Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 130: Not Planning to Talk to Me Anymore? Nina
Astra City, First Municipal Hospital, top floor VIP ward. Zane Thorne had just finished showering, his hair still wet, as he sat on the sofa looking at the call Natalie Vaughn had hung up, frowning deeply.
Seraphina Sutton had just brought over some dinner to warm his stomach.
"President Thorne, Genevieve Joyce just called. Mrs. Thorne is drinking at a bar, getting drunk, and Carter Chapman is there too."
Zane Thorne frowned even deeper. With Natalie’s alcohol tolerance, she dared to get drunk at a bar? Without much thought, Zane directly dialed her number again.
But each time he called, it was hung up within two seconds. After five attempts, the phone informed him it was turned off. Zane’s face grew darker, and Seraphina didn’t dare to breathe heavily.
"President Thorne, the food is on the table. Please remember to eat, the medicine is also on the bedside. I’ll head back to the company now."
Zane responded with a sound. Seraphina hurriedly left, fearing that if she stayed another minute, she’d suffocate from the overwhelming atmosphere. She dared not even look back when closing the door.
Since Natalie’s phone couldn’t be reached, Zane called Genevieve’s phone.
Genevieve wasn’t Natalie, she didn’t have the courage to hang up on the boss, and answered immediately.
"President Thorne."
"Where is my wife?"
Genevieve, seeing Natalie drinking with such gusto, felt like finding a piece of driftwood while drowning at sea upon hearing Zane’s voice.
"She’s still...drinking."
"Hand her the phone."
"Yes, sir."
Genevieve stood humbly in front of Natalie, handing over the phone.
"Mrs. Thorne, President Thorne is looking for you."
But Natalie didn’t even glance at it.
"Just because he’s looking for me, I have to answer?"
There was anger hidden in her words, but due to the alcohol, there was a seductiveness she herself was unaware of. Hearing this, Zane’s expression grew even grimmer.
By her current state, Natalie had obviously drunk a lot. He’d seen Natalie drunk before; cute and alluring, obedient to a fault.
How could she get drunk outside? And he wasn’t even by her side.
Zane gripped the phone tightly, veins bulging on his hand, filled with both anger and worry.
"Make her answer the phone." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The coldness in his voice was like poisoned wine. Genevieve’s hand trembled, caught between a rock and a hard place, weighing which was scarier to offend, Zane or Natalie. After a few seconds, Genevieve resignedly pushed the phone into Natalie’s hand.
"Sorry, ma’am, but it’s President Thorne who pays me."
Natalie was about to throw the phone aside, but Carter suddenly took her wine glass.
"During those years Mr. Thorne was abroad, he’d often get dead drunk. Coupled with the exhaustion from work, he smoked heavily. He’d been hospitalized for over a month due to a stomach perforation."
Natalie’s actions paused, and she looked up at Carter, seemingly verifying the truth of what he said.
Carter lifted his hand to adjust his glasses, took out his phone, and surprisingly pulled up a photo of Zane hospitalized abroad back then.
This man, even in a hospital gown, wasn’t serious. A few buttons were undone at the collar, revealing his collarbone, and even his sexy chest muscles were vaguely visible.
He was half-lying on the sofa, long legs draped carelessly over the side, the window wide open, and the light shone on him. It seemed too glaring; he frowned tightly, his whole body emanating frustration. Perhaps hospital life was boring; he was too lazy to clean up, chin covered in stubble.
Yet, not an ounce of sloppiness, instead full of masculine charm. Though the sunlight was bright, the sense of loneliness enveloping him wasn’t dispelled.
Natalie suddenly recalled the sight of him standing by the window at the hotel that day.
"You took the photo quite diligently."
Carter retracted his phone, no longer persuading her.
Natalie knitted her brows with agitation, anger boiling yet simultaneously worried if Zane was really in the hospital. After all, from that brief call, she heard the exhaustion.
The call hadn’t been hung up, Zane seemed to guess who was holding the phone and called out again.
"Natalie?"
Natalie put down the glass, nestled in the sofa, didn’t throw the phone away, but didn’t speak either.
Zane knew she was still sulking, sighed, as if admitting defeat at her hands.
"Aren’t you going to talk to me?"
The man paused.
"Nina."
Due to his discomfort, Zane’s voice was even deeper and hoarser than usual, the helplessness and doting when calling Natalie’s name added a captivating allure to the simple nickname.
Natalie’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
This was the first time Zane called her by the nickname. Before it was either serious calls by her full name or flirtatious calls as Mrs. Thorne, sometimes as ’little Nina’, but never ’Nina’.
Interestingly enough, accustomed to the nickname for over twenty years, hearing it from Zane stirred her heart.
Silence spread between them through the phone, Natalie opened her mouth, but finally only asked stiffly.
"Where are you now?"
Before Zane could reply, Natalie added.
"I want the truth."
Zane was silent for a moment.
"First Municipal Hospital, I’ve never lied to you."
Natalie’s lips were tightly pursed. She had drunk a lot, her mind already muddled, but upon hearing Zane was indeed in the hospital, she forced herself to become clear-headed.
She snorted coldly.
"Acting all tough with me, but others pour you drinks, and you drink it down? How could someone force you to drink if you didn’t want to? Why not show them that badass attitude?"
Zane slightly furrowed his brows, when had he ever been tough with her?
"Who would dare pour me drinks?"
Natalie’s anger surged up.
"If no one poured them, how did you end up drinking yourself into the hospital? You’ve got quite some skills!"
Zane seemed to be stunned by Natalie’s sudden scolding. After a moment, he chuckled softly. Natalie only heard a rustling sound, and then his muffled voice came through.
"My wife wouldn’t talk to me, couldn’t sleep at night, had no choice but to drink."
As he said this, Zane’s voice carried a faint smile, with a touch of accusatory tone, leaving Natalie unsure how to react.
Was Zane blaming her for blocking him? Why did he sound aggrieved?
Natalie didn’t know how to respond; on the other end came a swishing sound, recalling his muffled voice earlier, Natalie flared up again.
"Are you smoking again?! You’re a patient now; do you want to risk your life? You love smoking that much? Smoke, smoke, smoke! It won’t kill you!"
After speaking, Natalie angrily hung up the phone.
Genevieve and Carter both swallowed hard at this scene, it was the first time they’d seen anyone daring enough to yell at Zane this way.
No wonder she’s Zane Thorne’s wife.
On the other end, Zane too, startled by Natalie’s sudden outburst, immediately took the cigarette out of his mouth, putting it out. Looking back at the phone, the call had already ended.
Zane: ...
The man silently stared at the phone screen, then at the lighter thrown on the ground, and at the cigarette he hadn’t even managed to take a puff of before extinguishing.
After a long while, he suddenly laughed, but laughter soon turned to seriousness.
He looked at the endlessly quiet night outside the window, pulling at the corners of his mouth.
He really was defeated by Natalie.
So, the man picked up the phone and dialed once more.
