by Lia Lee
He would be with Natalie.
***
Nathan scowled at the phone, a trickle of dread beginning to flow down his spine. Natalie's responses, he realized, had become short, and a while back, they had stopped entirely. He had been unable to raise her at all, and it took everything he had not to call the police to check on her. She had a habit of leaving her phone places, and sometimes he might get a belated reply to some twelve texts he had sent previously.
His apprehensions were not soothed when he entered his townhouse. Everything was perfectly in place, but there was an echo to it that made him look around uneasily.
Haunted, it feels haunted...
He only began to panic when he realized that Natalie had taken all of her things. Correction, she had taken all of the things she had brought to London with her. The clothes she had bought in London, from casual T-shirts to the green gown she had worn just before he’d left, were hung up neatly. A part of Nathan wanted to be relieved, but somehow, the impression was not of a woman who was going to return. It was of a woman who had left.
With shaking fingers, he opened the letter that had been left on his pillow. He recognized her handwriting, and sitting down on the bed, he started to read.
Dear Nathan,
I love you more than words can say, which makes what I have to do next so very hard. Nathan, I found out about Melissa DuBerry. There are so many reasons I care about you, but the first reason that brought me to you has to be the reason I stay too.
And I can't.
Did you ever mean to tell me she was carrying your child? You swore to me you would be a good father, and if I can't trust that...
I love you, Nathan. I love you, and I need to leave.
-Natalie
The blood roared in Nathan's ears. For a moment, he simply sat as still as he could, his mind whirling so much that he thought he might fall over if he started to move. He hadn't thought of Melissa in ages. What did this mean? What could Natalie possibly have heard?
For a moment, he thought he would be utterly crushed under the pain of what she had said, what she apparently believed, but then he stood up.
No.
He had always been taught that if he wanted something, he would have to fight for it. He had to find out the truth, and that meant he couldn't simply sit still and wait for what came next.
He reached for his phone and started to dial.
Chapter Ten
Natalie sat on the bench outside the house in Kilderry. She had been in Ireland for almost two weeks now, and it occurred to her to wonder if anyone was ever going to show up and ask her to leave. She knew it would have been far better, far more sensible to return to the States, but heartsick and wild, Kilderry was the only place she could stand to go. She still knew all the codes to enter the property, and so she had simply...
She refused to say “come home,” but that's what it felt like.
Truth be told, she had been in a daze ever since leaving London. If she thought too hard about what she had done or about Nathan himself, she would start to cry again, and right now, she couldn't stand to do that. Instead, she passed her days like a ghost haunting the house. She walked when she was restless, but otherwise she simply stayed indoors.
She had no idea what was going to happen to her.
Well.
She knew one thing, but that was too much to even think about consciously.
After another sleepless night, she sat outdoors to watch the sunrise. The sky lightened from black to indigo, from indigo to pewter, and slowly the pewter turned pearly, letting in the pink and orange and finally the blue.
I can still think that it's beautiful, she thought, slightly surprised at herself. My God, but it is so beautiful.
The drive was set slightly below the house, so it was easy to see when a sleek, dark car made its way up the drive. Natalie wondered calmly if someone had finally come to turn her away. She thought it would be someone she didn't know, a lawyer perhaps to tell her that her contract with Nathan was at an end.
She hadn't known that Nathan would come himself, and her calm deserted her as soon as he stepped out of the car.
Of course, she had thought of what she might say to him, but now she was left utterly without words. She rose from the bench, her only thought in fleeing.
"Don't you dare!"
Nathan's voice cracked across the dawn like a whip, and as she turned, it gave him enough time to vault up the walkway. She thought he meant to grab her by the arm, but instead he dragged her into his arms in a rough embrace. God, but her body was traitorous. It clamored for him, and instead of struggling away, she only clung to him harder, hot tears streaming down her face.
"Why, why the hell would you do this to us, why did you run?" Nathan said, and there was a broken sound in his voice she had never heard before. He pulled back just enough to cup her face in his hands, and to her shock, she saw that the last two weeks had been hard on him. There was at least a few nights’ worth of ungroomed beard on his face, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept.
"Nathan," she said softly, but he shook his head.
"No, it's not going to be that easy. You got the last word with that letter, and now you're going to listen to me."
She nearly sobbed. She didn't know how much of this she could take.
"You lied to me," she whispered, and he shook his head.
"Believe me, you made me wonder," he said. "I never even knew that Melissa was pregnant. If I would have known, never in a million years would I... Well. Listen to me, Natalie. Listen.
"I chased Melissa all the way to Greece to get the truth. I would have been here a goddamn week ago if I hadn't done that. But you were right, and I had to be sure. Believe me, when I figured it out, I was pissed."
"Figured what out?"
Nathan smiled thinly. "She cheated on me, and then she married the man she cheated on me with. It took a week to get a prenatal paternity test. Melissa isn’t bearing my child."
She stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open with surprise. Could it be that she had...
"Oh my God," she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh my God, Nathan, I am so sorry, oh God, please forgive me..."
