Natalia rode the same vehicle, which escorted her to the penthouse, back to Zion Suites. Simon, one of Alexander's men who were assigned to watch over the woman, drove the young miss back to her condominium.

Arriving inside her bedroom, she took a long calming shower. It helped Natalia shut off the sour memory at the penthouse.

Afterwards, she drank a warm glass of milk and slept through the coldness of the night.

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

Unknown to most, Duchess Ruth was also invited to the gala. When she received the invitation, her eyes sparkled as she knew the Gates family would be there too. She's been secretly admiring Alexander from afar. Starting the moment that he had accompanied her to the Palace Ball five years ago, Ruth sees the man as her knight in shining armor. As for the cultural beliefs of the royal bloods, marriage with distant relatives are allowed as long as it won't bring harm to the throne. She's thrilled that her parents supported her goals. She'll make sure the man will be hers.

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

Alexander woke up after few hours but still felt tired. He stretched his arms but something prevented him to. He looked around and saw a woman resting on his arm near the shoulders. His mind realized something and slowly got up from the bed and wore a shirt.

His head was still dizzy but nevertheless descended the stairs supported by the handrails. Reaching the first floor, he noticed Sergei sipping on a cup of coffee with a laptop in front of him at the dinning table.

"Sergei." Alexander called out.

The assistant looked up to his boss with a bothered expression. "Mr. Gates...." His appearance showed exhaustion with dark circles under his eyes and a pale face.

"What happened?" Alexander inquired with his usual cold tone.

"The young miss was here to visit you earlier but then the duchess was---"

"Call the driver. And rest Sergei. That's an order. I'll take it from here." Alexander firmly said and made his way to his car enduring the sickly feeling that was still in his system.

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

Natalia stirred from her sleep as she felt something heavy was leaning against her waist. She then perceived a familiar hand caressing her stomach while a set of lips were granting kisses on the nape of her neck. Natalia couldn't help but to produced a soft sound.

"Xander..." She gently whispered. Her mind was debating whether to succumb to sleep or to the temptation.

Thankfully, the man stopped. He didn't want to ignite more fire because it wasn't his intention in the first place but still couldn't help it.

"Forgive me....the scene at the penthouse." Alexander weakly uttered. His voice was full of remorse. Even though he's not aware that the duchess would barged in, he should've known better and should kept the security tight all night.

The woman just nodded in understanding and interlaced their hands like it was a natural thing to do. Natalia wasn't the petty type. She's confident that Alexander wouldn't intentionally do things that will make her sullen.

"You should repay me...you know." The woman jested still in her sleepy state as the man nuzzled his nose to her appealing slender neck.

"Whatever you want." Alexander replied with a husky voice. He started to relax and was deeply satisfied as he spooned Natalia's soft frame against his rigid body. His eyelids slowly become heavy as he got drunk with the sweet scent of the woman.

"Your BMW convertible sports car." The woman spoke casually and yawned at the same time.

"Done." Alexander lazily replied.

"A limited gown by Naomi Uno." A world-renowned dressmaker.

"Will contact her first thing tomorrow."

"A piece of red beryl." The woman smiled thinking of the bright red gemstone. 'She's really not petty.'

"Will...be...yours...I need...to..." The man stopped half way.

Natalia glanced at the sleeping Alexander. She sighed as she felt his high temperature. After waiting for few minutes, she slowly got up and went to the kitchen to prepare a hot porridge for the man.

#######

Zimmer Company

The shocking announcement has been made days ago before the meeting happened between the Zimmer siblings and the family lawyer.

Devon Yushkova is currently the new president of the company appointed by Daniel Zimmer through the Living Trust document.

The Yushkova family fully supported the milestone and called for a big press conference. The story created a media frenzy. Zimmer Company topped the search engines on the social media. Their stocks are also fluctuating due to the news at the moment.

Employees were divided because of their varying opinions. Some thought it will be a tiring period because of the transition. Some are excited for the new management and some of them sympathized with Jake who was demoted to vice president level.

