I moved to the sink and washed my hands. Tiffany turned to face me. Leaning her hip against the counter, she crossed her arms, making her chest stand at attention even more.

"Who are you?" she asked, her tone haughty.

I slowly dried my hands with a paper towel, checking my reflection in the mirror to make sure Claire's earrings were still there. Tiffany tapped her feet on the floor in a quick rhythm. After I disposed of the towel, I looked at her.

"Why?" I asked, leveling her with a cool look. She narrowed her eyes.

"I don't care who you are." Then why'd she ask? "But stay away from Nathaniel. He's mine."

I pondered over whether to reply or just ignore her and leave. The way she spoke about Nathaniel as if he was a prize to be owned irritated me. And I was honest enough with myself to admit that I wanted to have some fun.

"I'm pretty sure he's not," I said, brushing a strand of hair from my face. She straightened up. She was a few inches taller than me, but even without my knife, I could handle her dainty limbs just fine. I tilted my head. Her arm would break too easily.

"You don't know anything about him, or us," she said, taking a step towards me, her eyes roaming up and down my body. "I don't recognize you from anywhere, which means one thing: You're just a wanna be poor girl who rented a good dress and some fake diamonds to hunt for a rich man, someone who'll take responsibility for you and your child who's probably the result of a one night fùck. You're just a gold digger. And as soon as Nathaniel sees that, he's going to kick you to the curb."

My brows shot up. The lack of class was staggering. But I was impressed; that brain of hers was good for something after all. She had come up with a whole story for my life all on her own. She thought Mark was my son.

I cleared my throat, my lips twitching upwards involuntarily. I just couldn't help it. This was way too amusing.

Tiffany scoffed. Her brows furrowed. "Are you... smiling?!"

"Well, yes. Yes, I am," I replied in a heartbeat.

"Why, you little whore." She sneered, her features twisting in anger.

Well, at least she got that right.

"If I ever see you around Nathaniel again, I'm going to make sure you and your son regret it," she said.

My smile vanished. No one threatened Mark. No one.

"Are you listen-" she said, her hand going up to push my shoulder. I slapped it away. Her eyes widened.

I thought about twisting her hand, or breaking a finger or two, but then I remembered that this wasn't the House. This was the real world. You didn't get away with things like that here.

"No. You listen to me," I said in a low voice, stepping forward until I was inches from her. She jerked backward, fear darkening her eyes. She was nothing but a clawless kitten, and I had faced fire breathing dragons before.

"Have some self respect and stop chasing around men who won't even spare you a glance," I continued. "Nathaniel made it clear he wasn't interested in what you have to offer anymore, and you're pissing him off. So for the last time, I'm going to tell you what he wanted to say but couldn't, because he's a gentleman: Fuck. The hell. Off."

She opened her mouth, then closed it. I took another step. She staggered back. I added, "and If you ever think about threatening me or my family again, I'm going to break that fake nose of yours."

She gasped, her fingers going to touch her nose. "It is not fake!"

Of course she'd get hung up on that.

"Oh," I blinked innocently. It wasn't nice of me, but I couldn't help teasing her further.

"Speaking of fake." I looked pointedly at her chest, cocking my head to the side. "Those aren't yours either, huh."

She gaped at me, her hands going to cover her chest. Very predictable.

"You...you...how dare you!" Her shrill voice pierced my ears.

I winced, brushing some non-existent dust off the skirt of my dress, and gave her a sweet smile. "It's been a pleasure talking to you, Tiffany. Let's not do this again."

I stepped out of the restroom. Taking a deep breath by the door, I schooled my features again into a calm mask and walked gracefully back to my seat.

"You took a while," Nathaniel said, taking a bite of his Tiramisu.

"Nathaniel. If a lady took a while in the restroom, you don't point it out. No wonder you're still single." I picked up my fork. "How's the dessert?"

Nathaniel almost choked on his dessert. He laughed, his eyes crinkling in the corners in a way that I was beginning to like.

"I appreciate the advice," he said after wiping his lips. "And the dessert is good-"

His eyes fixed on something over my shoulder and his smile vanished. His eyes were hard chips of black ice. "Did she bother you?"

The tiramisu melted in my mouth. I swallowed before replying. "No. It was an entertaining encounter."

Nathaniel sighed, looking back at me. "Daphne..."

I chuckled, wiping some chocolate off of Mark's cheek. "I'm serious, Nathaniel. She's just a jealous little kitten. I've dealt with worse."

