Danielle’s brows drew together as memories flickered through her mind. Back then, she’d always seen Nathan as an older brother.
After all, whenever trouble found her, he’d be the first to step in. She’d loved spending time with him, too.
Nathan had always spoiled her, indulging her every whim.
Her relationship with Alexander had been at a standstill for ages. He was so cold, so distant—and in those days, Nathan had been the one she’d confided in, the one she’d turned to for advice when she didn’t know what else to do. But now, listening to the way Nathan twisted those memories, it was as if their entire past had been rewritten.
“You know,” Nathan went on, “back then with Alex... I saw how much you suffered. He’s just so remote, so clueless about how to treat someone right.”
Danielle’s fingers tightened around her mug.
Alexander’s indifference was something ingrained in him, as much a part of him as his steady, old-soul sense of responsibility. He was always mature, always reliable—never one to shirk what was expected of him.
But back then, Nathan had been her only confidant.
She still remembered the time she broke down crying in front of him, because Alexander had forgotten her birthday—left nothing but a signed check on the kitchen table. Nathan had just handed her a tissue and sighed, “That’s Alex for you. Spoiled since he was a kid. He doesn’t understand people, Danielle. Don’t take it to heart.”
There was another night when she’d lain awake, torn up over whether she should confront Alexander, and ended up talking with Nathan on the phone until dawn.
“Oh?” Her gaze was steady, piercing. “Then what did you mean? That I was stringing Alexander along while flirting with you? Or that you always thought I should’ve been with you instead?”
She thought back to the years after Alexander left, how Nathan had always looked out for her. He’d send her gifts on holidays, remind her to eat properly knowing how sensitive her stomach was, quietly stepping in to help whenever she hit a rough patch at work.
She’d always assumed it was a brother’s care for his sister—or maybe just an old friend’s loyalty to Alexander. But now, those gestures seemed to carry a different meaning altogether.
“I just think you deserve better,” Nathan said quietly, his voice intense, almost obsessive. “He treated you so coldly, kept you at arm’s length—you deserve someone who actually values you.”
He looked away, jaw tight. “It hurt to see you go through all that. All I ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy.”
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