Damage Control

Chapter 76

My feet immediately stopped moving even though I wanted to continue walking, but I found myself turning around to face him, and regret flickered across his face as soon as our eyes met.

Nathaniel clenched his jaw tightly while running his hand through his hair. "There's nothing I can say to articulate how sorry I am," he began as he slid the apron off and crept towards me slowly.

I nodded and swallowed hard, trying to keep the vomit down before he spoke again. "It's fine." The shorter my words were, the less likely I was to cry or puke.

"No, Anastazi," Nathaniel growled. He was a few steps away from me now, but when I backed up to distance myself from him, I ended up bumping into the wall behind me.

"I selfishly broke my promise to you, and that is unacceptable."

"Why didn't you just call?" I found myself asking.

Nathaniel took another step forward and sighed heavily. "I was running late, and I thought I'd still make it home in time for our plans, but then those fucking idiots—" He curled his fists into a ball, an attempt to calm himself down before he snapped. "My business associates fucked up some paperwork at the last minute that I had to fix, and by the time I finished, it was far past the time I was supposed to be home, so I thought it was better if I didn't say anything rather than make some pathetic excuse as to why I couldn't be there with you."

Nathaniel took another step closer until we were inches apart, but surprisingly he didn't cage me in as if he were giving me a choice to leave if I wanted.

"I know I fucked up leaving you in the dark like that, and I can't stress enough how sorry I am, but I promise I'll make it up to you if you allow me," he peered down at me, searching my eyes for answers but all I could focus on was trying not to throw up on his bare body.

As much as I wanted to make things difficult, make him feel bad for what he did, I didn't have the energy to argue with him, and I could hear the sincerity behind his words, see the lingering regret in his eyes as he continued staring into my soul wanting to make things right.

"Okay," I finally spoke in a strained voice.

A flash of relief flickered across his face, but I could tell he was far from forgiving himself for what he did.

"I made breakfast."

"I'm actually not that hungry," I muttered, trailing off to the living room as he made his way back to the kitchen.

I didn't need to look at him to know he was glaring at my back. "When's the last time you ate?"

I shrugged and plopped on the couch, feeling more nauseous than ever as I curled into the fetal position, hoping to feel better before I had to explain myself to him. "Last night," I lied.

"The untouched Chinese food you left in the living room?" He questioned curiously, waiting to catch me in a lie again.

I cursed lowly under my breath, totally forgetting that I left the food out after spending hours in the bathroom, trying not to throw up any more than I already did.

Silence enveloped the massive mansion as I racked my brain for another excuse, but Nathaniel was already kneeling down in front of me with concern etched across his face before I had time to answer.