Redemption(Struggle #3) Read online

“But Eva is not Samantha.” I defended Eva.

  “No, she isn’t. I know she is a sweet girl, but what if she doesn’t want to get married so early? She is what, twenty-one? Or two?” He hit the chair hard.”Damn you, man. I just can’t believe what you’ve gotten into this time. And what about her mother? She is a wicked lady. Does she know about this? There is no telling what she would do to you.”

  “I don’t know if Eva filled her in already. I guess you are the first one to know.”

  “But still, buddy. I don’t think it is a wise decision. But if you want to go with it, I won’t say a word.”

  What if he is right and I did make a wrong decision. What if Eva doesn’t want this either? But Eva looked so happy about the news.

  “Still I wonder what wicked game Martha will play after hearing this.” His eyebrows shrank.

  “Yes, I haven’t talked with Eva about her. I can’t even tell her the truth about her mother and the games she played with us.” Suddenly, everything around me started feeling dark, like somebody sucked light out of every molecule. I started doubting my own intentions. Am I making the same mistake again?

  “I don’t know how to tell you this, but you gotta think over this again, man.”

  “I definitely will, Mason”

  “I hope that God will put some sense in you. You will need to spend some more time with her to know if she is the right one,” he said.

  My heart knew she was the one, but I thought I was repeating the same mistake again.

  “Anyways, I’m actually here to talk with you about a clause in my old contract. See if you can find a way to get out of it.” I took out the papers given by Lobo.

  Mason studied them for a minute. “That’s a hefty clause, dude. You should not accept it at any cost. This is brutal. Making a person work for two extra years. Damn, this is bad.”

  “It’s too late for me. I’d already signed this for a company and now they want me to work for them again. Almost free of cost.”The world was testing my patience. “I’ll have to work for them again for few months,” I replied in low voice.

  “That’s certainly bad, man. Sorry, but you are cornered by law this time.” He told the truth.

  “I know, that’s why I came to you. I need to get some work ASAP. Or else I will be doomed in the bank debt.”

  “No, you won't. I’ll check with my clients. We can get some work for you. But you may have to wait for a while before anything comes to me. Now, come on. Let’s celebrate your wedding.”

  Chapter 6

  Eva

  Nathan was lying down on the bed with his right hand sandwiched between his body and the mattress. His bicep muscle was popped out; I couldn’t control myself and went ahead to kiss it. He looked like a cute kid when he slept that way. A sweet smile lightened his face.

  “Wake up, sweetheart.” I twined my fingers through his scattered hair.

  He half opened his eyes and looked at me. Sleep still filled his eyes. “What time is it, babe?” I lowered my mouth to kiss his forehead.

  “It’s almost eleven.”

  He jumped on the bed. “What, eleven already? Shit, I’m still feeling dizzy.”

  “At what time did you go to sleep?” For the last two days, he had been working late, some older work he had to do again. He was so frustrated when he told me that. Some legal issue with his company; and I didn’t understand half of it.

  He was so busy in his work that he even forgot me, sometimes.

  “Around three o’clock.” He lay back on the bed again. His body seemed to be resisting getting up.

  “How many days will this go on, babe?” I was worried that he would get sick if he continued like this.

  “Can I get a coffee first, please?” He did his puppy eyes.

  “Here you go.” I had already poured one for him. I knew he would want a hot coffee whenever he woke up.

  “Thanks, babe. You are such a life saver.” He yawned.

  His smile made my day. After legally becoming his wife, I dreamed about many things and making him a coffee every morning was one of those things. I had always dreamed about taking care of my husband since my childhood; now it was getting real.

  “I even got your towel and clothes for your shower. Get ready and we will have breakfast together.”

  “You don’t have to do all this for me.” His eyebrows narrowed.

  “But I love doing this. After all, I’m your wife,” I reminded him. A warm feeling went through my body all over. I loved my own words. Without any reason, I twined my fingers through his hair again. That made me feel close to him.

