Page 117 of The Right Kind of Wrong

Nathan stiffened next to me. He looked away and dread filled me. There was more to it, there were things that I still didn't know.

“What is it?” I hissed, pulling my eyebrows together. “Who else got it?”

He lay on his side, head propped up with a hand and the other hand on my bare thigh. Nate cleared his throat as he searched for the courage to say whatever else had happened. “Listen, Evie…David is already trying to handle it.”

“Who else got it?” I asked again, needing to hear the truth.

“The company board members,” Nathan said.

“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “No. How? I don't understand, who would do that to me, Nathan?” I asked searching for an answer. “I've done nothing to hurt anyone, nothing. Who would—”

My eyes widened at the realization and my heart broke even more. My lip quivered as the cold dose of reality ran through my veins. “No…she wouldn't do that to me.”

Nathan said nothing and that was enough. That was all the answer I needed.

“No,” I sobbed. “No. Why would she do this to me? Why? I'm not perfect but I don't deserve this.”

Nathan pulled me into his arms, wrapping them around me as I cried. I never thought she would do something like that to me, no matter how bad of a relationship we had. I thought she would at least have an ounce of respect for me. However, she truly didn't care and that was the ultimate proof.

***

When I woke up again a few hours later, Nathan had an arm wrapped around me while he was sound asleep. I let myself admire him for a moment; as much as I still loved him, I didn't feel like things would ever be the same between us.

There were things yet to be explained and perhaps that's what was missing, but I was too betrayed to feel anything other than anger or pain. I ran my fingers over his face, memorizing his peaceful expression as he rested. I placed my fingers over his soft lips. Lips I would always remember. Lips that knew my body better than I did.

“I love you,” I whispered, giving him a kiss.

“Why does this feel like a goodbye?” he asked, opening his eyes. I bit my lip, unable to find an answer. It wasn't a goodbye, but it was definitely a break from us, from everything. I needed time to clear my mind, try to get myself together. Try to find myself because I didn't even know who I was anymore.

“I need you to tell me exactly what happened, Nathan,” I said, finally gaining the courage to confront what happened between us. “I need to know everything, why this happened because I—I don't understand where I messed up. I don't get it.”

“I'll tell you everything as soon as you eat something, okay?”

“I'm not—”

“I know you're not hungry, Evie, but you need to eat. Deal?”

The genuine concern in his eyes was what convinced me. He looked so worried. Nathan called room service while I went ahead and brushed my teeth and washed my face. My eyes were swollen and my face was free of any makeup. I looked like a disaster. Still, Nathan kept looking at me with such care that it hurt.

After I put on a robe, we ate in silence, the sun shining through the window trying to brighten up the day. It wasn't working, not for me. I could tell Nathan was struggling, searching for a way to tell me the things that had happened without my knowledge. Still, he was trying to protect me.

But I didn't want to be protected anymore, I didn't want to be shielded from reality. My heart was already broken. What did it matter if there was another crack added?

It couldn't possibly make it worse.

As hurt as I was, I knew I'd find a way to keep going. I never thought I would find a way to recover after Nana's death and yet, as much as it hurt, I was still there. Still breathing. But I had Nathan then.

Now I wasn't sure who was with me.

“Just tell me what happened,” I said quietly.

Nathan took a deep breath, setting his fork down. He searched my face for any doubt or hesitation. When he didn't find it, he started talking, telling me about how my sister bribed him with the video and the divorce. How she'd asked him to end things with me or she'd publicize the video. How they'd all signed an agreement in which they stated no one was to bring the subject up.

What broke my heart was hearing how my own blood had gotten the idiot who had tried to rape me to do the dirty work. She knew how much he'd hurt me and that didn't matter to her. All that mattered was her desire to tear me apart. What type of sick and twisted individual would do that?

I found no comfort in knowing that she supposedly regretted what she had done because I knew she regretted it for the wrong reasons. Ironically, board members had also received the video. It was just what she needed to get me voted off. It was just something that she knew Josh would do. It had been too much of a coincidence to be an accident. And my parents, I expected nothing from them, not after everything. It turned out that I was alone, I only had myself to rely on and it was the worst feeling ever.

“I wish you would have told me,” I said, looking away from him.

---