THE REMORSEFUL BILLIONAIRE

Nathan’s POV

“Did I just confess my love for her?” since the kiss, I find myself thinking about her and the kids more often. She seems to appear in my dreams at times and comfort me anytime I have a bad day. I know dating her right now might not be the best for us, but I might get more miserable if I delay any further. And my kids-I want to be around them, and the only possible way is to date her.

“I love you, Judith”, I repeated, looking at her affectionately. She looked at me speechless, and I could see shock written all over her.

“Erm, erm, Mr. Nathan”, she stammered, then stopped talking as she calmed herself down. “Mr. Nathan, I don’t think so. Just because we kissed doesn’t mean we are in love. We just lust after each other for a moment”

“Judith, this isn’t lust. I know lust when I see it. You comfort me and care about me”, I said, caressing her hands while she just looked on.

“I don’t know if I can trust someone enough to want to be with the person and my kids too. They are priority and all I have now. I love being their mother. I don’t think I can afford to get into a relationship now”.

“Your kids-I love them too, and I will prove myself to be someone you can trust”, I said, planting a light kiss on her lips to prevent her further revolt. She responded to the kiss, and I knew she felt the same way about me. We continued kissing, completely lost in the moment, when my phone started beeping.

We both withdrew from the kiss as I took the phone to check the caller who had disrupted our nice time “oh, damn, I’m going to kill this person” I swore as I took the phone. It was my father. I knew why he was calling; John must have told him about our fight.

“Hello father”, I said while walking away from Judith. I don’t want her to hear my father’s yelling. I thought he was going to yell, but he was unexpectedly calm.

“Come to the house for dinner”, he said as he hung up the call. My father has always been a man of few words. He gives orders without expecting or respecting your opinion.

“Judith, I need to get to the house now. Reschedule every other appointment”, I said as I grabbed my suit while trying to straighten out my rumpled shirt,” I will call you later”,.

“Okay, sir”, she said and moved closer to me and pecked me. She then smiled shyly and left.

I was surprised and excited at the gesture. It only means she loved me just as much as I love her and she is interested in me. Dating her might be the best, I will be getting closer to my kids. Peace and happiness are finally coming my way after a long time.

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

“How dare you beat up my son!” Stephanie, my step mom, roared immediately as I stepped into the mansion. The mansion is just a five minute drive from my own mansion; it’s a bigger version of mine.

The mansion stands out majestically in the estate, it is a blend of classic and modern architectural styles, with two big living room with huge chandeliers and polished marble floor, six bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a big dining hall, swimming pool outside, a gym house, table tennis court and a garden, creating a serene and exquisite environment with high fences providing a sense of protection and security.

I ignored her and walked to where my father was seated. “Hello, father”, I said as I took the seat closest to him.

“Hi Nathan” he said in a cold voice depicting his displeasure with me. “I see you both sustained injuries. This should be the last time you both will fight or even raise voices in my establishment. What did you think the employee’s will think of you?”

“I’m sorry, father. I didn’t mean to”, I said apologetically

“Is that all you are going to say, Grey?” she said as she came closer shooting daggers at both of us. “John can’t leave his bed because of the bruises he sustained”, she said as she gave me a look filled with contempt. She looked like she could kill me if given the chance.

“You can see they both sustained injuries”, father said, unbothered by her outburst.

“Did John tell you what he did?” I asked calmly while trying hard to suppress my anger.

“Yes, because he slapped your lowlife and rude PA. Is that why you injured my son, you bastard?” she said, sighing loudly.

“Don’t you-I repeat, don’t you ever call my son bastard”, my father roared angrily. That was the first time I have seen him so angry; even a failed business deal has never made him so angry. “He is a legitimate and true son. I loved and married his mom”, he swallowed hard. “If not for my mom dirty games, we would still be together and she will still be very much alive”. He removed and cleaned his glasses, I could see a tear escape from his eyes. There was silence for a while. “Let’s have dinner” he added as he wheeled himself to the dining hall.

Stephanie was shocked. She didn’t say anything; she just stood there like she saw a ghost, perplexed and surprise. I’m sure father have not spoken to her in such rash manner before. I noticed John by the stairs as I walked to the dining hall; father unbelievable outburst must have caught his attention.

Silence envelope the dining hall, as we all ate with our heads buried in our food as if we were forced to. I stole a glance at father and he still had this sad and remorseful look. He must have really felt bad about my mom death and blamed himself for not protecting her enough.

“I won’t tolerate Stephanie and her son anymore. The reason I was unbothered before was because I had nothing or no one to protect. The narrative is different now. I have a woman and two children whom I love dearly. I’m not giving to give in to their shady and evil tactics anymore. I’m not going to make the same mistake father made. I’m going to protect them with everything I’ve got”, I thought as I heaved…..