Chapter 22

Unedited...

TWO WEEKS LATER.

Sabrina sat on her bed with a towel wrapped around her head and body. She had just come out of the shower to a text waiting for her from Nathan. All it read was "Why can't I stop thinking about you?"

She hadn't heard from him since he left the night of their argument. He ate breakfast with her mother and sister quietly. He made her sister laugh and even won over her mom at lunch. She avoided any close proximity to him. She could tell he was a little irritated by that.
He asked in front of Gracie and her mother if he could speak to her alone. She replied with a nod and followed him in front of the front door.

Sticking his hand in his pocket and lets out a deep breath. "I know that you need to be with your family right now, so I won't protest for an answer as to when you'll be home. I would however, like you to at least let me know when you do decide to come home." He moves hair from her face. "I don't want to hear not a single word about thoughts of you living here, or a divorce." He puts his hands on her waist and forces her to step closer to him.

Her eyes roll back in her head when his lips gently touch her forehead.

"Elroy" He continued. "is staying at a nearby hotel. You'll call him if you need to go anywhere. When you're ready to come home, call me, I will make arrangements." He kisses her lips lightly. "I'll see you soon." He then left without a glance back.

Frozen in her spot between the open door, she watched him leave. When he kissed her, she wanted to confess her love for him. She wondered now if he would've laughed. Then, at that exact moment, she decided to rip apart the entire house for the sketch her father cleverly hid.
She has spent the last two weeks searching on and off. Her sister thought she was trying to work the sadness away with cleaning. When she left for college, both Sabrina and her mother searched high and low. He hid it really well because they both came up empty-handed.

Reading the text over and over, she contemplated whether or not to text him back. What should she say? That's she too couldn't stop thinking about him. No matter how hard she tried, she wondered what he was doing. She's started waning him in her bed. She was craving his touch.

A knock on the door startles her. "Sabrina." It's
Mariel's voice.

"Come in."

Her mother enters. "I was wondering if you'd woken."She moves to the bed near her. "Are you ok Sweetie?"

"No mom." She turns her head from her dark reflection on her phone. "I'm in love with Nathan."

Her mother gently smiles. "And he doesn't love you? "

She shakes her head and leans on her mother for comfort. "I need to find a way out."

Mariel hugs her daughter. "Does he treat you well?"

"The worst thing he's done is ignore me."

"Is that what's bothering you?" She brushes her daughters hair back.

"No. Now he wants me to be a real wife to him." She inhales deeply and sits up. "I want to love. Something he will never be able to give me."

"How do you know? Maybe he can."

"No." Sabrina shakes her head surely. "I've read and seen interviews with him. He clearly states that he is not interested in marriage, kids, or a relationship of any kind. He even said he doesn't believe in love. He doesn't want this. He just thinks he has no choice."

"This is why you want to find that agreement so badly?"

Sabrina nods her head.

"Listen to me, my stubborn daughter. There is no sense in dwelling on what isn't. Do you think you could ever love anyone else?"

Whoa! The thought never crossed her mind. Could she? She was stumped blinking up at like a lost puppy.

"If he wanted to, Sabrina he could go back to ignoring you. But he's asking you to be a real wife. You tried your best to find the agreement You're not being selfish." She adds knowing just how her daughter thinks.

"Shouldn't I just let him do what he wants to do with his life. He doesn't deserve to pay for the sins of his father." She needed her mother's advice. She had so many conflicting thoughts. If she let Nathan accept this for his life she would just feel guilty for the rest of hers.

"Did you tell him that?"

"Yes, in so many words... but I think he's scared if we divorce, I'll take half his company."

"Did he say that?

"No." She had to think. What did he say?

She remembers his words. "I want you."

He said he wants me, but that's not good enough for me."

"Sabrina stop being stubborn. You're with the man you love."

"But mom." She holds on to her mother's forearms. "What will happen when he gets tired of me?"

"Honey, no matter what, in any marriage you take that risk. That's why there are so many divorces out there. Sometimes two people just grow apart. You can fall in love with any man, and he can claim to love you but, will he forever? Only time will be able to tell. If you love him, then take the risk and let time be the judge of your marriage."

"And if he moves on and I can't."

