Chapter 43 043
Nathaniel
He was next to me, puffing out loud breaths.
“You brought reporters?” I stared at him in disbelief.
He looked at me and scoffed. “Why would I? Am I crazy?”
I didn't say a word but only sighed deeply. There were lots of them and if Nathaniel hadn't shown up, I didn't know what would have become of me.
It felt like I was going to collapse right there because of their overlapping voices.
“They weren't here when I arrived,” he said. “I'm sure one of them must have informed the others after they saw me. Those darn reporters!”
His lips twitched in anger and I would have laughed if it was back when we were still together.
Nathaniel brought his face back to me. “Come, take a seat.” The restaurant was empty as he had reserved all the seats.
Nate drew a chair out for me in the center of the room and I took my seat without hesitation.
He sat opposite me and the attendant came with a bottle of wine, placed it on the table and filled the two glasses up.
Nathaniel picked a glass of wine up and smiled. “It's an Italian wine, you will enjoy it,” he twirled the glass in his hand.
I only looked away and scoffed silently to myself before I brought my face back to him.
“Look, Nate.” I said. “My husband knows who you are,”
I leaned in closer to the table, dropping my bag on the side. “He knows you aren't just a childhood friend to me. He found out we had a past.”
My voice was low, almost like a whisper, I was being careful.
“Of course,” Nate laughed. “I didn't expect Adrian Kane to be so stupid not to find out.”
His words made my eyes squint. He talked like he knew Adrian way more than he was supposed to.
“What do you know about Adrian?” My forehead creased and I looked into his eyes in confusion.
“Go ahead and enjoy the wine, the meal will be here soon too,” he said.
I slammed my hands on the table, suddenly getting frustrated at him.
I was telling myself I didn't have time but the truth was, I was so eager to hear the reason why he left. Only then will my mind be put at ease.
Nate looked at me surprised, his brows furrowing in confusion.
“You see what happened out there?” I asked, trying hard to stay calm. “I'm very sure it's already on the internet”
Nate was silent, listening as I spoke.
“We might never get a chance to talk about it anymore if Adrian already saw one of those articles,” I said.
“So, forget about the drink and meal and just tell me why you left.”
Nate smirked. He leaned into the table, interlocking his hands together.
At that moment, the meal he was talking about was brought by two of the restaurant's attendants.
They placed the meal on the table but I shoved it to the side without delay, facing Nate once again.
“Let's talk about the reason why we are here then,” he said, seeing that I was really serious about not coming here for pleasure.
“I didn't just leave you,” he said. “I had no other option.”
“Regardless of what the situation was, you left without a word, so you left me,” I retorted, correcting his words.
Nate pressed his lips together and sighed. “You're right”
“I know it's late to try to make it up to you, but I'm sorry,” Nate said.
“I was involved in a fraud case. They were going to frame me and I tried to fight back. I tried to prove my innocence.”
I said nothing but only listened.
“I thought I'd be able to win. We had it all - competent lawyers, the money needed and I did everything I could,” he said. He wanted to continue but my voice rose before his.
“When did this happen?” I asked, looking shocked. “How could I not know about it if we were still together?”
Nate leaned back into his chair, his eyes on me and his lips forming into a small smile.
“I didn't want to distress you. I was going to tell you once I got everything sorted out.”
“So? You got everything sorted out after three years?” Tears started to blur my vision. “Afterall, you’re just telling me now.”
“I didn't expect things to turn out like this, Evie. Trust me.” Nathaniel was also sniffling back tears and that made it even more difficult to hold back the tears burning behind my eyes.
We loved each other back then. We really did.
“I thought I was winning but I didn't know I was only being played,” he paused.
He looked up at the ceiling and I knew that was to get his tears to roll back into his eyes.
When he looked back at me, he let out a loud scoff.
“It was a fraud case to begin with. I didn't know how it turned into a murder case,” Nate said and my lips parted.
“What the hell do you mean? A murder case?” I asked.
“Yes, Evie. They said I killed someone.”
Nate and I had been together since we were kids and I know he'd never kill anyone.
He chuckled, then took a sip of the wine “While you thought I had disappeared, I was locked up here in New York for two years, for a murder I know nothing about."
My breath hitched. While I thought he left me, he was in prison, suffering for a crime he didn't commit.
I never thought he could be in a situation where he won't be able to communicate.
The only thought that clouded my mind was that he left because he was tired of our relationship. It never even crossed my mind that he could be in danger or possibly need my help.
“They had evidence that I killed a security guard while trying to hide my crimes when I never even stepped into the crime scene,” Nate brought my attention back to the room.
A tear slid down my eyes and I could see how hard Nate was trying hard to hold back his.
“I couldn't contact you, Evie” he finally let the tears drop.
“I should have told you everything when you asked if there was anything going on.” Tears began to roll down his cheek. “And that's the biggest regret I have now.”