Chapter 7
923 Words
After ending the call, Nathan didn’t hesitate. He dialed his father's number.
Walter listened in silence as Nathan explained everything, the restaurant, the humiliation, the threat. By the time Nathan finished, his father was furious.
“This is unacceptable,” Walter said coldly. He ended the call and immediately contacted Nelson.
His warning was brief and sharp. “If this happens again,” Walter said, his voice controlled but dangerous, “I will not take it lightly. Not with your daughter, not with anyone.”
The call ended, leaving Nelson standing alone, shame washing over him. Disappointment settled heavily in his chest. “This was not how things were supposed to unfold.” He said
He called Natasha.
No answer.
He called again.
This time, she picked up, her voice hesitant and dull “Hello?” She said
“Natasha!” Nelson shouted, his restraint gone. “Why would you do something like this? Do you want to ruin my reputation? Do you want to go to jail?”
The line went silent.
For a long moment, there was nothing but breathing on the other end. Then Natasha broke down, her sobs spilling out uncontrollably. “Dad, I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t think”
Nelson’s anger softened, replaced by fatherly concern. “My daughter,” he said quietly, “this has to stop, you have to let go. There are other men out there, way more powerful, wealthy men. This obsession will only destroy you.”
Natasha sniffed, her voice small. “Okay, Dad.”
But even as the words left her lips, the silence that followed carried something unresolved, something far from over.
When Natasha got home that night, the memory hit her all at once.
Lisa’s hand across her face. The sting. The humiliation. And worse than that, Nathan holding her wrist, choosing her.
The rage exploded.
She swept everything within reach off the tables, sending glass and ornaments crashing to the floor. Her breathing came fast and uneven as she paced the room, fury burning through her veins.
“I’m going to deal with that girl,” she hissed. “I’ll make sure I kill her. She’ll never see me coming.”
A low, wicked laugh spilled from her lips, sharp and unhinged, echoing through the empty apartment.
Meanwhile, Nathan lived in silence.
He called Lisa, once, twice, countless times. No answer.
He texted her every day, apologies pouring out in careful words, promises, explanations.
Nothing.
Days passed. Then weeks.
The absence gnawed at him until he could no longer sit with it. One evening, he gathered what courage he had left and went to her house. Standing at the door, he took a deep breath, steadying himself. In his hands were pizza, flowers, and a box of chocolates, small offerings, but sincere.
The door opened.
Lisa stood there, guarded and distant.
“Hey, Lisa,” Nathan said softly. “I know you’re still angry. Please forgive me. I brought these for you.”
He held them out.
She didn’t take them.
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” she said firmly, pain and resolve in her eyes. “But I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. I can’t risk my life when you have a psycho ex.”
Before he could respond, she closed the door.
Nathan stood there, frozen, disappointment settling heavily in his chest. As he walked away, anger replaced the hurt anger not at Lisa, but at Natasha, whose shadow refused to leave his life.
Across the street, unseen, Natasha watched.
And smiled.
Seeing Nathan rejected filled her with twisted satisfaction. “Now he knows how it feels like to be rejected”
But Nathan didn’t give up.
He returned again the next day. And the next.
Each time, Lisa turned him away.
Until one evening, the door opened and didn’t close right away.
She sighed. “Fine,” she said. “I forgive you. But how do you intend on keeping her away from me?”
Relief flooded Nathan’s face. “Don’t worry about that,” he said calmly. “I’ll handle it. Thank you, Lisa.”
She nodded. “It’s fine.”
“I missed you so much,” Nathan added quietly.
A faint blush touched her cheeks.
From a distance, Natasha watched once more, her joy curdling into fury as she realized they were back together.
And this time, her anger burned hotter than ever.
Natasha’s hands trembled as she clutched her phone.
From across the street, she had seen it, the door opening, the hesitation, the forgiveness. The way Nathan looked relieved. The way Lisa softened. Whatever control Natasha thought she had was slipping through her fingers.
Tears streamed down her face as she dialed James’s number.
“They’re back together,” she sobbed the moment he answered. “After everything… after all you did… she still took him back.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, long enough for her breathing to hitch.
“Don’t worry,” James said at last, his voice calm, measured. Too calm. “I have a plan.”
Natasha wiped her tears, her heart pounding as his words settled in. “A plan?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he replied smoothly. “Just trust me.”
As the call ended, Natasha stared at her phone, joy in her heart, her cry fading after what James said. Whatever James had in mind, she clung to it like her life depends on it.
- Writer
