Loving You Too Long

After Nathan’s confession of love and Haisley’s acknowledgment of what Nathan did to her on Gilbert’s birthday, both chose to remain silent. It was only a few moments later that they stared at each other and burst into laughter simultaneously.

“You pervert!” Haisley exclaimed.

“Sly girl,” Nathan replied.

“I’m sly because I learned from you,” Haisley retorted, unwilling to be outdone.

“And I love you,” Nathan declared firmly.

Haisley fell silent, gazing at him and observing his expression for a few moments. Not to question whether Nathan’s declaration of love for Haisley was true or not, but to understand how he felt in the current situation they were facing.

“What are you going to do after this?” Haisley asked again, curious. Clearly, Nathan’s issues were not resolved until his situation with Loretta was clarified.

Nathan shrugged with an indifferent expression. “Dad has hired someone to investigate Loretta’s situation,” he answered matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to avoid it anymore; I’ve decided that I’ll go back to England and surrender willingly if Loretta and her ex-fiancé’s family want me to face the consequences of my actions and accept the punishment.”

“But…”

“I’d rather be in jail for the next few years than be imprisoned with Loretta forever,” he replied with a smile on his face.

Haisley leaned over and then hugged Nathan beneath her. She knew that Nathan’s brusque attitude all this time was just a façade. She was grateful that Nathan, too, had started to have feelings for her, although not as intense as the feelings Haisley had for him. But she was still grateful because, in the end, God opened Nathan’s heart to her.

“Thinking about you, Dean, and also prison scares me, Haisley,” he whispered in her ear. He pulled Haisley’s body so that she was now on his lap, sitting sideways while Nathan sat cross-legged on the cold floor.

“Why with me and Dean?” Haisley asked back. This time, she rested her head on Nathan’s shoulder and touched her forehead to the curve of his neck. Meanwhile, she intentionally linked her left hand with Nathan’s right hand.

“Hearing you getting engaged to him makes me jealous and angry,” he admitted straightforwardly. “I really won’t accept you being with him, Haisley.” He said it bluntly, making Haisley chuckle.

“So, do I have to be with you then?” Haisley teased again.

“It should be like that,” Nathan replied.

Haisley straightened her shoulders and gazed at Nathaniel with an unreadable expression. “Do you think I still want to wait for you after all you’ve done to me all this time?” Haisley asked again. Nathan now also straightened his shoulders.

“I know I’ve been cruel to you all this time, even though you knew the reasons. Forgive me for demanding too much from you when I didn’t deserve it. I just…”

Haisley embraced his neck again, hiding her face in the curve of Nathan’s neck. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. Hearing you say that you love me feels like a dream. Let me savor all of this for a moment, Nath. May I?” She asked softly, answered by Nathan’s nod. He rubbed Haisley’s back and comforted her. Haisley chose to close her eyes, inhaling Nathan’s scent as she had longed to do. But then a thought crossed her mind.

“What about Gilbert?” she asked, sitting upright on Nathan’s lap and looking at him with confusion.

“Why bring him into this?” Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t pretend to be clueless, Nath. You know what I mean,” Haisley said, hitting his chest.

Nathan chuckled again. “Gilbert only found out everything after you and Mom left us,” Nathan answered truthfully.

“Tell me everything,” Haisley requested, curious.

Nathan laughed again but divulged everything without holding back. “When Mom decided to go back to America with you without Dad’s permission, the atmosphere at our home worsened, especially when Mom couldn’t be reached.” Nathan explained, making Haisley widen her eyes. She knew Aunt Monica had returned to America with him out of frustration with her husband and son, but Haisley didn’t expect that the middle-aged woman would also engage in silent actions like a teenager.

“Gilbert supported you and Mom completely,” Nathan grumbled. “And Dad, at that time, was in a situation where he couldn’t leave me because, as you know, he was busy looking for someone to free me from Loretta and her family.

“The business that Dad used as the basis for my engagement with Loretta was just an excuse because, in fact, Dad and Loretta’s father didn’t know each other. Dad knew who Loretta’s father was, but only to some extent. They had never contacted each other at all.

“Worried about Mom, who couldn’t be reached, and because our housekeeper chose to side with Mom, the only way for Dad to find out about Mom’s news was through Gilbert.

“Gilbert clearly refused. He’s more pro-Mom than Dad. But then, out of necessity, we spilled everything. About the accident I had while drunk, Loretta’s engagement conditions, and her mental state.

“Gilbert is way smarter than you, you know that?” Nathan asked with a mocking tone, met with a huff from Haisley. “He realized from the beginning that something was wrong with Loretta. About how she tried to get close to you and told you about our-fake-relationship.

“I knew from the start that Gilbert didn’t like Loretta. The first reason was that Gilbert was more supportive of you,” Nathan stated matter-of-factly. “And the second reason, because she aggressively tried to introduce herself to Gilbert as my fiancée, just like she did to you, while I acted indifferent.

“After knowing these facts, he wasn’t too surprised. He said he would help gather information to break Loretta and her family’s threats against me. You know, Gilbert has too many connections from various circles.” Haisley nodded in agreement. “And he also helped Dad help me. I appreciate that. Until then, he asked about you. About my feelings. Because Gilbert was sure that I had feelings for you.

“I didn’t deny it because that’s the truth. But I’m also self-aware. I couldn’t suddenly come here and confess my feelings to you while my issues with Loretta were unresolved. How could I give you false hope when I myself didn’t know my fate afterward? Not to mention Dean.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“But then Gilbert convinced me that I should pursue you. At least, you should know how I feel. I had intended to come here alone. But somehow, Loretta seemed to know my plans.”

“So, it wasn’t you following Dean and Gilbert here?” Haisley asked, curious.