Chapter 16
Nora
Lying in a hospital bed, crying with a dislocated shoulder and a broken heart, wasn’t on my life’s bingo card.
Meeting a man like Andreas probably wasn’t either.
I didn’t even know a man like that, sex like that, or feelings like that existed, let alone that I’d put them on my card.
The little devil on my shoulder whispered that it was too good to be true, but I let myself be drawn in.
I fell hopelessly in love, giving him my whole heart on a platter.
Now, he refuses to take it again, and it hurts more than I can describe.
Before we even got started, he’s already tearing us apart.
Somewhere among the shattered remnants of my heart, there’s still a flicker of hope whispers that he’s doing this because he really cares about me.
The little devil insists that hope is a dangerous and treacherous creature.
I hate that Andreas lied—or at least kept the truth from me.
His inability to trust or communicate honestly has become a serious problem.
The fact that he walked away from us at the first sign of difficulty hurts more than my shoulder.
If his love for me wasn’t strong enough, or never truly existed, then this really is the end.
The thought alone brings a fresh wave of tears that keep me company for the rest of the afternoon.
“Nora!” Anna’s voice breaks through my endless cycle of anxious thoughts.
I wipe the tears from my cheek and turn around. I see her and Dennis entering the room.
“Dennis, Anna, I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.” I had only sent them a message half an hour ago to let them know I was in the hospital.
“Of course we’re here! If Melvin hadn’t been away for work, I’d have been here even faster. Luckily, Dennis could pick me up.”
Anna looks at me with concern in her wide eyes. She shouldn’t worry so much about me. That can’t be good for the baby.
“What happened? Who did this?” Dennis chimes in.
He clearly isn’t in the mood for small talk.
I know he won’t want to hear any of this, but I decide to be honest. I give them the abridged and sanitized version of the story about Isabella—her past with Andreas, her jealousy, and ultimately her attack.
Anna sits down on the chair, while Dennis paces the small hospital room like a caged lion.
I tell them about my shoulder, the diagnosis, and the prognosis for recovery.
I try to reassure them, but the fear in their eyes is hard to shake.
“I assume Andreas has already been here today?” Dennis asks, his voice tight.
“Yes, he stopped by,” I sob.
I can’t stop my eyes from welling up and my lower lip from trembling. My emotions are committing high treason. I can’t blame them. They’ve been on a rollercoaster for the past twenty-four hours, so I have little resistance left to keep them in check.
“Nora, what aren’t you telling us?” Dennis has little sympathy for my fragile state and demands an explanation. Anna watches tensely but doesn’t protest. She undoubtedly wants to know exactly what’s going on between Andreas and me too.
“Andreas and I were in Zeebrugge this weekend. I honestly told him how I feel about him, and we decided to go for it together. You know, as a couple.” I leave out the whole Noah situation to prevent Anna from going into labor and Dennis from having a heart attack.
I give a weak laugh. Unlike them, I already know this story doesn’t have a happy ending.
“Andreas feels incredibly guilty because of what happened and thinks I’m better off without him. ”
I didn’t think I had any tears left, but apparently, I do.
“You are indeed better off without him,” Dennis grumbles.
“Dennis, you can’t say that. You don’t know him,” Anna surprisingly jumps to his defense.
“And you do? Every time I run into him, problems seem to follow. Look at Nora, clearly he’s not good for her.”
Dennis’s concern always warms my heart, but I don’t like how he’s talking about Andreas. Andreas was so good to me.
Anna comes to the rescue again. “I may not know him that well, but I know Nora well enough to know that Andreas means a lot to her.”
“That means nothing if he put her in danger and walked away at the first sign of trouble.”
I feel like I’m watching a ping-pong match between Dennis and Anna, and while it feels very familiar, the topic they’re arguing about is particularly depressing. Dennis is brutally honest, and the truth in his words is harsh, but maybe it’s not a bad thing to hear.
“Nora, Dennis might be right, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only truth. I also don’t know what to do next. Maybe it’s better to focus on your recovery first, and then we’ll see where to go from there,” Anna concludes.
I don’t want to be bitter, but I wonder if the rehab center can also mend broken hearts. Although I doubt there’s anything left to salvage.
“Thank you for your concern. It really means a lot to me. I’ll definitely focus on my recovery now. There’s not much else I can do here anyway.” I think this is a socially acceptable answer.
Dennis and Anna exchange a meaningful look, sensing the conversation has reached its limit for now and they leave soon after.
I receive hugs, kisses, and promises of frequent visits, which I’m grateful for.
Though I’m happy they came, I’m equally relieved when they leave.
As much as I love them, I want to be alone with my sorrow.
I need to curl up in a ball and cry. Andreas abandoned me at a moment when I was so vulnerable.
It stings that he isn’t here for the bad days right now.
After a few days of hospital food, no word from Andreas, a confronting police visit, and four days without being able to properly wash my hair, I’m relieved to finally be back home.
Ella, from the sandwich shop around the corner, picked me up from the hospital after I was finally discharged.
There’s not much evidence left of the attack at home.
I now own a new desk, a new computer, and new chairs.
I suspect Andreas tried to atone for his guilt in this way.
No dust or stain remain to remind me of that terrible moment days ago.
But more than new furniture and a thorough cleaning is needed to erase these events from my memory.
I don’t want to think about the moment I’ll have to work here again, because I know it won’t be easy.
Especially as long as Isabella is still at large, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to function here with peace of mind.
The black Jaguar parked outside my window confirms she is still at large.
