Getting Under Nathan

24: "All my boyfriends cheat on me."

Chapter 24 - "All my boyfriends cheat on me."

"Sorry?" I repeated, but my voice came out as a squeak, barely audible due to how dry my throat suddenly was. My heart thudded so loudly that I was pretty sure half the office would be able to hear it, and my right hand continued to grip the coffee that I'd bought for Nathan, a little gesture meant as a surprise to brighten his day.  

"Bella," he murmured, stepping towards me slowly. "I can explain everything..." 

Louisa suddenly spoke up, but her voice was quiet and reserved. "Explain?" she said, repeating his words in the same way that I had. She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but then shut it again; instead, she stood up and straightened her dress. "You know what? I'm going to leave you two to talk it over, because obviously the fact you've not been honest with your long-term girlfriend is much more serious than the fact you've not been honest with some random girl you knew vaguely at school, right?" 

"Louisa, don't be like that," Nathan said, but there was no passion behind his words. His eyes were remaining on me, as if he was trying to read my mind.  

"No," she said firmly. "I'm your friend and I've dealt with your bullshit for many years. But I am not bailing you out of this one. Lying to me is one thing, but this girl has put all her trust in you," Louisa snapped, gesturing at me. "And all it took was honesty on your part. So maybe once you've put the record straight you can then explain to me why you're so fucking ashamed of what we had." 

And then she left the office, managing to maintain her dignity by shutting the door calmly after herself.  

"What's going on?" I asked him. "I'm so confused." 

"Sit down," he murmured, gesturing to the chair opposite Louisa's desk.  

"No. Don't tell me what to do." I tossed the coffee cup into the bin. I didn't even care that some of the liquid splashed over the sides, staining the beige carpet.  

"Bella..." His nervous gaze stumbled over my face as he fiddled with the end of his tie. 

"I thought I'd had the last of this bullshit when I finished with Matt. I don't know what Louisa's game is but she's right. I did trust you, Nathan. After everything I went through, I trusted you. You helped me through all that trauma with Matt. You saw how it affected me. And yet–" 

"Bella, please calm down–" 

"No!" I cried. "Why should I calm down? Is that why you hired her? Because you used to have such a good time together back in the day?" 

"No, I didn't lie about that. I hired her because I knew she'd be good at her job. Please, Bella, let's go somewhere quiet where we can talk about this properly." 

"I don't want to talk to you right now."  

Hurt had started to replace my anger, and I didn't want to get upset in front of him.  

"Bella, please..." 

And in one swift movement, he'd stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around me. The sudden movement took me by surprise and the fact my body wasn't prepared for his immediate embrace meant that for the tiniest second, it comforted me. His cologne, the hard ridges of his muscles, his warm hands on my waist...all so familiar, and all associated with trust and comfort.  

I pushed him away.  

"Don't touch me. I feel like a fucking mug!" 

"A mug? Bella–" 

"I came here to surprise you! I brought you coffee and I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but to come here with the intention of being romantic, just to find out that you've been sleeping with your assistant–!"