Once Upon a Time I Loved You - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kathleen spent her time wandering outside until past midnight. It was one thing to decide to leave, but another to extricate oneself from a relationship spanning two decades. She struggled to get over her relationship with Nathan.

To avoid having regrets, she decided to stay away from Nathan before she left for Eldoria.

She came home to a house steeped in darkness. She dragged herself to her bedroom without turning on the lights. Suddenly, someone called out to her from the living room. “Kathleen Floss.”

She spun around and saw a figure on the couch. “What’s the matter, Ms. White?”

Dressed in a black lace nightdress, Kelsey rested against the arm of the couch in a sexy pose. Smiling, she said, “Nate bought this nightdress for me. How does it look on me?”

Then, Kelsey sat up straight, revealing the hickeys on her chest and across her waist. They looked appealing and sensual underneath the black lace. She gently touched the hickey neck before letting out a painful gasp.

She grumbled coyly, “Nate might not be the best at picking out wedding dresses, but he’s a pro at selecting nightdresses. He says I drive him crazy when I put on this nightdress.”

Kathleen perched on the stairs and stared down at Kelsey. She smirked at Kelsey’s little act.. Kelsey White, cut it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stop acting like a slut.”

Kelsey burst out laughing. “But that’s how Nate likes it! He couldn’t wait for me to slip on this night dress when he got home. After that, he…”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear about it.”

“Like it or not, that’s the truth. Nathan is madly in love with my body. Your 20 years of relationship with him means nothing. A man will only choose a good bed partner.”

Kathleen had no wish Kelsey. Turning around, she snapped, “Yeah, keep faking it. I don’t have time to watch your little act.”

But Kelsey wasn’t about to let this slide. Holding the hem of her night dress, she caught up with Kathleen. “You probably can’t see the marks he left all over my body from a distance. Kathleen, stay. Have a good look…”

While speaking, Kelsey grabbed Kathleen by the arm. Kathleen, feeling nauseous, instinctively removed her arm from Kelsey’s grasp. “Don’t touch me!”

Nathan emerged from the bedroom. He asked, “What are you talking about at this hour?”

Before Kathleen could explain herself, she saw a calculative smile on Kelsey’s lips. The smile quickly turned into a horrified gasp as Kelsey tumbled down the stairs.

Following her scream, Nathan hurriedly set down his mug and rushed over to pull her into his arms. “Are you okay?” 

Kelsey lay in his arms weakly. She cooed, “I’m fine. Please don’t blame Kathleen for this. She didn’t do it on purpose.”

He shot Kathleen a look of disappointment. “Kathleen, no matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t push Kelsey down the stairs! That was so dangerous!”

His tone switched to one of tenderness when he turned to Kelsey. He gently scooped her up into his arms. “Let’s go to my room. I’ll check if you’re hurt or not.!

Kelsey blushed deeply. “Let’s keep a distance between us when we’re around Kathy. It’s normal for a sister to want control over their brothers. She must feel horrible after I entered your life and took away your attention. We need to think in her shoes and give her some time to get used to this.”

Nathan growled unemotionally, “She’ll get used to it. It’s a matter of time.”

He carried Kelsey back to his bedroom with steady steps. While in his arms, Kelsey turned around and flashed Kathleen a victory sign.

At that moment, Kathleen realized that her world had changed. Kelsey’s presence had shattered the world as she knew it. She couldn’t wrap her head around Nathan’s choice of woman. Why did he pick Kelsey out of all the women in the world?

Perhaps Kelsey was right. Men would always pick lust over love. The question boggled Kathleen, but she no longer wanted to understand Nathan’s motive.

The next morning, Kathleen dropped by the magazine’s office, where she had worked three years as a photographer for their columns. She formed a solid relationship with her colleagues. The editor, June Hilton, appeared surprised when Kathleen tendered her resignation. June asked, “Is this because of your pay? You can bring this up. I can talk to the magazine director.”

Smiling, Kathleen shook her head. “Thank you, Ms. Hilton, but I didn’t resign because of the pay.”

“What was the reason?”

“I have other priorities in life now.”

June immediately understood. She beamed. “Ah, you’re about to marry Nathan, aren’t you? That’s great. He’s been sending you to work and picking you up almost every day. He really cherishes you. It’ll be good to marry a man like him. I have no objection, of course.”

Kathleen had wanted to explain right after June started speaking. She wanted to tell June that Nathan was indeed getting married, but not to her.

However, she lost interest in explaining the situation to June after the latter gushed about Nathan’s qualities. The relationship between her, Nathan, and Kelsey was too complicated to be explained in a few words.

All she wanted was to hand in her resignation and leave the city that had broken her heart- just a few more weeks, and she’d be gone.

“By the way, when’s the wedding men? Please send me an invite. I will make sure to be there.”

Kathleen flashed June an awkward smile. At that moment, Poppy Costner, the front desk staff, poked her head into June’s office.

Poppy announced, “Kathy, you have a surprise in store for you!”