Chapter 10 That Possessive Attitude

"You don't want to have children?" Nicholas asked calmly.

Nathalie was stunned by Nicholas' question. Did she want to have children? Of course she did. She almost had them, but Charles killed him instead.

But did she want to have them with Nicholas? It was just a temporary marriage, right? And her feelings for Nicholas were not at all comparable to her desire to have children.

"Look, Nicholas," Nathalie said carefully. "You said your grandfather needed a successor to your family and that meant you had to have children for that purpose, right?"

Nicholas smiled and his gaze and body language did not change at all, remaining as calm as before.

"Don't think too much about it. That's not my main goal and as for my grandfather, he doesn't need to know too much about our plans, right?" Nicholas said.

"But--"

"Nate, this is modern times. Even if we need to have children, we don't need to have sex to get them. You've heard of IVF, right?"

Nathalie pouted. "Don't joke about things like this."

"Don't think about it too much, Nate. We'll think about it again when the time comes to talk about it."

Nathalie thought that Nicholas was right. She must have been thinking too much about things that hadn't happened yet and was getting stressed out because of it.

"Look, Nate," Nicholas said softly, placing his hand on top of hers on the table. "I know you've been through a tough time in your life. But, I think you should also stop worrying and let someone else help you through all your tough times."

Nathalie felt embarrassed, realizing the position of their hands on the table, but before she could pull her hand away, Nicholas did so first.

"Let's just talk about general things," Nicholas said. "Tell me, what do you want to include in our draft marriage agreement? Don't hesitate, we'll think about it together."

"Are we going to sleep in... Uh... the same room?" Nathalie asked nervously.

"Do you want to sleep in the same room with me?" Nicholas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, of course not," Nathalie quickly denied. She was sure her face was red again. She could feel her cheeks warming. "That's what I meant to ask. We can sleep in separate rooms, right?"

"Sure, Nate. I'll set aside a special room for you. I won't be disrespectful to you, Nate. I'll respect this marriage, as long as we're still bound to each other. There won't be other women, there won't be any lies. I won't hurt you, let alone force anything you don't want."

Nathalie nodded quickly. "Yes. I'll do it too, just like you. At least until the marriage is over."

"A year, at least."

"Yeah, okay, a year at least. Yes, I understand, Nicholas."

Nicholas stood up and straightened his jacket. "Let's go back to the hospital now. Your father is probably awake and looking for you."

"Can we stop by the clothing store for a moment? I need to buy some comfortable shirts or pants to wear while I wait for my father in the hospital," Nathalie said hesitantly.

"No need," Nicholas said quickly. "Just tonight you can sleep in your father's room for the last time, but starting tomorrow you must come to my house. I will prepare everything you need there and you can ask for anything if you need anything. George will take care of it for you."

"B-but I want--"

"There's a bag in the trunk, filled with new clothes that I think will suit you. I've prepared them for you. Now I'll take you to the hospital and pick you up again tomorrow."

Nathalie swallowed, thinking that Nicholas had prepared everything for her, even when they hadn't started anything yet.

"Thank you, Nicholas," Nathalie said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Nicholas replied.

He got into the car that George had already opened for him and Nathalie saw him wince as he got into the car.

"Nicholas, are you in pain? I saw you holding back the pain when you got into the car," Nathalie said carefully.

Nicholas patted his thigh lightly. "This is just the effect of an accident I had many years ago. My leg was broken and it took a long time to heal, because the fracture was quite severe. I had surgery many times, but the effects are still often felt until now, especially when I feel tired."

"Did you have to take painkillers when it happened?"

"Sometimes, if the pain is unbearable. According to the doctor, there is a fracture that pierces the muscle and if it is removed, the muscle will tear and be difficult to recover. I should have had another surgery last year, but the doctor was worried that the muscle that was penetrated by the fracture would be even more damaged if the bone was forcibly removed."

There was a tired and sad tone in Nicholas' voice. "I guess, I have to be friends with this pain for the rest of my life and undergo boring therapies."