Nathaniel nodded and looked back down to his dessert. He mumbled, "knowing that doesn't make me feel any better."

**** ********** ****

By the time we reached the apartment, Mark was snoring softly. I woke him up so he could brush his teeth then tucked him in. After my shower, I put on a fluffy pink robe over my pajamas and went to the living room.

"Ice cream?" Nathaniel called from the kitchen. It was dark except for the Christmas tree lights and the standing lamp in the corner.

"Sure," I replied, sitting on the couch. A minute later, Nathaniel plopped down next to me, setting a pint of ice cream between us and handing me a spoon.

"Thank you."

"Mhm."

We dug in, making a considerable dent in the chocolate ice cream without speaking, our eyes on the twinkling tree.

"I'm eating way too much sugar these days," I said after swallowing another spoonful. I'd read on the internet a few days ago that sugar was addictive. It made me reconsider my eating habits.

"You're fine," he said through a mouthful. "But you can come workout with us in the morning if you want."

"You and Craig, right?"

"Yeah, although I'm going to be on my own after the holidays since they'll move back to their place," Nathaniel said.

My spoon paused halfway down to the ice cream. "What do you mean, their place?"

"They don't actually live here. They only rented the apartment since they're remodeling their house. I thought you knew," Nathaniel explained. "They'll go back after winter break is over."

"Oh." My chest tightened at the thought of not having Claire close by anymore.

"Hey, don't make that face," Nathaniel said softly. My eyes met his, and he smiled. "Her house is close by. Besides, I don't think she'll be able to spend a day without checking on you guys. She'll be here more often than not. Okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled, shoving another spoonful of chocolaty goodness in my mouth. It made me feel only marginally better.

"So, are you going to be my workout buddy when Craig abandons me."

I cracked a smile. "I don't know. I don't like leaving Mark on his own yet."

"Hmm, you're right," he nodded, licking a smudge of ice cream on his lip. "He's very attached to you."

"Yeah. It happened along the way I guess," I said. "Although that's not really a good thing."

"Give yourselves some time." He hesitated. "I'm still wondering, though... don't take it the wrong way, but how did you come out of that sort of life the way you are right now? It's amazing. You're amazing."

"Thanks, I guess?" I said. Heat crawled up my neck, and I loaded my spoon with ice cream to cool down. He kept looking at me. I shrugged. "I just blocked everything. I read a lot of books, and I mean a lot. They taught me most of the things I needed to know about the world, helped me cope. And some of the older... workers there took care of me."

Ester, especially, had taken me under her wing since a very young age. She had taught me that the House was nothing like the real world, that what we were going through there was by no means normal. She drilled it into me, otherwise I would've grown up thinking that what I'd been through was okay. I owed who I was now to Ester. She made me find myself in that hell and made sure I didn't lose sight of who I was.

The memory of the last time I saw her flashed in my head. Lifeless. Bleeding. Anger sparked at the man who'd caused it, a cruel client who'd been obsessed with her. If I could have one wish, it would be to make him pay.

I pulled my thoughts out of that dark well and focused on the ice cream.

"Still," Nathaniel said. "Going through that..."

I knew what he was referring to. The sex part. The fact I had been forced to it at a young age. And he didn't even know how young I was.

"It's all about control," I found myself telling him my darkest, deepest thoughts. Talking to Nathaniel was easy. "After I was... well, after I was forced the first few times, I realized it was all about having control over the situation. I knew I would have to endure more, and I refused to be in a position of weakness any longer. So I did what I had to. I accepted my position, but never let myself lose sight of who I was. And I made sure I was always in control when it happened.

"Although there were some individuals who were too difficult, some liked violence... At times like those, I just shut everything out. Sometimes I allowed myself to cry my eyes out before going to sleep, but I woke up the next day with a new breath, keeping a lid on everything."

By the time I was done, I realized I had spilled much more than I intended. Strangely, I didn't mind. Talking about what happened with someone else, someone normal, felt oddly relieving.

Nathaniel dropped his spoon on the coffee table and leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled.

"You did nothing wrong."

"No, but... I'm just frustrated and pissed off that you had to go through all that," he said through his hands. "I just... I wish I knew you before. Maybe I could've helped."

I smiled at his back. His shoulders were slumped, and as he lowered his hands and turned to look at me, I was overcome by the urge to comfort him when I saw his heart-broken eyes.

