Chapter 431 Follow Suit
“You don’t have to apologize to me. No matter what you say, I can never forgive you. Nicholas, I’m utterly disappointed with you. I never imagined you would do that to me!”
I shuddered at the thought of last night when he forcefully trapped me in his arms and kissed me. He said he was not able to control himself. But, if I was not successful in resisting his advances, who knows what would have happened? Was he really going to rape me?
The incident made me furious, and I could not possibly forget about it in such a short time. Perhaps, I still trusted Nicholas. As such, I felt hurt that he would treat me that way.
“Anna, I know that you’re furious with me. You can scold or hit me all you want, but you can’t say that to me. It makes me anxious. I really like you, so I have no idea why you would reject me.”
A deep frown appeared on Nicholas’ forehead. Although he sounded like he was apologizing, he did not act like he was sorry. He probably thought it was my problem.
“Well, the fact remains that I don’t like you! Nicholas, you are a clever and capable man, so it must be difficult to put down your ego to pursue a woman. Even though you did that for me, I am not the person for you.”
Nicholas was as outstanding as Michael, and many women would come running into his embrace with a flick of his finger. As such, he could have chosen anyone he wanted other than me. Ultimately, I would never be the person for him, and I could never end up with him.
I have thought it through. Even if I did not end up with Michael, I would never want to have a relationship with Nicholas because I simply did not fancy him. When he forced himself onto me last night, all I felt was repulsion. In fact, it still haunts me even now.
From that moment on, I became convinced that we had no future together. I knew I did not love Nicholas since I could not even imagine sleeping with him. Being friends was the best thing we could do.
After hearing what I said, Nicholas’ face fell, and sadness was apparent in his eyes.
“I came here today to apologize to you. No matter what your heart thinks or says, I still have to express how sorry I am. I am also surprised by my rash actions last night.”
Nicholas spoke calmly while looking at me with guilt.
“Okay, I got it. If there’s nothing else, you should go. I still have a lot of work to do,” I replied coldly, as I did not want to discuss the incident again.
Then, I lowered my head and never looked back up.
He decided to apologize, but it was my decision to accept it or not. To me, it was simply too soon to forgive him.
“Okay, I’ll let you go back to your work. I’ll head out first.”
Seeing how reluctant I was to speak with him, Nicholas did not push me further. When he walked to the door, he looked back to glance at me before opening the door to leave.
It was almost time to get off work when I received a call from Natalie, who I had not seen for a year. Since I had returned, she suggested that we should meet up. Unable to outtalk her, I finally agreed.
I followed the address she gave me after work and arrived at a family restaurant. From the looks of the place, I knew she had to spend about a few hundred in the restaurant to treat me to a good meal. It was a generous act for someone with her income.
When I entered the restaurant, I spotted Natalie waiting at a table with her boyfriend, Yuval. They chose a quieter area as Natalie knew noisy places were not for me.
Once they saw me, Natalie beamed and waved enthusiastically at me.
Chuckling at her cute reaction, I strode in her direction. After I came back to the country, I ran into many issues. Despite so, I felt comforted to have such a good friend who would support me whenever I needed help.
“Anna, you’re finally here. We waited such a long time for you and almost thought you would bail on us.”
“Well, you said you wanted to meet with me, so how could I not come? Besides, we haven’t seen each other for a long time, and I would like to catch up with you,” I replied with a smile as I sat opposite Natalie.
“All right, let’s start eating. See how much I’ve ordered. These are all your favorite dishes.” Natalie gestured to the table of food. “Since you were overseas for a year, I figured you would miss having local food. Tonight, you can eat to your heart’s content.”
Natalie grinned. Instantly, I felt a warm sensation spreading through my heart.
Sitting beside Natalie, Yuval added, “Exactly. Natalie went all out for you today.”
Looking at how well the couple got along, I could not help but be amused. Nonetheless, I still felt happy for Natalie.
A year had passed, and they still had a great relationship. I guess Natalie and Yuval are serious about this relationship. I hope they can stay blessed for the rest of their lives from the bottom of my heart.
“Natalie, you have been with Yuval for more than a year. Don’t you plan to get married soon? I would love to attend your wedding.”
I shot Natalie a playful look. She was no longer a child now, and I felt anxious for her since she had not gotten married.
“Hey. Why did you have to bring that up? This man hasn’t even proposed to me. Besides, I am not so desperate to the point where I have to force him to marry me.”
Although Natalie spoke like she did not care, I saw the displeasure in her eyes when she turned to look at Yuval. It seemed like she was unhappy with him.
Meanwhile, Yuval lowered his head awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
Looking at the situation, I could tell Yuval had not proposed to Natalie yet. And Knowing Natalie’s character, I knew it bothered her.
“Well, both of you have been dating for a long time. You might as well settle down now. That is unless you plan on ditching Natalie.” I raised my brows at Yuval.
Seeing how annoyed Natalie seemed, I knew I had to help her out as her good friend.
“Of course not. I want to stay with Natalie for the rest of my life. So, I will marry her, eventually. It’s just that I am still preparing to propose to her at the right time,” Yuval muttered shyly and looked away in embarrassment.
