Alexander kissed her hard. He clearly craves for Natalia. He wanted her closer to him. He wanted the woman to feel that she only belongs to him. He locked her in his arms making sure no one will snatch her away.

The kiss was painfully sweet that stung Natalia's lips yet pleases her whole existence. She felt Alexander's warmth despite of the coldness from being soaked. Her hands unconsciously reached out to his collar and pulled him closer drinking his lips to quench her concealed thirst.

Unknown to the two, Jake already dismissed the crowd hugging Hannah on the process and preventing the child to witness the scene. With much hesitation, he still gave them privacy.

After several minutes, Alexander slowed down. The kiss became sweeter and lighter. Then, he let go of her lips so that both of them can properly breathe.

Alexander leaned his forehead with Natalia's. He saw the woman closed her eyes and smiled.

"You're very beautiful." The man uttered.

"You're very....wet..." Natalia replied chuckling. She looked at herself and noticed that her blouse was already damp, too. She led Alexander to a guest room where he can change his clothes. Thankfully, each room contains simple apparels for both men and women.

"You can find t-shirts and other essentials inside." Natalia informed him.

"You're not coming in?" Alexander teased the woman studying her from head to toe.

'This shameless man.'

"No. My brother has his eyes on every corner of the house." She stated shaking her head and laughed a little. Natalia went back to her room and also replaced her clothes with dry ones.

The group were silently waiting for the two inside the living room.

Natalia arrived with Alexander who held her hand confidently. Standing before the group, she sighed and contemplated what to say.

Jake stood up and approached the two. "Mr. Gates." He greeted the man who was now wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

"Mr. Zimmer." Alexander greeted in return.

The other people just awkwardly stared at the two men.

"Hi Prince!" Hannah broke the tension. She walked towards Alexander and hugged the tall man.

Alexander knelt on his one knee and hugged the kid with his free hand.

"Are you here because you want to 'date' Princess?" The innocent child whispered loudly. Everyone who was listening goggled at the thought of Natalia being with Alexander at the gala.

"Yes." The handsome man quickly replied then stood up patting the girl's head. He knows he will defy his grandfather's plan but he couldn't care less at the moment.

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Gates, a word please."

The two men exited the room and went to the study.

"Oh. My. Freakin'. Goodness." Luna opened her itching mouth once the two good-looking men were out of the picture. She stared at Natalia with eyes wide open.

"WhenNN?!" Ziv mouthed the last letter longer controlling his excitement.

"At the grand ball, I guess? I don't know." Natalia answered whispering.

"Oohh! I was so right! I knew it then! I knew when he bid for you that night! Wait... what really happened at his penthouse? Girl, if you already had him, I would keep my eyes off of him. You can rest assured." Ziv ran his words like a machine gun.

"What? What're you talking about?" Natalia expressed covering the ears of Hannah. "No." The brunette woman shushed and glared at him.

Ziv made a zipping gesture waiting for Natalia to continue.

The woman called Deedee and instructed Hannah to go with her to play with the toys that she had bought for the child.

Making sure that the girl is far enough, Natalia started talking. She told the group 'some' of the quick meetings that had happened between her and Alexander these past months.

"I can't! We need to drink to that!" Ziv blurted out after hearing the anecdotes.

--------------

Meanwhile, the men who have gone to the study were drinking wine leisurely.

"You're serious with my little sister?" Jake asked but sounded more of a declaration.

"Yes." Alexander shortly replied. He's known to be a man of few words. Words which are trustworthy and hard like a diamond.

Jake took another sip and stood up to approach the other man. Alexander also stood up and faced him.

"I will trust you this one time with my sister as I can sense that you can protect her the way that I can. But, if a time will come that you will not---"

"There will be no such thing Mr. Zimmer." Alexander didn't let him finished and extended his arm.

Jake sighed and shook the man's hand firmly. Their strength is almost identical. They stared at one another then let go.

The men exited the study and went back to the common room.

Natalia stood up when the two men came back. Alexander instinctively reach out to her and led her near the front doors.

"I will leave for now, Princess. I'll see you at the gala." Alexander told her smiling and kissed her temple as he enclosed his arms around her. She hugged him tightly in return and looked into his eyes.

After saying goodbye, the handsome man turned his back and went on his way.

'Everything will be alright...right?' Natalia asked particularly no one.

Alexander exited the Zimmer Estate with clouded feelings.

#######

Yushkova Mansion

"Focus, son." Euro was talking with Devon at the study. He was standing while drinking wine and Devon was sitting facing his laptop.

"You have been distracted lately. Our company needs your full attention like before. You already played your game and suffered losses in your petty fight with that woman." The old man stated louder than normal.

"I understand father. My apologies." Devon slightly bowed his head. He cannot fully direct his attention to their company until he has Natalia back in his arms.

The younger man reached out to his drawer and brought out a file document.

