“Thanks, Eric, for coming with me and for all your help.” I smile, genuinely grateful.
“No need to thank me, Nora. You should never have been in this position in the first place.” He still feels guilty, but there’s nothing to blame him for.
“Say hi to Andreas for me, will you?” It sounds so trivial to ask him to say “hi” to Andreas, who just a few days ago was giving me mind-blowing orgasms. But it’s the best I can come up with right now.
“I’ll make sure to pass that along, Nora. You can count on it.” He winks, and I step out of the car.
I feel like the ball is now in Andreas’s court. I’ve delivered his evidence. Eric will pass on my greetings, and then it’s up to him. I don’t know if he cares enough about me to fight for me and break his old patterns. I also don’t know if I even want that anymore. I’m tired of emotionally charging myself up only to be knocked down again. How many times can one heart be broken? At some point, enough is enough.
I deserve a man who doesn’t doubt his feelings for me. A man who’s there for the good times and the bad. The thought that Andreas isn’t that kind of man makes me somber. I still feel hurt and incredibly sad after his rejection. On the other hand, I know him well enough by now to understand why he did what he did. Beneath Andreas’s facade of success, arrogance, dominance, and confidence, lies a deep sorrow and guilt over what happened to his brother. The dark cloud of his past constantly looms over him. Any bit of happiness terrifies him. He feels he doesn’t deserve that happiness and sabotages himself as a result. I vehemently disagree, but I understand his reasoning. He wants to protect me. He wants to protect himself.
Chapter 17
Andreas
The days drag on, my heart has been ripped out of my chest, and I feel terrible, but I know I made the right choice for Nora. I couldn’t risk causing her any more pain. Life itself has blackmailed me. My days now consist of work, work, and more work. Not that everything is going smoothly, because Donna and everyone around me at the office are bearing the brunt of it and are trying to avoid me as much as possible. If they’re not angry with me, they look at me with misplaced pity. I hate it. I forget things and make mistakes that I wouldn’t ever have made before, but work is my anchor. It’s the safest way to cope with the pain. B-Tech and the search for evidence against Isabella are the only reasons I still get out of bed in the morning. I know Eric is fully focused on that, but I hardly see him in person because I’ve been deliberately avoiding him after everything that happened. Maybe he’s avoiding me too. I know none of this is his fault, but I’m still angry—mainly at myself.
I decide to leave work for today. There are no more meetings scheduled, and in my current state, I’m better off removing myself from the equation for now. A quarter of an hour later, I’m punishing myself in my home gym. I’m lifting more than I can handle and hitting harder than my hands and wrists appreciate, but like the past few days, this is the best way to blow off steam. The anger needs to find a way out.
“Andreas!” Eric shouts over the music.
I drop the weights and turn off the music. I know Eric has the key and can come in here, but he’s never used it before, until now. This must be important.
“Eric, what’s going on?” I see a smug look on his face, so it’s not bad news—thankfully. I wrap a towel around my neck and look at him questioningly.
“We’ve got them, Andreas. Isabella is going behind bars.” His mouth curls into a devilish grin. I grin back, but I don’t quite understand how this all happened so quickly.
“Tell me, how did that happen? The last time I heard from you, she was free and we only had the witness testimonies.”
I take a big gulp of water and gesture toward the couch. We plop down, and Eric starts talking.
“Yesterday, Nora called and…” The mention of Nora’s name catches me off guard, causing me to choke as if her name itself tears open old wounds. Just hearing her name and knowing Eric had been in contact with her sends fresh waves of pain through me. I force myself to steady, hoping Eric didn’t notice how much her name threw me off. “She had a camera in her office. Nathan managed to get all the footage, and we went to the police station together to hand over the evidence. After that, I’ve been out all night and today with the team searching for Isabella. We finally found her this afternoon. We tipped off the police and followed her until they actually arrested her. It’s over, Andreas. Noah and Isabella are definitely going to jail for a few years.”
I let out a whistle and pat Eric on the back. I can’t believe this is finally over. I can’t believe what Nora has done. For me.
“Eric, I can’t thank you enough. You know how much this means to me.”
I thought I’d be jumping for joy, but instead, I almost feel numb.
“I know. I’m happy for you. I hope this will help you move forward, but honestly, Andreas, revenge isn’t everything. I hope you know that too.”
Revenge isn’t everything. Eric’s words echo in my head. I get the feeling he’s about to lecture me, but I wouldn’t know what I did wrong here. It’s only logical that Isabella should pay for what she did to everyone.
“I don’t know if revenge, or justice, was my biggest motivation here, but Isabella belongs in jail, and you know that too, Eric.” I hope he doesn’t question that.
“You’re one hundred percent right about that, but whether it’s revenge or justice you’re pursuing, it doesn’t really matter. I just want you to be happy. Despite everything that’s happened and regardless of whether Isabella is in jail or not,” Eric says bluntly.
“How can I be happy regardless of everything that’s happened? My brother is dead, Eric. He’s not coming back. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a bit of a damper on my happiness,” I snap at him. I fidget agitatedly and feel like punching him.
“And yet I had the impression you’d found a way to be happy despite of everything.” Instead of responding to my anger, his tone is calm and collected. He found a way to bring Nora into the conversation. He knows I can’t deny what he just said. Checkmate, deliberate and calculated. Asshole.
“Since when are you my therapist?” I snap at him.
I think of Nora and our brief moments of happiness. Could it really be possible to find happiness again in this life? To be together? I’ve lost so much, shattered so much. I remind myself that I’ve gone through hell to protect her, and breaking up with Nora was the right thing to do.
“Andreas, I’ve known you for so long. If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you, but you have to allow it. What you’re doing now is foolish. Nora is miserable, and you’re unbearable without her. I don’t know how you’re convincing yourself this is better when it’s clearly helping no one.”
Is Nora miserable?
