Chapter 8 - Nathan Finally Stops Pretending the Slap Was the Worst PartNathan accepted responsibility for the assault in the jewelry store.
Security footage made denial pointless.
The physical incident was brief and caused no serious injury, but the legal consequences were real.
The corporate case was more complicated.
He eventually admitted authorizing use of the improperly signed transfer document while knowing Emma had not approved it.
His attorneys negotiated a resolution involving removal from company leadership, financial penalties, and further legal consequences tied to the falsified records.
During divorce mediation, Nathan finally spoke without performing confidence.
“I thought if I controlled the shares, you couldn’t leave without losing something.”
Emma stared at him.
“That was the point?”
“I told myself I was protecting the company.”
“No.”
He looked down.
“No.”
He had feared losing status, marriage, and corporate power simultaneously.
So he tried to make Emma’s freedom expensive.
The affair with Celeste was part escape, part vanity.
The forged transfer was something darker.
It turned marriage into leverage.
Emma asked whether he regretted hiding Thomas.
Nathan answered slowly.
“Yes.”
“Because it hurt me?”
“Yes.”
“Or because you got caught?”
He did not answer quickly enough.
Emma understood.
Some remorse arrived mixed with self-preservation.
That did not make it worthless.
May you like
It simply made it incomplete.
She signed the divorce settlement anyway.