So for the first time in so long, I listened to my heart. I listened to my heart and did something that made my hands tremble and my heart beat wildly in my chest.

Something so small, yet so difficult for me. I put my hand on Nathaniel's shoulder and squeezed. The somber look in his eyes retreated, turning into one I couldn't decipher.

I smiled at him. "I wish I knew you too."

*** **** ***

"Merry christmas eve!"

I chuckled, crouching in front of the chipper five year old. "Merry christmas eve, Kellian."

He gasped, looking at his father, Chris. "Dad! She knows my name!"

"I do. Your dad talks about you a lot." I ruffled his hair and stood up. "Come in."

"Thanks," Chris said, walking past me, an excited Kellian in tow. "Where's Nathaniel?"

"He's changing his shirt," I said. "He spilled some sauce on it."

Chris laughed, setting the tote bag he was carrying on the island. "What is he, four?"

Smiling, I checked on the tomato sauce, half of which somehow managed to land on Nathaniel's shirt earlier. I had no idea how that happened.

"I got a shepherd's pie and some desserts here," Chris said, lifting his son to one of the stools by the island.

"Thank you," I said, checking what he brought.

"What's your name?" Kellian asked, his dark brown eyes curious.

"Oh, how rude of me, I didn't introduce myself," I reached over the island with my hand. "Hi, I'm Daphne."

Kellian giggled and took my hand. "I'm Kellian."

"Very nice to meet you, Kellian." I shook his hand, his grin widened and he looked up at his father with wide twinkling eyes.

"Kellian! My man!" Nathaniel called, emerging with a clean gray t-shirt. He slapped Chris on the back before lifting Kellian up high. The little boy let out an excited squeal, hugging Nathaniel's neck when he lowered him.

"Uncle Nathan! Merry christmas eve!"

"Where's Mark?" Chris asked, handing me the dessert containers so I could put them in the fridge while Nathaniel and Kellian's cheerful chatter filled the house. They sat side by side on the couch, and I could see how fond Nathaniel was of the cheerful boy.

"In the library. Reading." I took the second container from him. It had what looked like cheesecake squares. "Did you make all of this?"

"Unfortunately, no," he replied. "That would be my mom and my sister. I can't cook an egg."

I took the sauce off the stove then checked on the roasted beef in the oven. Hmm. It looked great.

"So where are you spending christmas?" I asked, putting on the oven mitts to take the beef out.

"With my family," Chris replied, taking a big plate out of a cupboard. "They live in the city so we won't be traveling anywhere."

I placed the oven tray on the counter then put in the quiche to cook.

"Should I go get Mark?" Nathaniel asked, standing with Kellian held under his arm like a football.

"Please. We're going to start setting the table soon, so..."

"Got it," Nathaniel said.

My heart jumped when he tossed Kellian in the air toward his father. Chris caught him easily and Kellian giggled, like he was used to being flung in the air between the two men.

Chris set his son on the stool and looked at him, his face serious. "Kellian, remember what we said? Mark doesn't like someone else to touch him, okay?"

Kellian nodded vigorously. "No touching."

"Good boy." Chris kissed his son's chubby cheek.

"Thank you," I mouthed to Chris over Kellian's shoulder. He winked.

The sound of footsteps had me looking at the hallway. Mark's footsteps were barely audible. It was the first time I noticed. My heart hurt, because just like me, it was a habit he had developed in the House to go unseen.

Mark paused when he saw Chris and Kellian, but it only lasted a second before he trailed after Nathaniel, his eyes looking anywhere but at the newcomers. I removed the oven mitts and crouched in front of Mark.

"Mark, you remember Chris, right?" I said. "He was here before. The little boy is Kellian. He's Chris' son."

"Hi!" Kellian waved with a toothy grin. My brother flickered his eyes to Kellian briefly and nodded.

Mark took a seat at the dining table, Kellian across from him, while the men set the table and I finished preparing all the food. Thirty minutes later, we were all eating merrily, the gargantuan amount of food would most likely end up in the fridge as leftovers.

After dinner, dessert was served. And despite my bloated stomach, I couldn't resist the raspberry cheesecake that Chris had brought. The taste was something new. The tangy fruit complimented the sweetness of the cheesecake quite well.

After the meal was over and the kitchen was clean, we sprawled in the living room. The kids played on the carpeted floor with a giant puzzle Chris had brought.

