My feet immediately stopped moving even though I wanted to continue walking, but I found myself turning around to face him, and regret flickered across his face as soon as our eyes met.
Nathaniel clenched his jaw tightly while running his hand through his hair. "There's nothing I can say to articulate how sorry I am," he began as he slid the apron off and crept towards me slowly.
I nodded and swallowed hard, trying to keep the vomit down before he spoke again. "It's fine." The shorter my words were, the less likely I was to cry or puke.
"No, Anastazi," Nathaniel growled. He was a few steps away from me now, but when I backed up to distance myself from him, I ended up bumping into the wall behind me.
"I selfishly broke my promise to you, and that is unacceptable."
"Why didn't you just call?" I found myself asking.
Nathaniel took another step forward and sighed heavily. "I was running late, and I thought I'd still make it home in time for our plans, but then those fucking idiots—" He curled his fists into a ball, an attempt to calm himself down before he snapped. "My business associates fucked up some paperwork at the last minute that I had to fix, and by the time I finished, it was far past the time I was supposed to be home, so I thought it was better if I didn't say anything rather than make some pathetic excuse as to why I couldn't be there with you."
Nathaniel took another step closer until we were inches apart, but surprisingly he didn't cage me in as if he were giving me a choice to leave if I wanted.
"I know I fucked up leaving you in the dark like that, and I can't stress enough how sorry I am, but I promise I'll make it up to you if you allow me," he peered down at me, searching my eyes for answers but all I could focus on was trying not to throw up on his bare body.
As much as I wanted to make things difficult, make him feel bad for what he did, I didn't have the energy to argue with him, and I could hear the sincerity behind his words, see the lingering regret in his eyes as he continued staring into my soul wanting to make things right.
"Okay," I finally spoke in a strained voice.
A flash of relief flickered across his face, but I could tell he was far from forgiving himself for what he did.
"I made breakfast."
"I'm actually not that hungry," I muttered, trailing off to the living room as he made his way back to the kitchen.
I didn't need to look at him to know he was glaring at my back. "When's the last time you ate?"
I shrugged and plopped on the couch, feeling more nauseous than ever as I curled into the fetal position, hoping to feel better before I had to explain myself to him. "Last night," I lied.
"The untouched Chinese food you left in the living room?" He questioned curiously, waiting to catch me in a lie again.
I cursed lowly under my breath, totally forgetting that I left the food out after spending hours in the bathroom, trying not to throw up any more than I already did.
Silence enveloped the massive mansion as I racked my brain for another excuse, but Nathaniel was already kneeling down in front of me with concern etched across his face before I had time to answer.
"Something's wrong, tell me," he demanded gruffly, cupping my cheek in his palm.
My eyes fluttered shut, and I sighed heavily, leaning into his warm, comforting touch that I relied on so much, instantly feeling the nauseating feeling slowly fade away. "I'm fine."
"You look sick, Anastazi," he murmured, removing his hand to press it against my forehead.
"Can you just lay with me?" I asked weakly.
Before I even finished my question, he was already shifting my body to slide underneath me to position me between his legs. I turned all the way around and rested my cheek against his warm bare chest as he wrapped one arm around my waist and placed the other on my head, stroking my hair gently.
"Let's go to the hospital."
"I'm fine, Nathaniel," I mumbled, my eyes fluttering shut from the comfort.
"You don't look fine."
"Well, thanks."
His hand slid down my back, rubbing small circles against it. "That's not what I meant, Anastazi."
"Mhm."
"Talk to me love, what's wrong?" He asked again, trying to understand why I was acting this way, and I knew he wouldn't let this go until he got an answer.
I sighed heavily in defeat. "The eggroll I ate last night made my stomach feel weird."
His hand paused on my back. "Did you throw up?"
"No."
"Anastazi."
"I'm sleepy."
His hand resumed the gentle motions, and I felt him press his lips against my hair briefly. "Sleep, my love; we'll talk when you wake up."
"Stella's party is tonight, don't make us late," I mumbled sleepily, snuggling closer into his warmth.
He didn't answer as he continued soothing me until I eventually drifted off into a peaceful slumber in his arms.
* * *
I expected Nathaniel to be gone in his office taking care of business as always by the time I woke up, but when my heavy eyelids fluttered open, welcoming the bright sun shining through the large windows in the living room, I was surprised to see him still underneath me sound asleep. His long lashes brushed against his cheekbones, and his plump lips were parted slightly as he snored quietly. I lifted my head with a small smile on my face as I brushed stray strands of hair off his face to admire him more. I cherished rare moments like these when I could finally see this vulnerable side of him when he lets his guard down completely, a side no one else gets to see.
