and chair, situated near a wall-sized window with a cushioned seating area at the base. Books lined the shelves above the desk, revealing her love for reading. A dresser stood next to the wardrobe, with a few essential skincare items neatly arranged on top.

While Justin took in the room’s cozy and inviting atmosphere, Natalie lifted his bag onto the bed and unzipped it. She pulled out a small bag containing toiletries and handed it to him.

"Don’t think that just because you’re a rich CEO, I’m going to be your servant and spoon-feed you. Go and arrange these in the bathroom, but don’t mess up my things."

Justin accepted the bag and entered the bathroom. Though it wasn’t as grand as the ones he was accustomed to, it was well-arranged with enough space, with glass partitions and even a bathtub on one side. Folded white towels and napkins were placed on the shelf and a bathrobe was hung on one side. Everything was satisfyingly clean and perfect, just like he preferred.

’Seems like I won’t have any complaints while living here. She is quite efficient.’

He carefully arranged his toiletries on the shelves over the washbasin and some in the shower area, next to Natalie’s things, making sure not to displace anything she had kept there.

When he returned, he found Natalie moving her clothes to one side of the wardrobe, making space for his, even though he hadn’t brought much, only enough for her grandfather to notice his presence in this home.

She began arranging his clothes methodically, hanging some on hangers and folding others with precision. Her focus on the task caught his attention, and he found himself staring at her, watching each of her movements closely. A sudden warmth seemed to grip his heart, so a familiar but much needed foreign feeling.

Just as she finished with the clothes and was about to pick up the remaining items from the bag, Justin gently took hold of her hands, stopping her. She looked up at him in confusion, only to hear him say softly, "I’ll do the rest."

She freed her hands with a frown. "The rest? What’s even left for you to do? I’ve been working here while you stood there like a boss watching his lowly servant, after you took a long detour of that small bathroom. And now you’re offering to help?"

"My bad. Go ahead," he said, stepping back with a smirk.

She frowned and turned back to the bag, only to freeze when she saw fresh packs of his undergarments. Her hands hesitated, and she looked up at him, catching his gaze that seemed to say, ’