"She always knew that I was the one who divorced Colin, and therefore, she tried her level best to stop
the marriage from falling apart. She probably searches for some security deep in her heart, which I
failed to give her. I am the one that is to be blamed here. This is all my fault!"
"Are you even in your right mind? This is just gibberish now!" Nathan exploded in anger as he frowned
at all this.
"What am I supposed to do, Nathan? Please help me out!" Mandy was seemingly worried and at the
end of her wits. She had no one to turn to, but Nathan. In her heart, she was hesitant, and she
struggled to make a decision. Everything in her heart was like it had tangled into a large knot—a knot
that she did not know how to disentangle.
"See the fact is that she is not your child. Therefore you have no business with her, and it will be wise
of you to stay out of her life. You have to give up on this child! It is high time." Nathan had his own
selfish needs that directed his suggestions for Mandy. His eyes looked evil. He was tired of seeing
Mandy upset all day. He had not in his wildest dreams thought that a little child like Lisa would even be
a problem.
"No, there is no way that I am giving up on her. Her parents helped me once when I needed it the most!
I cannot just desert her, I will have to bear that guilt for the rest of my life. Such an act of unkindness
will not go unpunished!" Mandy said decisively.
"You literally make no sense right now! You need not worry about her so much. I am willing to take all
the backlash on your behalf and end your suffering," Nathan finally said to calm Mandy down.
"No. Please stop saying such things. I am just wondering how to make her accept the reality for what it
is," said Mandy.
"Did you ever consider the fact that such a little girl knows so much about divorce and marriage? Is it
not strange? This is all Colin's trickery to never let you go!" Nathan was enraged. He stared at Mandy
with the hope that she would see this.
"Nathan, please tell me you are joking! Colin can be a very bad human being, but taking advantage of
his little girl to fulfill his selfish needs will be the last thing on his agenda. I staunchly believe that he will
not stoop to such lows!" Although Mandy said all this aloud, deep inside somewhere, she knew that
Nathan could be right.
"What kind of man is he? What do you think? You think he is a great man?" Nathan taunted. His face
grew darker, and he could not help but continue frowning at everything.
At least Mandy thought that Colin was a decent guy. Everyone was allowed to form their opinions in the
world. Also, Colin had given Mandy some of the most important things in life, so it was only natural for
him to expect her to be by him in an hour of need. That is the least a man wants or expects.
But to Nathan, Colin was the rival in his love interest. So obviously they never got along well. Both of
them wanted Mandy as their own.
"Well, let's not discuss this anymore," Mandy said, exhausted with all the arguing.
"Okay, but you must know I am not ready to let you meet Lisa every day. I don't want anything to hinder
our happiness! It took us a lot of time to get here!" Nathan decisively said to Mandy. One could
understand from the look on his face that he was dead serious.
"Nathan you are obsessing over it now. Lisa is just a little girl. She won't cause any trouble, I promise!"
Mandy tried to calm Nathan down with a disappointed look on her face.
After all, Mandy knew about Nathan's prejudice towards Colin.
Instead of replying immediately, Nathan just looked at Mandy very carefully.
"What should I think then? Will I ever be your priority? I'm your husband, not just another acquaintance.
Why are you so obliged to keep others happy even when the favor is negligible? I also have done
things for you. Do they mean nothing to you?" Nathan hissed. He was fuming with anger.
"Yet again, you misunderstood me!" shouted Mandy! Her lips quivered out of anger and grief.
"You think I have wronged you again? Well, the real fact is that you who have wronged me this time!
You are such a selfish woman. You would always rather compromise our happiness than refuse
people's unreasonable demands. I can't keep up with this stupidity!" Nathan had no control over his
words or anger anymore. The veins popped up on his bony hands. But he stretched them out to hold
Mandy.
"I..." Mandy could no more hold herself back. She buried her head into Nathan's arms and fell silent.
"Tell me, what do you want to say? Do you think I enjoy quarreling with you like this? Or I would ever
repeat this action? I know life has not exactly been easy for either of us. I know you have difficulties. If I
quarrel with you once again, you might be on the verge of collapsing again. Mandy, I really hope that
you stay happier than this. You should do what your heart desires!" Nathan looked defeated. His voice
sounded helpless. But Mandy could not believe what she had just heard from him.
This Nathan was a new person—an evolved person. If one could travel back in time, Nathan would
simply leave home without any discussion out of anger.
"Nathan, I can't thank you enough for understanding!" Mandy was so touched by his approach that she
hugged Nathan with a smile on her face.
"I am not demanding anything out of the normal. Place yourself in my position when you decide
something. Just think, if I had an ex-wife and an adopted child, would you be very happy with the fact
that I visited them every other day? Give this a thought, for it might give you some perspective about
the whole scenario," Nathan explained calmly, and this made Mandy sad even though she knew that
there was logic in it.
Nathan had high tolerance. But the idea of his wife visiting her ex-husband and adopted child everyday
was way too much to comply with.
At this point, Nathan simply burst out.
"That does not sound great. Then what should I do? How to keep everything balanced?" Mandy was
seemingly frustrated at this point.
"No one can have all the best things in the world together. You cannot keep in such regular touch with
Colin anymore! You simply cannot rush to the hospital every time you get a call from there!"
"Okay, Mr. Jealousy, I get it!" Mandy teased Nathan with a twinkle in her eyes. She stared at his
piercing eyes and smiled faintly in her heart.
This new nickname, "Mr. Jealousy," suited Nathan very well.
"What did you say?" Nathan was startled. He narrowed his eyes carefully. He was already sober even
though the smell of alcohol still lingered.
"I called you Mr. Jealousy!" Mandy repeated provocatively.
"Oh, woman, you are dead. Wait just two minutes, I will show you my strength!" Nathan snapped. He
showed his mock anger and teased Mandy. He played with her hair and traced her beautiful neck with
his fingers.
Mandy tried to push Nathan away but was hugged even more tightly.
The bathtub was ready with steaming water. He picked Mandy up and put her in the bathtub. Then he
quickly disrobed and jumped in to join Mandy.
"How strong are you? I don't know! Show me!" Mandy seductively pinched Nathan's chin.
Nathan grabbed onto Mandy's round buttocks and spanked it. "You naughty girl, you really need to be
tamed!" he said in his sexy voice.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda