Chapter 4
Nathan slammed the mug on the table. “I allowed her. What’s the issue here?”
“Why is she in my room touching my stuff without my permission?”
“Kathleen, you’re staying in the Meyer residence. As my fiancée, Kelsey can enter whichever room she likes.”
Kathleen felt like someone had poured ice water over her. Kelsey gently chided Nathan, “Nate, how could you speak to Kathy in that tone? She’ll be crushed.”
She turned to Kathleen. “Kathy, I heard from the family maids that Nate stored his clothes and shoes in your room. You know, we girls have a lot of clothes. He’s just taking up your closet space. That’s why I volunteered to move his clothes to the room I share with him.”
Before this, Nathan always clung to her. He was the reason no guy had ever written her love letters.
Later, he moved all his clothes to Kathleen’s bedroom, claiming that he wanted her to pick out his clothes and ties for work every day. She knew precisely where his stuff was located in her closet.
Kathleen dashed upstairs into her bedroom. Her clothes, shoes, and makeup were scattered across the floor, looking like the aftermath of a house robbery.
Pointing a finger at the mess, she confronted Kelsey about it, “Is this how you move Nathan’s clothes?”
Kelsey immediately teared up. “I’m sorry, Kathy it was an accident…”
“This looks like the aftermath of a disaster, and you’re calling it an accident? Wow, that’s some mental gymnastics!”
Hearing that, Nathan scolded Kathleen with a frown, “Kathleen, watch your tone!”
Kathleen chuckled. “I did nothing to her, but it was still my fault. Right?”
“You need to respect Kelsey. She’s your future sister–in–law.”
“Nathan Meyer, why don’t you take a look at my bedroom?”
He slowly made his way upstairs. Momentarily stunned at the mess in Kathleen’s room, he nonetheless collected himself.
Shooting Kelsey a doting smile, he said in exasperation, “Just let the maids clean and tidy our bedroom in the future.”
“But I don’t want them to touch my clothes, especially… my night dresses.” Kelsey placed a strong emphasis on her night dresses as she blushed.
He nodded in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll clean our bedroom. You just sit and watch. How does that sound?”
She playfully made a face at him. “Nate, don’t you think I’m a little useless?”
“It’s fine. You have me. You can be as useless as you want.”
Kathleen shut her eyes upon listening to their exchange. Never had she ever hated the notice period so much in her life. Without it, she would have already been on a flight to Eldoria, not subjected to this appalling mess.
“Look, Kathleen. Go over your stuff and let me know what has been damaged by Kelsey. I’ll compensate you,” Nathan offered.
She let out a laugh. How ridiculous it was of Nathan to throw money at problems, not to mention her problems.
Kelsey touched her elbow, whispering, “Kathy, just inflate the numbers. He’ll pay you no matter how much it is because I’m here.”
He replied dotingly, “Oh, you’re siding with outsiders now to empty your husband’s pockets, aren’t you?
Kelsey made a face at him again. “I’m Kathy’s future sister–in–law. Of course I’ll side with her.
Kathleen snickered at the thought of Nathan’s remarks outsiders. Nathan and Kelsey were close. On the other hand, she, an adoptive daughter of the Meyer family, was an outsider indeed.
Suddenly, she received a call from Clive. She quickly composed herself. “Hi, Mr. Atwood.”
Clive asked, “Kathleen, I recall you took a series of excellent photographs of birds. A magazine editor here would like to take a look. Can you send me the films?”
“Of course. Mr. Atwood, give me
a minute.”
She went back to the bedroom and searched for the films that she kept in a locked drawer. As a photographer, she preferred working with film cameras. Just when she was about to get the key and unlock the drawer, she realized the entire chest was wet.
“Kathy, I’m sorry. I accidentally spilled my coffee, but I didn’t want to stain your chest. So, I rinsed the entire thing with water…”
Kathleen’s heart sank with each word that came out of Kelsey’s mouth. She ignored the latter and hurriedly unlocked the drawer, only to be shattered by the sight of the rolls of films in
water.
Some had unfurled, while some had faded. Others were tangled. The water turned into a murky brown color.
She shuddered in anger when she realized that all the time of her works in the p
years were ruined.
three.
Nathan entered at some point. Seeing the situation of the chest, he said flippantly, “Well, count those in. I’ll pay for Kelsey.”
Kathleen finally erupted in anger. “Those film rolls are priceless! Does Kelsey even know what these rolls mean for me? What about you?”
Nathan furrowed his brows. “But the films are ruined now. Your anger will change nothing. Kelsey kindly offered to organize my clothes. The spilled coffee was just an accident.”
“How could she claim that everything was an accident? Does this mean she could run over a person and apologize?”
“Kathleen!” Nathan’s tone became serious. “Don’t be unreasonable! You can’t compare film rolls to human lives. If you lost the film rolls, just take some new photographs! It’s not that serious.”
Clive sounded worried on the phone. “Kathleen, are you alright? Did something happen at home?”
Sighing deeply, she reported, “Mr. Atwood, I… I don’t think I can hand the films to you. I’ll just take some new photographs in my free time and send them over.”
“Okay. Take your time. It’ll take weeks for the visa to be issued anyway.”
“Alright.”
Nathan keenly spotted the keyword. “What’s the talk about visa? Are you going abroad?”
