Redemption(Struggle #3) (17 page)

“Yes. But he had to leave the final for you. He was trying his best for you
, Eva. But he refused to tell you about your mother. I had no option but to tell you this.”

S
hit, and I used all his savings a few days ago; I must have driven him crazy that day
. That’s why he was pissed off that day. And I thought he was normal. “Oh, my god, how could I do this to him.” I put my face in my palms. I’d done enough damage to him. He was busting his body just to save his home and take care of me. He even sold his equipment to buy me a car.
How could I be so evil?
I felt like crying harder, but I controlled my tears somehow.

“There are lots more things she tried to do with Nathan. But I’ll not go into details.
I just want you both to be together.” And he picked up his burger again.

“You are right
, Mason. I should have at least listened to him once. But I’m still not sure if I want to go back to him.” My heart shattered in pieces for saying this, but I had my reasons.

He paused in shock. “What? And why? Don’t you get his reason for hiding it from you?”

“Yes, I get it. But he is not the one who told me all this. You are the one and I want him to open up in front of me. If he can’t open up, then what is the use of being in a relationship?”

“But
I don’t get your point.”

“And
I want a promise from you that you won’t tell him about this. If you think of him or me as your friends, then don’t even think to tell him about this conversation,” I asked him firmly.

“Okay. But still
I believe you should clear things up with him.”

“I’ve things to clear with my mom now.” The thought of her doing this
to Nathan made me shiver. How could she be so cruel?
I have to talk to her before she can do further damage to Nathan.

I wanted to hug Nathan more than ever. “
Anyways, thanks Mason. You are a true friend.”

“I just want
the best for you both, Eva. Nothing else. And it was me who forced him to enter into the match. I agree he should have told you earlier. But he was afraid that you would say no and he would have to decline the offer.”

“I love him
, Mason. No matter what, I just want him to be open in our relationship.” I prayed he would do that soon.

Chapter 24

Nathan

“You have to go there
, dude. I’ve got an emergency here and can’t accompany you today.” Mason was insisting that I go and meet the local staff of the Pacific Sports Company. And I wanted him to come with me.

“But
I just don’t feel like going there.” I had lost my all motivation to join the Pacific Sports Company after the all drama that happened with Eva.

“Dude, you have to do this.
I remember you said that you won’t destroy your life like you did last time.”

“Yes
, I did say that. But...”

“No but
s, man. I want you to go there and talk some sports with them. Five hundred thousand is not a small amount. And if you don’t generate confidence in yourself, they might think about other options.”

He was telling the truth. If I
was to live my life like a normal person, I need to continue in this contract. “You are right, Mason. I’ll go and try my best.”

“And for
God’s sake, go clean and shaved. I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this when you have a wife, but anyways...”

“Don’t worry
, dude, I’ll go clean and stop being my wife. Eva is there for it.” I suddenly realized Eva wasn’t there to take care of these things. My jolly mood flipped to sad again. I hadn’t realized it earlier, but I’d started depending on her for many things.
I miss you so much, Eva. So much.

I
took out my favorite suit and wore it. I used to wear it to impress girls before I met Eva. As if I would be impressing any girls today, but I should be neatly prepared for the meeting.

The meeting was scheduled
at a five-star hotel. I took out my car and drove to the hotel with a speed of twenty to thirty miles per hour; even my willingness to speed in the car was tossed away by the recent drama in my life.

When
I walked into the lobby, I found someone I wasn’t willing to meet. Samantha was there waiting for me.
Why is she here?
I raised my eyebrows as she walked toward me.

“Hello
, Nathan. How are you today?” she asked with a smile.

“Why are you here
, Samantha?” Her mere presence irritated me. I felt an urge to walk out of the hotel. But I stopped myself from walking away with lots of self-control. “I hope there are a few other members on your team attending the meeting.” I couldn’t think of being in a room alone with her.
No, that’s not happening in a million years.

“Nathan
, please. Let’s keep our professional and private lives separate. I’m here on a professional visit and let’s keep it simple.” She was still smiling. “And yes, two of my team members are attending the meeting.”

“I hope
so.” I gave her an angry look. Two other people soon joined her, a lady named Julia and another guy named Tate.

“Hello
, sir, nice to meet you. We both work in the PR department under Miss Samantha and we are here to welcome you to our team. We have scheduled a presentation for you about what we will be working on this year,” Julia said with a sweet smile on her face. She was younger than her job profile indicated.

“Same here.”
I greeted them and followed them to the meeting room. The meeting room was awesome; it was specious and covered with glasses from two sides making sure that sunlight shone on the right spots. One complete wall was covered with an LCD screen.

When we entered the room, Samantha took charge and started the presentation with the introduction of the company. She was
articulate as always, but sometimes in that hour-long presentation she had to take unnecessary breaks and she took some tablets as well. I watched her carefully; there was something wrong with her. She tried to hide her sickness with makeup, but she was definitely ill.

After an hour
, she took a third break. She took some pills and turned back to continue.

“Ma’am
, if you want I can take it from here,” Tate said.

“Thanks
, Tate, but I can do this.” She smiled back at us. But her smile was weak and faint.

“What’s the deal with her?
Is she sick?” I asked Julia who was sitting next to me.

