After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 218

Nicol checked his watch and glanced back at her. “Next time, try to focus when you drive.”

He slid into his car, and the Bugatti glided off down the street.

Nettie stood frozen, watching the luxury car disappear. She stomped her foot hard. “Who even needs to drive a car that expensive on regular streets?”

She felt her chest tighten. Not only was her wallet about to take a hit, her heart felt bruised too. Even with insurance, half the down payment she’d scraped together was probably gone.

She looked down at the front of her own car and nearly burst into tears. His car only had a scratch, but hers now had a giant dent in the hood.

Catherine had been waiting at the restaurant for half an hour before Nettie finally rushed in. Without a word, Nettie threw herself into Catherine’s arms and started sobbing.

“Hey, hey, what happened? Did someone mess with you?” Catherine asked, startled by Nettie’s meltdown.

“I… I crashed into a Bugatti on the way over. My down payment is toast,” Nettie hiccuped, burying her face in Catherine’s shoulder.

Catherine’s eyes went wide. “Wait, a Bugatti? Was it bad? Are you hurt?”

Fighting back another round of tears, Nettie told her the whole story, especially how the owner had teased her about it.

Catherine wrapped her up in a hug. “Don’t worry. If you need help with the money, I’ve got your back. Seriously, don’t stress.”

“I think I can cover it, but just thinking about how much it’ll cost makes me wanna cry.” Nettie propped her chin on her hands, finally starting to calm down. “Honestly, it was that stupid black plastic bag. And I wasn’t paying enough attention. It’s my fault, so I’ll just take it as paying to avoid a bigger disaster. At least nobody got hurt.”

Catherine nodded. “Exactly. As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. Let’s order some food and eat our feelings, alright?”

***

“She had plans today.” Lawrence’s eyes softened. “Next time for sure.”

Nicol chuckled. “You two are something else. Five years ago, she saved your life. Five years later, you saved hers. Now you’re married. That’s fate if I’ve ever seen it.”

Lawrence’s smile was warm and real. “It’s fate, yeah. Feels like it was always meant to be.”

“So, are you ever going to tell her who you really are? And that she was the one who saved you?” Nicol asked, sipping his tea.

Lawrence shook his head. “I’m not hiding it on purpose. I just want to wait for the right moment. If I told her now, it’d only stress her out.”

“I still can’t believe that Resonance AI—the one we’ve been tracking for five years—was her work all along. And she just won Project Apex Initiative. She’s incredible. Honestly, you two are a perfect match,” Nicol said, a little envious as he wondered if his own soulmate was out there somewhere.

Just then, the image of the girl who’d crashed into him popped into his head. Her shy, apologetic smile and that resigned look on her face. He couldn’t help but smile. She was… actually kind of interesting.