"How much worse can it be? I've seen the hickeys." Mariel gives Sabrina her you should know better than to hide anything from my look.

Sabrina slaps her hand on her forehead. "I don't know what to say."

Mariel gets up and heads towards the door. "Don't say anything just get your butt downstairs. I made a French toast."

She closes the door leaving Sabrina alone with her phone. She looks at his text and bites her lips and hits reply. "Are you still in Hong Kong?"- Sent. Butterfly's float around in her stomach as she waited. She waits 5 minutes before grabbing her phone and meeting her mother for breakfast.

There was a Manila envelope on the table.

"What's that?" Sabrina questions while chewing.

"This is your marriage contract. I thought you should keep it. Give it to Nathan."

She stops eating and opens the envelope. She scans through the contract word for word.

Once they divorce no matter what the reason, Sabrina gets half of Alden Enterprises. Nathan's inheritance from his father. Illicit Affairs are grounds for automatic divorce. Nathan wasn't lying. Why the hell did Vivian try to set Nathan up to lose half his company? Didn't she care? Or was she hate Sabrina so much she didn't care what happens so long as she wasn't in Nathan's bed.

Ding! Her phone rings. She didn't know a simple text could turn her insides into mush. She picks it up off the table.

Nathan's cell- "Yes...Why?"

She had so much anticipation waiting for his response and that's all he says.

She hits reply. "I will go home when you return." -Sent.

He was living out there as far as she knew and she didn't see a point in going back if he wasn't there.

Everything okay?" Mariel disrupts her from staring at her phone impatiently.

"A huh." She answers and takes the last bite of her French toast. She drops her dish in the sink and runs upstairs to puts her marriage contract safely in her room.

She goes back downstairs and looks for her mother. She finds her in her room putting on her scrubs for her shift at the hospital.

Mariel notices her standing in the doorway from the reflection in her mirror. When their eyes meet, Suddenly, Sabrina feels a pain in her heart knowing her mother was completely alone. Once she leaves she will have no one.
"Mom."

Mariel turns looking away from her reflection.

"Are you going to be ok without me?"

"Yes, Sabrina. Don't worry about me." She grabs her purse and guides her down the stairs.


"You will be lonely." She begins to worry. How could she go back to Brentwood?"

"I have my work. I love helping people. I have my daughters. Although you're far, I know that I have you. You'll come and visit me won't you, sweetie?"

"Of course, I will!" She stops her mother halfway through the living room. She gives her a tight hug. "I love you, mom. I will always be here for you."

Mariel grips her daughter tightly. "I know. Tears run down her face. "I love you too. Now." She pushed her daughter at Arm's length. "I have to go. Will you be here when I get home?"

"Yes. I just realized that I have to go back at some point." She admits.

Ding! Finally... She was so nervous to see his text. Her mother's eyebrows raise in question. "You ok?"

She nods and her mother gives her one last kiss before walking out. She goes to the kitchen table to look at her text.

Nathan's cell- "A plane is being prepared to pick you up. It will be ready to bring you back tomorrow afternoon. Elroy will be picking you up at 2:30 pm."

He was making sure she was coming home but is he coming back?

She presses reply. "Will you be at the mansion?"

She picks at her fingernails waiting for his reply. Ding! She quickly read the text.

Nathan's cell-"I should be home a few hours after you arrive."

She hits reply. She had to know. "Will you be staying, or are you going back?" -Sent.

He replies right away. "I will be where my wife is."

Nathan calling her his wife should have made her feel good. But it didn't. It just reminded her that he didn't give that title. She wasn't his choice. She was never a girlfriend or fiancé. Every time he calls her his wife it's supposed to show claim to her as the woman of his life. All she hears is the woman he had to get married to.

She hits reply. "You don't have to leave. I will stay with my mother until you're finished with your work."-sent.


She leaves her phone on the table and sneaks into her mother's room. She picks out a red nail polish then goes back to the table. She started to paint her toenails waiting for him to respond.

Ding!

Nathan's cell- "Someone else will take over the project here. Don't worry about my work. You have enough on your plate. Please pack your things and make sure you are on that plane. Otherwise, I'll come to get you myself."


She hits reply. "Ok."

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