Julie looked at me like she was deciding something. “I shouldn’t be telling this to anyone, but she is sick. She has been diagnosed with
leukemia, blood cancer.”

“Oh
, shit.” That helped me to understand her situation. But leukemia at this age?
Damn, this is really bad.
I didn’t have any feelings for her, but still she had been my wife for few years and seeing someone on their deathbed can really shake your heart.
I should talk to her once.

The p
resentation finished in another half hour. We had a lunch planned after that. While Tate and Julia enjoyed the multi-cuisine lunch, Samantha opted for just fruit. She wasn’t even able to finish it all. One time, she had to cough in her handkerchief and when she was done, I saw small traces of blood on her hanky.
What is really going on with her?

It was time to say goodbye to the team after lunch, but my heart wanted to talk to Samantha once.
I wanted to know what was really happening. Though she had betrayed me, played bad games with me, still as a human and old friend, I thought I needed to know her condition.

“Samantha.”
I called her while she was leaving the hotel.

“Yes.” She turned
around.

“Can
I have a moment with you, please?”

“Sure.” She asked h
er team to go ahead and came towards me. “What happened, Nathan? Any issue with the contract?”

“Nope, wanted to have a cup of coffee with you. Just like old times
,when we were friends.”

“Why
the sudden interest, Nathan?”

“I
heard about your cancer Samantha. And I’m sorry for that.”

“I don’t really need your sympathy
, Nathan. But thanks for the offer,” she said.

“One coffee
, Samantha. I’m not going to be your friend again, that can’t happen, but there is a bond of humanity which will always remain between us.” I said it with my heart. I cursed her, but I never thought that she would get in such a horrible condition.

“Okay. Let’s go to
Starbucks then, like old times. I’ll ask my team to go ahead,” she said.

I waited for her
a couple of minutes and once she was back, we headed to a nearby Starbucks.

“Tell me about this boxing
, Nathan. You seem to have a grip on this one,” she asked as we sipped our coffee. “And how is Eva?”

“She
’s fine.” I wished that from my heart. “And yes, I think I’ll do well if I continue in boxing.”

“That was your passion from the start.
I remember us fighting over your boxing and money.” She giggled. “Those days seem like a fairytale now.” Her smile was weak and faint. Her life energy was missing from her smile.

“When did this happen
, Samantha? I mean your cancer?”

“
A few months ago I found out about it.”

“I hope it’s curable.”

“Nope, it isn’t.” She looked at the horizon. Her eyes were filled with the sadness. But then she looked back at me. “I found out about it in stage 4, so there is no cure for it. I have maybe two or three months left. Could be less than that, as well.”

“I’m so sorry
, Samantha.” I touched her hand for a second. It felt bad to see her dying like that.

“Hey
, but It’s good. I’ve been doing many things lately. Enjoying my life, traveling, doing my job very well and I got to meet you again. And finally I’m understanding how beautiful life can be.” She wore a pretty smile for a moment. “Hey, is that Eva there?” She asked while looking over my shoulder.

I turned
around. Eva was standing there with Chloe, looking at us. “Yes, she is there.” I had a feeling to go and talk with her, but then I really didn’t deserve her.

“Are you doing fine with her? What
will she think after seeing us together?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s enjoy our coffee.” The coffee actually tasted bitter to me.

“Are you fine, Nathan? Is everything alright between you two?” she asked with a hint of care in her voice.

“Don’t worry about that.”
I didn’t want to talk about that with her. “Tell me, where are you staying these days?”

“L.A.
I work there mainly. I came here to welcome you and actually see you one last time. I’m not sure if I’ll get that opportunity again.” Her face reflected many emotions.

“Don’t worry
, Samantha. I feel you will live to the fullest and maybe you will get another chance to meet me.”

“Yes
, maybe.” She looked at her watch. “I think we should get going now. I’ve a flight to catch, and before that I need to meet my team here once more.”

“Okay, Let me drop you
at the hotel then.” I stood up. Eva wasn’t there. I sighed for my broken relationship.

“No
, I’ll manage. I actually have some work here. I’ll complete that first,” she said.

“Okay. See you then.”
I waved her goodbye.

I messaged Mason before starting the car.

Met Samantha again. She is dying Mason, stage 4 cancer. I think you should meet her once.

Chapter 25

Eva

“What the fuck? I can’t believe your mother could be such an ass.” Chloe was burning in anger. She clenched her hand around the pillow in her lap. The moment Mason left the canteen, I had come back to my dorm and told everything to Chloe.

“Even
I don’t believe it.” It was still a shocker for me. I wanted to go to her and ask her about this. “I want to go and ask her about the shit she did with Nathan.” I clenched my hands around the corner of the bed I was sitting on. I could feel the way she tried to manipulate me into everything. “Every word she said, everything she did for me was to get Nathan out of my life. If she wasn’t my mother I would have ...”

“I want to kill her myself for putting you through all this.”

“I’m going to meet her soon and clear things up with her,” I said, still burning with fury.

“But why
go about it this way?”

“It’s a calculated risk for her
, Chloe. Everything is business for her. I just need to go and confront her before she even thinks of manipulating me anymore.”