  “Yes, we are sure about that, but don’t make me lazy by doing all this.” He gave me a smirk.

  “Anyways, get ready. We have to visit the grocery store today. There are lots of things we need to buy.” His refrigerator was empty and when I asked him to shop for groceries, he came home with bags filled with readymade junk food and bottles of wine and Jack Daniels. I’d forgotten that he was bachelor and his needs were so few. And now I have to go with him to shop for meaningful things for the house.

  His expression changed. His sleepy face turned into an annoyed face. “Sorry, babe, but I don’t think I can make it today. I have some urgent work to do and get it back to the client by the end of the day.”

  “Come on, Nathan we can’t live on the food we have in the refrigerator. I can’t even cook today's lunch if we don’t get some groceries.”

  “Can you please order out? Maybe pizza or some burgers?” he asked.

  “No, babe, it’s not good for our health. Let’s go for an hour, at least. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

  “Sorry, babe, you have to manage without me.” He drank a sip of coffee and stood up. He kissed me on the cheek and walked towards his exercise/office room.

  Now I have to go by myself.

  “At least take a shower, my Prince Charming,” I shouted.

  “I will in a bit.” He shouted back.

  I changed into a comfy pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. I looked at my figure; it looked good, even after I hadn’t exercised for almost a month. Maybe Sexercise was enough to keep my body in tone.

  I lifted the car keys and headed out, but before that, I peeked into Nathan’s room. He was sitting in front of the illuminated screen, hitting the keyboard. Then I looked around; his room was a complete mess. Dumbbells and resistance bands were scattered around his table. I must clean this up someday; maybe this weekend. He was still in his sleeveless Nike t-shirt and shorts. His cut biceps were illuminated in the laptop light. I felt my arousal building up inside my thighs. How can he look so sexy at all the time? He looked so hot that I wanted to get naked and have him in that room.

  “Hey, are you going to the supermarket?” He noticed me.

  “Yup,” I put my thoughts of making love to him aside.

  “What is the date today, babe?” he asked.

  “The fifteenth. Why?”

  “I was counting the days to deliver this work. It's gonna be so hectic for me.” He sighed. For the last two days he had been working like a horse. Whenever he was awake, he was either sitting on the computer or fulfilling his natural duties. He even ate his lunch and dinner in front of the laptop.

  “Shit,shit,shit,” I cried.

  “Hey, what happened? Why are you screaming like something happened? Are you all right?” He hopped out of the chair and came running for me.

  “I have only a week left to decide about the sports scholarship. And I haven’t even given it a thought.”

  “Oh, I thought something happened to you.” He wrapped me in his arms. I felt good that he ran for me, but the feeling of choosing between my dream and my career was creating tension in my belly.

  “I’m really sorry, babe, that I can’t come with you to the supermarket. My work is already on fire and I have to complete this by today.” His eyes had a hint of sorrow in them.

  “It’s okay babe, I’ll manage it. One more thing; I will be visiting Chloe tonight, so I won't
be around for dinner.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll be busy with this work, anyways. So you have a good time. Does she know you are back?” he said.

  “Nope, she is going to kill me when I’ll tell her that. I was supposed to live with her after coming back, but here I am living with you as your wife.” I hugged him and kissed his lips.

  A few minutes later, I was still kissing him and his hands were inside my jeans, squeezing my ass. But then he remembered his work and forcefully stopped the good things he was doing to me.

  I gave him an angry face to show my annoyance. He actually lit a fire in me and then he pushed me away. How can you, Nathan?

  “Sorry, Eva, but if we have sex right now, this client will fuck me tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t let them fuck my husband. He is only mine to fuck.” I giggled and waved him a kiss.“Hey, babe, can you please courier some papers for me? And put the garbage out?” I hoped he would do at least those small things.

  “Sure, sweetheart. Put the papers on the couch. I’ll send them,” he said without looking at me.

  “Don’t forget,” I reminded him again and walked out of the house.

  I messaged Chloe before starting the car.

