Page 92 of The Wrong Side Of Us

And stupid little Evie had taken an immediate liking to him.

“Jessica.” Nathan tensed, waiting for whatever I was going to say. “I knew the minute I met her that she had feelings for you. Despite what people may think, I’m not stupid, Nathan. I saw through her little friendship facade, I tried to get along with her because she’s your friend, but I can’t. Not anymore.”

He scratched the back of his head. He was uncomfortable with the path the conversation was taking. Either that or he truly didn’t know what to say.

“Any other woman would have told her to back off from the minute she saw Jessica’s true feelings, but you know what I did? I told her to talk to you.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “You did what?”

“I felt bad for her, and I trust you, so I thought, Why not let her get that off her chest? Another one of my stupid moves.” I held on to the island tightly, my knuckles turning white with my strength. I was furious. “I waved at her, and your mother told her we were going to find a parking spot. The bitch answered, ‘Okay, we’ll wait here.’ Bullshit. She just wanted me to see her kissing you. Why the fuck was she there anyway?”

“Damian called Tom, and she happened to be with him.”

“Of course she did,” I hissed. “I don’t want her around anymore, Nathan. I don’t want her near us. I don’t want her working with you. I’m sure if you would have made it to dinner that night with her, she would have tried something else.”

Taken aback, Nathan nearly flinched with my words. I laughed humorlessly, rolling my eyes.

“Now you’re the one being naive if you don’t think she would have taken advantage of having you alone with her.”

With a nod, Nathan agreed, his gray eyes troubled for just a moment. “So basically, you want me to end the partnership with her?”

“Yes.”

“What about Derek?” he asked. There was no accusation in his tone, and though I wanted to immediately jump into defensive mode, I stopped myself, shrugging as he continued. “What are you going to do about him?”

“Well, he’s nearly dead, so I can’t really do anything, now can I?”

Bitterness.

The words tasted bitter, they felt wrong, and they hurt. To my surprise, Nathan’s gaze softened, and he took a few steps toward me, bringing his hands to my neck. Eyes roaming my face, he uttered a single word.

“Stop.”

I grit my teeth together so hard I was surprised that they didn’t crack. My hands were by my side now, fisted as I tried to hold on to the anger.

“This, you’re trying to be a hateful person that you’re not. This isn’t you.”

I tried to look away, but he stopped me, holding my face still in his hands. In that moment, I almost hated him for knowing me so well.

“Being me hasn’t helped,” I stated. “I keep getting burned, keep getting laughed at behind my back. Being good has given me nothing—”

“Being good has given you everything.” He coated the words with disbelief, emphasizing how he felt. “You’ve been through a lot of shit, Evelyn, and there will be more shit coming our way, as a couple and as individuals. But that’s where you must stand up and show everyone that despite the problems, despite the pain, you are still you, and you’re stronger than everything.”

I shook my head. “Nathan, I am weak.”

“What you see as weakness I see as something worthy of admiring,” he whispered. “You’re strong and you’re good. You have a heart of gold, and that’s why I love you, Evelyn. I know you’re angry, and you have all the right to be; be angry, be sad, that’s fine. But don’t pretend that what’s happening with Derek doesn’t affect you. Don’t pretend like you’ve given up on him, because I know you better than that.”

“You don’t even care about him, so why are you even…why are you even trying to comfort me?” I asked the stupid question already knowing his answer.

“Because I care about you.” He caressed my face tenderly, unknowingly soothing the ache I felt. “You need to tell me the full story, and I hope you do today, but for now I want you to relax or get what you feel out. You don’t have to change anything about yourself, Evie. The world is a fucked-up place; people like you are the ones that bring out the good in it. That’s what our child should learn.”

I tried to look away, to run from those eyes that had me spellbound, but he didn’t allow me. “Don’t hide from me, Evelyn.”

“You can’t go back to jail.” The uncertainty of that night hurt.

“I won’t.”

“If Derek accused you, then we can deal with that, but you can’t go back.”

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