Chapter 629: She Mistook the Person for Eleven Years
Holding the phone, they locked eyes.
"Got something to say?" Aurelie asked Nathaniel. She had a hunch from his silence on the phone.
She just didn't want to believe it.
She had mistaken him for someone else.
For eleven years!
"I'm sorry, I lied," Nathaniel said, his eyes a mess of emotions. He had rehearsed this moment on the way over.
But all he could manage was "sorry."
Aurelie's lips trembled, "So you knew. From the first time I said I owed you, that you saved me, you knew I had mistaken you for someone else, didn't you? But you said nothing. You let me go on thinking that, didn't you?"
Nathaniel panicked. He took a step forward.
Aurelie stepped back, raising her hand, "Answer me first."
Nathaniel clenched his teeth and admitted, "Yes."
From the first time she mentioned it, he knew her kindness was because she had mistaken him for someone else. But he selfishly wanted to keep enjoying that kindness, so he stayed silent.
The moment he admitted it, Aurelie was shattered.
She had really mistaken him for someone else!
She had felt guilty towards a stranger for eleven years.
And she still didn't know who had really saved her.
Why did it have to be like this?
Aurelie couldn't believe it. She leaned on a nearby table, trying to steady her trembling body.
"Why? You knew it was a misunderstanding. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide it? You find I'm ridiculous by watching me treat you like a hero every day? Am I like a fool?" Aurelie felt like the biggest fool in the world.
She had mistaken him for someone else, for eleven whole years.
If she wasn't a fool, what was she?
Aurelie was breaking down.
Nathaniel frowned deeply. He knew Aurelie would be devastated.
Mistaking her savior for eleven years and being deceived—anyone would break down.
He was filled with panic.
Aurelie knew everything now. She had once said that all her kindness towards him was not love but gratitude and guilt.
Now that she realized it was all fake, would she leave him?
Thinking of this, Nathaniel felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Aurelie raised her hand to cover her face, sobbing.
Nathaniel took a big step forward and pulled her into his arms. His large hand pressed her head, feeling the tremors in her body.
He was in a panic. Even though he was holding her, it felt like she was slipping further away.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to say it. You said you didn't love me, that all your kindness was out of guilt and gratitude. Maybe that's why I didn't say anything. I was just scared you'd leave." Nathaniel held Aurelie tightly, his voice tense.
"So you were scared to lose someone who took care of you, right?" Aurelie asked.
"No!"
"Then why?" Aurelie smiled bitterly. "Is it because you love me and didn't want to lose me? Back then, when you saw Barbara and the others humiliating me, you just watched and did nothing."
Aurelie couldn't believe that someone who was so indifferent to her back then could have any love for her.
Without love, and not wanting her to leave, wasn't it just about not losing someone who took care of him?
Or maybe he didn't want to lose someone he could use, or perhaps he didn't want to lose a woman carrying his child at the time.
Nathaniel was silent. He couldn't explain his feelings for her back then.
But his biggest regret was not stepping in to protect her when Barbara and the others were humiliating her.
What was he thinking back then?
Aurelie said she wanted to leave Nathaniel, but he wanted her to stay, so he didn't step in to help her.
Looking back, he realized how despicable he was.
Aurelie calmed down and gently pushed Nathaniel away. "You don't need to apologize. I don't blame you. I only blame myself for being foolish, for not even knowing who really saved me. I just can't accept this right now."
Aurelie wiped away her tears, "Nathaniel, I need to be alone for a while. You should go."
Aurelie was in turmoil. It was too sudden, and she couldn't accept it all at once.
Nathaniel left Aurelie's house but didn't go far. He stood outside, leaning against his car, looking up at the room with the light still on. His deep eyes were filled with complexity.
He didn't know how long he stood there before he left and went to Darian and Cecily's house.
Cecily wasn't surprised to see Nathaniel.
She had seen the news online. It must have been Nathaniel's doing, and with the news out, Aurelie would definitely see it and realize that Nathaniel wasn't the one who saved her eleven years ago.
Nathaniel must have come to ask her to be there for Aurelie.
But in this matter, Cecily also knew the truth but hid it from Aurelie. She didn't know how to explain it to her either.
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