Chapter 28 #2
“I did,” he says fiercely. “But she fought back. She knew if she lost you, she lost the child support payments, too. So she made up lies.” He looks away, like the memory still burns him. “She accused me of abusing her. Of abusing you. She had Lucas back her up in court. Lied through their teeth.”
I press a trembling hand to my mouth.
“I never laid a hand on either of you,” Roland says, his voice breaking. “I loved you, Natalie. I still do.”
Tears spill down my cheeks, hot and silent. I can’t hold them back anymore. He wanted me. He loved me. He didn’t walk away from me because he wanted to.
“She changed her last name to Thorne, her lover’s surname, after the divorce,” Roland says. “Moved homes. I tried to track you down, but she kept you hidden.”
He lifts his eyes to mine, and the devastation there rips something inside me.
“I thought about you every single day.”
I sob, the sound torn from somewhere deep inside me. It hurts. It hurts so much. But it’s a different kind of pain now—the kind that comes from finally knowing the truth.
He hesitates for a heartbeat, then reaches out, offering his hand but not forcing it. I stare at it. At the calloused fingers, the trembling strength in them .
And then I place my hand in his.
His fingers close around mine gently, like he’s holding something sacred.
“I’m so sorry you went through everything you did,” he whispers. “If I could take it all away, I would.”
“I believe you,” I manage to say through my tears.
And I do.
We sit together in silence for a few minutes as I grapple with this plethora of information.
“That day in the office,” I finally broach, “you recognized me? When we first met?”
He pauses. “I could recognize that face anywhere. It didn’t matter how many years had passed.
And Thorne; I knew it was her lover’s surname.
She went to great lengths to hide you from me.
Even after she had collected the child support payment in a bulk, she wanted to punish me for taking away her luxurious lifestyle.
My parents had a trust fund for you and Lucas.
She took that, too. Fortunately, I was relieved you were the only one allowed to use it. ”
I swallow looking down at his weathered hand. “She took it from me.”
As I fill him in on what happened between me and Ethan all those years ago, followed by Lucas’s rage and my mother’s reaction, Roland—no, my father just closes his eyes in grief.
“I did look for you, Natalie,” he breathes. “And when I found you, I tried to get close, tried to figure out the best way to tell you, but Ethan kept getting in the way. And now he’s got you pregnant.”
I smile through my tears. “I love him, Ro—Dad. I love him, and we’re getting engaged properly.”
When he hears the word ‘Dad’ from me, the man before me crumples, weeping. “I’ve waited so long for you to call me that.”
He still feels like a stranger to me, but… “I don’t have many memories of you, if any. My entire life you’ve been a villain in my story, someone whose leaving became a source of torment for me.”
“I’m sorry, Nat?—”
“But it wasn’t your fault,” I smile, reaching out to wipe his tears. “I’m glad I have a father, my father, back in my life. I want a new beginning for us. You’re going to be a grandfather soon.”
He smiles at me, tears in his eyes. “I won’t let you down this time.”
“You never did.” I squeeze his hand.
The air between us feels lighter somehow, the crushing weight of old lies peeling away. I don’t know what the future will look like. I don’t know how long it will take to heal all the wounds, but I know I want him in my life.
I want to rebuild what was stolen from us.
My brother might not have turned out to be such a monster had my mother not influenced him. The delusional mindset, his jealousy towards Ethan, led to him revealing crimes that had my blood curdling.
My mother said something in that clinic, something that I had thought—or at least hoped—she was lying about. She said Lucas had planned to pass me around his colleagues, investors. That turned out to be true.
He wasn’t just angry I had slept with Ethan because of how he hated him, but because I lost my virginity to him, leaving me worthless.
Those investors he lost weren’t because he went to jail, but because he had promised them his virgin sister.
The thought still keeps me up at night, leaving me tossing and turning.
I was not human to them. I was not worth basic human decency to them.
I was an object .
All these years I spent trying to earn their affection, but I was nothing in their eyes.
This new information no longer puts tears in my eyes, but it numbs me, that I came from this woman, was related to this man.