"Ugh, I ate way too much." Chris groaned, shifting on the couch he claimed as his own. Nathaniel swallowed an armchair, looking as blissfully full as Chris. I smiled into my cup of coffee on the other chair.

"No regrets, though. Everything tasted great," Chris added, winking at me. "You're a great cook, Daph."

I raised my cup his way in acknowledgment. He was mostly doing what he was doing to get a reaction out of Nathaniel. Which he did.

Nathaniel threw one of the small decorative pillows, almost hitting Chris square on his face if he had not covered it.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes when Chris and I laughed. He didn't like Chris being too friendly with me.

I didn't ponder a lot on that thought, because the kids caught my attention. The puzzle pieces were scattered around them. Mark seemed to be holding back. He was going at Kellian's pace, letting him do most of the work and dropping hints for him. His behavior made me hopeful. He was adjusting quickly, perhaps he really wasn't autistic like Dr. Shields had said.

"Mark," Kellian suddenly said as he looked for a place to stick the puzzle piece in his hand, "is Daphne your mommy?"

I stiffened. The other two adults exchanged tense looks. But Mark showed no such reaction. He just shook his head and pointed to where Kellian should put the piece. "No, she's my sister. My mom is not around anymore."

"Oh, me too!" Kellian said, without a care in the world. "She's gone away for a long time, but I don't know when she'll come back. Hey, where does this go?"

Mark pointed to the spot as Kellian jumped to another topic.

Sadness and heartbreak clouded Chris' eyes, before anger twisted his face. He stood up abruptly.

"I'll be back." He went to the balcony. The cold nipped at my skin when he opened and closed the french doors.

Nathaniel rubbed his face. He ruffled Kellian's hair and stood up.

"Is he okay?" I whispered.

He shrugged. "I'll check on him."

Watching Nathaniel pick up Chris' coat and his, then join him in the balcony, I figured Chris' unexpected mood change had something to do with Kellian's mother. He never mentioned her before. It seemed like she wasn't in the picture.

I wonder why?

Ten minutes later, Nathaniel came back, leaving Chris outside. He shrugged his coat off and sat down on the floor next to the kids.

I looked at him in confusion. He shook his head with a sad smile that didn't touch his eyes. I didn't like it. Nathaniel's smile was supposed to be bright and warm. But his heart was breaking for Chris. The two men were more than friends, they were brothers.

I went to the kitchen and filled up two steaming cups of coffee, put on my coat and headed for the balcony.

Chris stood by the railing, his arms crossed. His eyes looked into the distance, beyond the buildings that stretched up to touch the night sky.

I sniffed, feeling my nose grow colder. Standing next to Chris, I handed him one of the cups. "Coffee?"

He sighed deeply, his breath visible in the air. He accepted the coffee with a quiet "thank you."

I took a sip of my drink, bringing the cup closer to my face.

"I'm sorry about that... about reminding Mark of his mom," he said. Nathaniel really hadn't told him anything.

"I don't think he remembers her, and it's for the best. She wasn't a good person."

He frowned, glancing at me. "Sorry about that."

I shrugged. I never felt sorry for her. Maybe I was too cold hearted, after all, she did carry me for nine months and went through labor to put me in this world. But then again, her reasons for doing so were far from benign.

The only thing I was thankful to her for was giving birth to Mark. If Mark hadn't been in my life, I would've taken it a long time ago.

"Kellian's mother..." Chris began hesitantly. "She left when he was two years old."

He exhaled a shaky breath, the deep hurt in his face made my heart ache. "She just left. Just like that. I woke up one day and found a note. We were so happy. She was a good mother even though she was always afraid she'd do something wrong. But she loved Kellian more than life itself. There was nothing wrong with us, absolutely nothing... She just left.

"I still don't understand, and I doubt I ever will. But I'll never forgive her for leaving Kellian, or me."

"She didn't say why?" I asked. His eyes burned with intense hatred. But the hurt in his voice conveyed just how much he had loved her. Could one hate someone they loved?

Maybe that was what kept him going on. Maybe under the layers of hatred and bitterness was an intense love he couldn't afford to feel for the sake of his sanity. So he chose to hate her instead.

Choices...choices...

"No. But I don't care what her reasons are. She chose to leave us. What could possibly justify that?"

"Sometimes we choose to do things because we have to, not because we want to."

