Kissing me under a fountain we came across on the hotel’s property while walking at night and pretending it was raining. It was cheeky, romantic, and perfect.
At night, he had surprised me with a date on a rooftop terrace solely booked for us. We had danced under the moon and the stars on a slow song.
I can’t believe he fulfilled most of my couple goals after reading them only once. I had shown it to Aryan after our one-year anniversary and he had laughed at them, calling them silly dreams and saying they’re only fun in chick flick movies.
The only right thing he did by me was dumping me. I dodged a bullet.
A knock sounds on my door right as I put my purse on my desk. Turning around, I see Rashmika hoovering near the doorframe. The grim expression on her face puts me on edge. My ecstatic mood evaporating into mist. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I come in?”
Fuck. Something terrible has happened. “Yeah, sure. Close the door.”
Stepping inside and shutting the door for privacy, she ambles over to my desk and sits on the chair across from me. “I found the person responsible.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” I frown, taking a seat and leaning back. “That was our goal.”
“It’s Nathan.”
“Pardon?” I’m certain I heard her incorrectly.
She shifts uncomfortably. “Nathan himself leaked those texts and the rumor about him in the media. I have proof.”
“No, that’s impossible,” I argue, aghast. “Why would he sabotage his own reputation? He gains nothing from it. You have it wrong, Rashmika.”
“Check your email. I’ve sent you the clip of him bribing the volunteer at the charity gala, as well as the trail of him sending an anonymous tip to the editor about his fake engagement. It had his texts with Iris as evidence to back up his claim. Though the editor chose to leave them out. It must be why he had them leaked at the party.”
My mind struggling to comprehend what she’s claiming, I scramble into powering on my laptop and opening my inbox. It’s flooded with hundreds of emails in the last three days I’ve been gone.
“I sent it last night,” Rashmika says.
My palms sweat on the mouse as I scroll to her name and click open the email. My heart is in my throat as I tap on the attached video. It’s in black and white, showcasing the time and date in the corner. The quality is slightly blurry, but not enough to disguise Nathan’s tall silhouette in the Brioni suit he wore that night.
An ugly pit forms in my stomach as I watch him pass an envelope to the young volunteer and speak to him for several minutes. The guy peeks inside the envelope and nods eagerly, mouthing back a reply. He leaves first. And after several moments, Nathan slips inside the hotel.
With quivering fingers, I replay it. A part of praying and hoping this is all a misunderstanding. A nasty hallucination. But the content remains the same.
Moving onto the second document, I read the evidence revealing the online trail leading to Nathan’s mobile number.
The truth is right in my face.
I feel betrayed and shattered, staring unblinking at the screen.
He sent me on a goose chase, while remorselessly lying to me from the beginning. Yet again deceiving me. But why?
What does he gain by this? Why would he go on a self-destructive path? And did he think I wouldn’t find out after he let me hire Rashmika? Perhaps he didn’t have faith that I would discover his deceit.
The more I try to figure out his motivation, the deeper I hurt.
Whatever his reasons and ploy, I can let it slide why he lied to me at the start. But after we fell in love, how could he keep this huge secret from me?
It feels like he gutted me with a knife.
“I believe he’s using you, Arya,” Rashmika says cautiously. “You should fire him.”
A humorless laugh climbs up my dry throat. Oh, I’m way too deep to fire and get rid of him. I keep my expression locked up and dismissively state, “Go, Rashmika. I’ll handle this.”
“Let me know if you need any help.”
