Do Us Part

55. We fake out our exes outta here"

Chapter 55

Sam
When I heard a noise, I went in the direction of the sound. I came to a halt when I noticed the source of the noise—a fax machine printing out some documents. Many papers had already fallen, so I was helping to pick them up and place them on my table when I noticed something. I checked the document and briefly froze. Then I gathered the remaining documents. The more files I examined, the more surprised I became.

Just then, I heard hurried footsteps and I raised my gaze to stare at her. "Sam, it's not what it looks like."

"What a perfectly normal reaction." I sarcastically remarked.

"I can explain."

"Really? Because this looks like a detailed account of my company transactions. High-class encrypted ones the last time I checked. I feel like the explanation is pretty clear."

"I.."

"Why do you have this?" Tell me it's not what I think, Natalie. Please.

"I.."

"Actually scratch that. I have a pretty good idea. You are not here to watch our working style, are you?"

"I am."

"Hmm ok. In addition to spying and hacking into my server, I see."

"Sam...let me explain."

"When did you even get access to my server?"

"I.."

"Wait. That last attack..that hacker who was oddly good and countered my attacks and nearly destroyed my system. That was you?"

"I..wasn't going to destroy your system. We just had to make it look like it."

"Wow." He scoffs. "We, huh? Henry and you?"

"What? No."

"Then who?"

"Zoey."

"Wow. If you used Zoey, it was a proper spy mission."

"Sam..."

"I can't believe you'd do this. How can you even do this?"

"It was..it is my job, Sam, and I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

"You are nothing like the Natalie like I know."

"So many years have passed, Sam. I am different."

"Clearly." I scoff, my chest tightening. "Although at the very least, I thought that no matter how much you changed, you would know that I would never do that."

"Sam, you took over all of the man's shares and he committed suicide just about that time. Your net worth doubled in weeks. It was very suspicious, in addition to the allegations Ruchardo made only a few years before that."

"And you thought that I'd stoop to taking everything from a helpless family man."

"Well... I don't know what to think. One time I think I know you, the other,  I can't seem to figure out what you're thinking."

"Are you seriously saying that to me? You...are the unpredictable one, Natalie. You left me. Remember?"

"I did that because I couldn't stay in a pitiful marriage anymore, not when the only reason for which we even got married was..gone in the first place." Her eyes brimmed with tears and I struggled hard to hold them back.

"Are you being serious? You think I got married to you because I pitied you?"

"Yeah. The only reason you got married was that I got pregnant and..you didn't want to seem like the bad person." I was dumbfounded by her utterance.

Natalie
"Yeah. The only reason you got married was that I got pregnant and..you didn't want to seem like the bad person." I held back my tears as I said that.

"Oh my.." He placed his hands on his head dramatically. "I loved you, Natalie and that's why I married you. I loved you and wanted to be with you..and our baby..girl"

"NO. You married me because your father told you to."

"My father? You're joking, right? My father told me to help you get an abortion."

"What?"

"Yes. I lied when I said my father suggested marriage.  I...I was the one who wanted to marry you..and not because I pitied you like you just called it. I wanted to be with you forever."

"Even if that were true, did you ever think how that made me feel?"

"I was taking responsibility for us as a family to care for our baby. I thought you'd be happy."

"That. That has always been the problem, Sam. You feel that you have to take responsibility for others. I know now that you didn't do wrong to Jones but your help was part of what made him jump the gun as he did."

"Wow. Who knows helping others could be such a pain to them?" He sarcastically comments.

"I didn't like that you asked me to marry you when I became pregnant."

"That was the typical and responsible thing to do."

"Well, I don't do 'typical'. I never did and you knew that. I didn't want you to feel obligated or responsible for me. I felt insulted, Sam. I felt like I was ruining your life with the news and then when the miscarriage happened, you became distant and I just felt so suffocated to think that the reason we got married in the first place was gone." I pushed the catarrh in my nose back.

"I was distant? Me?" He scoffs.

"For three months, Sam. You didn't talk to me."

"I did, Natalie. I reached out many times.  Too many times. I did try talking to you but you...you kept pushing me away. You are always so in your head. You...You pushed me away and so I gave you space to figure things out, only for you to tell me one afternoon that it was over and threw all that we had out the window. You single-handedly ended our marriage. Our love."

"I lost my baby, Sam." I let the tears roll down my cheeks.

"Yes."  He pauses a bit, then, "I know, you did. Yes, you lost a baby, Natalie, but so did I." He sighs and wipes the tears that fell on his cheek. "Did you ever stop to think about that?" He wiped the tears that fell out of his right eye.

"Sam..."

"You spent three months not talking to me...constantly telling yourself that I had to know what to do. You kept quiet and expected me to know. I wanted us to talk..as people, as lovers and parents who just lost their baby girl..and I tried but you...you shut me out. I wanted you to shout, scream, and cry because I wanted to do all of that too, with you, but you, you just came that afternoon to tell me you were leaving me like nothing..like none of it...none of what we had matters."

"I expected you to know. You always do."

"Are you kidding me? I am not perfect and I don't know everything. Communication. 'Communication is the key.' YOU always said that. You were the one who made me love communication. You helped me realize how much we could solve by communicating. We..we should have communicated. Life is not a fairytale, Natalie. I can't know everything. I don't..and honestly, I don't wanna.  I wanted you to talk to me. Expres.. cry..shout...I just didn't want you to shut me out. It was the thing I couldn't bear." He wiped his tears. "But that's what you did. You just upped and left..like those years..were nothing."

"You know that's not true. I loved you."

"So did I.." Scoffing, he continued," Who am I kidding? I still do. It has always been you, but you don't get it, do you?"

"I.."

"At least you have your facts now, right?"

"Sam.."

"I don't want to see your face again, Natalie, and I mean that." His eyes looked murderous as he stared at me, his face void of emotion, and left the room.