Nathaniel Kiriakis, ran a trillion dollar company. He made billion dollar deals with a handshake. He could take one look at a proposal and know in five seconds whether or not it would be profitable. But it seemed, when it came to choosing a life partner, his skills had failed him.
Melanie had been vetted…thoroughly. But somehow, he had missed the fact that she was a cheater. Seeing her in that room, had floored Nate. In that moment, a leaf could have knocked him over. Remembering the wild eyed woman who had been trying to kick Melanie, he consoled himself with the fact that he had not been the only one caught by surprise.
But it still burned, business marriage or not. He had invested in a relationship with Melanie, certain of their future together. And though he had never admitted it outside his own head, he had grown fond of her. Given time, he might have grown to love her. But all of that had gone up in flames the moment he had caught her with another man.
To anyone else, him walking out, would have been a deterrent against contacting him again. But Melanie had been calling constantly. The calls and messages ignored, which was why he was not surprised to find her waiting in his building lobby.
Rather than make a scene, he walked past her, her heels clicking on the tiles as she fell in a step beside him. The ride up to his penthouse suite was silent, and when they finally entered, he continued to ignore her. Putting away his briefcase and heading to the kitchen to get himself a drink- water- dealing with a woman like her, it would be best to keep his wits about him.
He returned to the living room to find her standing by the floor to ceiling windows, her back to him. Cast in the soft light, she looked more like an angelic being than a living breathing human being. Hearing him approach, she turned, platinum blond hair falling around her shoulders like an expensive shawl.
"Nate,"She called, not quite meeting his eyes.
"I am so sorry, for what I have done,"
"There is no excusing my behavior, but I really do hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," A teary brown eye peeked at him from beneath her curtain of her. Brow furrowing when she was met with his steely glare. She covered the reaction quickly, face going soft, but it was too late. Nate had already seen it.
"It did not mean anything, it was just a lapse in judgment, it doesn't have to affect our arrangement," She looked up at him, eyes wide, beseeching. In the past he had caved to that look, buying her whatever she wanted and spending extra time with her despite that meaning he would only get two hours of rest before having to go to work. But now looking into those eyes showed him something else, something that made him angry all over again.
A liar, a manipulator, and a cheat.
How could he ever have thought he could marry such a conniving woman.
"You will have better luck getting your photographer to believe you than me," He gestured to the door with his glass of water. Idly taking a sip as he watched her remorseful mask begin to crumble.
"In case my meaning is not clear enough-get out," She stepped back as though struck. Pure disbelief written all over her face, and then the last of the façade fell away. Squaring her shoulders she looked him up and down, eyes narrowing.
"If I were you, I would get off my high horse," She said, her tone the patronizing one that adults reserved for irritating children.
"Our engagement was nothing more than business, and our marriage would have been I sham,"
"You are nothing but a small pitiful man hiding behind money,"
"No one will ever love you Nathaniel, no one can. You are too cold, you might as well be a robot for all the emotion you show," She hurled the words with the skill of seasoned archer, somehow zeroing in on his insecurities. Rather than give away how much she was hurting him, he clutched his glass tighter. Countless hours of etiquette lessons taking over as he gave her a sharp, formal bow. When he spoke, his tone was crisp, the consonants sharp. She must have seen something in his eyes though because she took a few steps back, trembling visibly.
"Melanie Ntanos, it seems our relationship has come to an end, let me show you out," He gestured to the door once again and this time she moved. Throwing her hair back as she moved past him, huffing in very unladylike manner, but still unable to disguise the tremors in her slim frame.
He walked her to the door, and once she was outside, slammed it in her face, cutting off whatever she would have said. She pounded the door for a few minutes, finally giving up after cursing at him.
For his part, Nate stood, his back against the door for a long while, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. Not even noticing when the shadows lengthened and the room became darker. The whole purpose of the arrangement had been to have someone he could count on. Someone to be by his side as he made his way through the corporate jungle. A person who would one day be the mother of his children.
Simple and straight to the point. But it seemed somewhere along the line, Nate had begun to like Melanie . Getting used to all her sass, and soft smiles. Whether the person she'd shown him had been an illusion, he did not know, but what he did know, was that the pain in his chest, was very real. It hurt in a way Nate had never expected to hurt, and when his tears came, he let them fall.
When he finally did stand, it was not to go to bed or get some work done. Instead, he reached for a bottle of his best whiskey, the rest of the night was a blur.