What can possibly be so hard about admitting to the fact that he cheated? There shouldn’t be an explanation or a story. I shook my head, keeping quiet.
He squeezed my shoulder gently, sending electric waves in every part of my body. He stroked my exposed shoulder blade agonizingly slowly, my heartbeat accelerating.
He turned my body around so I could look at him, looking down at me with sincerity shown in his eyes. He was so good at lying that I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not. But I didn’t feel like debating with him any longer because he always won, no matter what. He made sure of it too, I don’t know how he did it.
“Okay, fine,” I said. I sniffed my nose, crossing my arms on my chest. “But I want the whole truth. I want to know everything.”
He smiled in relief, glad that I basically agreed to hear him out. It didn’t mean that he was forgiven though. I will never forget what he had done. But since love was such a powerful emotion, it was so easy for him to brainwash me and make me fall into his arms again.
He pulled me into a warming tight hug, rubbing his hands around the small of my back. I instantly relaxed against his chest, closing my eyes as I inhaled the scent of his expensive cologne. I didn’t hug him back though, I just stood there frozen. He kissed the top of my forehead before releasing me, looking down at me since he was a few inches taller than me.
“I’ll come by either tonight or tomorrow so we can go out to eat at this amazing restaurant I know. I have to get to a business meeting now,” he said, taking out his phone.
Oh yeah, did I mention that he was a big time billionaire? After his father passed away a couple of years ago, the company was signed over to Nathan and he became in control of the whole corporation. Ever since then, he became such a busy man but that never interfered with our relationship. Actually, I had originally thought that his work was the reason he had abandoned me, but I guess I’d been wrong about that.
“Tomorrow is fine, we can go out for lunch,” I agreed, walking with him so I could lead him out of the apartment. I didn’t want him to leave. I somewhat was fond of his company but there’s no way I was going to tell him that. At least not yet.
He tidied up his blazer, brushing off invisible dust from it, and popped his collars. His rose gold Rolex watch shimmered with his movement that he made, making him even more attractive than ever. “That sounds great, Melissa,” he said. He smiled, opening the front door and turned to me again. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah,” I replied as our eyes bored into each other. Something flashed in his eyes that I couldn’t quite comprehend but it was like I was looking at the Nathan from the past. Just as I realized this, he turned and walked down the corridor to leave.
Later on at night, I couldn’t stop replaying Nathan’s shock visit in my head. The glint in Nathan’s emerald green eyes, the way his lips moved so perfectly, his soft, luscious dark brown hair pushed back. I felt pretty ridiculous thinking so hard about a guy that broke my heart as I laid in a bath full of bubbles with candles and a glass of champagne. I thought I was over him but I guessed incorrectly when I saw his face again. Something about him seemed different but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
My phone rang from the surface next to me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it and pressed it against my ear. “Hello?”
A deep voice chuckled into the phone, making my eyes bulge out. It was Nathan’s brother, Jason. “I see my brother came back to California,” he said.
“What do you want, Jason?” I asked him, alertly sitting up on the tub. This wasn’t a good thing that Jason was calling me after Nathan’s return, because that only could mean one thing...he told him.
“I can’t call to check up on you?” he said, and laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my champagne. “Don’t worry kitten, I won’t tell him.”
“Good because that’s supposed to stay only between us. We made a deal,” I growled through clenched teeth. Out of all the regrets I had, this was probably my top regret in the list.
“I didn’t make a deal, you did,” he said. “I never said you had to. You decided on sleeping with me to keep your good spot in the corporation so, whose fault is that?”
I cringed at myself when I had a flashback of us having sex on his office desk. But it hadn’t been my idea, he’d blackmailed me! I shook my head, holding onto my glass tighter.
“You son of a bitch! My job was on the line, and I was so close to losing it because of the bullshit your wonderful brother put me through by taking off. That’s when you came to me with that proposal.”
He laughed bitterly. “Okay, Melissa. Anyways, why are you worried about me telling him? It’s not like he’s in love with you anymore. You’re nothing but an ex-fiancée to him now.”
I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout. I wanted to yell out everything I hated about Jason and how he was the only vile one in the corporation that I knew of. I should have known to not work in Nathan’s company but, I didn’t have a choice at the time. I was unemployed and in desperate need of a job and being the secretary saved me.
“You know what, Jason? Screw you!” I exclaimed.
“You already did. And enjoyed every second of it,” he whispered in a mocking tone, making my anger grow even more. That’s when I hung up the phone and slammed it back onto the surface. My heart was rushing from my rollercoaster of emotions and I just laid back into the bubbles to ease my mind. I couldn’t ignore the concern about Nathan finding out but would he really believe me or his brother? That was one question that I was scared to find the answer for. Anxious, I chugged the rest of the gold bubbly and relaxed my hair into the water as the tipsy was affecting me. I couldn’t let someone repulsive like Jason get to me.
