Chap 62: Meeting with the fiance
The following day, Dylan met with Natalie at a restaurant for lunch. Natalie had purposely booked a private room, knowing the conversation might get heated anytime.
" What is it, Nat? What did you want to talk about?" Dylan seemed distracted and uninterested.
" What's your relationship with Aiden?" Natalie got straight to the point as she wanted to catch Dylan off-guard.
Dylan's expression suddenly changed, and he seemed confused and shocked. " W-What do you mean?"
" You know what I mean."
" Can you be more specific?" Dylan was wondering why Natalie was asking about Aiden. Did she find out about their relationship? This was bad. How would she react if she knew he liked men? Would she tell everyone?
" Fine!!" Natalie huffed. " I heard the conversation between you and Aiden in your conference room the other day."
Normally Dylan wouldn't be intimidated by anyone, but now he was genuinely worried. He wanted to make sure how much she knew. After a few minutes of silence, he asked, " What did you hear?"
"Everything."
Dylan internally cursed himself for losing control in a public place. Now, how the hell would he get out of this situation?
" There's no point beating around the bush, so I hope you will come out clear," Natalie insisted.
" It's not what it looks like..."
" Then what is it?"
" He is... just my brother."
" Oh, come on, Dylan!! Do you think I am a fool?"
Dylan felt irritated as he never liked anybody questioning his actions. " It's nothing significant," he said, trying to keep his cool.
"The things I heard didn't seem insignificant to me."
" The only thing you need to know is that we are getting married in the future." He didn't give her a straight answer and tried to avoid the situation.
Nat was appalled at Dylan's attitude. " Are you for real, Dylan? Don't you think you owe me an explanation? I caught you cheating on me, for God's sake."
" What are you saying, Nat? How is that possible? Aiden is a man," Dylan said nervously. It was more concerning for him to be caught cheating with a man rather than a woman.
" It doesn't matter," Natalie spat. " I don't care if it's a man or a woman. The matter here is that I am your fiance, and you were professing your love for someone else."
Dylan felt extremely relieved that Nat wasn't disgusted by the fact that he liked a man. Actually, her main concern was that Dylan didn't like her. " Don't be so dramatic, Nat. Even you know that I don't love you," Dylan said nonchalantly, feeling confident.
Nat felt like Dylan had slapped her. She wanted to cry but controlled her tears just to maintain her dignity in front of Dylan. " Even if I knew it don't you think I deserve to know about your relationship with Aiden?"
" I don't understand why that's necessary. Our wedding is not out of love; it's for Business, and both of us would benefit from it, so what we do in our personal lives shouldn't be each other's concern."
" The f**k???" Nat said, almost in tears. " I-I thought y-you at least had a soft spot for me. How can you be so insensitive and emotionless?"
" I was always like this. Don't you know me," Dylan said casually.
" You were not like this with Aiden," Natalie whispered. " I could feel your emotions."
Dylan was dumbfounded. He gathered his senses and softly said, " He's different."
" W-Why? Why is he different? Isn't he your brother?"
" No," Dylan spat. " I never considered Aiden as my brother. Even my parents never considered him as their son."
Nat didn't know what to say to that. What was Aiden's standing in the Hunt family then? After a lot of thought, she asked the question she dreaded. " Do you love him, Dylan?"
" What do you want me to say now? Didn't you hear everything?"
" I want you to tell me right here, looking into my eyes. Do you love him?"
After being silent for a few seconds, Dylan said, " Yes, I do."
For the next few minutes, there was pin-drop silence. Though Nat already knew about it, hearing it so blatantly from Dylan's mouth was heartbreaking for her. The tears she had been controlling for so long finally came out, and Dylan felt uneasy looking at her.
" F**k!!! You weren't like this before. Why are you acting like those emotional girls who cry for every little thing? "
"L-Little t-thing?" Natalie stuttered. " Is this a little thing?"
" You don't have to worry, Nat," Dylan said calmly. " Whatever feelings I have for Aiden, I promise you it will not affect our marital life."