I then shifted my attention towards the clock sitting on the oak mantel, surprised when I saw that it read 5 PM, meaning I had slept for half the day but still had a few hours to kill before getting ready for Stella's party at 9 PM. Despite the celebration, I wanted to stay here wrapped in Nathaniel's arms forever, listening to his steady heartbeat as I rested my head against his chest, but I knew that if I stayed here any longer, we'd end up missing the party. My eyes flickered up to his handsome face again, and as soon as I reached out and brushed my fingers against his lip, his eyes snapped open, and arms tightened around my waist.
"Good morning, princess," I smirked.
A confused expression drifted across his face as he squinted down at me then over at the clock. "I fell asleep?"
I nodded as I pushed myself up and straddled his waist before leaning down so that our faces were inches apart. "That's what happens when you're sleepy Nathaniel, you work too much," I whispered, brushing my fingers against the light bags under his eyes. He worked more than he slept, and I was happy he finally got to rest his busy body for once.
"Mm, you look better," he murmured, changing the subject.
I hadn't realized I felt better until he mentioned it. The urge to throw up from the scent of mere crumbs was long gone, and I found myself actually feeling hungry for a change.
"I feel better and hungry."
"Then let's eat." He scooped me up in one motion and carried me to the kitchen, setting me down on the chair in front of the marble island.
"How does breakfast sound?" He asked, tying an apron around his broad body.
I leaned my elbows on the counter and rested my chin in the palm of my hands, swinging my feet back and forth like a child. "Amazing," I finally answered.
* * *
It didn't take long to get dressed after finishing our late breakfast. For the engagement party, I opted for a simple maroon v- neck bodycon mini dress with spaghetti straps and paired it with a gold necklace, earrings, and gold high heels. I kept makeup to a minimum as usual but decided to straighten my curls instead of keeping it wild and untamed. Once I finished, I carefully made my way downstairs, planning to wait for Nathaniel to finish getting dressed in his room, seeing that he always took forever to get dressed, but not this time.
Instead, he was the one waiting for me at the end of the stairs wearing a maroon polo shirt that wrapped around his muscular tatted arms nicely with tight black slacks and maroon loafers. On his wrist was his usual gold Rolex but instead of gelling his hair, he brushed it back with a few strands falling in front of his piercing ocean blue eyes.
Nathaniel fixed his gaze on me and held his hand out to help me down the rest of the stairs.
"Christ, Anastazi," he murmured, twirling me around so he could get a 360° view of my outfit. "Fucking beautiful."
"Thank you," I blushed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You look handsome as always."
"Mm, let's stay home," he groaned, burying his head in the crook of my neck leaving wet kisses.
"So Stella can kill us?" I laughed, pushing him off of me before I took his offer. "She's already gonna chew us out for not being there earlier, so let's go."
He growled lowly as he planted a small kiss on my lips before interlocking our fingers as we made our way to his car waiting in the driveway.
During the drive to the venue, Nathaniel occasionally stole glances in my direction and even swerved off the road a little when he stared too long.
I rolled my eyes playfully. "Would you like to pull over so you can stare freely?"
He chuckled and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Don't tempt me."
I smiled and opened my mouth to say something back, but his phone suddenly rang loudly, rudely interrupting the moment. I clenched my jaw in annoyance, already knowing it was one of the many work calls he'll receive today, and turned my attention to the window watching the cars flash by as we blazed down the busy highway, waiting for him to answer the phone. But to my surprise, he clicked decline after the third ring and placed his hand on my thigh, making me look over at him in confusion.
"Wasn't that important?" I found myself asking instead of being grateful that he didn't answer.
The corner of his lips curled upwards at my concern, and he glanced over at me, looking as if he wanted to risk it all to kiss me quickly. "I took the next two weeks off," he finally revealed, turning his attention back to the road.
My eyes widened in surprise, and it took me a minute to fully digest what he said before replying. "You did what?" I finally choked out.
"Took the next two weeks off," he replied casually as if that wasn't a big deal.
"For what?"
"For us."
"What?" I scrunched my face in confusion, not fully understanding what he meant.
"I told you I'd make it up to you for breaking my promise, and I intend on doing exactly that."
"Nathaniel," I gasped, placing my hand on top of his that was still resting on my thigh. "You don't have to take off two weeks to do that."
"But I did," he smirked, squeezing my thigh gently.
"But what about the deals you're supposed to be closing during that time, aren't they important—"
"Anastazi," he interrupted my rant. "Everything's taken care of."
I sucked in a deep breath and nodded, a big smile creeping on my face. "I love you," I whispered, leaning over the armrest to kiss his cheek.
"And I love you."
--
A/N: Hey guysss! Just wanted to let you all know that there are only a few more chapters left of this book, and then it's overrrrr, so prepare yourself. Love you all! xx