“Do people really do these sorts of things?” I ask Ethan, staring down at the black and white, patchy kitten in my hands.
I found her on the street half-starved, and he let me take her to the vet and bring her home.
This small tiny furball that sleeps all the time has offered me more comfort than I realized.
Ethan runs his fingers through my hair as I lean against him, the gentle touch sending warmth through my scalp.
“I wish I could say your mother and half-brother are an anomaly, but people can be vicious. Your mother was so lost in her hatred of your father that she didn’t care you were part of her.
Of course, it didn’t help that her lover also died during the divorce process. It made her more vindictive.”
This little tidbit came out during the police interrogations. Lucas’s father, my mother’s childhood love, died in a car accident. My mother tried to stop the divorce after that happened, but my father refused, which pissed her off even more. That’s when she concocted the whole abuse story.
“So, what’s going to happen to them now?” I ask, stroking the purring kitten in my lap.
“Prison. They’ve both pled guilty to reduce their sentences.
Apparently, Lucas didn’t know Rose was helping your mother in capturing you, so he’s pissed off.
He tried to attack her in court. That’s not helping his case any.
Rose’s family has hired some of the best lawyers, but her case is airtight.
She kidnapped you, has been sending you death threats, at home and at work. Most likely, they’ll plead insanity.”
I curl up tighter in his arms, savoring the security of his embrace. “As long as she stays the hell away from us.”
It's been three months now - from early December to early March, and everything has changed.
At seven months pregnant, my body tells the story of time passed in ways I'm still getting used to.
My belly rounds prominently now, no longer the subtle curve it was in December, and our baby's movements have grown from gentle flutters to distinct kicks that sometimes take my breath away.
My bruises have long since faded, but the scars inside are still healing. My father's presence and Ethan's constant love are going a long way in covering the bleeding wounds on my soul.
Work has been a good distraction, though I've had to make adjustments as my pregnancy progressed.
Ethan wouldn't let me go back till I threatened to move in with my father, who was more than happy over the idea.
I finally returned to work after two weeks.
The arrests made the news, so there was more gossip in the hallways, gossip that shifted to my growing belly—which by now is impossible to hide behind loose clothing.
Gently, I pet Sophie, who stretches on my lap, her little pink paws kneading biscuits. She likes sleeping with us and often tries to suffocate Ethan in bed by crawling over and curling up on his face. He likes the kitten, though he pretends not to.
Sophie’s two biggest fans, however, are my father and soon-to-be father-in-law.
I didn’t expect Harold Wilder to be interested in animals—he seemed too dignified and slightly grumpy—yet he and my dad like to put Sophie in their pockets when they’re visiting.
And since Sophie is two months old and has to be fed every few hours, I can’t leave her alone at the apartment, so she goes with us when we visit Ethan’s parents.
“So how much trouble is Megan in?” I wince, looking up at Ethan.
He chuckles. “Derrick has always been a little sweet on her. He’s not going to let anything happen to her. But I’ve never seen her so vicious. This is the same little girl who used to cry at the sight of blood. We were lucky she was visiting Caleb and they followed us. ”
Jake has described the scene to me plenty of times, adding a sprinkle of exaggeration in each version. In the latest one, she sent Rose flying across the room with one kick.
There is still a lot to get done in the company, a mole to dig out, the restructuring to be completed, but for now, I don’t care about any of it. I want to enjoy my time with Ethan and our small family. I want to be able to breathe easy.
“I hear my mother is coming tomorrow to help you put together the furniture for the baby’s room.” Ethan rests his chin on my head, playing with my hand, adjusting the shiny ring on my finger, the diamond catching the light.
“She was. Then Harold said that she’s never lifted a screwdriver in her life, so he’ll be coming as well. And then my Dad got wind of it, and he has also invited himself. Megan said she’d tag along, and Caleb and Jake said they’d stop by in the afternoon to fix the damage.”
Ethan laughs. “So, good thing it’s the weekend tomorrow.”