Unconsciously, Nathalie reached out and squeezed Nicholas' hand gently.

"It's okay. You are a strong and resilient person. You will always be able to get through anything," Nathalie said. "When we get married, I will help you get through the pain, even if it's just reminding you not to get too tired or taking you to therapy so you don't get bored."

Nicholas turned to her with an amused expression. The way his dark blue eyes stared at Nathalie made her feel she was going to melt anytime soon.

Nicholas sighed and looked down at Nathalie's hands on top of his hand.

He turned his hand and held Nathalie's hand tightly.

"I think we can easily adjust to each other, Nate. I feel optimistic."

Nathalie felt her heart beating faster, but strangely, she felt Nicholas's grip made her feel warm and her mood light.

She smiled. "Yeah, I feel the same way, Nicholas. I guess, I'm glad that I met you in my difficult time."

Nathalie squeezed Nicholas' hand gently, before letting go. Something felt missing, but she shouldn't get used to it because what was between them was not at all romantic. It's business.

The journey back to the hospital went by too quickly for Nathalie. She wished she could have spent more time in the car with Nicholas, but unfortunately, George had already pulled over at The Grand Care hospital driveway.

"Sir, we are here," George said.

Nathalie's hand had just reached for the door handle, when her phone rang. She took it out of her jacket pocket and saw Charles' name displayed on the screen.

She stared at her phone, letting it continue ringing, then looked up and stared at Nicholas.

"I already blocked him, but I thought, for the divorce, I might need to talk to him, so I unblocked him again. Can I block him again now? Permanently?" Nathalie asked.

Nicholas nodded. "Yes. Just block him. You don't need to contact him anymore. Not only is it unnecessary because all the divorce matters will be handled by my lawyer, more than that, I don't like you talking to him anymore!" Nicholas said firmly.

Nathalie smiled faintly and obediently blocked Charles' number. She showed her phone to Nicholas. "I've blocked it."

Nicholas smirked. "Good. George will find you a new number and phone for you. You don't need to keep anything related to Charles from now on."

Nathalie nodded. She felt a sense of pleasure creep into her heart, seeing the possessive attitude that Nicholas showed.

Oh come on, Nate, of course he's possessive, this is a billion-dollar business for him and you are his accomplice, Nathalie said scolding herself for the feeling of pleasure she felt.

"George, take Nathalie upstairs," Nicholas said. "Bring the bag in the trunk too."

"Oh, no need," Nathalie said quickly. "I can take it and go upstairs myself. Don't bother."

"George will take you upstairs, Nate," Nicholas said firmly.

Nathalie looked into his eyes and a wave of curiosity washed over her.

"Nicholas, can I ask you a question?" Nathalie asked.

"You're doing it," Nicholas responded with a smile.

Nathalie smiled too, realizing that Nicholas was teasing her. "No, I mean, this is about you and Charles. What happened between you two that you became rivals? You were best friends in college, right? Charles never told me when I asked about you."

Nicholas chuckled sarcastically. "Of course he wouldn't tell you. Between the two of us, he's the traitor. Looking at you now, I think he does have a habit of betraying those closest to him. Two-faced and cheating."

Nathalie pondered. "I guess you're right."

She remembered what she said to her father, that at first she had a crush on Nicholas, but ended up dating Charles because he helped Nathalie.

"If only you had warned me about Charles, when we were in college," Nathalie said.

Nicholas touched Nathalie's wrinkled forehead. "Don't think about it. It was a long time ago and I'm sure that if I had said something at that time, you would have only been mad at me. You really loved Charles at that time, right?"

"But, actually I also-- ah, never mind," Nathalie said, wanting to say that what Nicholas said was not entirely true.

She opened the car door and got out. "Thank you, Nicholas. Be careful driving home later. Bye."

Seeing Nathalie walking into the hospital, accompanied by George who was carrying the bag, Nicholas took a deep breath.

"Not only did you betray me, Charles, but you also hurt her. You couldn't keep your promise, so I'm going to take back what should have been mine a long time ago. Just watch, I'll make you regret your stupidity and betrayal!"