Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 558 Bang! "What the hell is this supposed to mean?!" The hospital room reverberated with the crash-a folding chair toppled over, and a crumpled red invitation was hurled to the floor by Sophia Pembroke, landing with a tic roll at the feet of a man in gleaming oxblood shoes as he walked in.

Nathaniel bent down and picked it up.

His expression was unreadable as he smoothed the invitation open.

Peonies bloomed across the paper, and at the top in neat script it read, 'To Mr. Nathaniel.' It was addressed to him. The date was absurdly soon. Below, the venue. And at the bottom, the signatures of the two people hosting the engagement.

Mila and Forrest.

Daphne Hall.

One day. That's all it took for everything to turn upside down.

Now, silence pressed in, heavy and absolute.

But Sophia was never one for silence. She kicked the fallen chair, pointed furiously at the only other person in the room-Nathaniel-and launched into a tirade. "You useless waste of space! I gave you a chance, and you blew it! Yesterday, I told you to talk to her about that ridiculous teacher business-couldn't you see the opportunity? You couldn't even set up a single date! And now she's suddenly engaged? What are you good for, huh? And what, she only sent you an invitation? Am I, Sophia Pembroke, supposed to not exist? Does she not know who runs the Pembroke family?" She was practically shaking with rage.

After deciding she was done playing games with Lysander, Sophia had made up her mind-she'd bring Mila into the family, under the guise of marriage. She still had an unmarried brother, and since he actually liked Mila, why not? So when Mila had cby yesterday, wanting to talk about steacher whose nSophia couldn't even remember, she'd dragged Nathaniel along.

And what cof it? Not even a lousy dinner, much less a date.

And now-this engagement invitation.

Was Mila messing with her? Deliberately provoking her? Nathaniel, for his part, seemed entirely unfazed by the verbal assault. Maybe he was just used to it. His face didn't change; he barely seemed to register any emotion at all. His gaze stayed fixed on the wrinkled red invitation in his hands.

Only when Sophia's shouting finally lost steam did he speak, his voice soft. "Sis. Maybe this is for the best." He looked up, meeting Sophia's eyes-her neck still wrapped in gauze, her face flushed with anger. He said quietly, "I told you before. Mila doesn't like me. She never will. And honestly, I don't want her to. I like things just the way they are." "What are you trying to say?" Sophia's tone turned cold.

"I've never wanted to get married," Nathaniel answered, his eyes dropping. He could still hear the echo of shattering glass, the vicious arguments between men and women, the sickening sounds that used to cfrom the next room at night. The parade of strange women's faces he barely recognized... He'd had a disaster of a father, a man who never cared about anyone, and Nathaniel saw no reason to pass on that kind of legacy. Julian Pembroke was the one exception, a fluke.

"Sophia," he said.

"You were the one who talked about marriage. You said you loved Theodore Chase, no matter if he was rich or poor." He turned his head, looking out the window, voice steady. "I thought you'd be the exception. I thought maybe our family was still capable of loving someone for real. That's why, when everyone else was against it, I was the only one who supported you. But look how that ended." Those so-called soulmates-what did it get them? One dead. The other in prison.

Love? What a joke.

It didn't stand a chance against betrayal.

Sophia stared at her brother, really listening to him for the first time. For a moment, she was silent. Then her voice returned, more forceful than ever. "She's different. She'll be loyal to her marriage." She held up her hand, palm flat, moving it up and down to show a scale. "Her moral code is way above ours. Even if she's disappointed in a marriage, she'd follow the rules-she'd never betray. You're the one I'd worry about." Nathaniel gave a faint, humorless laugh.

Of course he knew. He knew all too well.

But...

"You're really optimistic, aren't you?"

He turned from the window, his eyes rimmed red as he looked at Sophia. "Sis, did you forget what you did to her? There's no way she could ever likelet alone choose me. And isn't that your fault? Don't you think it's a little ridiculous to say all this now?" Crack! The sharp smack of flesh on flesh cut the air.

Sophia's hand hung frozen midair, fist clenched, her words icy and deliberate. "Are you blaming me?" Nathaniel's head was turned to the side, dark hair falling messily over his cheek. He was silent for a moment, then a wry smile twisted his lips, already tinged with red. He whispered, "...No." He couldn't blanyone.

No one but himself.

And even without everything that had happened, he could never repay what he owed Milą., ed Mila. Not with the Pembroke NO family the way it was. Even if she truly wanted to, could he really drag someone else into the fire with him? He couldn't fight Sophia.

Why pull someone else under, just to watch them get crushed too? No point.

If you can't protect someone, you don't get to keep them close.

Nathaniel lowered his head, gently smoothing the battered engagement invitation and laying it on the tablez His fingertips lingered over Mila's graceful signature. Without another glance at Sophia, he turned and walked slowly toward the door, his quiet voice lingering in the hush of the hospital room.