I hesitate. “Still no word from Nick?”
Ethan’s smile fades.
Elisha gave birth a week after I was released from the hospital. The family visited her in the hospital once, and there was a fight where she demanded her father-in-law give Nick’s inheritance to her. Not Nick, but her.
Harold refused, and Nick said he wouldn’t take it. He was pissed at his wife for even suggesting such a thing. She’s banned his family from seeing the baby. Everybody is upset, and Nick has become withdrawn.
I don’t know him personally, our interactions having been very brief, but I know Ethan is concerned about his youngest brother.
“Don’t worry. Give him time. On one hand, there’s his child, and on the other, it’s his family.”
“Dad would give over the inheritance,” Ethan grits out, “but she won’t stop there. She’s been asking Nick to put his company in her name. She’s growing bolder by the second.”
“He wouldn’t do that, would he?” I ask, worry etching across my face.
He shakes his head. “He’s many things, but he’s not stupid. Now that his son has been born, Elisha is going to hold him hostage over the family to get what she wants. That’s why she wasn’t very happy about your pregnancy either. Moreso now that everybody is fawning over you.”
I feel flustered heat rising to my cheeks. “Nobody is fawning over me.”
He pulls me closer, pressing a kiss to my cheek, his lips lingering against my skin.
“You’ve given everybody access to our child before it’s even been born.
Everybody is involved, with the nursery, with clothing, even with the smallest of things.
You’ve made my family love you, Natalie. And our child will be adored.”
I smile widely. “I like that idea. I want our baby to have a wonderful childhood.”
“And it will.”
“I—” I look up at him, a mischievous glint in my eye. “I would also like to be married within a year after I give birth.”
Ethan blinks.
When he just stares at me, my lips curve into a smirk. “What? Cat got your tongue? Don’t tell me you expected me to remain engaged to you for the rest of our lives?”
His eyes flicker towards the diamond ring I’ve been wearing, sparkling on my finger.
I gently put Sophie on the other side of the couch and straddle my fiancé, showing him my ring. “We’re engaged. I want a wedding.”
Seeing him look so shocked makes me want to laugh. Mr. Always-in-Control Wilder is actually speechless .
“I-I didn’t think you were serious. I thought you just liked the ring.”
Laughter bubbles out of me. “No, Ethan. I put this ring on because I want to marry you. Unless, of course, you’ve changed your mind.”
His arms wrap around me, his voice fierce. “Let’s go right now. We’ll get married in the town hall?—”
“No.” I put my hand over his mouth. “I want a small wedding with family and friends. Not something grand, but I want the people we love there. I want my father to walk me down the aisle to you. I want to get a pretty white dress, and I want to go dress shopping with Megan, Sarah, and your mom. I want to have bridesmaids, and I want my something blue and something borrowed. In fact, I think I might already have it. Your mom gave me a handkerchief. That’s going to be my something blue. But I want my wedding, Ethan.”
He grins at me happily. “Then you shall have it all. Give me the date. I’ll take a month off from work. No, two months.”
Seeing this man who only shows this side of himself to me makes me smile. “I don’t think the company can afford you to take two months off. But once our baby is older, let’s go on our honeymoon then.”
He kisses me, soft and loving, his hands cradling my face like I’m precious. “Whatever you want, Natalie.”
This man has taken everything ugly out of my life and replaced it with so much love and happiness that it feels my heart will burst.
It’s a new beginning for us, this baby, our upcoming marriage.
He smiles back softly, and the future opens up in front of me, wide and golden.
“I’ll give you as many babies as you want,” he whispers against my mouth.
“I’ll get you a house, and we’ll overrun it with our children.
I’ll take you to every amusement park in the world, fulfill every dream you might have thought of.
I’ll make you so happy, Natalie, that you’ll never know the meaning of the word grief. ”
This time I kiss him, my eyes burning with tears, my heart overflowing with love.
I’m not alone anymore. Not when this man is right by my side.
He’s the answer to my every tear, every cry.
He’s mine.
And he’ll always be mine.