I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY! THANK YOU FOR THE PATIENCE. DONT FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT
I was frozen. The year that I had gone through with Andrew just hit me and pieces started to fall in place. This is how Andrew went through a year of marriage without touching me.
No wonder...
I turned to Nate
"Did you know about this?" I asked in a mumble as the girl walked around us and sat next to Moore.
"Yes. I had my suspicions, but I thought-"
"Why didn't you say anything? Why wait?" I cut him off
"I didn't want to upset you with just suspicions, which is why I hired Moore to investigate this, because I wanted you to know the truth" he said and I frowned
"Oh I'm not upset. This could be the best thing that's ever happened to me" I said, and looked at Calliope who was looking impossibly ashamed.
"I did not know Andrew had a wife. I recently found out when Mr. Hatford contacted me. Andrew had been trying to make deals with my father here in Greece, but my father has accepted to keep his silence until this is all over. He won't be making any company deals with Andrew anymore" Calliope said, and I nodded quietly. Poor woman. Maybe she did like him, and she must feel more betrayed than me, and I was the wife.
Well in name, because Andrew had never been my husband in more than title.
"Will you be willing to make a full statement of your relationship with Mr. Walcott?" Moore asked Calliope and she nodded quietly.
Good.
"If we have a full statement and I can prove he's been breaking his own prenup we can win this case and he will lose any divorce settlements completely. We can do this" Moore said, writing things down on his pad.
"What if he turns the game and accuses me of cheating too? He does have a...video" I mumbled, and Calliope raised her eyebrows but stayed quiet. Good thinking.
"When it comes to these kind of technicality prenups, it comes down to who speaks first. I already have the papers drawn and ready to be submitted. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that the reason he hasn't said anything is because he's unsure if you know about his affair or not. If there was a chance you didn't know, he would've drawn the papers long ago, or at least when he got the proof of your...well, relationship with Mr. Hatford" Moore said and I nodded.
"When can we get this started?" I asked and Nate turned to Moore
"I just need your signature here, allowing me to get all the documentation needed. And Calliope? I need your signature as well, it states that you will be giving me your statement in writing and it states the date and time it was signed" Moore said and started passing papers. Nate suddenly reached over and grabbed my hand. I looked up at him and found he was smiling at me slightly, something I responded with a small smile of my own. This was finally happening and him and I could finally go public.
I finally felt like there was going to be a light oat the end of the tunnel after all.
~.~.~.~.~
"I want to apologize again. I am so so very sorry this happened, and I will try my best to make it better" Calliope was saying as we all three walked out of the office finally. I waved her arguments away with a hand while giving her a small smile.
"Thank you, for agreeing to submit a statement. That means more than you will ever know. And please, be careful" I added as Nate grabbed my hand in his. Calliope nodded, and we parted ways after a brief goodbye.
"This is crazy" I mumbled as we walked away. Nate grunted his response, but we succumbed to a quiet pace. So much information as given to me and it was trying to keep up.
"Nate?" I said quietly, and Nate looked down at me.
"I want to leave" I said, and Nate nodded
"We're leaving, love. We just have to take the ferry again" he said, pulling me forward.
"No, I mean, I want to leave. Greece. I'm not really in the mood to celebrate or for vacations" I said, and he frowned, walking back to me and wrapping his warm hands around me. His embrace was all I needed right now, and inhaling his clean scent was the only thing that could calm me down for now.
"Are you sure? We have another four days here, and a private jet back" he said, and I nodded.
"I'm just too nervous with all of this happening, and I don't think I can just sit back and relax, when we both know we're gonna go back to a divorce settlement going on and Andrew will be on us. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. The sooner the better" I mumbled and after thinking it for a second Nate kissed my temple and nodded.
I needed to get back to New York. And quick. The sooner I found out what Kate wanted, the better I'll be.
Not that he needed to know this
We got back to the villa pretty late, but I was determined to start packing as soon as possible, wanting to go back to New York and deal with this whole situation. I knew Nate could sense my mood, but he didn't pus it. He just helped me pack clothes in silence. I was also antsy about the Alex situation. They didn't come by the villa, but Nate had mentioned they had decided to go back to the city for obvious reasons. That obviously didn't sit well with me either, but it's not like I could blame the girl. I knew what I was doing, and I knew this was all going to blow up sooner or later. I was slapping myself mentally, and now I was going to lose Alex because of this. I didn't expect her to welcome us with open arms, but I also didn't expect her to treat me like I was a hooker, looking so disgusted of me.
