Chapter 48
Andrea remained on the cold hallway floor, her knees pulled to her chest as the sharp ache in her ribs pulsed with every breath. Her mind was a storm of disbelief and pain. She couldn’t erase the image of Nathaniel standing at the end of the hallway, watching, doing nothing as Lucy and her friends humiliated her.
Her eyes darted toward the corner where he’d disappeared, her heart a fragile mix of hope and anger. He would come back, she told herself. He had to.
The faint sound of footsteps broke the silence. Andrea looked up to see Nathaniel walking toward her, his face impassive, his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat.
When he reached her, he didn’t speak. Instead, he extended his hand toward her, silently offering to help her up.
Andrea stared at his hand for a long moment. The sight of it—the same hand that had once been a lifeline for her—filled her with a fresh wave of bitterness.
With a sharp movement, she pushed his hand away and stood on her own, ignoring the pain that shot through her ribs as she did.
Nathaniel’s expression didn’t change, but his hand fell back to his side.
They stood in tense silence for a moment, the air between them thick with unspoken words.
Andrea was the first to break it. “Don’t you want to say something?” she asked, her voice low but trembling with emotion.
Nathaniel hesitated, his gaze fixed on the floor. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm, almost detached. “There is nothing to talk about. We have to break up.”
Andrea’s breath caught as the words hit her like a blow. She stared at him, her heart shattering into pieces.
“What?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
“We’re done,” Nathaniel said, his tone resolute.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as the shock gave way to anger. “Why?” she demanded, her voice rising. “Why are you doing this?”
Nathaniel avoided her gaze, his jaw tightening. “It’s for the best.”
Andrea’s chest ached, her voice trembling as she pressed on. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say? After everything, after all your promises, you just decide it’s over?”
She took a step closer, her words sharp and biting as her anger bubbled over. “I should’ve known you’d do this. It took only one damn card for you to forget everything you said. All those sweet words about protecting me, about how much I mattered. It was all bullshit, wasn’t it? You only cared about protecting your stupid reputation, not me. Never me. You’re nothing but a fucking lying coward.”
Nathaniel’s calm facade finally cracked. His eyes darkened, and his lips pressed into a thin line. With a sharp movement, he slammed his fist into the wall beside her head, the sound echoing in the empty hallway.
Andrea flinched but refused to back down, her tears now spilling freely down her cheeks.
“You think you understand my life?” Nathaniel said, his voice low and trembling with restrained anger. “You think you know what it’s like to carry this name, this weight, every fucking day?”
Andrea’s chest heaved as she yelled back, her voice raw with emotion. “I don’t care about your name, Nathaniel! I care about the fact that you abandoned me when I needed you most. You promised me—”
“This isn’t just about you!” Nathaniel cut her off, his voice rising. “Not everything in this fucking world is about you, Andrea! There are things more dangerous in my life than some stupid game of social roles!”
His words hung in the air like a slap. Andrea’s lip trembled, her legs threatening to give out beneath her.
Nathaniel’s hand fell from the wall, his shoulders rising and falling with each ragged breath. He took a step back, his expression cold and final. “This is over,” he said, his voice quieter now but no less firm.
Andrea opened her mouth to speak, but the lump in her throat made it impossible. All she could do was watch as Nathaniel turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into the distance.
The moment he disappeared, Andrea felt the weight of everything crash down on her. She slid back to the floor, clutching her aching head and stomach as fresh tears blurred her vision.
Her mind replayed every moment they’d shared—every promise, every touch, every quiet word that had once made her feel safe. Now it all felt hollow, like a cruel joke at her expense.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, the cold seeping into her bones as she tried to piece together what had gone so wrong.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized Nathaniel’s decision might hurt him just as much as it hurt her. But that knowledge offered no comfort.
The pain of his betrayal, his coldness, and his words cut too much. And for the first time since arriving at Blackthorn, Andrea felt like she truly had nothing left.
