The second chance

Chapter 32

The late Sunday afternoon light turned a rich copper color, gilding the shallow coastal nook. I watched how, thanks to the low tide, an ordinary bay became a natural buffet. A huge sandy shoal was revealed, on which hundreds of seagulls, herons and sea eagles feasted on crabs, worms, shrimps and mussels left behind by the low tide.

I had the most horrible and loneliest three weeks of my life, avoiding everyone and everything that reminded me of my brother, Erick, and my new friends from Lewis. I even avoided Sam because I was too embarrassed to admit to him what I had gotten myself into. Even so, I knew in advance what he would say to me. I told you so.

I was glad that I managed to relax in the hospital for the whole weekend and get out of the city. I got on the nearest train and drove to Evanston to one of the hotels on the coast. I knew this place because we often visited it with my parents when I was a child.

The events of the past weeks have gotten to me. All the time, I was only thinking about myself and my happiness with Erick, and I didn't take his real concerns about the overall impact of the situation very seriously. I assumed that we were all adults and could resolve and discuss things with common sense. I never dreamed that it would have such a catastrophic end.

Erick avoided me and frankly I avoided him. I needed to talk to Nick, but I didn't have the guts to. After the short conversation I had with him, I didn't even get a chance or rather I didn't gather enough courage to tell him that I was sleeping with Erick.

I was confused in my head. I couldn't understand how Nick treated Paige. My brother was one of those men who liked to test the limits of their own strength, find out how long they could run, swim, surf, and didn't miss a bunch of other sports. He was sincere, honest and approached life with a kind of joyful determination that I always admired in him. When faced with a problem, he did not hesitate to take appropriate action and was fair to everyone.

That's why I couldn't understand now what must have happened to him. Like he wasn't even my brother. I would never expect something like that from him. It wasn't a state secret that he hated Erick, but his desire for revenge was disturbing. How could he use and destroy an angel like Paige? Why her? I couldn't chew this.

After all, Nick had an advertising agency. So why didn't he choose one of his paid actresses or models for the play he decided to stage? They wouldn't reveal anything by signing a non-disclosure agreement, or why couldn't he have chosen some other deserving woman for revenge? Actually, no woman would deserve such a thing.

I felt so sorry for Paige. Normally I was ashamed to look her in the eyes and I wasn't even a little surprised that she was so taken by it. She truly loved my brother and would do anything to make him happy. She even helped him in his work and wanted nothing in return. She stood by him and brought him back to life. She reminded him that life is not only about work, wealth and fame, but about moments that money cannot buy. For his goodness, kindness and ability or better said curse not to say no to anyone, Nick turned her whole life upside down.

Not that my brother was a snob, but after the betrayal of his fiancee, he closed in on himself, resented the whole world, and work became the center of his life. He spent whole days in the office or at his home with a computer in front of him and his head immersed in a new project. He did not make new friends because he had a serious problem with trust. A person who was burned once did not forget. I thought Paige had managed to break down this wall that Nick had built around his heart, but it was all just a pretense.

Pretend? I still couldn't get my head around it. Ever since Erick revealed to me that my brother was dating Paige, I started noticing him more. He was happier, more relaxed, he didn't seem tense, pensive or abandoned. He was more tanned, which indicated that he had started spending time again outside in the fresh air, possibly on his yacht, which he adored so much. During dinners at our house, he laughed more often, he constantly teased me, which was a sign that he was returning to his old ways. This change was not only noticed by me, but also by my mother, who repeatedly asked me what was going on. I knew the truth, but I couldn't go out with her. Nick would start to suspect something and I didn't need that. I didn't want to turn his suspicion on me.