Chapter 44 Chapter forty four

Chapter 44 Chapter forty four


Nat’s pov

Dad’s smile faded the second I said it, the easy warmth from the dance draining out of his face. It left his expression tight and shadowed under the light. 

“Sure.” He glanced back at Mom, who was already herding Emma toward the stairs for bed, humming something under her breath as Emma tried to refuse. 

“Not here.” I said, already turning toward the hallway.

He followed me without argument but I felt his eyes on my back the whole way. My heart hammered harder with every step. I did not know if I was making the right decision. I led him to his study. He opened and shut the door behind us then leaned against his desk with his arms crossed. The lamp on his desk threw long shadows across the room. It made the whole conversation feel heavier than it probably needed to be.

“Are you divorcing mum?” I did not bother easing into it. 

“Why would you think or ask that?”

“I saw a petition for a dissolution paper on your desk. I know what that means Dad.”

His jaw tightened. He scanned the desk while rubbing the back of his neck. “It is not what you think Nat.”

“It’s not what you think, Nat.”

“Then tell me what it actually is.” My voice cracked slightly, and I hated that it did. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re planning to blow up this whole family.”

He glanced toward the door, making sure we were still alone, then sighed, his shoulders dropping like the air had gone out of him.

“Dad, be for real.” I crossed my arms, planting my feet like I wasn’t leaving this room without an answer.

He rubbed both hands down his face, and for a second he looked older than I’d ever seen him, all the polish stripped away.

“The papers are real but it’s insurance. A lawyer suggested it given the… money trouble we’ve been having. It’s not something I’ve decided on with your mother. Not yet.”

“Insurance.” I repeated the word like it might make more sense out loud. “So you are not actually divorcing her?”

“I do not know.” He said it so quietly I almost missed it. “I do not know anything right now Nathaniel. I am trying to keep this family from losing everything and every option I have makes me feel like I am failing you all a different way.”

“You could’ve just told us. ” I sat down hard in the chair across from his desk, suddenly exhausted. “And not pretend, I don’t even know what to believe.”

“I wanted to be a good father.” His voice broke slightly on that, raw in a way I’d never heard from him. “Just wanted one night where it felt like we still had a chance at being okay. Is that so terrible?”

“It’s terrible when it’s built on a lie.”

His shoulders sagged just a fraction. He just looked at me, something helpless in his expression that I’d never seen on him before, not once in eighteen years.

Something in my chest loosened slightly, not relief exactly, just a fraction less dread than before, though the rest of it still sat heavy in my stomach.

“Then tell me what’s actually going on.”

He was quiet for a long moment, staring at the surface of his desk like the answer might be written there somewhere.

“I need you to get me a file from the Montgomerys.” He said it fast. “It contains all their supply deports.”

“Why?”

“There are things I can offer them but I need to see what they are up to before reaching out.” He straightened, squaring his shoulders like he was bracing for me to say no. “It would help me…us.”

“You keep saying us like this is a family project.” I kept my voice level though my hands had curled into fists in my lap. “This is you asking me to use my friend.”

“I’m asking you to help your family.” His voice sharpened, defensive now. “There’s a difference.”

“Is there?” I stood up, my chair scraping loud against the floor. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks exactly the same as it did with the Jeremy thing three months ago. Just with higher stakes now.”

He didn’t argue that. He just looked tired, the kind of tired that went past one bad night.

“I cannot do that. It is risky. I might get caught and I do not even know what this file looks like.”

“There is a way you ask your friend with rising suspicions.” He held my gaze steady, not blinking, like the stillness alone could convince me.  “You will not get caught. Besides, it’s just a file. Not like it’s something valuable.” His voice dropped, almost pleading in a way I had never heard from him. “Do not disclose this to Jeremy he might tell his grandma and I would not come out as a prepared client.”

I stood there a second, processing the size of what he’d just handed me, my pulse loud enough that I could feel it in my throat.

“Okay.” 

“Thank you, son. This stays between us for now.” He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath the whole conversation. 

I left his office and went straight to my room, shutting the door behind me before my legs gave out and I sank onto the edge of my bed, my hands still faintly trembling.

Something doesn't add up with the insurance, we don’t have money issues. Mum has a blooming nutrition blog and a fitness home and dad was recently made the MD at his work place. 

I pulled out my phone and sent Jeremy messages telling him about my discussions with Dad. He replied instantly.

Well. They are both out clean now.

Yeah.

Grandmama’s been asking about the signature thing again too. Feels like everything is landing at once. You still in?

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the keyboard.

Yeah. Let’s flip the table.

Same time tomorrow.

Deal.

I set the phone down on my nightstand and lay back against my pillow, staring at the ceiling, my heart still going too fast for how still my body had become.

Downstairs, faint through the floor, I could hear Mom’s voice laughing quietly. I wondered if she would be able to handle what dad is planning.