Point Of View 2 [*Do not read until you've read the same chapter of ATW]

Chapter 146 No Rest For The Wicked

*James*

There are two things everyone needs to know about Julia.  One, she loves hard.  Fiercely. She loves with every bone in her body.

Two, Julia is an extremely jealous woman. She has low self-esteem and thinks everyone is above her. Thanks to her jackass ex-husband, Luke, Julia is insecure. Any mention of Mila Giovanni and Julia recoils because of what Nate put her through when they were together. She still recoils even though they are no longer a couple. Nate knows this. Yet he lets shit happen anyway.

So, I know something is up when Nate walks out into the living room after some Zoom meeting he had with his boss. The look on his face says it all.

"You ok? You look like you're about to get sick or something." I joke, but Nate looks straight at Julia and shakes his head. Something big is about to go down.

"Nate, what is it? You don't look good." She stands up and walks his way, but Nate takes a seat on the couch and drops his head.

"Richard pulled a fast one on me."

"How so?" Paul asks in knowing manner. He can sense something is up as well.

There is a moment of hesitation on Nate's end before he takes in a deep breath.

"Mila Giovanni will be joining me on tour."

The expression on Julia's face at that moment is something I hope never to witness again. A devastated look in her eyes. Even though her and Nate are over, she still loves him. This news hurts. It hurts Julia, and it hurts both me and Paul as we watch it all play out. Does it even fucking hurt Nate? Doesn't he remember how this tore Julia apart once before??

"Oh." Julia nods, but her eyes become teary. It's all she manages to choke out before Nate starts talking again.

"Julia. I had NO part in this. You know I would never -"

"No, God, no, I know." She nods but then frowns. "It is what it is." Julia's eyes turn away. "I need some air."

She quickly escapes to the backyard and closes the slider behind her.

"FUCK!" Nate flips out.

He swipes everything off the coffee table sending it all flying in his fit of rage. Maggie jumps off the couch and runs to me. I manage to pick her up and set her on my lap to calm her. This stuff frightens Maggie, so I pet her and let her know she is safe.

Meanwhile, Nate begins to have a panic attack. He doesn't have them often, but this shit got to him, which makes me think he is aware of what this news will do to Julia. It also makes me realize the decision isn't of his control. He wouldn't be physically responding to this shit the way he is right now if he was in control of his own life. 

Is his job worth this kind of stress that is put on his body? Is it worth his mental well-being? There's no amount of money in the world to make me want to go through half the crap Hollan goes through. To have your entire life dictated by some prick manager who only cares about getting a paycheck. It just doesn't seem worth it.  But then again, that is how Nate and I are different. It's a reminder of how Julia and I view things compared to how Nate and Trisha view things. They live in a completely different world than people like me and Julia.