The presence of Nathan and Andreas’s other men gives me a sense of security, but also makes me anxious.
They shouldn’t need to be here. Andreas could be here, if he wanted to be, that is.
My parents didn’t reach out. Out of politeness, I let them know I was in the hospital, but it was Ella who helped me with groceries, unpacking, and washing my hair.
Their disinterest shouldn’t surprise me, but it still hurts.
It wasn’t easy to only wet my hair and not my shoulder or the rest of my body, but after all the fumbling with Ella, I heard my own laugh for the first time in days.
The conditioner worked wonders for both my hair and my mood.
Ella and I had a nice time together afterward.
She knows nothing about the identity of my attacker or my history with Andreas.
That’s exactly why it was so nice to just spend time together.
Not that she can’t know, as she’s become a good friend by now, but for now, I’m glad she doesn’t ask difficult questions like Dennis or Anna.
The next day, as I step into my office to check if I can get the new computer running, I realize something I should have thought of much sooner.
When I decorated this space, I hid a camera in a plant on the shelf opposite my desk.
I installed it over a year ago and felt like such a perfect spy when I decided to hide it in the plant.
I never thought I’d actually need it and never looked at any footage in the past year.
I completely forgot it was there. How stupid of me.
In my defense, I hit my head pretty hard.
I hope the camera was working at the time of the attack and that it clearly recorded everything.
All the pieces of what I need to do fall into place.
I feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins as I try to find Eric’s number with trembling fingers.
Half an hour later, both Eric and Nathan are in my office, and I explain that I might have the holy grail in my hands but need their technical help to retrieve the footage.
My old computer is broken, so the camera now needs to be read by the new one.
Nathan quickly understands the task and gets to work feverishly.
He seems to grasp the importance of this discovery.
Eric curses because he didn’t notice the camera and should have.
“I hid it perfectly, didn’t I?” I say with a mix of pride and self-deprecation.
“That’s for sure, maybe I should hire you.” He tries to be funny, but there’s little joy in his eyes.
“I don’t think Andreas would like that very much.” I laugh weakly, a bit bitterly.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t.” A brief silence falls between us.
“How is he?” I need to know; I miss him terribly.
“Not great, to be honest. It’s already been a tough year for him, and now all this mess.”
I'm pretty sure he's talking about Isabella, but the way he says it makes me feel like I’m part of the “mess” too. Like I’m a nagging toothache. I try to ignore the punch in my gut.
“Well, at least he was able to handle my ‘mess’,” I say sarcastically. I can’t help the sharpness in my reply, but I’m also trying to provoke Eric a bit.
“Nora, don’t say that!” He looks at me, startled. “That’s not what I meant at all. You were the only one in a long time who brought him some joy.”
A warm glow spreads through my body. I’m glad I had that effect on him and that those around him noticed, but it makes it so much worse that he turned his back on me.
“I know you didn’t mean it that way, but I couldn’t help it. I’m so angry at him, Eric. He’s so damn stubborn and always thinking he knows best,” I mutter in frustration.
“He’s standing in the way of his own happiness, Nora. I know that.” Eric seems surprised by his own words. “I’m not sure he’d like me telling you this.” I can feel Eric is torn between his concern and his loyalty.
“I’ve come to that conclusion myself, so no worries,” I say quietly.
“Bingo!” Nathan exclaims, causing both our heads to snap in his direction. “I’ve got the footage. The camera recorded everything perfectly, and Isabella is clearly identifiable. There’s no better evidence than this.”
Relief washes over Nathan’s face, and Eric suddenly looks more energized. He and Nathan lean over the computer screen, eagerly studying the footage.
I don’t want to see the footage, so I stay where I am. But I’m incredibly grateful that I now have the final blow against Isabella. I know this will help me sleep more peacefully, but I also know Andreas will be incredibly relieved.
Two hours later, Eric and I stand in front of my door again. We just handed over the evidence to the police together, and now it’s only a matter of time before they catch Isabella—if Eric doesn’t find her first. Once she’s in police custody, she won’t be getting out anytime soon.
“Thanks, Eric, for coming with me and for all your help.” I smile, genuinely grateful.
“No need to thank me, Nora. You should never have been in this position in the first place.” He still feels guilty, but there’s nothing to blame him for.
“Say hi to Andreas for me, will you?” It sounds so trivial to ask him to say “hi” to Andreas, who just a few days ago was giving me mind-blowing orgasms. But it’s the best I can come up with right now.
“I’ll make sure to pass that along, Nora. You can count on it.” He winks, and I step out of the car.
I feel like the ball is now in Andreas’s court.
I’ve delivered his evidence. Eric will pass on my greetings, and then it’s up to him.
I don’t know if he cares enough about me to fight for me and break his old patterns.
I also don’t know if I even want that anymore.
I’m tired of emotionally charging myself up only to be knocked down again.
How many times can one heart be broken? At some point, enough is enough.
I deserve a man who doesn’t doubt his feelings for me.
A man who’s there for the good times and the bad.
The thought that Andreas isn’t that kind of man makes me somber.
I still feel hurt and incredibly sad after his rejection.
On the other hand, I know him well enough by now to understand why he did what he did.
Beneath Andreas’s facade of success, arrogance, dominance, and confidence, lies a deep sorrow and guilt over what happened to his brother.
The dark cloud of his past constantly looms over him.
Any bit of happiness terrifies him. He feels he doesn’t deserve that happiness and sabotages himself as a result.
I vehemently disagree, but I understand his reasoning.
He wants to protect me. He wants to protect himself.