She couldn't stop herself from bursting into fresh tears, and he wrapped his arms around her as she cried out what felt like a month's worth of stress and fear.
"I didn't know what to think," she said through sobs. "I heard all of those women talking, and then I didn't know if you meant to keep me around. I mean, I know you cared, but..."
"But you never heard what I thought of you. How I felt. Is that right?"
She nodded miserably, and she uttered a soft sound of sadness as he drew away, seating her on the bench. She couldn't argue with him if he wanted to leave her, if he was ready to be done with her...
She blinked as she realized that he was going down on one knee. "Nathan?"
"I am so sorry I was never clear with you, not even when I knew myself. I kept the knowledge to myself, and perhaps if I had been a little more honest, I wouldn't have had to chase you across the country. By the way, will you promise never to run from me again? If you feel like this again, will you give me the chance to defend myself?"
She flinched. "Oh Nathan, yes, of course."
"Good. Then, Natalie, I love you. Will you marry me?"
He opened a velvet box with a ring displayed prominently within. At the center was a glimmering diamond surrounded by what she knew were tsavorite garnets. She only had a moment to look at them, however, before she knocked his hand aside and threw herself into his arms. Even as she laughed with joy, she was crying again.
"I love you, I love you, I want you, I love you, Nathan, I do, I will!"
He laughed hoarsely, dragging her into his arms and holding her so tight she thought he might never let go.
"Don't cry, my love," he whispered. "I'll spend the rest of our lives making you laugh..."
"I'm afraid you might be gettin
g more tears in the future," she said, smiling through her sobs. "I seem to be one of those pregnant women who cries a lot."
He stared at her for a moment, and she nodded. Then he laughed even louder before dropping his head down into a kiss that was filled with promises, with love, with tomorrow...and with children.
Epilogue
"But Papa, how do you know for sure?" Amelia asked. Beside her, her sisters Rose and Carly nodded. All three faces were turned up to Nathan as if he held all the secrets in the world. They were nearly identical, but Nathan could see the little freckle on Amelia's cheek, the way Carly kept her head tilted curiously to one side, the way Rose's green eyes were a little paler than her sisters'. They all looked so much like Natalie that it made his heart ache.
"In your heart," he said firmly. "Your heart will always know, and it will listen if you know how. Love looks like so many things, but your heart will recognize it when it comes."
All three girls wanted more surety than that, but Nathan knew enough to know that he couldn't give it to them. Love would come, and when it did, there would be no stopping it.
"Telling them about our fairytale all over again?" Natalie asked, poking her head in the room.
"I am," he said with a grin. "Did you get the boys down for the night?"
"Sort of, but I'll not be surprised if they're up and bouncing again as soon as they think they can get away with it. Andrew kept asking about us again too, and even if Danny and Lyle were quieter, they wanted to hear it again as well."
"We have curious, wise and curiously wise children," Nathan said. "And now it's time for you girls to scoot to bed."
Amidst the normal groans, Nathan and Natalie exchanged a fond look over their heads.
She had been carrying triplets, the girls that day in Kilderry. Two years later had come the three boys. There was love to spare spilling out of the old mansion they had purchased close to Glasgow, and every day, Natalie wondered at her luck and all the love that had been granted to their family.
"I love you," Nathan said, coming up to give her a soft kiss on the forehead.
"My perfect fairytale," Natalie whispered, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was her happily ever after.
THE END
CLICK HERE
to subscribe to my newsletter & get EXCLUSIVE updates on all offers, secret previews, and new releases
BONUS STORY
Italian Billionaire’s Unwanted Baby Daughter
By Sophia Lynn
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2017 Sophia Lynn.
CLICK HERE
to subscribe to my newsletter & get EXCLUSIVE updates on all offers, secret previews, and new releases
Chapter One
Briony looked in despair at the velvet green gown on her bed, and then she looked at her sister. “Seanan, please, can't I just stay here tonight? I really don't need to go to the party, do I?”
Seanan lanced her with that look, and Briony knew it was useless to argue. She had been on the receiving end of that look far too often to think there would be any sort of give to it at all.
“Oh come on, it'll be fun!” Seanan said. “There are going to be all kinds of exciting people there, so many people to meet and network with. You never know, little sister, this might make your career.”
Briony scowled, but Seanan took no notice. She never had. It would be utterly infuriating if Seanan didn't clearly have Briony's best interests at heart.
“I work in the admissions department of a not-so-great university,” Briony pointed out. “What good is Italian networking going to do for me?”
Seanan tossed a careless wink over her shoulder. “Stop being so doubtful! You just never know.”
It was in moments like this that the differences between the two sisters became obvious, Briony thought with bemusement. They were both of medium height with chestnut hair and bright blue eyes, and they both had low-pitched voices that were pleasant when speaking and slightly hopeless when singing. However, where Seanan's practiced smiles and warm air made people around her feel automatically comfortable, Briony always felt as stiff as a stick and twice as boring. Everyone who saw Seanan thought of her as a bombshell, and that combined with her acting talent had made her one of the breakout Hollywood stars of the last five years.
