Chapter 44

Forty-Four

Nathan

It was late in the evening when my phone rang, drawing my attention away from the files I had been tending to.

Mom.

Our relationship had suffered a terrible strain after she found out I had sex with my mistress while Chloe was home. She had delivered a hot slap that would have sent me reeling if I was a teenager. I had simply just stood there, listening to her rant about how I and Noah were a disgrace to her.

"Nathan?" Her voice filtered through the receiver when I picked up the call.

"Hi, Mom,"

"Hi,..." She paused. "It's been a while,"

"Yeah," I replied, my voice gravelly, "It has."

We stayed silent for some time. I could hear the sound of the deep sighs she took literally every minute. My chest squeezed with each one. I felt like I had caused her so much trouble. Especially with the press wanting to find out every detail about I and Lily's engagement.

"Did you want something mom?" I asked, unable to bear the silence anymore.

"How about dinner tonight? It h