*****
It was the day of my lunch date with Nathan. I dressed my best to set a good impression on him. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t care about how I looked anymore. One of the main ways to get back at a man is to look good; everyone gets captivated by a pretty woman in a dress. His favorite color on a woman was blue so I wore a tight, navy blue dress that reached just above my knees with my shoulder-length black hair curled. I applied a thick coat of pink lipstick with light makeup and put on his favorite Chanel perfume that he’d bought for me a few months back. I looked great and hopefully, he would think so too.
The car ride in his Range Rover to the restaurant was dead silent. We only made casual small talk like, ‘how was your morning?’ and so on. But other than that, I spent majority of the time looking out the window as I listened to my heart pound tremendously against my chest from his presence. This felt like the very first date all over again. I would have to impress him if I wanted to win him back.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I told him, the wind whipping through my hair as we sped down the highway.
He turned to me for a second before fixing his gaze back out on the windshield. “You didn’t have to agree. It’s not like I pointed a gun to your head and made you agree.”
“True,” I weakly said.
We pulled up to an Oceanside restaurant, which made my heart clench and flutter at the same time. I can tell from the dishes the waiters were serving that it was a highly expensive restaurant. Nathan escorted me to table with a good view of the harbor. The table was secluded.
“This place is beautiful,” I gasped in awe, looking around as my curls whipped behind my shoulders. Nathan stared at me with a smirk, popping open the bottle of champagne with one movement before pouring it into two glasses.
“I had to bring such a beautiful woman to such a beautiful place,” he flattered, making my heart skip a thousand beats. I let out a breathy laugh, turning my gaze onto the table nervously.
After we ordered our lunches and made small talk, I decided to jump into a serious conversation. I sipped on my champagne before putting it down on the table. “So, when am I going to meet the lucky girl that stole you away from me?” I snapped, receiving an incomprehensible expr
ession from him.
“I’m no longer with this person, you know that right? I’m actually a single man.” He informed with a glint of hope in his emerald eyes, as if he was planning on that to change.
Relief washed over me from the news, and I couldn’t hold back the happy smile that crossed my face. “That’s good to know. But, am I ever going to meet this person?”
Nathan hesitated for a couple moments, clamping his lips together as he rubbed his hands. “She’s not…” he began, but shook his head. “Never mind, you guys are going to meet soon. I’d say sometime next week.”
I wondered what he was going to say before he changed his mind, and why he wanted me to meet her, if she was no longer in the picture as he’d said. But whatever, I wanted to meet the bitch that stole the love of my life away, to find out what she had that I didn’t. I decided to change the topic.
“So since you’re single, does this mean that we still have a way to possibly work our relationship out?” I nervously asked, gazing into his eyes. “She’s obviously out of the picture so that means we still have a chance. I just want to believe that you won’t cheat on me again.”
Nathan let out a deep breath before sliding his hand across the table to grab mine. He laced our fingers together, his warmness lingering on my skin. “Believe me, I would take back that day if I could. But, I don’t know if us getting back together would be a good idea.”
I blinked repeatedly, my heart overtaking with an overwhelmingly hurt. “But why not? We were so happy together and we love each other.”
“You’re right, Melissa.” He nodded his head. “But, I just need a little bit of time.”
“A little more time for what?” I exasperated, throwing a hand up. Nathan ignored my question, looking over my shoulder at someone.
“Oh look, our food’s coming. You’re going to love this restaurant.” He clapped his hands with a laugh, changing the subject. I observed him awkwardly as he tipped the waiter after he placed our plates on our table. There was something he wasn’t telling me. I had my own secret from him too, but this was about our relationship. I definitely had to find out what he was hiding.
Two hours after our lunch date and him dropping me off home with a kiss on the cheek, I decided to dial my best friend, Veronica. We’ve known each other since we were sixteen and she needed an update on what was going on between me and Nathan.
“Hello?” her voice croaked into the line after a couple of rings.
“Veronica! I need your help!” I hissed into the phone, clacking my heels against the tile floors as I made my way in my small kitchen. I poured myself a glass of wine.
“Why, what’s wrong?” she inquired more alertly, giving me her full attention now.
“Nathan is back in town for good and I need a way to get him back!” I told her before sipping on my glass.
“What, he’s back?” she gasped into the phone. “And get him back? For what, so he can cheat on you again? Hell no!” she said. Veronica loved Nathan for me ever since we first started dating but when she found out that he abandoned me, she hated his guts. I don’t blame her, I hated him too. But he came back to California for me, and that had to mean something. I just had to do some deeper digging.
I let out an exasperated sigh, pushing back my hair in frustration. “I’m close to finding out the entire truth on why he left me. Now, are you going to help me win my fiancé back or not?”
She let out a defeated sigh, not wanting to suggest anything simply because she preferred I didn’t get back with him. But, she gave me her ideas, anyways. “Wear something that he loves. Talk about the things that first made you guys realize you were falling for each other. Talk about memories. Hell, invite him over this weekend and wear your sexiest lingerie piece, that’ll definitely drive him crazy.”
I thought deeper about the lingerie, imagining myself walking out of my room in red lace and high heels. He always had a thing for lace so, that would be perfect. He definitely wouldn’t be able to turn me down if he saw me dressed like that. That could be my second attempt, my first attempt would be bringing up our memories right before seducing him.
