"ELLE!" Nate shouted as he wheeled himself through the living room door.
"Yes Nate." Elle said with frustration.
"Why did you leave without telling anyone?"
"Were you worried I would go out and meet with some man and leave you?"
Myk flinched, it was time for her to leave.
"Sir, I will be leaving now."
"Okay Myk." Nate responded.
"Bye Elle, glad you are safe."
"Thanks Myk.
"Now Mr Tondale, let me say this again, I love you, I am in love with you, I
want and need only you. All the good and bad things in my life I want to
share with you. Do you understand how betrayed your actions make ME
feel? You had sex with me in your office right before a meeting so Torien
could smell me!"
Nate lowered his head.
"Look at me Nate."
Nate looked up and into her eyes.
"You need to trust me or I'm leaving you."
Nate froze. No, she couldn't!
"I get jealous, and my heart begins to hurt when men ask me to put in a good
word for them. We need to get married soon."
"Will me being your wife make you any less jealous? I think not. If I'm only
the fiancée, and you act like this, when I become the wife, you will start killing
people!"
Nate covered his face with his hands in shame. She was right. He needed
to keep himself in check. He couldn't afford to lose her, ever.
"I'm sorry Everleigh." Nate said sincerely.
"I know Nate, but when you do things like this, I get doubts. We don't need
this kind of behaviour, it will ruin what we are trying to build." She walked
over to him and kiss him on his forehead. He quickly raised his head and
kissed her.
"Let me make it up to you."
"I need a shower first. Your dinner is in the oven, have some, I'll be back in
a few." Elle left go take a shower and change. When she came back, Nate
was in the living room on the sofa eating and watching TV. She sat next to
him and watched with him until she fell asleep. When she awoke the next
morning, she was in the same spot and Nate was next to her. She eased
away from him, smiled and left to get ready for work.
At The Office
"So Nate, when are you gonna ask Elle to marry you? I've never seen you
so happy."
"I'm not sure I can hold on to her Roland, her portfolio is on the rise and pretty
soon companies bigger than Naton Corp will be trying to get her away from
me. How can I compete with all those men who can go dancing with her,
travel the world with her?"
"Bruh, are you kidding me? That woman sees only you and no one else. Do
you know how many dates she has turned down? There is a pool going to
see how many she will turn down by the end of the year, the person who
wins has to buy drinks."
Nate frowned. He didn't want Elle to be the topic of office gossip.
"Don't worry, it's harmless, I've even placed a bet. That woman is dynamite
in the boardroom, she stands by you no matter what and she never lets
anyone look down on you. Marry her Nate."
"I don't know, she makes me lose my self-confidence when it comes to her."
"Let me ask you this. If she left you tomorrow, what would you do to get her
back."
"Anything, sell the company if I had to, she means everything to me."
"So why do you think that you aren't the same for her?"
Nate sighed. He was frustrated.
"Stop worrying, she is not going to leave you and if you get her pregnant, she
will be tied to you for the rest of your life."
"I told her when we first made love if she got pregnant, we would get married
and raise our child together but I'm not so sure now."
Elle felt her heart break as she stood by the door. He didn't want a child with
her. Why didn't he say so? They have never used protection. Nate said he
loved the feel of her and she felt the same way. So why be afraid of having
children if he didn't safeguard against it?
Elle drifted backwards and went to her office. She hurried to the bathroom
and washed her face. Looking into the mirror, she saw a woman who was
on the rise, she was making ten times more money than working at the club.
Nate helped her invest in stocks and a few startup companies. She had
health and life insurance, a good pension plan and in a couple of years, she
would be a millionaire. All because of Nate, it was what he wanted for her
but now, she didn't feel his love. She felt betrayed.
"Elle honey, Roland and I are heading out to lunch, you wanna come with?"
Nate asked as he stopped by her office.
"Uh, thanks but I have to finish up here for a meeting in a few, then I am
heading home to cook."
"Okay I will see you at home then." Nate said as he blew her a kiss and left.
Elle sat at her desk and as she opened the container of food, Kim had gotten
for her, she felt lightheaded. Without warning her stomach heaved. She
folded over trying to calm herself then she got up and ran straight to the
bathroom.
At The Doctor's Office
Elle had thrown up everything she had for breakfast, she felt dried out. She
hobbled over to the kitchenette and got some bottled water. Taking a sip,
she called her doctor and made a special request to see him.
