Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 173: Our Nathan Family Can Afford It

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Our Nathan Family Can Afford It

Just then, a senior executive, Zoe Lynch, knocked on the table and cleared her throat. "Mr. Damian Hawthorne, and this... Miss Cecilia Nathan," she began, "this is a board meeting for the Nathan Group. It’s inappropriate for outsiders like you to barge in. If you have business to discuss, please take it outside."

As she spoke, Zoe Lynch made a point to size Cecilia Nathan up.

She had investigated Miles Sinclair long ago. He had virtually no romantic scandals to his name. Of course, she knew who Cecilia was—after all, her past relationship with Damian Hawthorne had been so widely publicized it became the laughingstock of all Korsyth.

And based on Miles’s behavior just now, it seemed he also had some kind of unusual relationship with Cecilia.

As she scrutinized Cecilia, Zoe’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of jealousy appearing within them.

Cecilia had fair skin and a small face. While her features weren’t dazzlingly beautiful, she possessed an elegant air that naturally drew one’s gaze.

’What a pity. After chasing Damian Hawthorne for so long and ruining her reputation, she’s now shamelessly trying to go after Miles Sinclair.’

Cecilia looked at Zoe Lynch and saw a woman in a white suit with strong features, sitting proudly in her chair with her arms crossed—the very picture of a powerful career woman.

She exuded an intense self-confidence.

And when their eyes met, Cecilia realized that this confidence was directed at her with an expression of utter contempt.

Cecilia frowned, feeling a subtle sense of discomfort.

As it happened, Cecilia was planning to leave anyway. She was the first to walk out. Miles Sinclair anxiously started to follow but was stopped by Zoe Lynch. "Mr. Sinclair, this is an internal meeting for the Nathan Family. There’s no need for outsiders to be present."

"She is not an outsider." Miles Sinclair’s brows furrowed, and a chill spread across his handsome face.

"Not an outsider... Hah. Mr. Sinclair, you’re being far too protective of this woman." Zoe Lynch lifted her chin, her tone haughty. "Even if you know her and have a relationship, this is company business. I hope you won’t mix your personal affairs with professional ones."

’She’s a woman who climbed the ladder using men, completely different from people like us who earned our status through sheer ability.’

Zoe Lynch desperately wanted to say as much to Miles Sinclair.

But with so many people in the meeting, she didn’t want to seem overly arrogant, nor did she want Miles to think she was a cruel person.

Seeing the anger on Linden Nathan’s face, Zoe Lynch had a bad feeling.

’It’s over. Linden Nathan is displeased with Mr. Sinclair.’

Zoe quickly said to Miles, who still wanted to leave, "Mr. Sinclair, don’t worry. I’ll go talk to Miss Cecilia Nathan right now. You were personally groomed by our President; you must be careful to seize this opportunity."

Afraid that Miles would still rush out, and to prevent Linden Nathan from growing any more displeased with him, Zoe volunteered to go find Cecilia herself.

She wasn’t worried about anything else—only that Miles Sinclair’s future would be ruined.

He had just joined the board of directors; he absolutely could not let matters of the heart jeopardize his life’s work.

’Once I help him out this time, I’m sure Miles will be even more grateful to me.’

’And then, our relationship... it wouldn’t be impossible for it to develop further.’

"What is your name?" Linden Nathan asked.

Zoe Lynch’s heart leaped with joy.

’Just as I thought, President Nathan has noticed me.’

Everyone had seen her "coming to Miles’s rescue" just now, and Linden Nathan was naturally no exception.

"President Nathan, I’m the manager of the Korsyth central district, promoted just this year. I know what you’re concerned about. Rest assured, I’ll go find Cecilia now and resolve this matter."

Linden Nathan had been very displeased by what Zoe Lynch had just said.

But seeing her bowing and scraping now, he assumed she had actually understood the complicated dynamic between Cecilia and Miles Sinclair.

"Mm, go and handle it. Remember, we always prioritize our own."

Cecilia, of course, was one of their own.

After all, the fact that Cecilia was his daughter was already known to many in private.

He felt that since Zoe Lynch was a senior executive, she must have heard some rumors.