"What is this?" Euro asked curiously. He then open the document and after reading it, his eyes had gotten wide. "This is... How did you get a hold of this?"

"Father, I admit that I was kind of mixed-up for the past weeks but I'm still thinking what's best for us." Devon smirked and leaned on the chair in a relaxed manner.

The paper document is the Living Trust of Daniel Zimmer.

The legal document mentioned how the assets of the grantor, Daniel, will be handled. It also elaborates that the Zimmer Company will be under Devon Yushkova's management. Jake Zimmer will still be the vice president of the company and handle the grantor's remaining assets. Natalia, his youngest, should stay married until the grantor becomes better or lost his battle with his disease. The stipulation for Natalia Zimmer is that if she stay married, she can share with the management of the Zimmer Company or not at all.

Devon smiled and thought about the upcoming gala.

#######

Zimmer Company

"What nonsense is this?" Jake gritted his teeth as he finished reading the copy of the Living Trust document.

"Attorney Sol, is this valid? Is this even real?" Natalia asked massaging her temple.

The three people met inside Jake's office. Sol Learis is the lawyer of the Zimmer family and one of the confidants of their father, Daniel.

"Unfortunately, yes. This was proven to be the handwriting of Daniel. We had experts examined every inch of these papers." The lawyer uttered with a serious tone. He also couldn't believe that Daniel made this kind of document without his knowledge.

"Where did this come from?" Natalia was curious.

"From the State Bank. The financial institution was instructed by Daniel that if something happened or if he would be in a worse condition, they need to open his safety box and give each copy of the document to Zimmer and Yushkova family. This was also confirmed by the bank." The lawyer explained.

"Fortunately, this is a revocable living trust. The only thing we can hope for is that Daniel will soon wake up and clear everything. Until then, we need to abide by this legal document." The attorney added.

The three of them sat in silent. Jake and Natalia looked at each other.

Why did their father drafted something like this?

Why did it favor Devon?

"How about the marriage part? I'm not really married attorney. How about it?" Natalia curiously inquired.

"That one is tricky. Technically and legally, you're not married but this document was written before the revelation of the void marriage. This document was also drafted by Daniel in good faith believing that you are legally wedded..."

Natalia expressed a lost countenance. Jake squeezed her hand showing his sympathy.

"Favorably, the stipulation wasn't drafted in full details. No specific name were written with it so one cannot imply that it is Mr. Yushkova or anybody else. 'Stay married' can entail that you need to be legally married and stay that way until such time. You won't violate the 'trust document' by defying the first request of Daniel. However, for the second stipulation, you cannot assist Jake in managing the company simply because you are not married."

"We can manage without Natalia inside the company. No offense, piglet." Jake uttered.

"Agree. I can work behind the scenes and assist Jake from afar." Natalia seconded.

"Alright then. Everything is settled for now. I will continue to review the copy of this document. I will contact you for anything." The lawyer said before bidding his goodbye.

--------------

Natalia returned at Zion Suites that night. She needed to be alone to think about that document. She believes her father won't do such thing for no reason.

After doing her chores, she refreshed and changed into a sleeping attire. She's ready to sleep when the door buzzer rang.

Natalia put on her robe and made her way to the entrance. She then opened the door.

"Young miss---"

"Who are you?"

"Sergei. Assistant of Mr. Gates."

"What has brought you here at this hour?" Natalia inquired.

"My boss needs you." The assistant replied.

When Natalia heard the words, she quickly went to her bedroom and change to a simple shirt and pants. She didn't bother to cake up herself and went along with Sergei.

Arriving at Zion Grand Hotel, they went straight to the penthouse. Natalia cannot hid her restlessness. Sergei told her that Alexander has been sick these past days. It has been three days since he left the Zimmer Estate.

'That man. He's been quiet these past days. He clearly didn't want to let me know. And now, his assistant torments me about his condition.' She said to herself closing her eyes in frustration.

Opening the door to the penthouse, Sergei led her to the master's bedroom. It will be her first time to step inside Alexander's room.

They quietly accessed the door and halted when they saw a lovely woman lying very close beside Alexander. Her palm was rubbing his bare chest and in their surprise gave the man a peck on the lips. It was an intimate scene.

"Duchess.." Sergei blurted out. The woman who wore a night lingerie suddenly sat down.

"Sergei? What are you doing here? Who is she?" The duchess asked the helpless assistant. Sergei didn't expect that the noble lady will be here. He wasn't aware that she flew over and went to the penthouse.

"Duchess Ruth, this is---"

"Oh. Is it a night nurse? Thanks, but no need. I will take care of this stubborn man." The lady said in dismissal and looked lovingly at the unconscious man.

The brunette woman nonchalantly turned around and started to walk away.

"Young miss---" Sergei tried to stop Natalia.

"You heard the duchess. I am not needed." Natalia said in a flat tone and gracefully exited the penthouse.