"Elle sweetie, you're pregnant about six weeks."
"I'm pregnant." Elle repeated softly.
"You don't want the baby?" Dr. Camden asked softly.
"I'm not sure, this shouldn't come as a shock, my boyfriend and I don't use
protection but I never…"
"It's okay, take some time to process this, in the meantime, pick up some info
from the reception desk and she will give you some vitamins. Come back
and see me in two weeks, okay?"
"Thanks Amari."
Elle drove back to the office in a total daze. She and Nate were going to
have a baby. NO! She was having the baby, Nate didn't want a child.
Why did this have to happen now? Things were going so well.
"Hey babe, I thought you were going home to cook?" Nate appeared in the
doorway. He had taken off his suit jacket and was wearing a button-down
long sleeve orange shirt. God he was sexy. Her body throbbed at the sight
of him.
"I came back to pick up something, I'm heading home now. Are you all done
for the day?"
"Yes, you can drive."
As they arrived home, Elle's mood was sombre. How could she tell the man
she loved that they were going to have a child but since he didn't want one
with her, she was leaving him and the company.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
Elle looked up from her plate and tried to smile. As she looked into Nate's
eyes, she warred with herself. Tell him or not?
"I…"
"Are you ill?" Nate asked when he saw her expression.
Elle shook her head and swallowed.
"I'm not hungry."
"Okay, well just put it up for tomorrow." Nate knew she was lying but he
didn't want to push.
"Are you cheating on me Elle?" Nate's voice was harsh and the moment the
words came out, he regretted them.
Elle flinched as she stared at him.
"I'm sorry, ignore me it's been a long day."
"Is that how you think of me Nate? I'm just waiting to cheat on you?"
"No, I didn't mean it, I told you to ignore me." Nate pushed his half empty
plate away from him.
"Suit yourself, I'm going to take a shower and get to bed, I'm tired."
"Elle please don't go, talk to me. I'm sorry." Nate said gently as he wheeled
himself towards her.
Elle looked into Nate's eyes, searching for what she did not know.
"Do you love me Nate?"
"Yes." He didn't pause or hesitate.
"How do you know it's me you love and not the idea of me."
"I… years ago I fell in love, and she broke my heart. I realised later, it was
not love, she was popular, well liked but she was sleeping with several of
my friends. When they told me, I called them liars because I never believed
someone as sweet as her could do that to me. It damaged me somehow
and I lost my ability to trust people. When I got married, I knew I didn't need
to trust Mandy, we weren't intimate so who she slept with didn't matter. You
Everleigh mean everything to me, the world we have built between the two
of us, is what I have been searching for all my life. Anything that threatens
that is an issue for me. I am a jealous man, I make no apologies. Yes, I will
get angry, yes I will throw a tantrum but I will also listen to your side, try to
see reason. Only you Elle. No one else has my attention the way you do.
The first time we made love my world was ripped apart. You opened up
yourself to me and only me, no other man can say that. Do you think I would
not know that I love you the woman? You who holds me close at night, you
who respects me, you Elle the woman who has stood by my side when others
want to throw me away. I love you, all of you."
Elle was in tears.
"Baby don't cry. Come on, let's take that shower we can relax in bed if you
want, just don't cry."
Elle said nothing but she let Nate led her to the bathroom, stripped her of her
clothes and bathed her. As they lay in bed, Nate felt his desire rise.
"Elle honey."
She kept silent but she turned to face him.
"Would you allow me to make love to you tonight?"
Nate had never asked her before, what changed? She knew this would be
her last night in his arms, she would give them what they needed and
tomorrow, she would be gone. Nate smiled when Elle put her arms around
his neck and pulled him to her. He quickly shifted and moved down between
her legs. He loved to smell her when she was aroused. It got him so hard
stars would explode behind his eyes.
"Nate." Elle said breathlessly as she looked down at him. All she could see
was the top of his head. It was a beautiful sight and when he looked up at
her while continuing, Elle felt all her nerve endings go haywire.
"Make me come Nate, please!"
He loved to hear when she said that. He pulled away and crawled between
her legs.
"Raise your legs for me baby." She did as she was told.
"God you are so beautiful, I love you so much Elle." He maneuvered himself
at her entrance, looked into her eyes and surged.
That initial entry was her undoing. It never failed to literally take her breath
away.
"NATE!"