I didn't know what I was doing until I almost dropped the vase with the flowers Nate had gotten me. The slip hit the desk in a loud cling and I winced, putting the vase down before I did end up breaking it.
I felt Nate's hands around my waist and he turned me around. His bright eyes met mine and he looked worried, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"What's going on?" he asked me in murmur, like he didn't want to spook me. I looked away, not wanting to be under his scrutinizing eye.
"Nothing" I mumbled.
"This is not nothing, Scar. Why do you look so worried? Are you worried about Andrew-"
"No. I wouldn't try going back to the house anytime soon, but im not too worried about him" I mumbled, trying to get out of his embrace. I felt like I was suffocating, the air was thick, and the tension was too gripping.
"Then what is it?" he asked, trying to grab my hand but I walked away toward the bathroom, and I heard him follow me. I decided to splash some water on my face, trying to keep it together. I was too nervous with my encounter with Kate, and I couldn't tell him about anything, so how am I supposed to handle this? She had information, and I wanted to hear it before he has any chance to stop her.
Nate had been honest with his past, his illness, and his feelings towards me. So I wanted to know what she wanted to confess so bad.
"I'm just tired and restless. My brain won't shut down" I said, and Nate sighed and came to me.
"How can I make it better?" he asked quietly. I stayed in silence for a good minute, my arm around his neck, admiring him. Then I chuckled, and Nate frowned a bit.
"What?"
"You're really pretty, you know?" I said, grinning and Nate laughed out loud.
"I prefer the term sexy, or at the very least handsome" he mumbled before pecking my lips. I smiled against his lips and pulled him to me, and he responded by wrapping his wrap arms around my body. This would always feel right, and for a moment I tried to even understand why in the hell did I think staying away from Nate was a good idea when he came back. Sometimes I wished I could go back and choose to call Nate, and none of this would've happened.
When I pulled back a wave of emotion hit me but I did my best to hide it. I had to
"We're going to fix this. And before you know it, we're going to be together, and it's going to be for real this time. No more games, no more hiding. I'm going to make this right" Nate said before kissing me once more, and starting his seduction game.
At least one last time before we head back to the war zone.
~.~.~.~.~
The travel back had me restless and grumpy, but I was trying to tone it down a bit as we were back in the city and the only thing keeping me together was Nate's company. I couldn't believe I had traded the beautiful white buildings and never-ending ocean view for a metal-filled city and overflowing streets that were suffocating me. We stayed in Nate's penthouse, or more like hid in there, watching movies and eating an endless menu of snacks. Moore had a couple of conference calls with us, stating that paperwork was due to be submitted for court soon but to ask us to stay away from Andrew as he was convinced he would try to file restraining orders and try to get a warrant for Nate's arrest again for the beat up he gave him.
"You do know I have pictures of how Andrew left her after he beat her up, right?" Nate had said and that was news.
"You have pictures? How?" I had asked, not remembering him taking a picture.
"Yes, love. I took them when you were sleeping. Those are proofs to get that scumbag behind bars" Nate had said before continuing the conversation with Moor, arranging a meeting soon. I tried to push the memory out, but as much as I tried I couldn't. The pain was still fresh and although the bruises were almost gone and light enough to cover, there wasn't enough makeup to cover the real pain within me.
When Monday arrived, I was a nerve wreck, and by six I was about to cancel with Kate but smacked myself in silence. Nate was at the office and conveniently stated that he had a late meeting and he'd come home as soon as he could. When I arrived to BlueHar I gave myself a pep talk, not wanting to show weakness in front of Nate's ex-fiancé, but that was gone soon when the waiter walked me to a VIP table in the corner, next to a window. There she was, looking as radiant as the day I found out of her existence. She was wearing a black cocktail dress and her hair was down in soft curls. When her eyes met mine, she raised her chin slightly, and then I started regretting this.
"Scarlett, I'm happy you decided to show up" she said, picking up her wine glass and taking the smallest of sips. I sat across from her quietly and waited for the waiter to pour me a glass. I was going to need it.
"Well, I'm here, what is it you wanted to talk about?" I asked her after downing half my glass. She didn't miss that detail, earning me a raised eyebrow. Kiss my ass.
"I wanted to talk about Nate. You need to leave him" she said, and I rolled my eyes.
"If this is what this meeting is about, then I'll take my leave now-" I started to stand up but Kate reached and grabbed my hand and my eyes flew to my hands.
"Don't go. There is something you need to know" she said. She retracted her hand when I sat back down quietly, but I was getting the worst vibe from her, but curiosity hit me so I stayed.