Chris frowned, looking at me. I smiled and looked away. "Just remember that maybe there's a reason. You said she loved her son more than life itself. Maybe the thing that made her leave was stronger than her." I shrugged. "Or she could just be a bitch, those are the two options, really."

Chris laughed out loud, throwing his head up. He shook his head. "I guess we'll see which one it is...if she ever came, back that is."

He smiled, but the animosity mingling with hope in his words wasn't lost on me.

**** ********* ****

Even after Chris took some of the leftovers, there was still too much food left for us. I looked at the half finished food on the island, remembering a time when my stomach twisted from the pain of hunger.

"What's wrong?" Nathaniel asked, coming to stand next to me in the kitchen.

"Nothing." I crossed my arms. "There's just too much food. We can save some for tomorrow, but the rest is..." I chewed on the inside of my cheek.

Nathaniel raised a brow. I sighed. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Nathaniel said.

I waved at the food. "Can we give some of this away? The food we won't eat, I mean. I'm sure there are people out there who would appreciate it."

Nathaniel's eyes softened. "Of course. We can go right now, if you want."

So we did. We took Mark with us, and I navigated Nathaniel's through the city while he drove, going to places where I knew a few homeless people stayed. There were shelters and places where the food was served for free. But there were still individuals who couldn't go to those places, for one reason or another.

Being the reason to sate someone's hunger was a huge thing for me, especially since I didn't know where Mark and I would've ended up if Nathaniel and Claire hadn't found us.

It was late at night when we got back to the house. After Mark was asleep, I joined Nathaniel in the living room. He sat down on the couch, his head thrown back and his eyes closed.

"Thank you," I said, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

"You're welcome," he sighed out.

"What's wrong?"

"Just thinking about the long day I have ahead of me tomorrow."

"Oh, by the way. What food do you like?" I asked when I remembered tomorrow was actually christmas day.

"Pardon?" He peered at me with one eye.

"Foods you like. Since I can't get you anything for christmas yet, I'm going to make you a grand breakfast tomorrow," I said, hoping it would be enough.

"You don't have to." Opening his eyes, he sat up.

"I want to. Besides, you got us a lot of gifts," I waved to the christmas tree, under which a sea of gifts awaited us. "I should at least do this for you, unless there's something else I can do?"

He smiled. "There's something. But if I ask you, you'll probably clobber me"

I frowned. "What's that?"

"Never mind. Okay, then, suit yourself and go all the way for breakfast tomorrow. I'm probably going to need it if I want to stay sane for the rest of the day."

I frowned. "Why? Aren't you having lunch with your family?"

"Family. Yeah." He sighed, his eyes sparkling with the tree lights like a starlit dark sky. "It doesn't really feel like family over there."

I didn't want to intrude so I kept quiet despite my curiosity. After a few seconds, Nathaniel continued, "that house didn't feel like home since Mom passed away." He paused. "Actually it was way before that. Around the time her illness was getting more serious. It all crumbled apart."

His shoulders slumped under the weight of memories.

"I was lucky I had Claire and Craig. Craig's mother, Cassidy, was one of Mom's closest friends when they were young. But she was living abroad when Mom got sick. She didn't come back until Mom went missing.

"She felt guilty that she wasn't able to do anything for my mother, so she took care of us. Cassidy and her husband practically raised me."

"What was wrong with your mom?" I asked.

"Depression, psychotic episodes," he shrugged. "Take your pick. All I knew was that she was mentally unstable."

"What about your Dad?" I dared to ask.

Nathaniel's chuckle was an empty sound. "He didn't give a damn. He was partly responsible for Mom's state."

He swallowed, his throat bobbing with the motion. The look in his eyes turned ice cold.

"When Mom's condition got worse, he tried keeping everything under a wrap because he was afraid his image in society would be tainted," he spat out. "And to make matters worse, he started cheating on her. Even through her illness, Mom knew and her heart broke even more. The icing on the cake was when that woman showed up with a child. Evelyn, one of my dad's affairs, came home with a toddler, my dad's son, who was already a few years old. That was proof my dad's infidelity started before my mother got sick.

"My mother left then. It was the last time I saw her. She was found dead in the snow a few days later."

I curled my hands on my lap, my heart aching for him. Nathaniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands limp.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He shook his head. "It's like nothing happened for Dad when she died. He married Evelyn not even two months later and played family with her while Claire and I drifted away, spending most of our time in Craig's house."

"Is that how he and Claire..."

