The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 237

The veins in Lance’s forehead pulsed as he locked his hand around her wrist. He looked at her, taking in the sarcasm in her smile, and nodded quietly. “You’d really go this far for him?”

She’d ignored everything he’d said. No matter how much he tried to talk her out of it, she still went to see Freddy. And now, because of Fabian, she didn’t even care about her own well-being. Yet when it came to Lance, all she ever gave him was the cold shoulder. She used to say she loved him. What a joke.

Lance shifted his chilling gaze to Fabian. “You’re really going to let a woman take the blame for this?”

Nathalie’s breath came quick and uneven. “Lance, stop it. If he drinks everything, something terrible will happen!”

Lance kept his eyes on Fabian, refusing to even glance at her. Everyone in the room knew exactly why things had gotten to this breaking point.

Fabian looked a little better now, though his face was still flushed and his eyes unfocused from all the alcohol. He was hanging on, just barely.

“Of course not,” he muttered, and without hesitating, he grabbed another bottle and started chugging.

“No, stop, please…” Nathalie took a step toward him, desperate.

Before she could make it, Lance’s arm circled her waist, pinning her in place. She couldn’t get anywhere near Fabian, no matter how she struggled.

All she could do was watch through tears as Fabian forced down another bottle, this one even stronger than the last. Guilt ate her alive. This was her fault. She was dragging him down with her.

Her resolve started crumbling. Maybe she should just let go of everything. Forget the lawsuit. Maybe she could just put up with the way things were. Life was life, no matter how you lived it.

Fabian set the empty bottle on the coffee table, the sound barely cutting through her thoughts. He looked up and met her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Nathalie. I’ll be fine. I’m not about to give up on my people. You started this—don’t stop halfway.” His words were slow and heavy, like he could see straight into her mind.

He turned and rushed into the bathroom. A few seconds later, the sick sound of him throwing up echoed out.

A low laugh came from Lance. “So he’s that important to you, huh?”

There was a threat behind his words. Nathalie heard it clear as day.

Just then, Fabian came out of the bathroom, looking a mess but somehow still managing a faint, crooked smile.

He glanced at Lance. “Honestly, I kind of regret it now. If only I hadn’t delivered that love letter to you back then.”

He remembered, back in college, how Nathalie had paced nervously outside the boys’ dorm, clutching that letter. He’d thought it was hilarious. So he’d brought it to Lance.

What if he hadn’t done it? Would everything have turned out differently?

In the end, he was part of the problem too.