He Said He’d Never Let Me Drink, Then Pushed the Glass to My Lips for her. Chapter 02
I discharged myself from Presbyterian General Hospital alone and went back to the apartment Nathan and I shared.
If I was really letting go, there was no reason to stay.
Thankfully, the place was rented—no property entanglements, no messy assets to divide.
I dragged out my suitcase and started throwing things in.
That’s when a brown paper envelope tumbled out from the back of the closet. I bent down—and froze.
Inside was a property deed.
I rubbed my eyes, but the name didn’t change.
Lila Morgan.
Registration date: Three years ago.
In an instant, the blood in my veins turned to ice.
Lila had only joined Nathan’s company six months ago as an intern. Somehow, she became his personal assistant overnight.
I’d questioned it. Nathan brushed it off, saying he grew up poor and seeing a struggling student reminded him of his roots.
He just wanted to help her out.
He’d never mentioned they already knew each other.
Never told me the truth.
So while I believed his lies, Nathan had been rotting from the inside for years. I was only just starting to smell it.
Footsteps sounded outside. The door opened.
“Sienna?”
Nathan’s face lit up when he saw me.
“You’re back. Why didn’t you call? I could’ve picked you up.”
He didn’t explain Lila behind him. He crossed the room like he’d hug me, glancing back at her with that proud, smug look.
“See? Told you she wouldn’t actually stay mad.”
I sidestepped him and shoved the deed into his face.
“What. Is. This.”
His smile died.
“Oh… that.” He swallowed hard, forcing a casual tone.
“Lila’s from Hollow Creek, Pennsylvania, just like me.” Her family had been threatening to marry her off for the bride price. She had no education, nowhere to register residency.”
He shrugged like it was nothing.
“Three years ago, she came to the city. I helped her buy a place to settle her residency.”
He turned and shot Lila a look. “Right, Lila?”
I thought back to the crumpled bills on my nightstand—tens, fives, ones—and nearly laughed out of sheer rage.
“You expect me to believe someone who can barely scrape together enough to ‘pay back’ a vintage robe is somehow going to repay a three-million-dollar property?”
Lila’s face flushed scarlet. The act dropped completely.
“And what gives you the right? You’re the mistress here. Who are you to tell my husband how to spend our money?”
She latched onto Nathan’s arm, chin lifted, pointing at me.
“Fine. The truth. Those jackets weren’t just for fun. Our families had dinner. We’ve been common-law married for years. We’re picking a wedding date.”
The words hit like a lightning strike straight to my chest.
I’d imagined him cheating. I’d suspected he was lying.
But I had never—never—thought he’d been engaged this whole time. In Hollow Creek. Behind my back.
I stared at him, lips trembling.
“Is she telling the truth?”
He avoided my gaze, guilt written all over him.
“We… we got engaged young, back home. There was a banquet, yes…”
He exhaled like he was doing me a favor by admitting it.
“But I swear, Sienna, I’ve never betrayed you. Nothing happened.”
Then he sighed, as if making a grand sacrifice.
“Since you found out… I’ll be honest. That house? Consider it compensation for her.”
“Compensation?” I laughed bitterly. “Why should I pay for that?”
Nathan’s face darkened.
“For eight years, I’ve supported you. You think it’s unfair to ask you to contribute?”
Supported me?
He’d had my startup funds.
My client connections.
My late nights building the business while he played the figurehead CEO.
Somehow, in his reality, he was the one keeping me alive.
The ache in my chest dulled—replaced by something colder. Numbness.
I looked at him, unblinking.
“Nathan Reed. We’re done.”
I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.
His expression changed instantly. He moved to follow—but Lila yanked him back.
“You can leave,” she said sweetly. “But pay the rent first.”
“This apartment’s under my name. You’ve lived here three years—for free.”
I stopped. Turned back. Looked at Nathan.
When he saw me pause, his tone softened.
“Enough, Sienna. Stop making a scene. So I didn’t tell you everything—big deal.”
He stepped closer, voice low, almost pitying.
“Let’s be real. You’re twenty-eight. If you walk out now, who else is going to want you?”
“Be reasonable…”
Lila let out a soft, mocking laugh behind him.
I stared at the man in front of me.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t connect him to the man who knelt before my dying mother, swearing he’d rather be struck by lightning than fail me.
At that point, I didn’t even care about the rent.
I looked up at Nathan Reed, and for the first time in eight years, I smiled.
“Alright.”