Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201

“I heard about Paris,” Nathan says quietly.

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I lift my head off his chest. Despite his injuries and my hesitance, he insisted on holding me close, tucking me to his side as we cuddled on Penny’s couch.

Not that I’m complaining. After being apart for so long, this feels surreal, and only the steady pounding of his heart against my cheek reminds me that it’s real.

“What do you think?” I ask softly.

He cups my face, his thumb caressing my cheekbone. “I’m so proud of you, April.”

I exhale, closing my eyes briefly. “It felt…odd, going to Paris without you. We had so many plans.”

My eyes fly open. “Come with me,” I blurt before I can help myself.

His breath hitches. “April-”

“I’m sorry.” I shake my head. “That just fell out; I don’t know what your plans are. I shouldn’t have just-”

“April,” Nathan says firmly, and I clamp my mouth shut and listen to what he has to say.

“I would love nothing more than to follow you to Paris–I would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked–but I can’t right now.”

I frown, feeling disappointment creep along the edges of my psyche. “Why?”

Nathan sighs. “Samuel Ashford is suing me.”

My eyes widen. “What?”

“It’s fucking ridiculous, but…” He shrugs.

I scoff. “For what?”

“Breach of confidentiality, defamation, some nonsense about corporate sabotage–but I’ll be fine. Everything I released was the truth, and most of it’s tied to criminal activity. Plus, Killian says I’m protected under whistleblower laws.”

I exhale in relief. “Killian’s defending you?”

He nods. “He has a personal vendetta against Samuel and Lucas after Lucas hurt Lara.”

“Good,” I whisper. “That’s good.”

“Hey.” Nathan leans forward and kisses my forehead. “Don’t worry. Do you know how desperate Samuel has to be to do this? He’s just grasping at whatever’s left, and it gives me immense pleasure to watch him lose yet another thing.”

“You’ve stopped calling him ‘father‘,” I note.

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18:26 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 201

Nathan nods. “Because he’s not my father. Not anymore.”

དེད་

He shifts, making a fist and holding it up for me to see. I bite my lip and take his hand in mine, my thumb stroking his ruined knuckles.

“Every time it heals over, I pick at the scabs,” he tells me.

1 look at him, horrified. “Why would you do that?”

“So I never forget,” he answers simply. “I want it to scar, so I can always look at it and remember that I stood up to the monster in my life. To remind myself that I no longer live in the cage I grew up in.”

Tears brim in the corner of my eyes as I raise his hand to my lips and place a tender kiss on each scarred knuckle.

Then I intertwine our fingers. “I need you to promise me something,” I say softly.

“Anything.”

I exhale. “I love you, Nathan.”

His breath hitches as I continue. “Even in your room, while you were breaking my heart, I loved you. When I watched you propose to Valerie, when I listened to your robotic vows, I loved you.”

“I love you too,” he declares, his voice cracking.

I nod. “I know. And I know why you did what you did, but Nathan…” I shift closer, straddling his lap, but careful not to put my full weight on him. “You have to promise that you won’t do that again. Don’t push me away because of some twisted ideology that I’m somehow better off without you.”

I cup his face, locking our gazes. His eyes burn with a warmth I feel down to the tip of my toes, and I feel the gaping hole that tore open at his absence begin to close.

“I am never, ever better off without you. We’ve overcome something monumental this time, but that doesn’t mean the future is smooth sailing from now on. I need to know that when it gets tough, you’ll hold on to me, not let me go.”

I close my eyes as a tear slides down my cheek. “I don’t know if I can survive if you break my heart one more time.”

Nathan leans forward and presses his lips to my cheek, catching the tear. “I’m never letting you go again, April. I swear it.”

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I exhale. “No matter what?”

His arms tighten around me, pulling me flush against him as if to emphasize. “No matter what.”

My voice wobbles. “You promise?”

“Oh, April,” he sighs. “I’m so sorry for ruining your faith in me. I swear I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

I nod, closing my eyes, feeling the warmth of his breath against my lips. “I don’t need you to be anything or do anything other than stay by my side, Nathan.”

He nods. “I can do that. I’m never leaving your side again.”

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18:26 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 201

Our lips collide in a soft, almost hesitant caress.

The kiss is as fragile as my healing heart, and with it, the last pieces of myself come together.

I don’t know if it’s my tears or Nathan’s that turn the kiss salty, but we don’t stop.

We stay like that for a moment, suspended in the quiet gravity of everything we’ve lost and reclaimed.

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