  Sweetheart, I’m back. I will be coming for dinner tonight.

  My mobile flashed back instantly.

  Where are you? Come here soon. Missed you so much. I have news for you.

  What news could it be? Actually I had news for her, too.

  Chapter 7

  Eva

  This is going to kill me today. I looked at the quantity of groceries I bought. How am I going to load it in the car by myself?

  But somehow, I did it and felt very happy for doing it. “I hope this will be enough for a month,” I muttered and started Nathan’s car. The next thing on my calendar was to meet Chloe. I wonder how she is going to take this news.

  It took me half an hour to drive to the dorm. I was earlier than I thought. I had the key, so I didn’t have to ring the bell. Chloe must be in her room now. I should give her a surprise. I slowly sneaked in and walked to her room. Her door was closed. Without any thought I pushed the door forcefully, and with a bang, the door opened.

  The thing I saw inside was surprisingly different. I expected her to be drinking coffee or watching some movie on her laptop, but instead as the door opened with a bang, a naked man tried to jump away from Chloe’s bed and lost his balance and fell down on the ground while Chloe was lying on the bed, completely naked. For a second, none of us could say anything; we remained glued to the ground.

  Then I came back to life. “I’m sorry,” I shouted and shut the door fast. I hadn’t expected Chloe to be in such a condition. She was heartbroken a month ago and now she was with a guy already. Geez, what a jerk I am. I should have knocked on her door first. I cursed myself and sat on the couch, thinking about what I just saw. We were besties, but this was totally awkward. She is going to kill me for this one.

  A few minutes later, a tall, muscular man walked out of her room. He smiled at me for a moment and then walked out of the dorm.

  “Hey, I didn’t expect you so early.” Chloe came and hugged me from behind.

  “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I didn’t think to expect a naked man in your room.” I was ashamed to the core. I couldn’t believe I acted like a ten-year-old girl.

  “Don’t be. He is such a sweetheart. Well, he is Terry, my boyfriend.”

  “Boyfriend?” I thought she would say something like one nightstand to get over Martin, which was expected from her. But boyfriend was quite a strong word for a one-month relationship.

  “Yup, pretty much boyfriend. He has been practically living here for the last ten days.” She grinned, showing her happiness.

  I looked around and I could see glimpses of his persona everywhere. A guitar was lying in the corner, our laundry bag had some male shorts in it, and even a new slippers were present at the shoe rack.

  “When did this all happen, Chloe?” I gasped. It was still a surprise for me.

  “That’s a long story, but recently he joined our college as a teacher. After you were gone, Martin came to my class one day. He was drunk and started cursing me. Terry was nearby; he bashed him pretty hard. Thanks to him, the day was saved.” Her cheeks turned red.

  “You are blushing like a sixteen-year-old girl.” I said. I couldn’t really believe it. And a teacher? Are you having affair with a teacher?”

  “Yes, what’s the big deal Eva?”

  “And when did you end up in his bed?”

  “Technically, he ended up in my bed. But leave it alone. He is a real nice guy. And he is good at sex, too.” She blushed again.

  Looking at her smiling was definitely a good thing and calmed my heart, but her hook up with a teacher was out of my league.

  “So that was your news, then.” I kept calm; I had my share of news to tell her. Though I was still skeptical about her new relationship, I decided to keep mum. I would get plenty of opportunities to poke her about that.

  “Yes, indeed. Hey, where is your luggage? Don’t tell me you are moving in with Nathan already. He is such a lover boy, followed you to Canada. That’s romantic.”

  “No, I’m actually married to him.” I flashed my ring to her.

  “What?” She jumped up from the couch. “Don’t kid me, lady. Don’t try to pull a prank on me.”

  “No I’m not. We got married few days ago in the holy city of Vegas.” I giggled.

  “That’s gross. But why in the world did you get married?”

  “I don’t know, maybe a hunch. We don’t even remember the thing, but we are married after all. We have a certificate to prove it.”

  “But did you really want to marry him?”

