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Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me
Chapter 38
Nathan follows my gaze. “Oh…” He looks slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to pry. But June said it was okay–encouraged it, even.”
I purse my lips tightly, glancing at my little sister, who shrugs innocently, smirking. “Of course she did.”
My fingers twitch, and I fight the urge to reach out and take the pad out of his hands. It has all my designs–the doodles, rough sketches, and the final design for the ball. I feel exposed, knowing he’s seen
that.
He hands the pad to me, and it’s my self–control that keeps me from snatching it like a grabby raccoon.
I hug it to myself, avoiding his gaze.
“Did you draw all that?”
I nod, gnawing on my lower lip.
“They’re amazing.”
I glance at him then, shocked. “You mean that?” I whisper.
He nods. “I don’t know much about women’s fashion, but my mother’s into all that. Your designs are really good.”
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My face burns, and I have to fight the urge to giggle like a lunatic. The compliment warms my belly, and I have a brief image of my dream–of the look in Nathan’s eyes when he saw me in my dress.
My heart skips a beat when I entertain the idea that it could turn into reality.
“Um…” Nathan glances down at my sweatshirt. “I should probably change back and go find Anna.”
I nod, swallowing. “Right, of course.” It’s not like I intended for him to stay in my room any longer. Still, Nathan Ashford, in my room, in my sweatshirt, paints a cozy picture I can’t deny I like.
“Summer, could you get his shirt?”
“Sure.” My little sister hops off the bed and heads to the bathroom.
Nathan and I stand awkwardly in my room as we wait for June to return. I’m unable to look straight at him, and it seems like he, too, feels as flustered as I do as his eyes roam around the room flittingly.
“What’s that?” he asks suddenly.
I follow his gaze and stiffen. “Um…”
He moves towards the sewing machine I had brought into my room. I watch, wide–eyed, as he takes the leftover velvet material from the knee brace in his hand.
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This time, I can’t stop myself from rushing over to him and snatching the material out of his hand.
I hide it behind me–like that changes anything.
Nathan blinks at me and points. “That’s-”
He looks back at the sewing machine and picks something else up. He turns it over in his hand, and I see that it’s the green thread I used to embroider his initials on the brace.
“Shit,” I whisper.
Guess the cat’s out of the bag.
“It was odd that Valerie, of all people, noticed my injury,” Nathan says, frowning. “Even odder that she would make something for someone else with her own hands.”
I purse my lips and say nothing.
“But you—” He points at me accusatorily. “You notice things like that. You noticed at the infirmary when I knelt down, just like you noticed I injured my hand.”
“Nathan-”
“Why would you lie?”
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I balk. “I didn’t lie, not really.”
“Not really.” He nods. “You just let me believe that the second most thoughtful gift I’ve ever gotten was given to me by the most vapid human in all of existence.”
I shrug helplessly, not letting myself dwell on the fact that I gave him the second most thoughtful gift he’s ever gotten!
“It wasn’t my fault. I asked her maid to give it to you, and she must have given it to Valerie instead, who passed it off as her own.”
“And you couldn’t say anything?”
I throw my hands up. “Everyone here already thinks I’m some kind of troublemaker; I would have made things worse, and I wasn’t sure you would even believe me.”
Nathan shakes his head. “Then you obviously know nothing about
me.”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s my bad, since you’ve been so forthcoming since we met.”
He scoffs and throws the thread back on the machine. It bounces off it and onto the floor, rolling to a stop at my feet.
I crouch down and pick it up. “Now that you know, you could say thank you,” I say. “I hurt myself a lot, making it.”
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Nathan shrugs. “I already said thank you–to Valerie.”
I nod twice. “Yeah, we all saw how immensely grateful you were to
her.”
“That could’ve been you!” he snaps. “You think I enjoyed dinner with her yapping my ear off?”
“No, you would’ve much rather preferred dinner with me as I sat silently, trying not to choke under the weight of your indifference.”
He pauses. “You think I’m indifferent towards you?”
I clap my hands together. “No!” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’ve been so welcoming since I got here.”
Nathan takes a step closer. “You realize I’m the reason you and your sister were allowed to stay, right?”
“Ah, yes, and we’re so grateful to be used as a tool to show the world how benevolent the Ashfords are.”
I glance at the bathroom door. I can no longer hear the buzz of the dryer, and it’s awfully quiet. I hate the idea that June might be hearing all this.
His eyes narrow. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever,” I say, waving that part of the conversation away. “I made my peace with that a long time ago. This is about you
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bitching over a gift. What does it matter who gave it to you anyway? Why is this even such a big deal?”
“Because…” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “I hate
liars.”
I scoff incredulously. “Oh really? Mister, ‘you didn’t see anything.“”
Nathan freezes, and his eyes darken. “That’s different.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What’s different? I didn’t see anything.”
Nathan watches me for a second, a quizzical look on his face. Then he lets out a short, bitter burst of laughter.
“Fuck this,” he whispers, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t even be here.”
“I would point you to the door, but it’s your house–you know where
it is.”
He scoffs and heads to the door. He’s still wearing my sweatshirt, and I don’t know how to call his attention to that detail. He throws it open forcefully, and just before he walks through, he turns to me.
“By the way,“–Nathan waves the hand I treated dramatically-“thank you ever so much for this.”
Then he slams the door shut behind him.
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I gape at the closed door, the conversation–no, the bloody argument -we just had replaying in my mind.
What the fuck did I just do?
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