Chapter 718 A Better Wife

Dion knew something was wrong the moment the door opened and the smile drained from Natalie’s face. He turned at once and the breath hitched in his throat.

There he was. David Avax.

The wolves might have their alphas, but humans had David Avax—king of technology, billionaire powerhouse, and one of the most dangerous men alive. And, most importantly, Natalie’s father.

Natalie was a split image of her father. Same dirty-blonde hair, same jawline sharp enough to cut. Where she carried stunning hazel eyes, David’s were an icy gray capable of freezing hell over. Nonetheless, Natalie was very much Daddy’s girl.

The man stared coldly at him and Dion couldn’t even move, his mouth parting uselessly. What was he going to say?

Hi sir, I’m Dion. I apparently saved your daughter from a crash and to thank me, we kissed just a minute ago before you arrived?

Yep, not happening.

Finally, David broke the silence, his voice low and edged. “Who are you?”

As intimidating as David was, Dion somehow summoned the spine to answer.

“I’m Dion, Natalie’s classmate—”

“And the one who saved me from the crash,” Natalie cut in sharply, her lips pressed together in warning.

David’s hard stare shifted to his daughter. She met it head-on, a silent war passing between them. Natalie dared him to dismiss or belittle the boy who had helped her.

Though not a single ounce of aloofness left his expression, David finally turned back to Dion and said, polite but distant,

“Well. Thank you for saving my daughter, Dion. You’ll be rewarded for that.”

“Huh?” Dion felt like he heard wrong.

“Oh God,” Natalie groaned, dragging a hand over her face, absolutely drowning in second-hand embarrassment.

Dion straightened immediately. “I’m good, sir. I didn’t rescue Natalie to receive anything in return. We’re friends…” His voice trailed at the end. Friends didn’t kiss like that, but Dion shoved the thought aside. It was a thank-you kiss, like Natalie said. Nothing more. Probably.

David’s perfectly shaped brow lifted. “Friends, huh?”

“Very good friends,” Natalie said pointedly, a declaration and a warning in one.

David’s gaze shifted to his daughter again, tension thick in the air. Dion swallowed hard and stepped back, desperate to escape the invisible battlefield between father and daughter.

“Urm… I’ll wait outside while you talk to her and come back later,” he said, clearing his throat.

David’s frown deepened. “Come back later?”

Dion gulped. “I-I promised to take care of Natalie.”

“Yes, he did,” Natalie added without hesitation.

“That won’t be necessary,” David replied, his tone clipped and final. “Her caretaker is standing right outside that door and will take over once I’m done.”

“Oh.” Dion flushed. Of course she had a caretaker—why hadn’t that crossed his mind? Suddenly he felt stupid, very stupid, for assuming she needed him in that way.

Feeling like he was intruding, Dion awkwardly lifted a hand in a tiny wave.

“I… hope you make a quick recovery, then.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Natalie asked.

Dion paused, glancing at David and catching the tight clench of the man’s jaw. Yep. He definitely didn’t like him.

“Right?” Natalie pressed, leveling her father with a fierce stare.

Somehow, that gave Dion courage. His familiar smile tugged at his lips. “Sure. I’ll be here tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after the next until you’ve recovered.”

This time, Natalie’s face lit up. Good. That was the spirit she wanted to see. For a moment earlier she’d been disappointed watching him shrink under her father’s presence, but now he’d found his footing, and the expression on David’s face was priceless.

“See you then,” Dion said, about to leave when—

“Dion?” Natalie said.

It killed him a little inside. What now? “What?” he asked, voice gentle.

She pointed to her cheek. “Goodbye peck, love.”

Dion immediately understood. Natalie was using him to irritate her father on purpose—and there was no universe where he would turn that down. Not after the bastard married the woman who hurt her.

He walked to her bedside. But instead of giving the peck she requested, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips again. Natalie responded instantly, wrapping one arm around his neck, moving her mouth against his with equal intensity.

He didn’t deepen it—he wasn’t suicidal enough to disrespect David directly—but it was still intimate enough to drive the point home.

When they pulled apart, Natalie was breathless, eyes sparkling like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Sleep tight,” Dion murmured, then pressed a soft peck to her cheek and straightened.

To David Avax, he said, “Have a lovely time with your daughter, sir.” Then he slipped past him and walked out with a quiet confidence that bordered on swagger.

The door shut.

Silence thickened the room.

A battle of wills began the moment their eyes met.

“Really, Natalie?” David’s tone dripped with condescension. “We’re dating that kind of people now?”

Natalie hissed. “That kind of people?” She stared at him, disbelief burning through her exhaustion. Then an unsettling calm washed over her as she spat, “Well, those kinds of people are better than your high-class wife who abused me for years.”

There was a crack in his cold armor, and for the first time, remorse flickered across David’s face.

He stepped closer. “You should have come to me.”

“Really?” Natalie scoffed. “Did you have time for me? The little attention I asked for after Mother died, what did you do? You married the woman who abused me. And now you stand here acting like a father? How dare you?!”

“You’re right,” David admitted. “I should have chosen better. If I had known Kate was like that, I would have made a better choice.”

“Oh God,” Natalie groaned, exasperated. His apology for years of neglect was choosing a better wife? She was furious.

“You don’t have to worry about Kate, not anymore,” David said.

“What?” Natalie stilled, then narrowed her eyes. “What have you done, Father?”

David held her gaze.

“Kate is dead.”

Natalie’s breath vanished, every drop of blood in her body turning to ice.