CHAPTER 11

Reality...

Nathaniel POV

I watched the car disappear down the driveway. William… driving off with Elizabeth like he owned the world. Like he belonged. Like she was his to take. Interesting. There's something about the way he carries himself—too calm, too collected. It made me want to tear the surface and see what secrets are buried underneath.



I swirled the wine in my glass slowly, watching the liquid catch the light before taking a sip. Smooth. But not satisfying. Not tonight.



“Jesse,” I called without turning.



“Yes, sir.” He answered promptly, always near when I needed him. Always listening.



“Let’s dig up a little dirt… on that guy.” I said, watching the place where the car vanished. “I want to know who William really is. Not the name, not the title… the man.”



“Yes, sir,” Jesse said and disappeared as quietly as he came.



A slow smirk curled on my lips. This... this is going to be fun.





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One year ago...



"Love? Is that all you really want?" I asked June, sliding the ring onto her slender finger. It shimmered under the light like it belonged there—like she belonged to me.



"Wow… it's pretty," I said softly, my eyes focused on the way the band wrapped around her.



She didn’t smile like I expected. Instead, she stared at the ring for a moment too long, her silence more telling than words.



"Yes," she finally replied. "Yes, love is all I really want."



I chuckled, almost bitterly. “Lies.”



Her eyes snapped to mine, confused and hurt.



“If it’s a lie,” she said, stepping closer, “why am I still here? Why are you still seeing me?”



Her voice was quiet, but laced with something fierce—hope maybe. Or desperation.



“Why is stuff like that so important?” I asked, trying to sound detached, slipping a delicate necklace around her neck. My fingers brushed her skin and lingered.



"You look good in it," I said.



She unclasped the chain without a word and placed it back into the box.



"To me, it's important," she said again, this time firmer.



I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why words mattered when my actions screamed how much I wanted her. Why couldn’t she see I was showing her love in the only way I knew how?



“Why are you acting like this today?” I asked.



"Because I want to hear it," she said, her voice cracking just a little. “I want to hear that I’m loved... from the person I love. Is that so weird?”



She turned and walked toward the exit of the jewelry store. Panic rose in my chest like a wave crashing against a dam.



“Hey—June,” I called after her. “June!”



I caught her wrist before she could leave, pulling her back gently.



“June… okay, I love you,” I said, heart hammering against my ribs.



She didn’t respond.



“I said I love you,” I tried again.



Still nothing.



I tilted her chin up to meet my eyes. Her lips were trembling, eyes glistening with unshed tears.



"I love you," I whispered again, and finally... finally, she smiled.



God, she was so beautiful when she smiled.



But of course, fate has a habit of mocking happiness. Just then, my dad's mistress walked in.



My entire body tensed.



June immediately dropped her gaze and stepped away from me like my mother carried a plague she didn’t want to catch.



“What the hell is she doing here?” I muttered.



The woman stood between us with her usual saccharine smile—one that never reached her eyes. Her presence alone made the room colder.



“You know me, right?” she asked June sweetly.



June bowed her head, submissive. Scared. I hated seeing her like that.



“Nathaniel here sure knows how to pick them. Be nice to him, okay? He has such a soft heart.”



What a joke.



“Yes,” June said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.



“Accepting an arranged marriage despite having such a pretty girlfriend... must’ve been hard for him,” the woman added cruelly.



My heart sank. I hadn’t told June. She didn’t know.



She knows now.



"How hard it must have been for Nathan, right?" She still continued, smug and condescending.



"Enough!" I shouted, unable to keep my fury caged.



"Why?" she turned to me, feigning innocence. “Did you not tell her yet?”



I didn't respond. I couldn’t. I looked at June—her expression shattered. Tears had filled her eyes, but she tried to hold them back. She ran for the door.



“June… please,” I grabbed her hand, but her fingers were trembling.



“Let her go if you can’t take responsibility for her!” the woman snapped.



I looked at June again, and for the first time, I saw it—real fear. Real heartbreak.



“She’s just intimidated by me,” dad's mistress said with false sympathy. “Imagine how she’d feel facing your father. Don’t let your selfishness destroy her life.”



I hesitated. Maybe… maybe she was right. Maybe June deserved better than a life surrounded by vipers. Slowly, painfully, I let go of her hand.



She gripped my wrist in protest, but I pulled away. And just like that… she was gone.



I didn’t know it yet, but I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.





---



Present day...



I sat at the bar, drowning in memories, guilt burning through my chest like acid.



Third drink. Maybe fourth. I lost count. It didn’t matter.



"Why so serious?" a familiar voice said beside me.



I looked up. One of my father’s men. Great.



He sat beside me uninvited, like he owned the place. Like my pain was something he could joke about.



“Just so you’re told,” he said. “Your father never makes a deal without gaining something. This marriage? It’s a power move.”



I didn’t even flinch. Just sipped again.



“If you want Elizabeth… acquire her,” he said casually. “If not, sell her off.”



I stared at him. Was he serious?



“Merger and acquisition. Isn’t marriage the same kind of thing?” he added with a smirk.



“Would you be happy marrying like that?” I asked, voice low with contempt.



He shrugged. “Happiness?” He laughed. “Is this about June?”



The name hit me like a bullet. My fingers tightened around the glass.



"You should've just discarded her. Then she wouldn’t have become like that," he said, smirking.



I stood up, blood boiling.



"How dare you!"



He raised his glass lazily. “Half the world’s full of women.”



“Shut the fuck up!” I growled.



"Look at you now. After screwing a cheap girl, you walk around like some tragic hero. What’s with the sulking?"



I lost it.



I grabbed him by the tie and slammed him onto the floor. My fists rained down on his smug face. One. Two. Three.



“Bastard!” I roared.



Men pulled me off him, dragging me back. I struggled against them, breath ragged, heart breaking all over again.



He stood, blood trickling from his mouth, and wiped it with the back of his hand. “Can’t even protect your woman,” he spat. “Pathetic.”



"LET ME GO!" I screamed, furious tears stinging my eyes.



He turned his back and walked away like he won something.



I stood there restrained, breathless, humiliated… broken.





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