  “Why not? I love him more than anything and we had our fair share of troubles already. Logically thinking, our relationship was heading that way. That crazy night just added some drama to the whole marriage thing.” I smiled. Deep down, I was happy that I got married to Nathan.

  “Maybe you are right, but still...” She looked disappointed. “Have you told your mother?”

  “Hell no, she’ll kill me when she finds out. That’s the only thing that’s complicated for me.” I looked down. Mother was such an emotional topic for me.

  She was the reason I went to Canada, bailing on my studies. “She doesn't even know about the scholarship. I am not sure myself what I’m going to do with the scholarship.”

  Chloe moved closer to me. She touched my shoulder. “Well I’m still not sure about your marriage thing, but you better tell your mother this as soon as possible. It’s better that she hear this from you.”

  “But how am I going to say it to her?” The thought also froze my courage to the depths of my heart.

  “You have to, dear. Otherwise, she will freak out and do things you might regret later.” Chloe was telling the truth. I didn’t want my mother to know about my marriage from anyone else. “Poor you, Eva. Anyways, leave it to the future. Tell me about your wedding first. How it went, what was Nathan’s reaction? I bet he was drunk when you got married.” She lightened up the mood for me.

  “Yes, he was at first. But then I think he liked it. He was kind of cool. He had this experience already, you know.”I giggled. “But speaking the truth, it's so amazing to be with the man you love.”

  “And that’s why Terry is here.” She giggled.

  “Don’t tell me you already love him.”

  “I don’t know, but maybe yes.” Her cheeks turned red. I couldn’t believe that girl at all. And then suddenly she punched me hard.

  “Ouch, that hurt, lady, what was it for?”

  “Because you didn’t tell me the big news earlier. I’m so angry at you.” She gave me a fake scowl.

  “Even you didn’t tell me that you crawled into his bed.” I punched back and giggled.

  “Let’s celebrate then.”

  “No, I have to go back before night. I got too much groceries and I’ve to stuff it inside the refrig
erator before it melts in the back seat of the car.”

  “That can wait. At least stay for dinner. I am sure your husband can dine without you for one night.”

  “He has been so busy for the last three days that he even eats dinner while he’s working.”

  “I can guess why is he working hard.” She looked at me with serious look.

  “And why so?”

  “Because he is married now, and he needs more money for your shopping.” She giggled.

  “That’s not fair. I haven’t asked him for a dime for my shopping. Actually, I was the one who sponsored the Vegas trip.” I didn’t like the way she interpreted things.

  “Okay, cool down. I didn’t mean to be harsh; I was just teasing you. Anyways, what would you like to have for dinner?” She stood up.

  “Anything I like.” I winked at her.

  A few hours later, after lots of chitchat, I was finally getting out of my dorm. I had packed a few of my bags with my clothes. Nathan will kill me if he sees his car stuffed with so many bags.

  When I got back to the car, the back seat was complete wet. A quart of buttermilk had spilled out from my grocery bag. Shit, when did this happen? Nathan is going to kill me for this.

  Chapter 8

  Eva

  I drove back to Nathan’s apartment, but during the whole journey, two things occupied my mind; one was Chloe’s new boyfriend Terry and the second one was the back seat. Nathan cared about his car very much and I’d ruined it. Even the thought of telling him the news was giving me shivers.

  I tried to open the door without a sound, but it opened with the sound of latch. Still, I sneaked in. Though I doubted my own thoughts, I imagined Nathan to be sleeping because no lights were visible when I looked from parking the car. But I was wrong; light was coming out of his workroom. I peeked in his room. He was still sitting in the sleeveless t-shirt and shorts he was wearing from the morning and hitting his keyboard fiercely. He didn’t seem to be bothered about taking a shower, either.

  A rush of anger filled my mind. “Nathan,” I shouted out of nowhere.

  “What?” He was so shocked that he almost fell out of his chair. He balanced himself somehow and then came running towards me. “What happened, babe. Why are you shouting?”