Once Devon stepped into the highest position, he hired the people on the list drafted by Jude Genome. He created new positions to secure the Yushkova people inside the Zimmer Company. The management found no conflict with this since everything was planned by Devon and he was able to justify the need for the new roles.

On the other hand, Jake Zimmer was completely fine doing his job as the vice president. Amidst of the on-going transition, he is composed and effectively doing his responsibilities. He also contacted Boar, Natalia's private investigator, to retrace the steps of how the State Bank released the legal document. The only thing they can do now is wait quietly at the sidelines and endure for few weeks.

#######

The day of the Ellison's Gala

Zimmer Estate

"Thank you so much Milda! You're really the best." Luna praised happily while staring at her own reflection.

The group met at the Zimmers to have their makeups done by one of the best. Mrs. Lee was also there as she too admired the cosmetic expert.

"Ehem." Ziv cleared his throat.

"Of course, you are too! If it wasn't for your creations, we wouldn't have this wonderful look. Don't get jealous Ziv." Luna uttered laughing.

All of them looked beautiful on their own way. The gown and makeup really enhanced their features.

(Reference of the dresses)

The women exited Natalia's room as the scheduled time for the gala will start soon. One by one, they descended the stairs.

Jake Zimmer was whipped when he saw Trish Vene slowly stepping down the stairs. The woman's hair was styled with a braided low bun that highlighted her lovely heart-shape face. The style was paired with pearl earrings and pearl bracelet. All of Jake's worries died down at the moment. His body prompted him to reached for the lovely woman's hand to assist her.

Jonathan Akio, the Brazilian-Japanese tycoon, had the same reaction with Luna. He attended the same school with the pretty woman and her friend Natalia. Since then, he appreciated her great character and natural beauty. Seeing the woman lately, after several years, made his heart yearn for her again. Just like today, she definitely took his breath away with her elegant appearance. The woman was wearing a Cinderella inspired gown matching her snowy-white skin.

As for Natalia, she wore a two-layered medieval purplish gown matched with a messy bun hairstyle with braid. The color made her skin more creamy and soft-looking.

Earlier that day, she received a message from Alexander that Sergei will personally drive her to the venue.

The assistant showed up at the front doors of the Estate right on time.

"Miss Zimmer." Sergei courteously greeted her. The man opened the passenger seat of the BMW convertible car and let her settle before starting the vehicle.

"Is everything alright?" Natalia inquired.

"Yes. Boss is on his way together with Mr. and Mrs. Gates." The assistant informed her.

'With his parents?' She never thought that his parents will make an appearance at the event knowing that they were on a long-term vacation.

Sergei smiled at Natalia's confused reaction. The lovely woman is unaware that Mr. and Mrs. Gates were looking forward on meeting her---the only woman who caught the attention of their cold son. That's the only reason the couple would attend such occasion.

Reaching their destination, Natalia was assisted by Sergei on alighting the vehicle. Her friends were already on the red carpet with their 'dates'. She took a deep breath and gracefully walk to the red carpet. As the media keep on taking pictures of the different guests, a small commotion took place.

Then Natalia saw Duchess Ruth anchoring her hand to Alexander. It seemed like she abruptly done it because she's breathing in a labored manner. As she observed from a distance, the man has no reaction and just walk continuously and scanned the crowd.

Ziv approached Natalia and asked if she's alright which she replied in a positive tone, "Of course."

She quietly moved at the other side of the carpeted ground and posed for the media.

Alexander finally saw Natalia and distanced himself with the duchess. He strode forward to meet her when his feet stopped and stared at the woman's direction.

"Hello Ms. Zimmer." A baritone voice spoke just behind Natalia. The woman turned around and saw an unfamiliar handsome man raising his hand forward. His physique are the same with Alexander's and equally emits a powerful presence.

Natalia shook the man's hand out of respect.

"You are...?" She inquired casually.

The man chuckled sexily and flashed a gorgeous smile while kissing the back of her hand.

"Gregory Ellison, my lady."