Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Albert Meeting Julia

Justin returned to his suite, fuming internally. ‘She still loves that bastard Ivan? Her brain works fine in every other situation, but when it comes to him, it’s like she’s an idiot. What does she even see in that loser?’

Noah, standing by as always, noticed the shift in Justin’s demeanour. Ever since Natalie had entered Justin’s life, Noah had seen changes in his boss that he’d never witnessed before. ‘Having a sister really seems to be affecting him.’

Justin sat at his desk, looking every bit the polished CEO in his expensive suit, but his mind was still elsewhere.

Just then, Julia arrived. “Where were you this morning?” she asked, her expressions disappointment. “I wanted to have breakfast with you, but you weren’t here.”

he replied coldly, as he thought, ‘Hurrying to take care of your cherished granddaughter, is certainly an important matter, Julia, when that granddaughter of yours is an idiot who fell for another idiot.’

Julia pouted dramatically. “I see. You don’t care about me anymore, huh? Didn’t even bother having breakfast with this old woman. Never mind, if you don’t care, there are others who do. I’m leaving.”

Justin, realizing he had been too curt with her, softened slightly. “Where are you going, Julia?”

“To my brother,” she huffed, turning on her heel. “You and your bratty father are just the same. I don’t need either of you.”

“Julia—”

“Don’t call me. I won’t listen. I miss my brother anyway,” she said before walking out.

Sighing in frustration, Justin turned to Noah. “Make sure someone is with Julia and that she’s taken care of.”

Noah nodded, as always, and left to carry out the order.

Just as Noah exited, Justin’s phone rang. Seeing it was his father, James, he picked up quickly. “Yes, Father?”

“Your grandmother left the house and isn’t answering my calls,” James’s deep, dignified voice came through, though Justin could hear the underlying worry masked beneath his usual calm.

“She’s with me, don’t worry.”

Justin heard James letting out a sigh of relief. Though James was not the kind to show his affection openly, Justin knew how important Julia was to him.

“Take care of her and keep an eye on her,” James instructed firmly. “You know how wilful she can be, even at her age.”

Justin nodded. “I will.”

“How’s the work going on?” James asked.

“All the important projects are in the line, as we have planned.”

“Soon I will come to Imperial city and we will announce you as the global CEO of Harper group. I think it’s time for you to reveal yourself to the world.”

“Yes, father.”

The call was hung up after a brief conversation.

Justin then leaned back in his chair. Till date he was fine with going according James’ wishes as he always felt indebted to him for adopting him and giving him such a good life.

But now, Jame’s daughter was there who was his true heir, he felt conflicted over whether it would be a good idea to be revealed to the world and accept the position that should belong to Natalie.

‘I shall think it over and maybe bring Natalie home soon, so she can take what rightfully belongs to her. I wonder how she would react to knowing it and if we would be the same as we are now?’

—–

Julia arrived to meet her brother Andrew, who had offered to bring her to Natalie’s home. With Justin away, Andrew didn’t see any harm in introducing her to Albert. If Natalie happened to be home, Julia would be pleased to see her as well—Natalie was a good-hearted child, and even Andrew was fond of her.

“Finally, you’re here. I’ve been waiting for a while now,” Albert greeted warmly as he opened the door.

Andrew and Julia stepped inside, smiling at the welcome.

“This is my sister, Julia,” Andrew introduced her.

“A pleasure to meet you, Julia. I will consider you as my sister as well,” Albert said with a broad smile.

“Of course,” Julia offered him a warm smile. “Then I have another brother I can trouble till he asks me off.”

“Haha, I won’t.” Albert guided them to the sofa in the drawing room. “In fact I expect someone to trouble me, as long as that person is not my wife. Because the kind of troubles my wife creates are simply unbearable for me.”

Julia chuckled playfully. “She must be one hell of a strong woman if her husband is that wary of her.”

“Oh, you bet,” Albert replied with a knowing grin.

They settled into the cozy drawing room as Albert brought out some water and sat with them.

“Andrew mentioned that you were thinking about your grandson marrying my granddaughter,” Albert said, turning to Julia. “Judging by you, he must be an exceptional young man.”

“He is, but he’s a handful whenever I try to set him up with a lovely young woman,” Julia sighed. “I just hope he settles down soon before I leave this world.”

“I understand completely,” Albert said, his voice filled with empathy. “I used to feel the same. Now that my granddaughter is married, I can finally relax. All that’s left is waiting for those great-grandkids.” He chuckled, then added cheerfully, “I’m sure my grandson-in-law will—”

Cough! Cough!