" D-Do you s-still want to marry me?" Natalie asked, wiping her tears.
"Of course."
" So, are you planning to leave Aiden once we get married?"
" No," Dylan suddenly got up from his seat, feeling agitated. " He will stay."
Natalie was shocked at Dylan's expression, as she had never seen him so angry. His eyes were red, and he looked ready to kill someone.
Dylan noticed Nat looking at him with fear and realized what he had done. Taking the tissues, he wiped the sweat on his forehead and sat on his seat. " I-I meant to say Aiden wouldn't mind us."
Natalie thought the situation was worse than she had anticipated. If this was Dylan's attitude towards Aiden, then no wonder he couldn't get out of this forced relationship. " I can't accept this, Dylan. It's just not right."
" What's wrong with it?" Dylan questioned. " Isn't having an open relationship common among elites? It's not something new."
" Whatever it is, I personally am not okay with this. I expect and deserve more respect from you."
" Who says I don't respect you? You are the only woman I care about."
Natalie snorted and stared at Dylan. " Is this the way you care for me? Cheating behind my back?"
" Don't you want to be with me? I thought you liked me," Dylan said sarcastically.
" I still like you; in fact, I love you. That's why I am still sitting here trying to talk to you, or else I would have already left without even bothering to listen to your explanation."
" Then what's the point in complicating the situation? You like me, and I feel comfortable with you, then why not go ahead and get married? We are compatible, and I might even fall for you in the future. It would be good for our family image as well as for the Business. Above all, my mom is always bugging me to get married, and this would be a great way to shut her up."
Natalie felt like Dylan was repeatedly stabbing at her already shattered heart. It was wide and clear that he was getting married to her only for the sake of his family and to maintain his perfect image. What was she even doing with him? Did she have no self-respect? " You are so full of yourself, Dylan," Nat scoffed. " So selfish and self-centered. You are using Aiden and me for your own benefit. "
" Don't involve Aiden in this," Dylan sneered.
" It's you who is doing it," Natalie retaliated. " You got him in between our relationship not me. "
" You don't tell me what I should do with him." Dylan was getting angrier by the minute. Whenever someone asked him about Aiden, he lost his cool.
" I don't need to tell anything. Aiden himself is not willing to be with you." Natalie mocked Dylan since she felt hurt and angry and wanted to hurt Dylan in the same way.
" Shut the f**k up." Dylan banged the table in anger, throwing the dishes around. Nat had touched his weak nerve, and it was even more frustrating that whatever she said was true.
Nat was truly scared of Dylan now, but the pain he had caused her was even more profound. " You can't run away from the truth Dylan. How long can you force Aiden to be with you?"
" That's my Business, but one thing is certain: he would never leave me. I won't let him."
" Don't be so sure of yourself," Natalie said, getting up from her seat. Currently, she didn't even feel like looking at Dylan's face and wanted some alone time to collect her thoughts. Without bothering to say goodbye, she left the restaurant's private room, leaving a fuming Dylan behind.
Dylan was still pacing around the room, cursing himself for being so careless. He should have been more polite towards Nat, but yet again, he had failed to control his emotions. What if she told everyone about his relationship with Aiden? As far as he knew, Nat would not use despicable means to get back at someone, but right now, she was angry, and who knows what a woman could do when she was scorned? Realizing his mistake, Dylan quickly left the room and rushed toward the direction Nat had gone.
Nat was about to sit in her car when Dylan grabbed her arm from behind and said, " Please wait, don't leave like this."
" What else is there to talk about? I have heard a lot," Nat said sadly.
" Look, I am sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. We should discuss this matter calmly."
" This is all too much for me to take. I need a break."
" Fine, I will give you some time to think it over but don't do anything harsh until then," Dylan said carefully.
Natalie gave a dry laugh. "Don't worry. I won't tell your secret to anyone. I would never use such cheap means to get back at you." She then got inside her car and drove off before Dylan could say anything else.












