A DEAL WITH MY BEST FRIEND'S HUSBAND

Chapter7

Nathalie.

It was a video of Grayson walking inside the VIP room; then, seconds later, I also walked in.

“Both of you?!”

“s**t!” Grayson cursed under his breath.

“Na-Nathaniel, it’s not what you think,” I stuttered, moving closer to him. He simply lifted his finger, making me halt my steps instantly.

Then he stood straight up. “I gave you enough chances to tell the truth, but you both lied to me.”

“We did not do anything. I only wanted to have a conversation with her,” Grayson spoke up, stepping a bit closer to Nathaniel.

“C’mon, we can talk about this.”

Nathaniel's angry gaze fixed tightly on my face. “Leave this room.”

I gasped, a hot tear rolling down my cheek. “Can you just hear me out?!”

He scoffed, shaking his head, then turned a cold shoulder to Grayson. “Go.”

Grayson nodded slowly, stepped back, and then walked out of the room. The moment the elevator doors closed, Nathaniel sat back down on the bar stool. Refilling his glass, he continued drinking his whiskey in heavy silence.

“What amount of money did you need that you had to f*****g dance at the club? I thought I had made it completely clear to you. I don’t want you dancing there!” He deadpanned, but his voice never actually rose.

I went completely silent. For no reason at all, I just stood there staring at him. My heart was shattered watching him look so incredibly disappointed in me.

“I—I needed money for my brothers' fees,” I finally spoke. My voice came out incredibly slow.

He turned to face me fully, now standing just a few inches away from me. “And you couldn’t just ask me??”

“I—I was—”

“Speak, Nathalie. Goddammit, your silence is messing with my head.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, a few loose strands of his hair slightly falling onto his forehead.

“I COULDN'T!” I screamed. He gave me a blank look, but his jaw clenched extra tight, showing just how much he hated loud noises. “You had already done enough for me! Calling you to ask for help right after you just gave me a respectable job and a damn scholarship? God, how selfish can I possibly be?!”

His blue eyes suddenly softened, watching the tears roll relentlessly down my face. He stepped closer. “It doesn’t matter, Nathalie! You can always count on me.”

“It does matter,” I retorted, shaking my head and wiping the tears away with the back of my hands. “Would you count on me? Would you count on me and be completely under my mercy? Would you ever come to me if you had financial problems?!”

He went dead silent.

I took a step closer, tilting my head back to look straight into his face. “No, right?! You have your ego and your pride, and I’m expected not to have mine.”

“That’s not what I meant, Nathalie,” he said firmly.

“I know. Look, I'm really sorry I disappointed you, but this is who I am! I’m Nathalie by day and Roxy by night!!! I dance to get paid, and I have cleared my own bills since the day I turned eighteen! I feel incredibly grateful for all you do, but I also get so uncomfortable when I feel lesser!” My chest heaved higher and lower with every breath.

He nodded slowly. His arms suddenly went around my back and pulled me tightly into a hug, the familiar warmth of his body enveloping me completely. His fingers gently massaged and patted my scalp at the same time.

“Hey. I understand that. But I never really wanted my brother to meet you in a club. I wanted my family to meet you when I was ready to introduce you,” his voice was remarkably soft.

But I quickly pulled myself out of the embrace, Caroline's venomous words instantly booming through my brain. “You don’t want him to know I’m a stripper?!”

“I don’t want anybody knowing about your past, Nathalie. My family has a deep history of classism. It would completely hurt me to see them do that to you,” he said, his hands reaching out to squeeze my arms.

I nodded, but my head lowered, my eyes stuck tightly on his shoes. “Are you ashamed of me?!”

“What? No! Why the f**k would you say that?!” His fingers lifted my jaw back up, forcing my eyes to lock with his intense gaze.

“I love you, Nathalie. I want every f*****g part of you to be mine. f**k the ego s**t! You can take all my wealth, I don’t care. You deserve way more than that.” He kissed my forehead gently and then locked eyes with me.

His words caused a small smile to tug at my lips. “I never thought you’d utter so many words at one time,” I teased him.

“Uh-huh. Come here.” His hands went around my waist, hugging me tightly against his body. “For you, I might actually turn into a parrot.”

“Ugh. You’ve got some lines, Mr. Harrington,” I laughed lightly.

“Mmh. Spend the night, Nathalie.” His words left absolutely no room for argument.

I nodded, agreeing to spend the night with him rather than going home to an empty house. The dark thought of what Mom and Emily had done to me made my heart sink all over again.

Nathaniel led me to his bedroom, showing me where the bathroom was. He gave me one of his shirts and asked me to freshen up while he stepped out to do some work.

After a heavenly bath, I came out of the bathroom to see a hot dinner already served on the bed. My brows furrowed because Nathaniel was nowhere to be found. I picked up my phone and called him after searching the luxurious penthouse, but it rang out. I sat on the bed and started eating. Suddenly, his text message came in, right before Caroline’s call popped up on my screen.

Nathaniel: In a family meeting with my Grandfather. Will be with you shortly.

I answered Caroline’s call while reading his text.

“Hiii!” Her voice was incredibly high-pitched.

I put the phone on speaker, using both hands to cut the grilled chicken. “Hiii... You sound happy.”

“Yeah... because my best friend turned down a billionaire! Like, it’s literally so iconic!”

I froze, the fork stopping mid-air. “Erm... we are kind of dating, Caroline.”

“WHAT?!” she boomed in pure anger. My brows furrowed deeply at her sudden harsh tone, but I shook it off. She laughed nervously

a second later. “How?! You never told me you were going to accept him.”

“I know, but he came by my apartment and reassured me. He asked me out. At first, I did not know what to say, but when he got me a job at H Bakes, I thought I could give it a try,” I said with my mouth half-full.

“Oh. So you no longer strip?” Her voice dropped low. My chest tightened, feeling slightly guilty for giving her such a major life update this late.

“Yes, I don’t.” I took a deep sigh. “I’m finally chasing my dream, Caroline.”

“Yeah. But nothing can really change a stripper, you know that, right?”

I stopped chewing my food entirely. “What do you mean??”

“You know, no matter what you try to do, that man won’t ever truly love you. Maybe he just needs some company for now.”

Her words pierced straight through my heart. “You can’t say something like that to me,” I defended myself.

“Nathalie, I've known Nathaniel since we were kids. We are just not close to each other, but I’m in this circle of wealthy society. So when I say you are not his type, then you are really not his type, and you can never be his type.”