"Yes. A good thing came out of it, I guess." He smiled briefly. "When I finished college, I didn't really want anything to do with my father. Mom and our late grandparents left Claire and me enough money to live comfortably, and I wanted to start my own business. But... Well, Dad asked me to step in and take over the company, his family's heritage. If it wasn't for the fond memories I had with my grandfather- his father- I wouldn't have agreed."

"What about your brother?" I asked.

"He's a spoiled brat. I care for him. I do. But he doesn't give a damn about work. He probably would've driven the company to ruins. Not that the board would've let him take any managerial position, anyway. That's why Dad asked me in the first place. The company was the only thing he truly cared about, after all."

"Evelyn... she's the one you've been talking about the other day," I said, remembering Claire's dislike for the woman.

Nathaniel chuckled. "Yep. She and Claire clash heads more often than not. And it's irritating for Evelyn because Dad takes Claire's side all the time. She's always been his little girl, even though Claire never forgave him for what happened to Mom."

I nodded, even though I didn't understand the kind of bond a father and a daughter had. I couldn't. My own father was a nameless, faceless person in my mind, and most of the men who had been in my life weren't exactly father figures.

Nathaniel would be an amazing father, I thought with a small smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Nathaniel asked, his eyes shedding the darkness of the past.

I looked at him. "You'll be a great father one day."

He grinned. "And you'll be a great mother."

The smile slowly slid off my face. "I wonder about that."

A mother... How could someone like me even think about being a mother?

"Good night." I stood up and went to my room, ignoring Nathaniel's heavy gaze on my back.

**** ********** ****

"Merry christmas!!"

Nathaniel yelled, walking out of the hallway and stretching his arms up.

I put the last plate of food on the table. "Merry christmas."

"Merry christmas," Mark said with a grin as he sat on the floor near all the gifts, impatiently waiting.

"You didn't open your gifts yet?" Nathaniel asked, crouching next to Mark.

My brother shook his head. "Daphie said to wait for you."

"She's such a spoilsport," he said, handing Mark one of the gifts.

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled, perching on the couch and watching Mark happily take apart the gift wrapping.

"You're welcome." Nathaniel winked. "By the way, I could smell the food from my bedroom. Did you make that coffee cake?"

"Yes," I said. I had noticed he enjoyed it the last time I made it. He grinned.

I smiled. I had been up since four o'clock and it was now seven. I'd gone all out, making all the dishes I knew Nathaniel and Mark loved, and heating some of yesterday's leftovers.

Mark and I unwrapped the gifts. Nathaniel had truly outdone himself. From books to all sorts of games and clothes. He even got him a bicycle that he had been hiding in the laundry room for a few days now. I had seen it but said nothing to either of them.

My share of the gifts wasn't as colossal as Mark's, but it was considerably more expensive. I had my doubts that he had shopped with Claire, because some of the clothes he got me were familiar. They were pieces I hadn't let her get me on our shopping trip. Besides the clothes, there was make up, books, bags and jewelry. It was so overwhelming my mind went blank.

"Nathaniel." I gasped, my eyes wide when I unwrapped one of the flat rectangular boxes. It was a velvety black jewelry box. I almost dropped it when I opened it. "I can't accept this!"

It was a necklace and earrings set. And it screamed expensive. A collection of flower-shaped diamonds put together side by side made up the necklace, with sapphire gems between each two flowers. The earrings were a similar design, a sapphire gem surrounded by small diamonds in the shape of a flower.

It was not something I pictured myself owning one day. And I had no doubt the gems were all authentic.

"Why? Don't you like it?" Nathaniel asked with a puzzled frown.

"It's beautiful, but I can't accept it," I said, closing the box and thrusting it into his hands. "It's too much. I mean, everything is perfect and I'm beyond grateful but that one is just... No."

Nathaniel opened his lips to argue, but whatever he saw in my face made him acquiesce. "Alright. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Thank you," I breathed out in relief. Owning that kind of fortune didn't sit well with me. I had almost killed myself of anxiety when I wore Claire's earrings out to dinner.

Besides, jewelry was a waste at this point in my life. I had nowhere to wear it. They would only end up stuffed in a drawer, forever unused.

We had breakfast after. Nathaniel raved about the delicious food. Even Mark looked genuinely happy. And that put me in a good mood.

A good mood that vanished minutes later. 

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! Another long chapter! 

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M.B.