"Speak" I mumbled, and she gave me one nod.
"Nate and I have been engaged for six months, and dating for much longer. He also broke off our engagement, for you" she said and for one second I felt like a home wrecker, and I was forced to look down.
"The problem here is not the engagement. Although I love Nate, and you should know that, he's going to have a big lawsuit coming his way" Kate said and I frowned, my heart jumping.
"What are you talking about?" I asked in a murmur.
"I told you that I needed to tell you the real reason why Nate decided to come back to the states" she said, and I sat back
"Spit it out, Kate" I said, and Kate raised an eyebrow
"Actually, I'm going to show you" she said and pulled a file from her purse. By then I was chugging my wine and asking for a refill.
"What is that?" I asked quietly when she put the manila folder down.
"Listen to me very carefully, because some things might mix with others, but I can back up my statements with this right here" Kate said, placing her hand on the folder. I raised my chin.
"Go ahead" I said and she nodded, and opened the file. I frowned when I saw my picture. My hair was shorter, and I was walking in the streets of New York.
"What is this?" I asked, my eyes glued to the file. Kate went silent for a second.
"This is Nate's file on you" she said, and my eyes flew to hers, trying to catch the lie. She even looked sad for me.
"What does this mean?" I asked, and she tilted her head slightly, and turned the page full of information, almost like a doctor's record.
"Scarlett Knightwell, twenty-three. Heir to Knightwell Incorporations" she started reading.
"Okay, so what? Those are not news" I said, and she kept her eyes down on the paper
"Married to Andrew Walcott, December twelve of last year" she said, and I wasn't catching it.
"Okay...?" I coaxed her into talking. She put the file down.
"You don't get it, do you?" she asked, and I frowned. My silence spoke instead.
"Nate had a private investigator here in the states to track you down" she said and I felt like someone had dumped cold water on me.
"Okay, so what if he did. We hadn't spoken in years, eleven to be exact, you know..."
"Oh, but I did know. Because he told me. He told me about the PI, and he told me when you got married"
"Okay, and so what?" I asked, already getting exasperated.
"He's been telling you he didn't know you got married, that you caught him off guard with it, and that's the reason he wanted to help you out of the marriage, correct?" she asked quietly, and I swallowed. She was right, Nate did tell me he didn't know I had gotten married, and that's why he had acted how he did at the welcome back party.
"And there's more" she said, and pulled another paper from the manila folder. She passed the papers my way.
My eyes instantly took in the information I was given. I skimmed through the paper, and I soon realized these were asset ownership statement plan.
For Knightwell Incorporations.
"What is this? Whose statements are these? Who's buying my company?" I asked, and Kate sat back. I straightened up at lightning speed
"Those are the legal papers that states Hatford Essence buying Knightwell Incorporations assets and joining into one" she said. My brain was about to explode with how quick I was processing all of this, tying one thing to another.
"No..."
"I'm sorry" Kate said.
I couldn't breathe. Nate lied to me.
"He knew. For long?" I asked, and she looked at the file
"He's been tracking you down for a year and a half. When he found out you got married he arranged everything to come to the states, buy Knightwell Incorporations and come back to London. He was ready to join the two companies, including my fathers. Which is how this is a problem now. He was due to turn in the paperwork and pay all the legal fees to complete the ownership of your company, but as you can see he broke things off with me, but he hasn't stopped the filing for ownership. He just managed to screw my father out of business, which brings us back to why he's getting a lawsuit" she said and I was trying to breathe but my throat was dry.
"I can't –" I tried to speak but I couldn't
"Listen, I'm sorry, but there's a reason I'm telling you all of this. I don't want you to get screwed like my dad did" she said. I shook my head no, over and over. I needed out, so I grabbed my purse, and the file out of her hands.
"You have it all wrong" I said and walked out.
Tears started to fall the second I walked out of the restaurant. I was lost, and I didn't know where I was going.
Nate thought he was going to be slick enough to buy my company in disguise of helping me get Andrew out of the business. He lied to me about everything. He knew I was married when he came, and the only reason he came back was to buy the company from me.
I may love the man, but I was not going to let him fool me.
Not while my name is on those papers.
HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! PLEASE DONT HATE ME NATE LOVERS XD
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? THIS IS A LONGER CHAPTER! ALMOST 3K words, I HOPE YALL DONT MIND!
I WANNA THANK YALL FOR THE PATIENCE. I HOPE YOU LIKED IT!
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