CHAPTER FIVE: FATE.

His attitude made Audrey to feel more guilty.the fact that she was deceiving a blind man didn’t go well with her but what could she do? She was already neck deep into the lies and deception, backing down was going to ruin him more than necessary.

“Baby” Nathan called out to her again and she jolted out of her reverie of thoughts.

“Why? What happened?”

Once again she was lost in the ocean of his blue eyes, the fact that he was blind made it hard for her to admire its beauty and coupled with his natural handsome face, Nathan was like someone straight out of a painting. More of a Greek god.

“You know” Nathan held onto her hand again, “when you left I thought you were never going to come back, it made me feel so weak and useless that I couldn’t get to keep you” Nathan pursed again, this time the tears that gathered in his eyes made his eyes look more beautiful and empty. She was mesmerized by it.

“I….”

“Shhhh” Audrey placed her hand on his lips, “stop talking like it’s your fault okay?”

“But….”

“Don’t say another word okay and I mean it”

Nathan’s lips curled into a smile again, he really missed her and being able to hold her in his arms again was something he has hoped for ever since she left him.

“I…” Audrey wanted to talk again when the door creaked open and his mother entered again. From the smile on her lips, she perfectly understood that everything was fine and her joy knew no bounds. Seeing Nathan smile genuinely again was just what she wanted and she was going to do everything possible to keep that smile on his face.

“Mum” Nathan could sense her presence, “I told you I wanted to have an alone time with my baby? The smile on his lips intensified, “you have been with me all your life and you won’t spare me a moment to be with the woman i love?”

Audrey’s eyes teared up again, how could she lie to a man who was as innocent as Nathan, he looked so fragile that hurting him was hurting her in the process.

“You are the lover boy huh?” Mrs Hernandez asked teasingly as she made her way to where he was seated, “I am your mother and you chose her over me?”

The smirk on his lips intensified as he locked hands with the woman beside him.

“You have lived your life mum so let me leave mine”

“Okay okay”

Her eyes flew over to Audrey who had the most expressionless look on her face like she wanted to cry and yet still holding onto the last strain of patience that she knew.

“Vanessa also looks so happy being with you, it is hard to believe she is the same girl who left you months ago, what love could do”

“Of course mum” Nathan turned to her again, “because I love her”

“Nathan, I….” Audrey tried to talk but she was interrupted by the woman who was beside her son.

“Vanessa love, why don’t you bring Nathan’s favorite coffee for him?”

“Favorite coffee?” A look of uncertainty was hovering over her face.

“Yes” Mrs Hernandez answered through gritted teeth,

“He loves his black coffee, don’t you remember?”

A fake smile appeared on her face, “of course”

Before the mother or son could say anything again, Audrey sauntered out of the room. She could no longer hold the tears again, it was painful and heartbreaking at the same time.

She didn’t know for how long she walked until she got to a hallway and halted, now she was lost. The mansion was too big even for her to comprehend, it was filled with so many rooms and hallways even an educated person would get lost in the splendor of the house.

“Are you lost?” A voice asked behind her and she turned to see another woman coming towards her, she was dressed in work clothes and not much older than her.

An awkward smile appeared on her face, “kind of” a soft chuckle resonated from her, “I can’t seem to find my way though”

“I can show you ma’am” the lady answered again, “ you are new? Like a new worker?”

“When did you become so inquisitive?” Another authoritative voice reached their ears, “I am not paying you for this, am I?” Mrs Hernandez asked again, she didn’t look pleased at all.

“Sorry ma’am” the lady apologized and scurried down the hall, being in the presence of this woman who always gave her the creeps.

“And you” the old lady turned to Audrey, “it seems you want me to go over the rules again”

“What do you mean?” Audrey inquired with a confused look on her face.

“You always keep slipping back into the fact that you are Vanessa now and not Audrey. You have to imbibe her life and be her, that is who Nathan needs now and not you”

“Don’t you understand the fact that this is going to break him more than necessary when he finds out?” Audrey threw her hands in the air helplessly, “my conscience pricks me every time I tell him a lie ma’am, I am trying not to feel this way but Nathan doesn’t even deserve this”

The old lady suddenly flared up, “do you know how long I suffered to get him out of depression when your sister left?” Her eyes were spitting venom as she spoke, “I literally nursed my son back to life and it was not an easy task to begin with” tears welled up in her eyes, “Nathan didn’t have a reason to live and it was all because of Vanessa. Don’t you think you owe this to my son?”

Audrey could not believe her ears, was this woman expecting her to shoulder the responsibility of her sister’s unfilial behavior?

“That is literally Vanessa and not me, Mrs Henandez” she paused for a while, the lump she felt in her throat made it difficult for her to even say more.

“Look Audrey” Mrs Hernandez began again, “Vanessa turned my son into a shadow of his former self and now that I have nursed him back to life, i would not let any harm come to him again”

Audrey sighed while massaging the space between her brows, this was tougher than she expected. Mrs Hernandez was more a pain in the ass than her son.

“One month,” she finally said.

“One month” the old lady answered, “I will find Vanessa In one month and you are free to leave and we have already talked about this so you don’t have to keep repeating the fact that you gave me only a month to find Vanessa”

Audrey sighed for the umpteenth time, “fine, this shouldn’t exceed a month ma’am”

After talking, she slowly walked back to the room. This was it now, she was going to be a blind man’s nanny for a month and that was the biggest truth of her life now.

****

Nathan had a picture of her with him when she sauntered into the room and her eyes teared up, he was so into her sister and she was finding it hard to comprehend.

“Babe” Nathan turned his attention to the sound of the door, “you are here?”

“Uhmm” Audrey went and sat beside him, “how do you know you have my picture with you?”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, “I am blind but not daft Nessa, I know you anywhere and anytime”

This also made her laugh, he was hilarious.

The image of Nathan Hernandez in her head was different from the one she saw. Audrey always thought he was much more of a rich bastard who treated everyone like trash but the Nathan in front of her looked more vulnerable than she could even imagine. Life didn’t always go as planned.

“I didn’t expect you to be this way, Nathan” the moment the words left her mouth, Audrey’s eyes opened wide in horror. It was a slip of the tongue and she could see the surprised look on his face.

“What I mean is” she tried defending herself, “I have been away for such a long time and you still accept me with open arms. Some people would not do that and it makes me feel so bad and….”

“Shhhhh” he shushed her, “stop talking like that baby, I am different okay and you know that. You left because you felt wronged and I totally understand your frustration. I can’t hold that against you even if I wanted to” he clasped his hand over hers, “I belong to you and you belong to me okay? Nothing is ever going to change that”

This was the height of it, Audrey could no longer stop herself and drew him into her embrace. The tears she was struggling so hard to contain came pouring out.

“You are a good man, Nathan” she whispered over his hair, “don’t ever change that”

Nathan didn’t know why she was saying that, but being in her embrace made him feel so much better. Now he had more reason to live and get his old life back.