Everyone had their own safe spot in their mind, and once I entered it, I would be able to worm my way into his heart.
However, before that, what I had to break through was the invisible wall between the two of us, who were individuals from different worlds. I had to make myself become someone important to him instead of just a passerby in his life.
Just as those words were out of my mouth, Nathaniel fell silent.
Right then, a youthful voice came from the outside of the kitchen. “Uncle Nathaniel?”
Both Nathaniel and I turned at the same time to see Gregory standing by the stairwell.
He was already dressed in his school uniform. Even if he was still wearing the same soft house slippers as his sister, he was like a boy with a warm personality in that uniform. In fact, he was like a mini version of Anthony.
“Why are you here?” Gregory blinked before taking a few steps closer. “Is Daddy back too? Why didn’t I see him?”
Hearing that, a small smile appeared on Nathaniel’s lips, and he replied, “No. Do you not want to see me, Gregory?”
Gregory meant to ask about his father’s whereabouts, but the moment Nathaniel’s words were out in the air, it became awkward. Thus, Gregory quickly shook his head and explained, “No, no, that’s not it.”
“Good to hear that.” Nathaniel gazed at him for a moment as a mysterious smile grew on his lips. Then, he began untying his apron.
“Are you leaving?” I could not hide the excitement from my voice, but at the same time, I was worried about the earlier unanswered question.
Maybe it’ll be just like yesterday? Does Nathaniel need a day to make up his mind about important decisions?
However, after taking off his apron and putting it on the table, he did not leave. Instead, he lifted his head to look at me and asked, “Do you want to get changed?”
I froze, taken aback by his question. “What for?”
“Didn’t you say that you want to come into my life?” Nathaniel asked.
I hesitated only a second before answering, “I’m fine. Wearing casual will make me less nervous. However, if you think that my current dressing will affect your reputation, I don’t mind changing.”
Nathaniel ruminated about it. Rather than saying anything, he immediately walked toward the outside. I hurriedly followed him.
When we went past Gregory, he cried out, “Uncle Nathaniel, where are you going with Mommy?”
Nathaniel halted in his tracks and turned his head to the side. With a gentle look on his face, he said, “I’m taking your mommy to a place she has always wanted to go.”
After a pause, he added, “Do you want to come along?”
“No.” There was no way I was going to involve a child in our matter. I rushed to stand in front of Gregory, shielding him away from Nathaniel’s cunning stare. Livid, I glared at him and hissed, “You’re not that incapable to the point you’ll need to use a child to reach your goals, are you?”
“True.” Nathaniel turned his head to face the front again. “Gregory is like me. He should spend more time improving himself.”
Gregory stared at us, seemingly realizing what was going on. Before I could stop him, he said, “Uncle Nathaniel, can you promise that you won’t let Mommy get hurt?”
“Of course,” Nathaniel replied. “I always stick to my promise.”
Gregory nodded vigorously and hummed, “Okay.”
I then quickly crouched down and held his arm before saying, “Daddy’s not around, so Gregory’s our big boy at home. I’m going to go out with Uncle Nathaniel to deal with some stuff now, so can you take care of your siblings?”
Gregory stared into my eyes for two seconds before replying confidently, “Yes. Audrey and I will be waiting for Mommy to come home for dinner.”
I stiffened, knowing that he was telling me to come home to them.
“Got it. I’ll be back as early as I can,” I said as I reached out to pinch his soft cheeks. I knew my son was smart enough to know what was going on.
“Not necessarily.” Nathaniel was impatient, so after saying that, he walked off.
I had reassured Gregory earlier, but when the boy heard Nathaniel’s words, he drew his brows together worriedly.
“Gregory, look at me.” I quickly patted his cheeks to catch his attention. “If I say I’m coming back, I will. Do you believe in Mommy?”
Gregory visibly hesitated. Nevertheless, it seemed like he knew he could not make me stay, so he reluctantly nodded. “Okay.”
Furthermore, to not worry me, he put on a smile on his face and said, “Mommy, go now. You can come back earlier if you leave now. It’s fine even if you come back late. I’ll make sure Audrey doesn’t kick up a fuss.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” Moved, I kissed his forehead before steeling myself and rushing after Nathaniel.
Nathaniel was a man who changed his mind quickly; I had to go through my plan before he changed his mind again.
When I got into the car, Nathaniel was looking at his WhatsApp. The moment he saw me, he kept his phone away.
“Overprotecting a kid doesn’t necessarily help them,” Nathaniel commented as he looked to the front, expressionless.
So, what he means is that children should be among people who scheme all the time? So Gregory should learn to be cold-blooded like the Halls and become a menace to the peaceful society?
His words reminded me of my first meeting with Anthony’s biological father; they both enjoyed preaching.
Self-centeredness was what was written in Nathaniel’s bones. It was impossible to change him in such a short amount of time, so I could not outright disagree with him. Instead, I huffed out, “If you keep looking down on everything I do, you’ll never be able to truly fall for someone.”
“This is just education for children. It has nothing to do with love,” Nathaniel replied, unfazed.
“Of course it does!” I turned around to look at him. “You’re the one who chose a woman with children. I’m but an ordinary woman, and that’s a fact you can’t change. Love is fair. If you want to fall for me, please step down from your pedestal and start living like a normal person! But of course, you’re the one who started this game. If you want to add on a rule that states that you get to interpret anything however you like and reject my suggestion, then there’s nothing I can do. I can only wait for my doom.”
With that said, I turned around to look out of the window, not wanting to engage in a talk with him anymore.
I could sense Nathaniel staring at me for a long time, but I knew that I could not relent. Hence, I never once turned back to him.
The car came to a stop by a port. We then changed to a yacht. Two hours later, we reached an island in the west.
The moment I stepped out of the yacht, I supported myself by leaning against a rock and began retching.
Beside me, nothing good came out of Nathaniel’s mouth. “You used to not have motion sickness. Is your health getting lousier the older you become?”
Suppressing my nausea, I straightened up and side-eyed him. “Yes, that’s right. My health isn’t the only one getting lousier; my temper is too. You better pray to God that you won’t fall in love with me, or else I’m going to make your life a living hell.”
Hearing that, Nathaniel wiped away the smile on his face and uttered, “I don’t believe in gods.”
At that, he left me alone and walked further into the nameless island.
I gritted my teeth as I watched him go. Maybe the only god in his world is himself. Good. As long as I have my hand around his heart, it’ll be easy for me to destroy him. But I won’t stop there. That’s not even a tenth of what he had done to the Featherstone family and us. When that day comes, I’ll make him pay ten times what he has done to us.
The sea breeze caressed my face and disrupted my train of thoughts. However, it lessened my symptoms of motion sickness. When I noticed that Nathaniel was only a few steps away from the car that had come to pick us up, I rushed over before I had any time to compose myself.
It seemed like Nathaniel was well-respected on the island. As we drove down the road, almost everyone was bowing and smiling at our car.
The smiles of the villagers were genuine, but the person beside me did not react as if he had seen it thousands of times.
It felt like I was on a tour with a god. The god—Nathaniel—needed to do nothing but silently enjoy the love that the villagers gave him. It was as if his presence alone was already a blessing to them.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.