Chapter 142. Her

Chapter 142. Her
Nathan's car drove into his compound and parked in front of his building. It was already past midnight when they had returned back to town and Laura had already dozed off on the drive back. Turning off his engine, Nathan turned to stare at Laura whose peacefully sleeping face was facing towards him and he couldn't help but smile at the sight.
Even while asleep, he still couldn't take his eyes off her. Just like he found it hard to do practically every single time he was around her. 

With that, he shook on her shoulders lightly. “Laura?” He whispered her name into her ears but she didn't open her eyes.

“Hmm?” Her voice was so low that someone could mistake it as her humming in her sleep.

“We're back home.” Nathan said and Laura just hummed again before she turned silent. He knew that she needed the rest, especially after the drama of today that she had gone through. 

While his eyes scrutinized every arch and curve of her face, his mind dwindled back to the conversation they had back at the mini bar they had eaten at…

“So where do I start from?” She asked with her hand on her jaw.

“You can start from anywhere.” Nathan said with a smile. “Or probably how you started staying with your grandmother instead, may her soul rest in peace.”

Laura smiled at his words and mouthed a silent thank you which Nathan had caught on to before replying to her with a nod. She took some few moments to arrange her thoughts in the most simple way she could.

“Well, I started living with my grandmother when I was 19. My mind had just passed by then.” She said as she stared at her fingers that held each other.

“I'm so sorry about that.” Nathan said sincerely. “I probably shouldn't have asked you to start from there.”

Laura snickered. “But yet you did, and there's no turning back.” She said as she looked up at him with a smile. “Besides, it doesn't really bother me that much anymore.” She added as a small sigh escaped her lips. “Anyways, I left home to stay with my grandmother as some issues between myself and my father arose and I just thought to get away for a while.  Didn't expect it to be a really long while. I had stopped from using my father's name to my mother's maiden name so as not to attract too much attention to myself. And I pretty much wanted to live a normal life,away from family drama or too many people swarming around my family because they know we have money.”

She took a small pause to breathe.

“People don't really care about knowing the real you when you have money. And I found that environment so toxic that it became hard to actually thrive there with the kind of person I was.”

“And what kind of person was that?”

Laura chuckled at the length of curiosity Nathan had. “Well, basically as you can remember me in the past; I didn't quite enjoy crowds.”

“And yours still don't.” Nathan said which earned him a hearty laugh to escape Laura's lips.

“You're absolutely right.” She said as the laugh died down a little. “And back at home, it was hard to make friends. You wouldn't really know who is who or why they decided to suddenly hang out with you on that particular day. Basically the only people I could talk to while at home were my brothers and cousin. I wasn't so keen on friends who I couldn't decipher the intentions they had towards me.”

Nathan nodded. “So I'd take it you already knew our grandfather by then.” He said.

Laura shook her head. “Actually, it's quite the opposite. My grandmother had indeed been friends with your grandfather, but I didn't know him.” She told him. “He wasn't one to come over to our house like normal friends do in some situations. The first time I met him was after my grandmother had told me about meeting someone for marriage. It was the first day I had met your grandfather that I met Leo.” She took a small pause. “But thinking about it now? I don't know if I should regret meeting Leo.”

Nathan's brows furrowed in confusion. “Why is that?”

“Because…if I hadn't known Leo, divorced him and suffered so much all by myself? I don't think I would be the person I am today.” She released a small chuckle. “That counts for something, right?”

Staring back at her clearly as he did, he could only smile at how much changes she had gone through and all by herself.

“Yes.” He said slowly. “Yes it does.”

Nathan had taken her into the mansion himself as he carried her princess style. Each step he took upstairs caused her to groan, or moan or turn around in his grasp and Nathan felt like he was holding a big baby and not a twenty something year old adult.

Once they reached the room Nathan had put in place for her, he laid her slowly against the bed as her hand which was around his neck had loosened and fallen to her side. Nathan pulled the sheets up to cover her in case a cold were to start. After he had settled her in bed, he turned around to leave.

“Nathan…” his name escaped her lips like a small whisper which he immediately picked on. 

Turning around, he caught sight of her laying on the bed with her eyes still closed. He chuckled as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed. 

“Don't tell me now that you're whispering my name in your sleep.” He said teasingly as he stared at her sleeping face.

The next moment, her eyes fluttered open slowly. Although it was still half shut more than it was open, Nathan could tell regardless that she was awake.

“I thought you would be deep in sleep by now.” Nathan said jokily at her. She stared at him, not saying anything as though she was actually asleep, but with her eyes open. Nathan on the other hand moved his hands towards her hair to caress it softly.
“Are you okay?” He asked. “Or is the alcohol finally kicking in.”

“I'm a high liquor intolerant, remember.” Her words were low and slurred as Nathan managed to hear what she was saying.

“Thank you for today.” she said, as she moved her hands and placed it on his bigger one. “For supporting and listening to me regardless of all that had happened between us.”

Nathan shook his head. “And an apology is the last thing I want from you right now. So you don't really need to bother yourself about that fact.” he said as he stared down at her hand that were on his

Laura hummed as she closed her eyes slowly. “And what's the first thing you want?”

At her question, Nathan suddenly turned quiet. He turned to look at her as it seemed she had already gone back to sleep right after the question was asked. But how exactly would he have been able to answer it?

But regardless, his answer had always been clear and simple from the very beginning. He wanted something sweet and bitter at the same time. Something that could break and remold itself all over again. Something that made literally everything around him turn softer.

That was all he wanted.

Her. In all the right and wrong colors, he wanted all of it.

The next day came so fast, but Laura didn't get up until she could feel the sharp ray of light hitting directly at her face. Her eyes opened remotely to it and she pulled a pillow to cover up her face.

Why did it have to be morning already?

Suddenly remembering the ray level that had shone through the sun, she jumped off her bed to search for her phone. Sighting it on a drawer, she picked it up to see the time flashing before her eyes.

1:10pm.

How on earth had she slept for that long? She moved back to the bed and pressed against it with her hand as she wondered if there was some sort of charm hidden underneath the bed. She had never woken up this late before. 

She had also not had so much to drink like this before five years back. That could explain it. Deciding to head downstairs first to check on Nathan, she headed towards the door. As she pulled it open, she had not realized someone else was approaching with a tray of food and without realizing it, they bumped into each other, causing everything to fly in the air.

Oh no.