Redemption(Struggle #3) (15 page)

“Thanks
, Gavin, but if you are trying to help me based on our friendship, then please don’t.”I was completely opposed to taking any extensive favors from my friends and a huge contract like this would definitely fall under that category.

“Whoa, don’t worry. Even Sam and
I didn’t know about this deal an hour ago. I got to know about this from Mason and that fellow. Don't worry, Sam will keep an eye on the company now. He is so fond of you; he even treats you as his third brother.” He winked at me. “Now I should let you rest. Mason is going to run you through lots of formalities tomorrow.” He waved good-bye.

I kept looking out of the window
, thinking about how I was going to explain all this  to Eva when the nurse came and gave me an injection which put me to sleep.

             
                                                                      ***

“Ready for the meeting
, champ?” Mason entered my room.

It was
the third day after the match. “Yes, buddy.” I adjusted the lapel of my suit I had just purchased for the meeting. My chest was still hurting, but as per the doctor, I was showing the signs of speedy recovery and it was good. I avoided wearing the tie, as it would hurt the bandage around my chest.

“It would have been okay if you chose to wear something casual
, like a t shirt.”

“That’s fine
, buddy. I need to look and act professional. You know how important this opportunity is for me. this is a must-get opportunity for my marriage as well.” I smiled and Mason replied with a smile in return.

“We’ll get this one
, buddy.” Mason patted me on my right shoulder.

“It hurts
, dude,” I shouted in pain.

He just laughed and started walking towards the
elevator.

Half an hour later
, we were entering the sports company’s office. As Gavin said, the company was huge and a well-known name in the sports industry.

I could see the richness by
just looking at their lobby. They had at least fifteen turnstile machines for people to enter. We had to get a guest pass to enter, but the receptionist made sure that we were comfortable.

“Mr. Brown and Mr.
Maso
n
,
please take elevator number four to reach the fourth floor.” The receptionist smiled at us.

“Here we go
, champ.” Mason pressed my shoulder gently.”For a new beginning.”

“For a new beginning
,” I muttered. I’d never had any opportunity like this. It seemed to be a golden one.

As we reached the fourth floor
, my breath choked in my lungs. I guess Mason was in the same condition. Mr. Marshall. was standing with Samantha at his right hand.

My eyes widened as
I saw her standing there and smiling at us. “Hello, Mr. Brown and Mason. Glad to have you here.” He came forward and shook our hands. “Also, I’d like you to meet Samantha. She is my personal assistant. She will help us with the legal formalities.”

We were still staring at Samantha. She had changed a lot. She looked different, like someone
had sucked the life out of her.

”Hello
, Nathan and Mason.” She greeted us with a smile on her face. But her smile was different, too, like she was trying to hide an excruciating pain. “Follow me, please. We will discuss the details in a meeting room.” They both turned around and moved to a large meeting room.

“Are you fine
, buddy?” Mason whispered before following them.

“Yes
, I am. I don’t care if she is here. I’m not bailing on this opportunity for her,” I said in a firm voice.

“Good,
I was afraid you would. Just keep calm. I’ll take care of everything.” His voice was shaking a little.
Was it because of me or because of her presence?

Chapter 20

Eva

My heart broke when I saw Nathan injured and an imaginary knife pierced it when I realized he had lied to me.

How could you do this to me
, Nathan?
My heart cried in pain. My legs lost the power in them; I couldn’t even stand properly.

Chloe understood my condition and took me to the dorm.

“He lied to me, Chloe; he lied to me about the matches.” I was devastated by his actions and couldn’t hold myself together.“It's hard to understand why he did this to me,” I told her as I sat on the couch in shock.

“Maybe he ha
d his reasons, Eva. Let him come back and explain things to you,” Chloe answered, but even her voice stuck a couple of times.

“
Even you are not sure about his intentions, Chloe. I don't know how I'm going to trust him after this.” The trust inside my heart had evaporated like steam. “If he had just asked me, I would have said yes. Lying is the worst thing for me and this is his second time.” Chloe already knew about Samantha.

“I can understand your feelings dear, but…”

“Samantha was a genuine reason, I can understand that. But why now, and when we are married.” I couldn’t get even angrier than this; it was just like I had lost all hope in him.“I’m afraid my mom was right about him. My mind was getting wrapped in various suspicions. Thought I didn’t believe my mom personally, her words were sounding true this time.

“No
, Eva, no. You mom’s words are not at all an indication of the truth. Sorry to bring this up to you, but she has not been a good supporter of your decisions from the start,” Chloe warned me.

”
What if I was wrong every time she warned me?”

“
Come on girl, you have a life outside of her influence. You can't trust her now. And this is about Nathan, not about your mom. You can’t judge him by her words.” Chloe's face turned dark; I knew she wasn't fond of my mother.

“I can’t take it anymore
, Chloe. I need a break.” My tears were dried and that was worse. I was having a meltdown, a dry melt down, where my emotions didn’t come out. And then I felt uneasy; breathing got difficult for me. Someone was tightening his grip around my lungs and I couldn’t get oxygen anymore.  “Chloe I can’t breathe,” I whispered in panic and then I fell down on the ground. My heart was running out of air and I could see the black spots in front of my eyes.

Chloe ran towards me and helped me to sit on the couch. “ Breath
e fast Eva, breathe fast” she screamed in my ears. I could hear her words, but couldn’t register it in my mind. And then out of nowhere, a giant thump hit my back. Somebody hit me hard and I puked.

