Chapter 3 THE MAN I TRIED TO FORGET

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. I could hear the soft music playing in the restaurant, the clinking of glasses from nearby tables and Isabella happily adjusting the flowers in the middle of the table. But all I could focus on was the man sitting beside my sister. Nathaniel Reed. Of all the people in the world, it had to be him. Five years. Five whole years since I had last seen his face. Five years since he walked out of my life without giving me a proper explanation. And now he was sitting across from me, looking as though we were meeting for the first time. I tightened my fingers around my glass. "Amelia?" Isabella called. I blinked and looked at her. "Are you okay?" "Yes. I'm fine." "Are you sure? You've barely said anything since he came back." I forced a smile. "I'm just tired. Work has been stressful." Isabella nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer. "Well, you need to relax. You can't spend your whole life working. That's why I keep telling you to take a break." I almost laughed. Coming from someone who had called me three times that morning because she couldn't decide what colour shoes to wear for dinner, that advice was something else. "Not everyone has the luxury of taking breaks whenever they want," I replied. "Here we go again." Isabella rolled her eyes playfully. "Mum, please tell your daughter that life is not all about work." Mum chuckled as she picked up her glass. "Your sister has always been like that. Even when she was younger, she would rather finish her schoolwork before coming out to play." "Because someone had to be responsible in this family," I said. "Are you saying I'm not responsible?" Isabella asked, placing a hand on her chest. "I didn't say that." "But you meant it." I shook my head, and for the first time that evening, my smile felt a little real. Nathaniel remained quiet, watching the exchange. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look in his direction. "Anyway," Isabella said, turning towards him, "I don't think I've properly introduced you both." My stomach tightened. She reached for his hand, her face lighting up. "Amelia, this is Nathaniel Reed. My fiancé." There it was. As if I hadn't already known. Nathaniel finally spoke. "It's nice to meet you, Amelia." I looked at him. His voice was still the same. Calm, deep and controlled. It was a voice I remembered far too well. He held out his hand. For a moment, I simply stared at it. Then I forced myself to reach across the table. "Nice to meet you too, Nathaniel." His fingers closed around mine briefly. Neither of us smiled. But I noticed the slight change in his expression. It was almost impossible to catch, just a small tightening around his eyes. He remembered. Of course he remembered. "Good," Isabella said happily, completely missing the tension. "Now that you've finally met, I can stop worrying about you two getting along." I pulled my hand back and reached for my glass. "There's nothing to worry about," I said. Nathaniel leaned back in his chair. "I hope so." I looked at him sharply. He picked up his glass as if he hadn't said anything unusual. "Can we order now?" Mum asked, glancing at the menu. "I'm getting hungry." "Finally!" Isabella exclaimed. "I've been waiting for someone to say that." The waiter came over, and everyone began choosing their meals. Isabella couldn't decide between two dishes, so she turned to Nathaniel for help. "Which one do you think I should get?" He glanced at the menu. "The pasta. You said you wanted to try it." Isabella's face brightened. "You remembered!" "Of course." She smiled at him, and he returned a small smile. I looked down at my menu. It was strange watching him do the little things I once knew so well. The way he listened when someone spoke. The way he remembered small details. The way he rarely smiled but somehow managed to make Isabella feel special when he did. I wondered if he still took his coffee without sugar. I wondered if he still stayed up late working. I wondered why I was even wondering. "Amelia, what are you having?" Mum asked. I glanced at the menu without really reading it. "Just the grilled chicken." "Are you sure? You haven't eaten properly all day," she said. "I'm sure, Mum." Isabella leaned towards me. "You know, Nathaniel is actually very thoughtful. He even remembered my favourite dessert from the first week we started dating." "That's nice," I replied. "Just nice?" she teased. "You should be happy for me." "I am happy for you, Bella." And I meant it. At least, I wanted to. She squeezed my hand across the table. "I know you are. That's why I wanted you here tonight." Mum smiled. "Your sister has always been your biggest supporter." I nodded, unable to find the right words. Nathaniel looked at me again. "Family is important," he said quietly. Something about the way he said it made me want to laugh. Family. The same family he once blamed for everything that went wrong between us. I took a sip of water instead. Dinner