“Veronica, you are a genius! I know I’m going to get my man back, thank you so much!” I excitedly said, confident that everything was going to go smoothly. This could also lead to him telling me whatever he was hiding from me...
“That’s what I’m here for! To help you in need whenever you need help.” I could hear the smile in her slightly high-pitched voice as she said that. Before she hung up, she also brought up something else. “Are you ever planning on telling him about Jason?”
I hesitated, biting on my lower lip as I stared at my half-empty glass of wine. I didn’t want to tell Nathan but if I didn’t, karma would do its job and he’d find out somehow. “I will, only if he tells me his secret.”
“You’re doing the right thing,” she said. She said goodbye and hung up.
I fell into a pit of thoughts. Now that I thought about it, Jason could tell Nathan any time of any day. They lived in the same penthouse! I just hoped I got to tell Nathan the truth first. It would be better hearing it from me than his own brother. I either had to hurry and tell him, or negotiate with the devil.
Oh, what the hell. I dialed Jason’s number, hoping that he would pick up. After a couple of rings, his annoying voice answered the phone. “Hello princess.”
I groaned in disgust, rolling my eyes. “If you plan on telling Nathan about us, don’t even bother, because I’m going to tell him.”
Surprise rose in his voice. I imagined his expression turning into a perplexed one. “You are?”
I nodded my head, pouring myself another glass of wine as I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder. “I won’t let you come in between us. I’m doing what’s best for me, and if this is what it takes to win Nathan back, I’m willing to do it.”
“Are you sure you’re not just doing it because you’re scared he’s going to hear it from me first?” he questioned with a subtle laugh. “Because I wasn’t going to tell him. Not yet at least.”
“Well good because I’m going to tell him,” I nonchalantly told him, taking a sip of my glass of wine. “Sorry Jason, looks like your blackmail was all for nothing.” With that said, I hung up the phone and placed it on my counter.
*****
After a long week of working and avoiding Jason at work, I was exhausted. On the bright side, it was Friday night and we were dismissed into a three-day weekend. I could finally relax and take some stress off my back. I could also get working on my plan to win Nathan’s heart back.
I invited Nathan over for dinner and wine later on, setting my plan in motion. He was more than happy to come over and reading his response made my smile reach from ear to ear. Tonight, I was going to first capture his attention by making his favorite dish, shrimp chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. Then, we’d reminisce over the meal, and finally, I’d take off my robe, exposing my lingerie. I’ll tell him that I’m his dessert when he asks.
About two hours before it was time for him to come over, I began to prepare the dinner. I wore my lingerie underneath my silky black robe. As I was setting up the table with our plates of food and glasses of wine, when the doorbell rang. My stomach churned nervously. I mentally prepared myself as I made my way to the front door, ready to take action.
“Hi beautiful,” Nathan greeted, pushing his hands into his blue blazer pockets as he studied my body from head to toe. I already felt naked under his gaze and it felt great.
“Hi,” I replied seductively, stepping aside to let him in. I made sure to thrust out my hip further as I held the door, putting on a sexy show. It was definitely working since he couldn’t take his eyes off me. “Come in.”
He cleared his throat. As he entered, I was immediately met by his Prada cologne. I followed him to the dining room, where everything was already set up, and took a seat at the table. He looked impressed, looking at the meal with such appreciation.
“My favorite meal!
I couldn’t ask for a better dinner than this,” he genuinely stated, giving me the eye as he took his seat.
“You think this is good? Then, you’re going to love your dessert,” I chuckled humbly, receiving an interested and questioning look from him. I held up my glass of wine, making him mimic my action. “To a lovely dinner.”
“With a lovely woman,” he winked at me before clinking our glasses together. I took a sip of wine, staring at him from under my eyelashes. Everything was starting off perfectly and I was starting to have a great feeling about this dinner.
Twenty minutes into our meal, we were having an amazing time. It was all laughs and jokes, reminiscing about the good times we shared. How we traveled to different cities together, always having a habit of ordering champagne or good wine when we dined out, talking about the amount of kids that we wanted. He was feeling deeply about the conversation, his emerald eyes sparkling with his passion. It was the same look that was very familiar to when we were actually together and happy. It was a good sign.
“You know, I’m glad I came tonight,” Nathan admitted, wiping his plump lips with the napkin. “I’m having so much fun with you, just like the good old days.”
Hearing this come from him just made my life feel complete. I’d never felt so blissfully happy until now. My heart fluttered and I couldn’t help but to smile sweetly at him. No way in hell I was going to tell him about Jason tonight. “Me too, Nathan.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date like this, you know that right?” He cleared his throat, staring at his glass of wine.
“Really?” I said astonishingly.
He chuckled sheepishly, shaking his head. “How could I after basically being divorced? I couldn’t dare sit in front of another girl and be romantic with her, I just couldn’t.”
“But, I thought you were seeing someone else,” I said. My eyebrows furrowed together dumbfounded. “I mean, you saw another girl while we were together so why not continue to see her when we split?” I questioned him.
Two Wolves For Lizette Page 69