Chapter 239 - 25: Geraldine’s offer
Not long after, Steve gave Nathaniel the name of the café, and without another word, he hung up, grabbing his coat and storming out of the office. His mind was a whirlwind of fear, anger, and desperation. He had to get there before things spiraled out of control or before Geraldine did something irreversible.
As he sped through the streets, his hands gripped the steering wheels intensely his knuckles turned white.
The winter sky outside darkened as snow began to fall lightly, the flakes dancing in the air before settling on the windshield. But Nathaniel barely noticed. His mind was focused on one thing, on Killian.
Geraldine had noticed the changes in him. The distance, the late nights, the mysterious tension. He sensed her growing suspicion, but he had hoped to keep his secret a little longer. He had been careful, or so he thought.
As Christmas approached, the weight of his deceit hung heavily over him. He had told Geraldine that work was consuming him, but now she had arrived in the country, and he couldn’t avoid her much longer.
Nathaniel’s mind spun with dark possibilities. What would Geraldine say to Killian? Would she expose everything? The thought of Killian facing his wife—facing the full extent of the lie Nathaniel had been living—made his chest tighten with dread.
Killian was fragile, already heartbroken, and now this? He will hate him so much, and that alone, was scaring Nathaniel already.
The guilt was suffocating. He had ruined everything. Not only had he broken Killian’s heart, but now Geraldine was involved. His marriage and his family were all falling apart, and for what? For a love that was never meant to be, a love that had brought nothing but pain and destruction.
His phone buzzed again, but he ignored it. He didn’t have time for distractions. His sole focus was getting to that cafe, to stop whatever confrontation was unfolding before it spiraled completely out of control.
As he pulled up to the plaza, Nathaniel’s heart pounded in his chest. He parked haphazardly, not caring about the cold or the snow as he hurried toward the cafe’s entrance. His pulse quickened with every step, a storm of fear and dread brewing inside him.
He could see them through the window.