Rejected: A love story-Chapter 115: Who are you scared of

"And who said you would have to choose anything?"

"You don’t get it, Nathan! You being here alone is enough danger already."

"Who are you scared of, Fiona? I’m the most powerful man in the entire city, and if you’re not scared of me, then who should you be scared of?"

I sighed heavily, frustrated beyond belief. How could I convince this man to leave me alone and forget about me? He was impossibly hard to convince.

Just then, he pulled out his phone and started dialing a number.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice sharp with confusion. "Nathan, what are you up to? Don’t do anything stupid!"

"Relax, cupcake," he said, his eyes locking with mine for a second. The intensity in his gaze was melting me, so I quickly looked away.

"Hey, Caleb," Nathan said, hitting the speaker volume.

Caleb? What’s going on?

"Hey bro, you ready for them?" Caleb’s voice came through the phone.

"Ready for what?" I asked, my voice louder than I intended.

"Hi, bestie!" Ella’s cheerful voice rang out.

"Ella? Wait, what’s going on?" My impatience was growing by the second.

"Hey there, Fiona."

I paused. I recognized that voice immediately.

"Julian? Wait, why are you all together?"

"I didn’t tell him anything, I swear, Fi. Nathan found out all by himself," Ella said quickly, her voice tinged with guilt.

I looked at Nathan, who didn’t move his gaze away from me. His silence was unsettling, and I suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"I’m surprised you two didn’t tell me anything. I’ve been out there, and somebody was secretly targeting my sister and me, and you two said nothing," Julian spoke, his tone sharp.

"We didn’t mean to," Ella defended herself. "We thought it was for the best."

"Nah, girl. Seriously, sis, that wasn’t protection. That was stupid as fuck!"

I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling worse by the second. Worst of all, Nathan was just staring at me, saying nothing.

"Are—are you guys safe?" I managed to ask, my voice shaky.

"Seriously, Fi—this place is dope. There are securities everywhere, and I’m not sure I wanna leave," Ella responded, chuckling. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Not gonna lie, I don’t wanna leave either," Julian added with a laugh.

"Right? It’s so lovely," Ella agreed.

"Well, what about school, Ella? How are you going to manage that?" I asked, scratching my face nervously.

"According to Caleb, Nathan has assigned professors to come teach me. On top of that, I get $500,000 as a weekly allowance. Girl, I’m rich! I don’t think I wanna study anymore."

We both laughed at her carefree tone.

"Julian is getting a million, though, until this whole thing dies out. I’m jealous."

"A million?" I looked at Nathan, who only managed a small smile at me.

"Okay, guys, let’s give them some alone time. Byeee!" Ella said, and the call ended.

Nathan and I just stood there, staring at each other.

"Nathan..."

"Shhh—don’t bother. I’d go to any length to be with you and make sure you’re happy," he said, cutting me off.

"I’m only mad at you for not giving me a call—not even a chance for me to change your mind."

My heart was beating so fast, I felt like I might collapse.

"I’m—I’m sorry," I whispered, barely audible.

"You know what you mean to me, Fiona. This isn’t about attraction or the things people see on the outside. It’s not about fucking or fleeting moments. It’s about the way you live inside my head every single day... the way my world feels calmer when you’re near. What I feel for you is real, deep."

He paused, staring deeply into my eyes.

"Do you feel loved by me, Fiona?"

My throat tightened, and I nodded slowly.

"Yeah... I feel it in the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching... in the way you stay even when I make things hard. I feel loved, wanted, needed... and that’s what makes this so damn complicated."

"You say it’s complicated like love is supposed to come with instructions. It doesn’t. When two people feel something... they don’t run away from it, they choose each other... that’s it. Everything else is just fear talking."

God! Where did this man fall from? The way he talked, everything about him... what man would go to such lengths for just a simple girl like me? A girl who had nothing.

I moved closer to him and hugged him, and he held me tighter, kissing my hair.

"I love you so much, Nathan," I said, tears streaming down my face.

"I’ll always love you, cupcake," he said, kissing my hair again.

"Your food smells nice," he said, pulling away slightly.

I looked at him, then at the table. "I forgot that was even there."

I wiped my eyes, now smiling.

"Smells nice. You know, it’s been so long since I tasted your cooking. Remember that dish you made and brought to my office?"

"Stop—" I was smiling stupidly now.

He raised his hands in surrender, grinning.

I walked to where I kept the plates, grabbed two, and joined him at the table. I dished out the meal, sitting down beside him.

Nathan pov

"Oh, shit!"

"What? Is everything okay?" Fiona asked, her expression worried.

"Be right back, cupcake."

I rushed outside, remembering something important. When I came back, I was hiding something behind my back.

"What are you hiding?" she asked, giving me a playful look.

"Curiosity kills a cat, you know," I teased, slowly walking behind her.

"Close your eyes," I said.

"Nathan, stop. Just show me already."

"Cupcake, it’ll only take one second."

"Fine!" she gave in, closing her eyes.

I brushed something gently against her arm, then placed it on the table.

"Now open," I said.

She obeyed, and her eyes lit up at the bouquet of flowers and the bottle of wine on the table.

She looked at me with loving eyes, and I smiled.

"I figured you’d reject jewelry, so I came with flowers instead. You can’t reject them now, can you?"

Without saying anything, she pulled me in and kissed me deeply. I cupped her face, deepening the kiss even more. Then I pulled back, kissing her forehead.

"Eat before your food gets too cold—we’ve got all night." I winked at her before sitting back down.

She placed the flowers safely on the table and started eating.

Fiona’s POV

I noticed Nathan’s admiring gaze and paused mid-bite.

"Don’t look at me. Eat," I said, smiling.

We both laughed lightly.

I took another bite and swallowed. "How is it?" I asked, noticing the expression on his face.

"It’s... delicious," he said, but his expression told a different story.

"Nathan—what’s wrong?"

"Is there any chance there’s—um..."

"There’s what, Nathan?"

"Milk in this?"

"Um, yeah? What’s—"