Chapter 72
A stinging burn spread across Nathan’s cheek, fury and humiliation exploding his cheat
Twenty–eight years on this planet, and nobody had ever had the balls to humiliate him like this!
Rage boiled over as Nathan spun around, ready to unleash hell.
He was about to tear into her when he saw Amelia’s tear–streaked face.
She stood there looking so damn fragile in the moonlight, pale and way too thin. Her face was ghostly white, but her eyes were completely bloodshot from crying.
Those tears…
They just kept coming, sliding down her cheeks without a sound, but somehow that silence absolutely destroyed him.
It brought him right back to that day in France when they lost their baby.
She’d cried her heart out that day too.
Back then she’d collapsed into his arms, sobbing like her world had ended. Now she wasn’t making a sound, but it was just as devastating.
His chest felt like someone was squeezing his heart with a fist. He couldn’t stand seeing her like this.
Nathan reached out to brush the tears away, but she smacked his hand back.
“Nathan.” Amelia’s hands were shaking with pure emotion.
She stared him down.
“I’m not some pathetic mess you can just shit on!”
Tears kept streaming as Amelia balled her fists, refusing to let herself look weak.
“You said Vivian’s got six months to live, that you need to take care of her. Fine!”
“You said you wanted to divorce me to make her dying wish come true. I went to city hall with you.”
“I couldn’t care less what’s going on between you two.”
“But how dare you talk to me like that, insult my kid like that!”
Every word came out soft but crystal clear in the quiet night.
“Nathan, you and Vivian aren’t the only real people in the world. You’re not the only ones whose pain actually matters.”
“Yeah, I fell for the wrong guy. In love, I can take the L and walk away. But how could you… how could you treat me and an innocent kid like garbage?”
Amelia’s voice cracked on the last part, and she couldn’t stop herself from breaking down.
Her nails bit into her palms.
She clamped her mouth shut, forcing herself to stay strong. She had some dignity left.
“Amelia.”
Nathan’s face twisted with pain. Every single word hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
“The thing with Vivian…”
a Wife’s Gone
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He tried to say something, anything, but the words just wouldn’t come.
Moonlight spilled everywhere, making everything look cold and stark.
“Six months.” After forever, he finally managed to get out, “She’s only got six months left.”
Amelia let out this awful laugh.
She tilted her head back, looking away from his face to stare up at the black sky.
How the hell had they gotten here?
Why did everything have to hurt so much?
Amelia wiped her face with the back of her hand.
Done with this conversation, she turned to leave.
But he grabbed her wrist again.
“Amelia.” He said her name like some kind of prayer.
She didn’t even bother telling him to let go, just tried to yank herself free.
But he held on tighter.
Under the moonlight, his eyes looked wild and desperate as he refused to release her.
Amelia fought to get away–she was so done with being here.
But then the wind hit her from the lake, and her head started spinning again.
That damn wine…
She’d been to enough fancy events with Nathan to know her alcohol tolerance. She could usually tell how strong something was after one taste.
She knew her limits. One glass tonight shouldn’t have messed her up this bad.
All those international business trips had made her paranoid about spiked drinks, but the wine seemed clean. Plus Noemi had no reason to drug her.
So…
Through the haze, she looked down at her skinny wrist trapped in Nathan’s grip.
Ever since that fall down the stairs when she lost the baby, her body had been wrecked.
Wine plus wind was not a good combo.
Another wave of dizziness hit, and she could barely stay upright.
She had to get out of here.
She shoved at Nathan, trying to make him let go.
But she had no idea how wobbly she
gotten.
“Amelia?” Nathan’s forehead creased with worry.
She didn’t answer.
He scooped her up like she weighed nothing.
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Chapter 12
Feeling her feet leave the ground, Amelia tried pushing him away, but her as felt like jello
“You’re wasted.” his voice rumbled against his chest.
“Put me down,” Amelia mumbled.
But Nathan totally ignored her, just grabbed her heels and carried her toward the house.
The walk through the trees felt like everything was tilting. When she looked moonlight was peeking through the branches.
The light hit his face, and for a second she couldn’t tell if this was now or year ago.
She really was pretty drunk.
At the villa, he pressed his thumb to the scanner and the door clicked open. In the entryway, he set her down carefully.
She leaned against the wall to keep from falling over while he closed the door behind them.
She was still crying. Watching her made his chest tight.
When he’d picked her up, she’d felt way too light.
Not just a little–dramatically lighter.
She’d always been small, but now she was practically disappearing.
“You’re hammered. Were you seriously gonna drive home like this?” Nathan said.
The roads weren’t safe.
“Not your problem,” she said through her stuffy nose.
Nathan ran his hands through his hair.
“Good luck getting an Uber out here. What’s your plan–walk back to the city?”
He tried to explain without sounding condescending.
Even though they were in prime Manhattan real estate, the whole area around Moonlight Manor was locked down tight.
The Harrison family didn’t want random people hanging around taking pictures or turning their home into some tourist trap.
Plus there were serious security concerns.
Usually the estate staff handled all transportation, so it wasn’t an issue.
But Amelia obviously wanted to bail on her own.
Seeing her clam up stubbornly, he kept going:
“I saw your car when we got here. You’re not actually thinking about drunk driving, right? Amelia, you can’t even stand up straight.”
Amelia still wouldn’t respond, just kept the tears flowing.
“Stop crying.”
His voice was rough. In the dim entryway light, watching her fall apart was killing him.
But she just turned away.
He let out this deep sigh, bent down, and cupped her face with both hands, thumbs brushing away her tears.
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Chapter 12
Up close like this, he could see every wet eyelash.
Then he kissed her,
His mouth moved against hers, and all he could taste was salt from her tears.
Her fists thumped weakly against his chest, but she had zero strength to actually stop him.
Nathan’s arms tightened around her as he lifted her up and carried her to the first–floor bedroom.
She smelled like wine and something floral. Before she could protest, he was kissing her again.
He didn’t want to hear whatever she was going to say.
The room got hot fast as he pressed her down, one hand wandering over her body.
He’d always been obsessed with touching her. All those nights in the past, he’d loved convincing her to stay in bed with him, getting lost in each other.
He loved the way she’d shiver in his
But damn, she’d gotten so thin.
arme loved when her eyes went soft and unfocused just for him.
Her waist had always been tiny, but now it was almost breakable, and there was…
“Amelia..,
He whispered her name against her lips.
“Baby.”
Another kiss.
Their breathing got all tangled up together.
