Chapter 235 235

Chapter 235 235
Maya

I stared at Nat, dumbfounded. Seconds ticked by, while I struggled to process what I'd just heard.
Or hopefully misheard because there was no way Nat had just named Noah.
"Maya, please say something." Nat pleaded in a tearful whisper. She had gone pale, nervously biting her nails.
I shook my head slowly and tried saying something. "I…" I trailed off, unable to form coherent words.
I gripped the edge of the hospital bed, my nails digging into the sheets as I stared at Nat. My whole body trembled, the weight of her betrayal pressing down on me like an iron fist around my chest. It hurt to breathe…actually, I wasn't even breathing and my lungs hurt.
Opening my mouth I dragged in several deep breaths that cleared the fog in my brain enough to break the silence.
"I don't understand," I looked at Nat, her eyes, filled with guilt and remorse locked with mine. "When you said you were talking with Noah…did you mean like physically? Face to face? Like…" I dragged in another shaky breath and let it out. "And by Noah…are we talking about Elias's assistant or some random dude with the same name? What exactly do you mean because none of this is making any sense."
My voice had risen several octaves by the end of that speech until I was almost yelling.
Nat looked stricken, she was trembling all over. "Maya, I can explain -"
"Yes! Yes! Please do." I struggled to keep my voice down, aware of the men standing guard outside the room. "Go on, Nat. Explain to me what you were doing chatting it up over drinks with the man who helped my mother fake my death and kept me in hell for months."
"I swear, Maya. It's not what you think. He - he showed up yesterday and kept pleading with me to give him a chance to explain."
"Explain what exactly?" I shook my head in disbelief.
Nat looked to be on the verge of tears. "That I made a mistake. A big one and I'm so sorry, Maya. I - I should have said something as soon as I found out what he did to you and Elias."
I was still having trouble processing what was happening. The whole thing felt surreal - my best friend in cahoots with my enemy.
"How could you keep this from me, Nat?" My voice came out sharp, jagged, splintering with the rage clawing up my throat. "You knew what they did to me, and you were friends with him?"
Nat's eyes filled with tears, her face crumbling like she'd been expecting this but still wasn't ready for it. "Maya, please—"
"No!" My voice cracked, rising. "You don't get to beg right now! You knew, and you still—" I let out a breath, shaking my head as disgust curled in my stomach. "How long? How long were you sneaking around, lying to me?"
She flinched at the accusation. "It's not like that."
"Then explain it to me, Nat! Because from where I'm standing, you were hiding him—hiding this—while I was here, fighting for my life, fighting for my babies—" My voice broke, and I clenched my jaw, forcing back the sting of tears. "While I was trying to piece myself back together, you were what? Having cozy little chats with Noah?"
Nat inhaled shakily, swiping at her tears. "I swear, I didn't know what he'd done until you told me. I had no idea he was mixed up in all of this and as soon as I found out…" she broke off and hugged herself tightly. "I was going to tell you and Elias, I swear. I just needed some time to process what had happened."
Watching her made me feel terrible. Her tears were doing unpleasant things to me but I was still too furious to let myself feel pity. Cam's threats were still too fresh in my mind and the terror I'd felt at that moment was all too real. And the fact that he was even here, still in LA, my skin crawled just thinking of him anywhere in the same vicinity.
I rubbed my arms to ward off the sudden chill and felt the urge to check on my babies again. Without another word or look at Nat, I moved towards the door.
"Maya -" Nat called out. I stopped but didn't turn around.
"I need some air." I said quietly and walked away, but not before I heard her sobs, the sound cutting me deep. I'd never heard my best friend cry, she'd always been the stronger of the two of us and to hear her break down like this was hard.
The old me would have walked back into that room and hugged her, assured her that I wasn't mad, that I would try to understand her. But that was before I knew what betrayal was and how much I'd suffered because of it.
So, I gritted my teeth, brushed the tears off my face and forced myself to walk away.

I found some comfort with the twins - they were awake and the nurse let me in long enough to change and feed them. It helped to take my mind off my worries for a few precious minutes.
Elias found me in the NICU, his sharp gaze immediately locking onto mine as he made his way towards me. I tried to keep my face free of the riot that was my current emotional state, but from the way his eyes narrowed and his stare pierced through my skin, he knew I was hiding something.
"You're still thinking about Cam," he said quietly, stepping closer. His voice was firm but gentle. "I told you, Maya, I'm handling it."
I exhaled, and slowly rose to my feet, suddenly feeling drained. "I know. I just can't help but worry." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead then smiled softly.
"You should be resting, not worrying, babe." He said regretfully, his lips set in a thin line. He glanced down at the babies, his gaze softening as he placed a hand on each incubator and murmured. "Hello girls. Tell mommy she needs to take it easy and let daddy take care of it."
My lips quirked at that and I arched a brow at him. "That's so corny."
He chuckled and leaned down to say goodbye to the twins. I watched him, my heart melting to see how tender he was with them, the love shining on his face as he blew kisses to each of them before he straightened, linked our hands and led me outside.