Love and Debt - Chapter 93

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Andrew was startled when she heard a girl’s voice. He was sleeping on the couch, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Brie’s face staring at him.

“Oh my god! Baby, you scared me!” He exclaimed.

He got up and sat down.

“What is it, honey?” He asked.

“I can’t sleep. Can you sleep beside me, daddy?” Brie asked.

Andrew was surprised. If he slept beside his daughter, Nina would also be there.

“But honey, your mom’s there. Can’t you sleep with just her beside you?” He asked.

Brie pouted and was about to cry.

“I want to be with you and mommy. Please, daddy.” Brie begged.

Nina woke up without Brie beside her in the bedroom, so she stood up and went outside. She saw Brie with her father. Andrew looked worried, so she walked towards them. The lights were off, and only the moon give light to the living room.

“What’s happening?” She asked with a frown on her face.

Andrew looked at her and sighed.

“Can you talk to her, please? She wanted me to sleep beside her.” He said.

Nina was surprised and looked at Brie, pouting on the sofa. She sighed because she knew Brie just wanted to be with her father.

“Maybe you could sleep beside her? I mean with us? That’s what she wanted. I-I’m sorry.” Nina whispered.

Brie looked at Andrew and waited for her father to answer. Andrew was surprised by Nina’s words, but he knew she did it for Brie. He took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s sleep.” He said.

“Really? Thank you, daddy!” Brie said in excitement, then kissed Andrew on the cheek.

Andrew smiled, and he felt delighted seeing Brie’s smiling face.

When they went inside the room, Brie jumped on the bed and lay down in the middle. Nina didn’t say a word and got on the left side of the bed while Andrew was on the right.

“Daddy, can you tell me stories about you and mommy?” Brie asked.

“Brie, it’s late. Go to sleep.” Nina said.

“B-But I want to know how you met.” Brie pouted.

Andrew sighed and smiled.

“We had common friends, and I met your mom in one of our hangouts together. She’s just a high school girl back then, and I was already in college.” Andrew said.

Nina was just staring at the ceiling. Her heart felt so tight when Andrew started telling them their story. She bit her lips to stop herself from crying. They had a lot of good memories together.

From the moment he stepped into her life until the day she left him. All of those memories were still in her mind and heart. She cherished them, and it was those memories that kept her alive for years.

Andrew looked at Brie and saw her sleeping. He smiled, then glanced at Nina and saw a teardrop from her eyes.

“Why are you crying? I just answered Brie’s question. I don’t want to share bad memories with her.” He whispered.

She nodded and couldn’t respond to him. She felt like something was blocking her throat, and she couldn’t breathe. She stood up and ran outside the bedroom. Andrew sighed then got out of the bed to follow Nina.

He saw her in the living room, crying. He sat down a few feet away from her so they could talk. They needed it. He knew they had to talk about it for the sake of their daughter.

“If you want to tell me something, I will listen.” Andrew whispered.

Nina burst out crying.

“I-I’m sorry. I regret everything I did to you and to our friends. I’m really sorry. I know I don’t have any good reason except for the fact that Paolo threatened me with your mom and my sister’s lives. I should have told you about it, but I got scared. He showed me some pictures of your mom and my sisters. He said he had someone following them, and the moment I tell you, they’ll kill them. When we were in Paris, I received a message from an unknown number. There were pictures of me sleeping in the hotel room. I don’t know how that happened. Then he sent a picture of you at your business conference. They had eyes on you, on our family, and me.” She said in a trembling voice.

Andrew was sitting there, listening to Nina’s explanation. After four years, he finally heard her version of the story.

“I couldn’t think clearly and just agreed with him. I didn’t notice that I had been deceiving you for six years. He said I had a debt that I needed to pay. He promised not to harm your mother if I followed his order. So I did everything he asked me to do. I know it was a lame reason, and it looked like I was using your mother for my own mistake, but it was the truth. I was scared. I’m sorry.” She continued to cry.

“Why did you marry James?” He asked.

Nina bit her lips before answering him.

“I-It was part of the deal. He said once I completed the task, he would free your mother. But I need to divorce you first so I can marry his son. Believe me, I never wanted to marry him, but they would not release your mom if I didn’t.”

Andrew took a deep breath. It was heartbreaking to hear her side, but it was painful to know that her decision was entirely because of his mother.

“I don’t know, Nina. I was hurt. I felt like my world suddenly crumbled and ended. I loved you. I thought that was enough to put your trust and faith in me. Whatever happens to my mother, I would never blame you for that. If you didn’t lie to us and if you didn’t deceive us, if only you told us that Benjamin had something to do with the attack.” He paused.

“If you told us about their plan, maybe Peggy’s baby was alive. Many people lost their lives that day, so I felt guilty because of it. I wanted to see you so badly. I was lonely when you left me with just a fucking divorce paper. The wound you left me was deep. I don’t know if I can forgive you.” Andrew said.

Nina cried when she heard Andrew’s words.

“But I will try to get along with you for Brie. That’s the best thing I can do for now.” Andrew continued.

Nina nodded and cried. Andrew couldn’t take it and moved beside her, pulling her closer. He hugged her tightly. Nina felt Andrew’s shoulders were shaking and she knew he was crying.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Those were the only words she could say. She hurt Andrew, but he would try to be nice to her even though he hated her. She was thankful for that.

She wrapped her arms around him, and they both cried. Andrew couldn’t do anything. He loved her, but he could not tell her that. It was already too late for them. She was already in love with another man. All he could do right now was to take care of his daughter.

Nina wanted to say that she still loved him, that her heart would always belong to him. But she knew Andrew’s heart had already changed. He was just being nice to her because of Brie, so she’s happy with that for now.

Andrew kissed her on the forehead before letting her go. He stood up and smiled at her.

“Let’s go to sleep. We’ll go to Primrose in the morning.” Andrew said.

“Ahm. Do you know where my family lives?” She suddenly asked.

“I’ll take you to them tomorrow.” He answered before he turned his back away and went inside the bedroom.

Nina didn’t know that her family was living in Primrose. Andrew asked them to stay there since he wasn’t staying there anymore.

Morning came, and Nina woke up because of the sunlight coming from the bedroom window. She slowly opened her eyes only to be surprised to see Andrew’s face was just a few inches away from hers.

She wanted to scream, but she bit her lips and stared at her ex-husband. She felt his hand was on her waist and her leg was between his thighs. She gulped and frowned when she felt his hardened flesh poking her.

Andrew was already awake before Nina. He was surprised when he saw their position. He didn’t release her and just stared at her pretty face. Then she suddenly moved, so he pretended to sleep.

Nina didn’t notice that she was already touching his face, tracing its lines and memorizing every detail again. She smiled and bit her lips when she slowly brushed her fingers to his lips.

Andrew let Nina touch his face. He enjoyed what she was doing and didn’t bother to stop her. After a few minutes, he decided to open his eyes and stared at her.

“I-I was just-”

“Just what?” He smirked.

She felt embarrassed and wanted to run away and hide. She was about to stand up, but he didn’t let her go and even hugged her tightly.

“A-Andrew.” She said in a raspy voice.”