continued, mostly with Isabella doing the talking. She told us how she and Nathaniel had met at a charity event, how he had helped her when she accidentally spilled a drink on her dress, and how they had started seeing each other afterwards. I listened without interrupting. "Wait," I said eventually, looking at her. "You spilled a drink on his shirt?" Isabella covered her face. "Don't remind me. I wanted the ground to swallow me." Nathaniel gave a quiet chuckle. "She apologised about ten times." "Because your shirt was expensive!" "It was just a shirt." "An expensive shirt," she repeated. Mum laughed, and I managed another small smile. For a moment, it almost felt like an ordinary family dinner. Almost. Then Isabella reached into her handbag and brought out a small envelope. "I have something to show you both." "What is it?" Mum asked. Isabella grinned and handed her the envelope. "Open it." Mum pulled out a printed card. Her eyes moved across the words, and her face slowly lit up. "Oh, Isabella!" "What?" I asked. "Look at this!" She passed the card to me. I looked down. It was a wedding invitation. My eyes moved over the names printed in elegant gold lettering. Isabella Carter and Nathaniel Reed. Below their names was a date. I read it once. Then again. Three weeks. Their wedding was in three weeks. "Isn't it beautiful?" Isabella asked, practically bouncing in her seat. I looked up at her. "Three weeks?" She nodded excitedly. "We wanted to keep it simple, but you know how these things are. There are so many arrangements to make." "Three weeks is not much time," Mum said, looking between them. "I know, but we've already discussed most of the important things." I stared at the invitation again. Three weeks. I hadn't even had time to understand how my sister had ended up with the man I once loved, and now they were getting married. "Amelia?" Isabella called softly. I lifted my head. She was smiling at me, but there was something hopeful in her eyes. "I want you to be my maid of honour." I stopped breathing for a moment. "Me?" "Of course, you! Who else would I want standing beside me?" Mum nodded approvingly. "That's a lovely idea." I looked at Isabella. She was genuinely happy. She had no idea what she was asking of me. I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to ask Nathaniel why he was here, why he had returned, and why he was looking at me as though the past had never happened. But I couldn't do any of that. Not here. Not in front of my mother and my sister. I swallowed. "I'll think about it." Isabella's smile faded slightly. "Think about it? Amelia, you're my sister." "I know, Bella. I just need a little time." She studied my face before nodding. "Okay. But I'm counting on you." Nathaniel finally spoke. "I think Amelia would make a wonderful maid of honour." I turned towards him. He was looking directly at me. "Don't you agree?" he added. I held his gaze. "I think that's something Amelia should decide for herself." His expression didn't change, but his eyes did. Before I could respond, Isabella's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and stood up. "I need to take this. I'll be right back." She walked a little distance away from the table. Mum took the opportunity to ask Nathaniel about his work. He answered politely, explaining that Reed Developments had several projects underway. I barely heard a word. My attention was on the invitation lying in front of me. Then a shadow fell across the table. I looked up. Nathaniel was standing beside my chair. "Can we talk?" he asked quietly. I glanced towards Mum, who was busy looking through the wedding invitation. "There's nothing for us to talk about." He lowered his voice. "Not here, Amelia." I stood slowly, trying to keep my expression calm. "Then we have nothing to discuss." I walked away from the table before he could answer. I had barely reached the quiet hallway when I heard his footsteps behind me. "Amelia." I stopped but didn't turn around. "What do you want, Nathaniel?" For a moment, he said nothing. Then he spoke. "I didn't know Isabella was your sister." I turned to face him. "Does that change anything?" His jaw tightened. "No." "Then congratulations. I hope you both have a wonderful marriage." I tried to walk past him, but his next words stopped me. "There's something you don't know about what happened between our families five years ago." My heart began to beat faster. "What are you talking about?" He looked at me, his expression suddenly serious. Your father wasn't the only person who lost something when that partnership fell apart." I stared at him. Before I could ask another question, he added: "And if you knew what your family had hidden from mine, you wouldn't be standing here wishing me a happy marriage." I couldn't move. For five years, I had believed Nathaniel left because he stopped loving me. But suddenly, I wasn't sure I had ever known the whole story. And the man my sister was about to marry seemed to know something about my father that even I didn't.