Chapter 214
“It’s going to be a while before Kelly finishes her tests,” Carter said. “You stay with her. I’ll come back later.”
Nate couldn’t hide his emotions. It just wasn’t in his nature. At those words, he let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
“Carter, we both know why Kelly ended up with a terminal illness. Don’t we?” His voice was laced with bitterness. “You promised me back then-you said you’d take care of her. Fine, you didn’t keep that promise. But now, with her life hanging by at thread, you’ve still got time to rum off and go on a date with Sharon?”
Carter’s eyes flickered. He turned to look at him.
Nate caught the shift in his expression and softened his tone.
“Carter, if Kelly hadn’t saved my life that year, I’d be dead. She loves you, and I was willing to step aside for her. Your mom didn’t approve of you two. You were forced to break up with her-I don’t blame you for that. All I want is for you to help her finish this last part of her life without regrets. That’s all I’m asking.”
He and Carter had grown up together. They had risked their lives for each other.
Nate once drew their enemy’s attention to save Carter, nearly dying in the process. And it had been Kelly who appeared just in time to pull him back from the brink.
Nate had feelings for Kelly. But if his best friend and the woman who saved him loved each other, he was willing to give them his blessing.
He knew Carter had married Sharon out of obligation. There was a child involved. Refusing to divorce could be understood.
But now that Kelly was terminally ill, he couldn’t stand by and let Carter turn his back on her.
Two o’clock came.
Carter still hadn’t shown up.
This time, Sharon didn’t wait around like a fool. She called him directly.
She expected it to ring unanswered. Or maybe it’d go straight to voicemail. But instead, someone picked up almost immediately.
Only, it wasn’t Carter. It was Nate.
His voice brimmed with smug satisfaction. “Sharon, you can stop wasting your time. Carter’s with Kelly right now. He’s not coming”
The second she heard his voice, Sharon understood everything.
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
Nate didn’t even try to deny it. He wanted her to know.
“That’s right. I did You were planning to meet up with Carter today, weren’t you? Well, not gonna happen. I made sure of that. You angry? Good. I like seeing you pissed off and powerless. That look suits you”
Even without seeing his face, Sharon could picture the self-satisfied smirk stretching across it.
It was laughable his arrogance
“Do you even know what I asked Carter to meet me for?”
Nate snorted. “I don’t give a damn. Whatever it was, it’s not happening. Give it up.”
1/2
Sharon had never seen someone so proudly, unapologetically stupid.
Forget a formidable opponent-what you really had to worry about was an idiot teammate.
If Kelly ever learned the truth, she’d probably want to strangle him herself.
For a second, Sharon was tempted to just let it go. Let the two of them live in their delusions. Let them find out the truth and regret it on their own.
But she caught herself. Wasting her life just to prove a point to someone like Nate-it wasn’t worth it.
She opened her mouth. “Nate, I asked Carter to meet me today because we were going to get div-”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
He hung up.
Sharon stared at her phone, blank for a moment as the dial tone buzzed in her ear.
She called back.
This time, the phone was turned off. (1
She let out a sigh. It looked like she’d have to go to the hospital herself.
When it came to this divorce, Sharon had prepared for both outcomes. If Carter agreed, even if it meant she left with nothing, that would be that.
Why keep dragging it out? Why keep tangling herself up in this mess? At least they could part with some dignity.
But if Carter refused-if he had no intention of making it easy-then she was ready to fight. She had no problem tearing off the last of the polite masks to get what she deserved.
2/2
