Feelings we hide
357 Words
Chapter 25
After that night, the atmosphere in the Vaughan marital home changed.
Not because the distance disappeared.
But because both Nathalie and Zachary knew something they had been trying to ignore.
The feelings were still there.
The next morning, Nathalie sat at the dining table while Aunt Mina prepared breakfast.
She looked calm, but her mind kept returning to the previous night.
The way Zachary looked at her.
The way he held her.
The way, for a few seconds, it felt like they were back to the old days.
But then reality returned.
Ivanka.
The pain.
The countless moments when she felt like she was standing behind someone else.
“Nathalie, you should eat more,” Aunt Mina said gently.
Nathalie smiled.
“I know, Aunt Mina.”
She placed a hand over her stomach.
“I have to take care of my babies.”
Across the table, Zachary silently watched her.
He noticed everything now.
The way she avoided looking at him.
The way she smiled even when she was hurting.
The way she carried everything alone.
For years, he thought Nathalie would always be there.
But now he was afraid.
Afraid that one day she would stop waiting for him.
⸻
Later that day, Zachary met with his friends.
Samuel , Greyson, and Drayton immediately noticed something was wrong.
“You look like you haven’t slept,”Samuel said.
Zachary remained silent.
Greyson leaned back.
“Is this about Nathalie?”
Zachary looked at him.
“No.”
The three of them exchanged looks.
They knew him too well.
Drayton sighed.
“You don’t have to lie to us.”
Zachary lowered his eyes.
“I almost kissed her.”
The room became quiet.
“And?”Samuel asked.
Zachary clenched his hand.
“She moved away.”
Greyson shook his head.
“Zachary, what did you expect? You hurt her.”
Those words stayed with him.
⸻
Meanwhile, Ivanka watched from a distance.
She noticed the change.
Zachary was looking at Nathalie differently.
And that terrified her.
Because if Zachary remembered where his heart truly belonged…
Everything she had planned could fall apart.
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