Of course, Briony knew better than most that “breakout star” meant weeks and months and years of auditions and tiny parts and networking and contacts, and she had sat up with her sister more than once over that lost job or that failed callback.
It warmed Briony like the sun to see her sister excel, and when Seanan tugged her over to the dreaded velvet dress, Briony went with only a little resistance.
“Is it so very awful being here?” Seanan asked, her voice sincere, and Briony had to sigh.
“You know it's not,” she said with a shrug. “Florence is beautiful, and we've both always wanted to go to Italy. I'm still so glad and so thankful you invited me.”
“Can it,” Seanan said briskly. “There was no one else I would have rather had with me. But see, it hasn't been so awful, has it? The party tonight, it'll be fun, just like the museum was fun, like the orchestra was fun...”
Briony sighed, and Seanan could read her acceptance in the sigh because her face lit up with that thousand-watt smile.
“Perfect. Now let's get you dressed. I need to take care of my own kit, and I won't have all that much time.”
Briony almost sent Seanan away to take care of her own dress, but she was soon relieved that she hadn't. She could already tell the dress was heavy and lovely, more a tailor's item than anything you could buy off of a costume rack, and as Seanan lifted it over her head and tugged it down over her shoulders, Briony started to feel just a little nervous.
"Seanan, is it supposed to be this low cut?"
Her sister's laugh was oddly sly, making Briony even more nervous.
"Seanan, what's going on? Why are you laughing at me like that?"
"Oh shush, sweetie, you are far too nervous about everything. Here, bend forward so your boobs swing down, and I'll get you tightened right up."
"Wait, why do I have to do that...?"
Briony yelped a little as Seanan pushed her to bend over at the waist. Under Seanan's directions, she scooped her breasts forward as Seanan tightened the laces at the back of the dress. When she stood up, Briony had a shocked moment to think about how very much cleavage she was revealing, and then she gasped as Seanan tugged the dress even tighter.
"Oh my god, is there steel in this dress?" Briony asked in shock. It felt as if she was being bound up, cloth and metal wrapped around her torso.
"There is," Seanan said cheerfully. "Don't worry, you get used to it. I had to wear corsets for four months straight, sometimes in the pouring rain for this shoot."
Seanan was the second female lead in An Ancient Beauty, the movie the party was celebrating. It was set in Renaissance Italy, and judging by the first screening that had taken place just a few days ago, it was going to be a hit. Of course, Briony was happy for her sister, but that didn't mean she was happy to be laced down into some kind of strange Renaissance torture device.
"All right," Seanan said, stepping back with a smile. "Walk around, get used to it."
It was on the tip of Briony's tongue to say that was impossible, but as she did as Seanan said, she realized there was more give to the corset than she had thought. She could walk and bend, sit, albeit stiffly, and she looked at her sister dubiously.
"I'm going to topple into the punch bowl," Briony said. "I'm going to trip, fall, be unable to right myself, and tumble right in..."
"No, you're not," Seanan said firmly, and then to Briony's surprise, Seanan reached out to cup her cheek.
"Seanan?"
"You're going to do just fine, I promise," she said. "And if you hate it, you can come right up here and go back to reading your books, okay? It's just..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that I've finally achieved my dream.
I know there's still a long way to go, and that what I've won myself is more work and harder work, but this is amazing. This is what I was meant to do. I just thought that maybe if you got out of your shell a little bit, you would find out what you're meant to do as well."
There was genuine worry in Seanan's eyes, and Briony relented.
"I'm doing just fine. And maybe my dreams are different from yours, Seanan. I hate the thought of being in the spotlight, even if I know it makes you so happy. I'm not going to find my happiness out there tonight." At Seanan's look of consternation, Briony sighed. "But I'll try. How's that?"
"That's all I ever wanted," Seanan assured her, and with a little kiss on her forehead, she headed out the door. "Oh, don't forget your mask!"
There was a domino mask hanging over the clothing hook on the wall, but Briony ignored it, looking instead at her reflection in the mirror. The dress pinched her in at the waist and pushed her round, full breasts up until they were almost directly under her chin. Below her waist, her hips billowed out.
Seanan, what the hell have you done to me, she thought haplessly, and then with a wry chuckle, she realized the answer. She made me beautiful by making sure I don’t look like myself at all.
It wasn't just the pinched waist. The steel in the corset made Briony stand up as straight as a yardstick, and the posture made her look proud, perhaps even haughty. Where Briony spent most of her time hunched over with her nose buried in a book, this stranger in the mirror looked like she could challenge a king or a prince and win.
Well, she said if I didn't like it, I could come back here, Briony thought, but bubbling underneath was a new feeling of daring and freedom, one she was not sure she had ever felt before. She simply looked so different.
Experimentally, she pulled the mask from its hook. It was a simple rectangle with an elastic band that was meant to hold it to her head, but it was heavy in her hands. It was made of a light leather rather than paper mache or plastic, and for a moment, Briony simply caressed it with her fingers. When she finally tugged it over her face, letting it settle over her eyes and most of her nose, it felt right somehow.