Between The Tides Of Pain & Rapture | MxM

Chapter 23

Nathan stared at his trembling fingers, feeling the weight of guilt pressing down on him as he sat hunched over in the sterile hospital chair. The steady beep of the heart rate monitor was the only reassurance that Ira, lying motionless with broken ribs and punctured lungs, was still alive.

Twelve hours had passed since the accident. Ira had been trying to escape his betrayal, and her desperate flight had ended in disaster. Nathan couldn't shake the image of her mangled car from his mind. Her despair was his doing, a painful truth he couldn't escape. It should have been him—it was all his fault. All he had done was bring disaster to their home.

The doctors had reassured him she would be awake by the next morning and urged him to go home and rest. But he couldn't leave; he couldn't bring himself to step out of the room. Earlier, he had called his mother to tell her what happened. She came, and so did Logan. Nathan couldn't bear to see that bastard's face, so he pretended not to know him, causing the doctors to deny Logan entry. Logan seemed angry, hurt even. But Nathan didn't care—his heart ached too deeply.

When he had calmed down, he also contacted her family. They sounded angry over the phone—worried mostly—and blamed him for everything, rightfully so. They were on their way, though it would be a week and a half before they arrived, as they were back in Kolkata for the Holi festival, and travel during the festivities was hectic.

Although he knew he was the last person Ira would want to see when she woke up, he was also the only person she had at the moment. So despite the lies, he needed to stay.

A faint knock at the door snapped him back to reality. A nurse entered, followed by two middle-aged officers. She whispered something to them, nodded, and left without acknowledging Nathan. His heart leaped—a reflexive reaction to their uniforms and stern expressions.

Without thinking, he stood up, his eyes wandering from one officer to another. "Yes?"

"Nathan Das?" The taller officer's tone was cautious. Nathan nodded, feeling a lump form in his throat.

"I'm Officer Trevor Matthew, and this is Officer Landon Brown. We need to ask you some questions about the accident."

A sour taste appeared in Nathan's mouth, though he tried to ignore it. He knew why the officers were there; he'd been the last person with Ira, so it was only fitting he'd be questioned. "Alright," he muttered, his attention drifting back to the sleeping woman before he cleared his throat and followed the two officers outside. "Is there anything I can do for you, officer? I already talked to someone from the department at the scene. I..."

Officer Trevor shared a glance with Officer Landon before turning back to Nathan. "Have you and your wife been fighting lately, Mr. Das? We have witnesses who claim they saw you riding behind her, screaming at her to stop."

"What happened before the accident?" Officer Landon chipped in.

Nathan arched an eyebrow. "I don't understand. Are you accusing me of something?"

"We're just trying to get to the bottom of everything," Officer Trevor corrected.

"If there's something you're not telling us," Officer Landon added.

Nathan felt his stomach churn. Anger bubbled up—anger at himself, at the situation, at the officers for making him relive it. But underneath it all was a crushing guilt that made him feel as if he was drowning. "Bottom of everything? Something I'm not telling you?" he echoed, his voice barely above a whisper. He couldn't shake the feeling that his nightmare was far from over. "What are you talking about? What is there to tell? Yeah, okay. We got into an argument and she took off in my car. I went after her to stop her from leaving—that's it."

"Mr. Das, let's just cut to the chase," Officer Landon replied tightly. "It seems your wife's accident wasn't an accident."

"What are you talking about?"

"It looks like the brakes to the car had been tampered with, and that's what caused the vehicle to malfunction," Officer Trevor added.

Nathan's mind raced, trying to process the information. "Are you saying... Someone intentionally did this?"

A deafening silence filtered through the air before Officer Landon answered, "Unfortunately, yes. And this is now an open investigation."

Nathan's breath faltered, too consumed with his own wandering thoughts. Someone had sought to harm his wife—sought to end her life. Ira, innocent and unknowing, had no enemies. He could not say the same for himself though. Whose gaze had met his with an immense satisfaction at his worries, at his tears—at his downfall? Who had threatened him? Who had gloated he could make Nathan's life miserable? Who had claimed ownership over him, declared that Nathan belonged to them?

Nathan's breath shuddered deep into his bones, for he couldn't believe it although it was clear as day itself...

Logan had tried to kill his wife so he could get Nathan for himself.

This was Logan's doing.