However, he never would have guessed that Zoe Lynch was one of the few who had no idea about Cecilia’s true identity.

Zoe Lynch agreed and walked out with a graceful air.

Downstairs at the Nathan Group, Cecilia Nathan and Damian Hawthorne walked side by side.

"Did Miles Sinclair really steal your proposal?" Cecilia’s eyes were a little red.

In her memory, Miles was not the kind of person who would ever do something like that.

However, while Damian Hawthorne was arrogant, he wasn’t one to falsely accuse someone.

Seeing Cecilia’s pained expression, Damian was reminded that Miles had once saved her.

"Linden Nathan wants to groom him as a successor. The way I see it, he’s not grooming a successor, he’s grooming a son-in-law," Damian said, looking at Cecilia with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.

Seeing her eyes grow redder, his heart suddenly felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on it, a suffocating panic rising within him.

"Are you going to marry Miles Sinclair?"

Damian finally voiced the question that had been weighing on his mind for days.

Cecilia’s lips parted, but she said nothing.

She knew what Linden Nathan intended.

It was nothing more than his way of trying to compensate her, of finally starting to accept Miles Sinclair.

Cecilia knew that Linden Nathan held a deep-seated prejudice against Miles, a prejudice that couldn’t simply be described by words like "family background" or "social class."

Back then, to stop her from being with Miles, Linden Nathan had even threatened to disown her.

And now, by accepting Miles, Linden Nathan wasn’t just reconciling with her; he was reconciling with the Miles of the past.

Looking into Damian Hawthorne’s eyes, Cecilia clenched her fists. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Damian watched her too, his eyes trembling slightly.

’If she just denies it, I’ll start pursuing her again.’

Before, he had always wanted to wait for May Rhodes, but May had just been playing him for a fool.

She knew perfectly well that he was looking for her, yet she allowed those imposters to flock around him, making him look like an absolute idiot.

"Cecilia, if there’s nothing between you and Miles Sinclair, then I..."

"Damian Hawthorne," Cecilia said, her lips curling into a faint smile. "Regarding the contract, have your lawyers calculate the compensation. Whatever the amount, the Nathan Family can afford it."

Damian’s gaze darkened. He lowered his voice. "You want to protect him?"

"Yes."

In that instant, Damian felt as if a knife were twisting in his heart.

"Are you that captivated by him? Cecilia, the day you left the Hawthorne Family... was it because of him, too?" Damian’s heart constricted sharply, a cold, piercing pain shooting through him.

Leaving the Hawthorne Family...

Cecilia thought back to how she had been pregnant at the time, yet she had walked out of the Hawthorne Family home of her own accord.

She had been with the Hawthorne Family for so long; naturally, she had invested her feelings.

But those feelings were all built on other things.

Cecilia looked into Damian’s eyes, her own gaze falling as she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue.

’If it weren’t for Damian’s eyes, perhaps I never would have stayed by his side.’

"Damian Hawthorne, now that Miles Sinclair is alive, I must fulfill my promise to him."

"Is it because he saved you?" A cold sneer formed on Damian’s lips, as if he wanted to tear apart everything before him. "A life debt... what a burden."

"Back then, May Rhodes saved me, and Miles Sinclair saved you."

"Cecilia, are we supposed to be shackled by these so-called debts of gratitude for the rest of our lives?"

"If you don’t like him, then why not be with me..."

"No, I want to marry him." Something seemed to occur to her. Cecilia took a deep breath and looked steadily at Damian. "I like him. I want to marry him."

"In your dreams!" Zoe Lynch’s voice cut Cecilia off. She had just caught up to them in time to hear her last sentence.

"You’re Cecilia, right? Do you have any idea what you’re daydreaming about? Miles Sinclair is now the manager of our Korsyth City branch, and in the future, he’s going to Aethelgard to take over most of the operations for the Nathans of Aethelgard. Even if he were to get married, it would never be your turn."

Seeing Cecilia so dead set on marrying Miles Sinclair, Zoe Lynch was overcome with anger. Ignoring the fact that Damian Hawthorne was standing right there, she opened her mouth and let the sarcastic words fly.