Chapter 159
KATE
"I had to see it to believe it. So, it was him all along? Ryan?" John asked with a familiar smile.
"Huh?"
"You made me think you hated him. But my suspicions were right after all. Love and hate always go hand in hand, don't they?"
"Sorry, John, it's complicated."
"Do you trust him?"
"Why are you asking that?"
"I don't know. It's weird, considering he was your boss."
"Are you trying to insinuate something?"
"Some people just can't accept that they've lost." Nathan appeared behind me, placing his hand on my back. His tone was irritated.
"Excuse me," John said, stepping back.
"I'm not your damn trophy, Ryan," I growled between my teeth, pulling his hand away.
"No, you're not. You're the woman who just put me in an embarrassing situation with my cousin and my friend."
"Like all the times I bumped into the fucking women you fucked."
"Are you trying to compete?"
I held back from slapping him.
"Screw you."
"You were supposed to be here to support me. Instead, you made me feel like a complete idiot."
"I'm leaving."
"This time, I won't chase after you like an asshole."
"You said you were trying to forget. I guess you couldn't, right? I knew it."
"Do you think it's easy?"
"No, but I wish you wouldn't pretend it's all okay when it's not."
"Let's not argue here."
"No matter what happens, I will never let you treat me like some whore. I promised I wouldn't abandon you, but I can't keep that promise if you can't forgive me."
"That's enough. Let's sit down. We'll talk about this later."
He walked ahead of me. Everyone was heading to a nearby room. A photographer asked to take a picture of him as we walked through the door. He pulled me to his side.
I could feel his heart racing, and I stared at his clenched jaw. He was hateful, but he had to pretend.
Just when I thought nothing could get worse, everyone was seated together at a table. I greeted Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, Emily, Bryan, Niels, and Ben. Stephan was also there, and I sat between him and Nathan.
"I managed to arrange a seat for Niels at the last minute," Mrs. Ryan said, smiling.
Niels was avoiding looking at me, and I did the same. Bryan, on the other hand, did the opposite. He kept glancing at me several times, and I could imagine how angry Nathan was getting.
Charlie showed up later and began speaking. After a presentation of the institution's work, some sponsors were invited to speak, and apparently, Nathan was the most significant one, so he was called last. He stood up to applause and walked to the center, stepping onto the stage.
He gave a beautiful speech about the six years he spent supporting the project, never letting his anger toward me show. At the end of his speech, some photos appeared on the screen behind him—pictures of him playing with African children, with one, in particular, holding a little girl in his arms.
He was smiling in those pictures. He had never told me about that. Nathan could be even more amazing than I could have imagined. I had to hold back tears that threatened to fall.
When he finished his speech, he returned to the table. His mother and father stood up to hug him, proud. Mrs. Ryan was emotional.
Apparently, the party would continue after the speeches. Nathan left me aside as he greeted and talked to dozens of people. I had no idea who they were.
Emily was leaving, so I accompanied her to the exit. I wanted to leave too. This wasn't my world, especially without Nathan by my side. I couldn't blame him for being angry with me. I really should leave. I wondered if the damn journalists were still out there.
Minutes passed.
"Kate?" he called. I turned to face him. "Let's go."
"I think it's better if I go home alone."
"No."
"No?"
"You wouldn't want journalists chasing after you."
"Oh… Is that the only reason?"
"Come, let's go out another way. Come on."
During the trip back home, we didn't exchange a single word.
"I'll just change and get my things," I said when we entered his penthouse.
My presence seemed to be the last thing he wanted.
"No need. I'll sleep in another room."
"That won't solve the problem."
"Your leaving won't either."
"I don't want to make you even more angry."
I turned and headed towards the hallway.
As I was taking off my dress, he entered the room.
"I promised to take care of you. I don't want you to go."
"You don't have to worry. I'm fine. You never had any obligation to do anything."
"I didn't do it out of obligation; I did it because I wanted to. We've talked about this before."
"It doesn't make sense to hate me and still want to be close to me, Nathan. That's the issue."
I sat on the bed to take off my shoes.
"I don't hate you. Why are you making me say this again?"
"It didn't seem that way."
"I'm angry. I've told you it's not easy."
"We both know we're only together now for one reason. My mistake was calling you."
"You're right. I didn't look for you even after that message. Everything that happened afterward was my fault."
"What message?"
"You were drunk."
Shit. I can't believe I sent that.
"It's okay. Now, it's clear that you can't forgive me."
"You know exactly why."
"Yes, 'because while you were in the shit, I was fucking your friend.' You made that pretty clear before telling me to disappear. Let me do it properly now."
I stood up and started putting on my clothes.
"Damn it! Don't make it difficult! I don't want you to go. But it's not like I can just forget all this shit."
"Tell me… Did you go to Vancouver because you felt guilty?"
"I've already explained that to you, Kate."
"I'm sorry; you're not as consistent as you think. You say, 'Let's forget it' and then treat me like a slut."
"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, but I felt much worse. I don't want you to leave; we won't solve anything like this, so stay. Good night," he said before he left the room and never came back.
I woke up again from that terrible nightmare during the night. But this time, Nathan wasn't there. He wasn't there to hug me and calm me down. The feeling of panic returned, and so did the tears as I curled up in bed.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