Andrew suddenly choked on his water, his face reddening as he tried to compose himself.

“Are you alright, old man?” Albert asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

Andrew nodded, worry painted his face. He didn’t want Albert to talk more about Justin. He had promised Justin that Julia won’t know anything. He wished Albert wouldn’t insist on Julia meeting his grandson-in-law.

Even the heavens might not be able to stop the chaos that would unfold if the strange truth came out.

“So, where’s Natalie?” Andrew quickly steered the conversation away from Justin.

“Oh, she’s at work,” Albert said with a tired sigh. “You know the kind of trouble her grandmother gives her. Always something to manage.”

“Wait a minute,” Julia chimed in, “Your granddaughter’s name is Natalie too?”

“What do you mean by ‘too’?” Andrew’s eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to her. “Do you know someone else named Natalie?”

Julia froze for a second, realizing she had almost let something slip she wasn’t ready to share. Whenever it came to Natalie, she always found herself getting overly excited, her usual composure slipping away.

“Ah, just someone I met yesterday,” she replied quickly, flashing a smile to cover her momentary lapse. “A good soul, she was.”

“If that girl’s name was Natalie, then she must be a good soul,” Albert chuckled. “My granddaughter is an angel.”

Albert continued chatting, completely unaware that his phone had been ringing for quite some time. Natalie had been trying to reach him, but the old man was too absorbed in conversation with his guests to notice.

Moments later, the front door opened, and an anxious woman rushed inside, calling out before even looking around. “Grandpa?”

“Natalie?” Albert’s face lit up in surprise at her sudden appearance. But it wasn’t just him—Julia, sitting nearby, felt her heart skip a beat. “Natalie?” she mumbled under her breath, her mind racing. What is she doing here? Is she Albert’s granddaughter? Albert Ford? How did I miss this?

Natalie’s eyes swept the room before settling on her grandfather, her expression softening with relief. “Grandpa, why haven’t you been answering your phone?” She had rushed home, fearing the worst.

“My phone?” Albert looked around, confused. “Ah, seems like I left it in the bedroom.”

Natalie shook her head helplessly, the tension easing from her shoulders. “Grandpa, you really scared me. I thought something had happened.”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Albert said, offering an apologetic smile. “I was busy chatting with my friends here and didn’t hear it.”

It was then that Natalie’s gaze shifted, landing on Andrew first, then moving to the woman beside him. She recognized her, and the longing in the woman’s eyes caught her off guard.

“We meet again,” Julia said softly, her voice filled with warmth.

Natalie recognised her as well, “Good to see you again, Old Miss.”

“Do you two know each other?” Albert and Andrew asked together.

‘Of course, I know my own granddaughter,’ Julia thought but kept it to herself, “She is that good soul I met yesterday, I just mentioned a while ago. She happened to help me deal with a witch.”

Natalie smiled at Briena being called as a witch. “You should see her mother and grandmother then,” Natalie commented.

“Must be ugly witches as well,” Julia commented with a chuckle while she thought ‘So I can meet my grand-daughter if I come to meet Albert often?’ a light smile painted on Julia’s lips, ‘I shall truly make him my brother then. Oh he mentioned his grandson-in-law is great. I will get to see what kind of a man my grand-daughter is married to.’

“Natalie, now you are home, stay here. It’s already late noon anyways,” Albert offered. “Why don’t we all have dinner together? make sure to call Aiden home early if he can come.”

Cough!

Andrew felt what he feared the most was going to happen and said quickly, “Albert, really, there’s no need to trouble Natalie. Look at her—she’s exhausted from work and already had to worry about you all day. Julia and I should take our leave.”

Natalie noticed Andrew’s sudden discomfort, and something clicked in her mind. Andrew’s sister… Julia… Justin’s grandmother? Her eyes widened in realization. She couldn’t let Justin come home.

“What do you mean, tired? Aiden’s a great cook. He’ll help her out,” Albert said cheerfully, turning to Natalie. “Why don’t you call him? See if he’s available.”

Natalie’s heart skipped a beat. “G-Grandpa, there’s no need to call Aiden. I can manage dinner on my own,” and thought, ‘I need to tell Justin not to return home.’

Albert grinned, clearly proud. “See how much she cares for her husband? Doesn’t want to trouble him.” Then, with a mischievous glint, he added, “But I’ll call him myself. I’m sure he wouldn’t say no to me.”

Natalie and Andrew shared anxious gazes, as if to wonder what to do.