“Are you all right, Eva?” Nathan asks, sprinting to my side.
“Of course she’s all right, hombre.” Xavier waves at Nathan as if he's overstepped some invisible line. “She’s with us.”
“No, she’s not.” Nathan’s voice is even but cold as steel. His eyes are fixated on my face. “Come, Eva, let’s go.”
He extends a hand to me.
I’d love to take it. His sudden appearance in this moment of distress, his confident but calm manners, his familiar grey glance, they all want to make me believe that I can still trust him. That he’s here to save me because he cares for me. But it’s all a lie, so I’m hesitant to reach out to him.
“See, Mr. Sportscar.” Xavier’s gloating chuckle resounds. “Eva prefers our company to your to-the-face richness.”
“No, I don’t,” I snap at him. “The truth is, I would prefer if all of you just left me alone.”
Nathan looks like I’ve just slapped him.
He opens his mouth to reply, when Xavier launches forward, grabbing my elbow. “You can’t talk down to me like this, Eva. I won’t allow—”
Nathan’s hands are on his shoulders before he can finish his phrase. He hauls him back and twirls him around. His muscular frame towers over Xavier’s frailer build like a giant. “No, you don’t talk to Eva like that. Not now, not ever. The same goes for your friend. None of you is to approach Eva or her family ever again.” His eyes flick to Xavier’s friend. “Go from here, both of you, before I report you for assault of a young woman.”
Or beat you to pulp…is the silent promise of Nathan’s furrowed brows. It’s probably this that gets to Xavier and his friend. Coming from a gang, the only rules they obey are dominance and physical threats. Xavier’s friend takes Xavier’s arm. “Come on, let’s head home. I’m wasted anyway. This chick is spoken for, can’t you see?”
They retreat to the shadowy side road from which they came. Zach follows them from the corner of his eyes and even turns to check whether they actually leave. Nathan stands in front of me, motionless. He looks like he’s gathering his strength for something big.
Steeling himself for a confession perhaps? Whatever it is, it arrives too late. I’m not interested in hearing his excuses. I already know what he’s done and every reiteration of the excruciating truth could only dredge my wounds. I don’t need that. I’m barely holding it together as it is. All I want is to be at home and able to finally give free flow to my wretchedness.
As Nathan draws in a breath, I shake my head. “Don’t waste your energy with explanations, Nathan. I meant what I said. I want your company as much as I want that of those two jerks. You’ve betrayed me. You’ve lied to me. I could never trust you again! No matter what you say.”
I intended the words to come out like daggers piercing Nathan, but my last phrase sounds more of a whimper. Looking at his familiar face, my heart, despite all that happened, is still beating like a maniac’s.
Nathan winces. “Eva…I…I didn’t want you to find this out like—”
“You didn’t want me to find it out. Period.” I spit it out, this time with a bit more sass.
“That’s not true.” Nathan is rubbing his neck. “I mean, it was in the beginning when the bet started, but with time it all changed.”
“Ah, the bet…” I pronounce the word with as much contempt as I can muster given the circumstances—because a crazy part of my soul, the one that has been the instigator of my demise from the very beginning, is actually yelling at me to jump into Nathan’s arms. I ignore its luring voice and force myself to continue, “To win your promotion?”
“Yes, Eva. I don’t want to lie anymore. Mother gave Murphy free rein to choose a task for me to perform. If I didn’t agree, I wouldn’t be able to become CEO. My brother picked conquering your heart as my test. His only other condition was that I wouldn’t be allowed to fall for you.”
Bile rises in my throat. I knew I was a prize in some weird challenge already, but hearing it all confirmed from Nathan’s mouth is worse than a nightmare. “Your brother really needs to stop attending patients and seek some help for himself.” And to think, I found Murphy’s concern for his brother’s happiness endearing. And his mother’s attention to me kind. I point my finger at Nathan. “And you? How could you accept it?”
Nathan cringes, guilt flooding his face. “I thought I was backed in a corner. I wanted my promotion. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I only saw it as a task to check off from my list at first.”
His raw honesty surprises me, and even though I’d decided not to listen to his excuses, I can’t stop myself from digging deeper. “Didn’t it cross your mind how sick it is? How you would hurt me?”
Nathan closes his eyes briefly and inhales. He blinks at me again, this time his grey irises burn with another fervor. “I didn’t know I could. I thought one week wasn’t enough time to get deeply involved with anyone. I just wanted to dazzle you enough so that you would get a crush on me, but…I never planned on…”
So he knows. I didn’t tell him I’m in love with him, but he knows. Did his brother or mother reveal my secret? Ah, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like any of it was real for him. There is no reason to pretend.
“For me to fall in love with you?” The cynical edge in my voice is far better than the whiny
