Nathan, his grandmother, and Stacy were seated at the long mahogany table in the dining room, just waiting for Grandma to finish her stew as well. She had scolded both Stacy and Nathan when they had the idea to order takeout when she was there to cook for them.“You see, my children,” the woman said, referring also to Stacy as her child, “eating from restaurants is not healthy. You should not outsource the needs of your stomach to people you don’t know. Let people you know cook for you if you don’t know how to cook. This is why I am here. I won’t let you two go to bed hungry, nor would I want you to buy some trashy food from a trashy restaurant anyway.”“Okay, Grandma,” Nathan said, heaving a sigh. “Well, at least I’ve eaten back at the old place. How are you going to cope, Stacy? Did you manage to eat anything from yesterday to now?”Stacy’s face had grown pale. “No, and that’s the mistake I made. I’m so hungry now and I don’t know what to do.”“Don’t worry,” the grandmother said. “I

After the call, Nathan sat quietly, not touching his food.“What’s wrong, my child?” Charity, his grandmother, asked. “You’re not eating. You know I made this food especially for you, right?”Nathan shook his head affirmatively. In his mind there was nothing but turmoil. He really did not want to have anything to do with Amelia. But she had gotten herself entangled in a situation where she would be killed if he acted as though he had nothing to do with her. And if she died, there was no way it wouldn’t weigh heavy on his conscience. Rhea was right. Even with the money, even with how much he had tried to darken his heart, he still had a heart of gold.“Are you sure you’re okay?” Stacy asked. “Your grandma’s cooking is good—that’s why I’m curious why you’re moody.”“There’s just something I need to do,” Nathan said as he picked up the phone to call the strange number that had buzzed him before.The call was answered in a split second. The voice that came through was gruff and yet filled

Amelia woke up in the hospital. Her head felt heavy as it sank into the pillow laid on her hospital bed. The room smelled like medicine and drugs, the kind of things one usually found in a place like that. Up above her was a television broadcasting something on the news. It seemed they were talking about something she knew about."The kidnapping," she said in a gasp of breath. Her voice softened afterwards. "I was kidnapped. No, I got myself kidnapped. That's it. And Nathan helped me."It seemed as if she had forgotten some of the things that happened on that day and was starting to recall all of it bit by bit. She did not know how she ended up in the hospital or who brought her there. The door pulled open and a man wearing a white coat walked in, holding a file in one hand and a pen in the other. He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were focused on the file he was holding. A stethoscope was over his neck, falling on both sides of his shoulders. "You're awake," he said, taking a qui

Nathan gently pulled his arm away from her. She gasped in shock as he looked her in the eye.“What’s wrong, my love?” she asked, about to grab hold of him once more, only for him to pull away as he had before.“Don’t touch me,” he said. She flinched. “Do you want to know the real reason why I paid to have you released when Michael did not pay?”She had no answer for him. He continued speaking. “I paid because I don’t let people die on my watch. I paid because I had the means to help you, and it would be inconsiderate of me not to have done so. I paid because my heart could not watch you suffer. I paid because I made a promise to myself not to lose my heart because I have gained the whole world.”“No,” Amelia said, her voice shaking. “You’re just protecting your heart. I know the truth. You love me. You want us to be together. That’s the only reason you saved me, right? Tell me! We belong together, Nathan.”“No, we don’t, Amelia,” Nathan replied, walking backwards. “Go home, Amelia. Yo

Sunday evening after Amelia's visit, the sun was almost down when Nathan was jolted up from falling asleep by the buzzing of his phone. It was not a call but a notification. From the sound of it, he could recognize that it was none other than his email notification."What again?" He muttered to himself, rising up from his bed. This was his only chance to get a good rest before Monday, when he would have to start attending to the duties of his newfound life as a company owner. He might as well have just ignored it and gone right ahead to sleep, but something about the sound of the buzz made him think otherwise.He picked up the phone, swiped, and read. It was an email letter from his school signed by the Dean himself. He hated the man because of how gruffly he treated him the last time they met, and now as he read the letter, he wondered what exactly could have gone wrong."Mr. Nathan Rhodes," the letter read. "You are invited to an urgent meeting concerning the conduct and reported vi