But thanks to that hit,
I could breathe again.

“She was g
oing into shock, Chloe. You should have done it earlier.” Terry’s voice materialized from behind me.

“Thank
God you are here, baby,” Chloe replied. “I thought I just lost her.” Tears fell down from Chloe’s eyes. Chloe bent down and hugged me tightly.

I was too tired to reply.
In the back of my mind, I was worried that my puke was there and I had ruined the carpet.

“Thanks
, Terry.” I said it somehow. “Chloe, I’ll clean this mess up.”

“Don’t worry about that.
I can do that. But I think you are out of your mind right now. You need some time to settle your thoughts on the freaking issue. And please, for God’s sake, don’t go into shock again. You scared the hell out of me dear.” She wiped her tears.

“Don’t worry
, I’m fine. I’ll clean the mess up. Just don’t choke me now.” I flexed my muscles to smile, but it was a difficult action after losing all the energy in my body.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die
this easily.” She giggled. “Anyways, I like your decision to move in with me for a few days. That way, I’ll get rid of Terry as well for a few days.” She winked at Terry.

“Okay, you got me. I’m going on a
study tour for two weeks, so you girls can enjoy a good time,” he said.

“Thanks
, Chloe, for the generous offer. I’ll get my bags packed tomorrow or the day after that.”After I said that, I switched off my phone. I didn’t want to talk with Nathan for a couple of days. I wanted to see if I even could talk with him again. He really broke my trust this time and he deserved to be punished.

I spent the next day in bed. Fatigue still remained in my body. Chloe
set everything I needed near my bed. I slept for fifteen to sixteen hours straight and forgot to switch on my cell. One day after, I headed to his apartment to pack my bags. When I was almost done, I heard the door open. He must be in. My mind flooded with emotions again. I didn’t want to see him or talk to him. But when I looked at him, my heart melted. He was bruised and had injuries all over the place, but he had lied to me. I just couldn’t get my thoughts away from that.

With determination
, I waved him good-bye. For that moment, I could only think of getting away from him. May be after a few days, I could talk with him about the issues.

Chapter 21

Nathan

“
Why aren't you picking up the phone, lady,” I muttered.

A lady sitting on the chair next to me raised her eyebrows while looking at
me.
I must have said it louder than I thought.

"Sorry
, ma’am. I must have said that too loud.” I smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back.

Eva wasn
’t picking up the phone. For the last two days, her phone had been switched off, and then once it was on she didn’t pick up any of my calls.
What's wrong with her?
I was freaking out because of her. At first, I thought some issue with her phone, but then her phone was turned on. At least my rings were going through.

I again tried to call Chloe, but she also didn
’t pick her phone. My mind had been wandering through all the worst possibilities already. I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her.
You are my life, Eva.
I punched my own bag. Now the lady next to me got up and walked away.

Finally
, they announced my plane and I boarded it. But the whole journey, I kept thinking about Eva and looking at my watch.

I checked out of the airport as fast
I could and took a cab to my house. The company I had signed the contract allowed me to travel  first class. It was a comfortable journey, but my worry about Eva turned every comfort I got into a hollow pleasure.
Where are you, sweetheart?

When
I reached home, I saw Eva’s mini van parked near the apartment. So she was home. I sighed in relief. I gave a hundred dollar bill to the driver and, without waiting for the change, climbed the stairs. I couldn’t wait to see my sweet wife and tell her the good news.

When
I opened the door, I saw three bags packed and sitting on the couch.
What is going on? I
dashed to the bedroom. Eva was packing something.

“Sweetheart, what is this?”
I asked.

“So you
’re back.” She turned to me. A lone tear fell down her left cheek. Her eyes had everything; happiness, sorrow and anger.
But why is she angry?

“Yes
, I’m back, baby, with good news.” I moved forward to take her in my arms.

She looked at me for a second
then turned away. “It’s good that you are back. So I don’t have to tell you over phone that I’m moving to Chloe’s room.”

“Hey.”
I grabbed her arm and turned her to me. She was sobbing slowly. “What happed? Why are you moving to Chloe’s?” I couldn’t understand why she wanted to do that.

“Because of this
, Nathan.” She gave me her phone. A video was playing on it. It was the L.A. local news channel. News on my fight was getting broadcasted. They were showing footage of a medic taking me to the hospital.

I f
ell down on my knees. I was going to tell her that today, but she already knew everything. That was the reason she wasn’t picking my calls or anything.

“Why did you do this
, Nathan? Why did you have to lie to me? I’m not sure if we took vows when we got married, but one vow in marriage is that we will always tell the truth to each other. Why didn’t you tell me this, Nathan? You hurt me badly this time.” She cried and fell back on the bed.

I wanted to tell her the truth.
The truth about her mother squeezing me into fast cash methods, the truth about her mother manipulating our life and the way she used Peter and everyone to do her bidding. I wanted to tell her how happy I was and how much I was looking forward to being with her and fulfill my duties as her husband. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her. But nothing came out of my mouth. I sat their silently, thinking about my own doom.

“And you don’t have anything
to say in defense as well. I need some time, Nathan… I just need time. I’m moving in with Chloe for few days and we will talk later about this,” she said furiously and took out some clothes to pack in another bag. “If you want, you can eat some food from the fridge. I prepared it two days ago because you were coming back.” She looked at me one more time and walked away.