38

"Suzanne!"

Nathan ran after her without thinking, extremely worried.

She barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting into the toilet, feeling her legs give way.

She felt someone behind her but couldn't see and vomited again until her eyes watered.

"We're going to the doctor, baby," Nathan said, holding her hair.

"N-no..." she whispered, taking a breath and running a hand across her forehead. "It's nothing, I feel better now."

"But..."

"Don't worry, I don't want to spend my vacation days in a hospital," she went to the sink, rinsing her mouth. "That damn food..."

"We can go somewhere else if you want," he suggested.

"I'll be fine," she smiled, embarrassed. "Honestly, my appetite is gone."

She remembered the waitress and made a face of discomfort.

"Shall we go then?"

"Yes..."

"You're not going to vomit in the car, are you?" Nathan joked.

"I promise I won't," she said, feeling her face burn, surprised when he kissed her on the mouth. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" he frowned. "You're my woman and I can kiss you whenever I want."

Suzanne rolled her eyes.

"You never change, Strong," she complained, and he smiled, kissing her forehead this time.

Nathan had been driving for over 10 minutes, and though she had asked where they were going, he only said it was a surprise.

When he parked and they both got out of the car, she was impressed, looking at the magnificent view of Central Park.

"Do you like it?" he asked, smiling.

"I love it!"

"Then let's go, there's a lot to explore."

He took her hand as they walked, explaining that Central Park was the largest urban park in New York, and one of the largest in the world, measuring over 4 kilometers long and 800 meters wide.

Despite trying to pay attention, Suzanne couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts.

She still couldn't understand how a man like him had taken an interest in her, with so many attractive women hovering around him, like the waitress.

There wasn't a place where the magnate Nathan Strong went without catching the attention of everyone present.

Men admired him for his business prowess, and women for being incredibly handsome, sexy, and an exemplary stud, in addition to being one of the richest men in England.

"Suzie," Nathan's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay, baby?"

"Yes, Nathan. Why do you ask?"

"You're frowning a lot, sometimes you seem upset and other times sad," he looked at her attentively.

She hadn't realized he had been observing her while she was lost in another world.

"I was just thinking."

"Then stop thinking and enjoy this," he smiled, extending his hand. "Come on, I'll show you one of the artificial lakes here."

"And are there waterfalls?" she said excitedly.

"Yes, there are also meadows and the Central Park Zoo."

"I'd like to see that."

"Then let's go, darling."

A group of girls gathered by the lake were staring at Nathan, commenting among themselves how handsome and sexy he looked.

When he looked at them, almost all of them lowered their gaze, embarrassed, except for one dark-haired girl, who looked at Suzanne and then at Nathan, smiling mockingly.

Suzie glared at her; the women in this city were shameless. At least in London, women pretended to be discreet.

They resumed walking, but Nathan stopped when he heard someone call out to him. Suzanne saw the dark-haired girl approaching and didn't like it at all.

The girl slipped a note into the right pocket of Nathan's shirt, not caring that he was with someone.

"Hey handsome, call me if you want something better than... this," she said flirtatiously, looking at Suzanne dismissively before returning to her group of rich girls.

Suzie hadn't yet fully processed the humiliation. Anger welled up inside her, and she headed toward the group, who were smiling smugly, likely mocking her.

Nathan recognized the bold girl as the daughter of one of his New York clients. She had insulted Suzanne, and that bothered him.

He looked for his girl, but she was no longer by his side. He saw her walking directly towards the dark-haired girl, and from her posture, he knew she was not happy.

"Repeat what you said!" Suzanne demanded, full of rage.

"I just told the truth. You're not enough woman for a man like him," she smirked. "Just look at you, you even have extra pounds."

That was a low blow to her self-esteem. She had always struggled with her weight, and lately, she felt like she had gained at least five kilos.

"I'll show you who's more of a woman, you bitch," she said threateningly, lunging at her, but Nathan held her back before she could touch the dark-haired girl.

"Let me go, Nathan!" she screamed.

"Calm down, baby," he whispered, seeing how several people turned to look at them because of her shout.

But she was too upset and refused to relent, kicking to break free.

He sighed and picked her up, placing her over his shoulder and walking away. However, hearing the nasty things that girl was saying about Suzanne, he stopped, fed up.

He set her down on the ground, avoiding her gaze, and handed her the car key to wait for him there. She accepted without saying anything.

"I see you've considered my offer, handsome," the girl said when she saw Nathan approaching, but fell silent when she saw the cold look he gave her.

"I haven't fallen so low as to need to call prostitutes," he spat with a look of disgust.

The girl glared at him furiously, and the others stopped laughing abruptly.

"I'll have to talk to Mr. Marriott about this. I'm sure he doesn't know what his dear daughter is up to," he commented mockingly.

The dark-haired girl paled, all the color drained from her face.

This time it was Nathan who smiled, knowing the girl's father was a serious and respectable man.

Before leaving, he took the note she had put in his pocket and threw it in her face.

When he returned to the car, he expected Suzanne to reproach or yell at him for talking to that girl, but nothing of the sort happened.

"Baby," he called out, seeing her with her head buried in her hands, but the only response he got was a sob.

Suzanne hated herself for that, for being so weak. She didn't want to cry, but sometimes it was hard to control.

Nathan took her in his arms and sat her on his lap, stroking her hair.

"Shhh, darling, it's okay," he whispered softly.

She hid her face in the crook of his neck while he rubbed her back up and down.

"Don't listen to what that insolent girl said. You're perfect for me," he whispered lovingly.

"She's right," she sobbed. "This was always madness."

"Sweetheart, believe me when I say you're perfect. You're beautiful in every way, and I don't regret having you in my life."

In that moment, that certainty hit her chest hard.

For her, it wasn't easy to believe him, not when throughout her childhood and part of her adolescence she had to endure the taunts of her classmates about her weight.

Those horrible memories had returned, and she could feel the same pain she had felt years ago.