Dumping Him for His Uncle (Natasha and Zachary)

"If you don't want anything, people will just say you lack ambition," Xavier replied.

Natasha gave a helpless shrug. It wasn't that she didn't want to try. it was just that her thoughts always seemed to clash with Quentin's whenever the real questions

came up.

Sometimes, she even found herself doubting whether her ideas were valid at all or if she'd just been wrong from the start.

As night deepened, Natasha lay in bed, tossing and turning.

Eventually, she gave up on trying to sleep and slipped out onto the deck.

The sea breeze was colder at night, but thankfully, she'd brought a jacket. "Can't sleep either?"

A figure emerged from the darkness, moving steadily toward her. Instinctively, Natasha took a few steps back.

She quickly turned on her phone's flashlight and saw that it was Zachary.

She didn't say anything, but let out a quiet breath of relief.

"I was a bit out of line the other day. But for what it's worth, nothing actually happened," Zachary said.

Natasha froze for a second, then a slow wave of relief washed over her.

"Mr. Foster, do you find this sort of thing amusing?" she asked, her tone serious.

Zachary had expected that kind of response. "But I didn't lie. You did throw up all over the room," he added.

At that, Natasha remembered that he hadn't actually said anything inappropriate. She'd just jumped to conclusions and let her imagination run wild.

Now, she felt more than a little embarrassed. Thankfully, it was dark enough that no one could see her face.

"A misunderstanding, then. Good thing it's cleared up now," she said.

With that, Natasha lost all interest in standing out in the wind. All she wanted now was to get back to her room and finally rest. Tomorrow's final seminar wasn't going to be easy.

"No matter what you decide to do, I'll support you."

Zachary's voice was soft, so quiet that the wind carried it away before anyone else could hear.

With the start of the final seminar, Natasha's entire demeanor had shifted. She couldn't even explain why. Sometimes, confidence just came out of nowhere.

While Quentin was presenting his ideas, Natasha stood up boldly and spoke, "I have a new perspective on the gene-editing project. It completely contradicts your research, Mr. Anderson."

It took all her courage to say those words aloud. She'd expected Quentin to dismiss her on the spot.noveldrama

But instead, his eyes lit up. "I've been waiting for someone to say that ever since this seminar began."

He didn't recognize her at all. After all, Natasha hadn't spoken a single word until

now.

His reaction stunned her as she had fully expected to be laughed at or shut down.

"If you have a different opinion, Ms. Bradley, I'd like to invite you up here to share it with everyone," Quentin continued.

With that, all eyes turned to Natasha, waiting for her to make her way to the front.

Only Nicole muttered something under her breath, clearly annoyed. As Natasha passed by, Nicole stuck out a foot to trip her-but Natasha, already wary, sidestepped it with ease.

When she finally stood at the front of the room, all the doubt and negativity she'd been carrying vanished like smoke.