Standing up, she looked at him and said, “Thank you for earlier.” The corners of Nathan’s mouth tugged with. difficulty. In the previous seven years, she had never said such kind words to him. He always disliked her for being ungrateful, putting romance before her friendship, and being self- assertive.
Now, however, when she treated him politely like he was a stranger, he strangely felt like crying. So the person who cried with him, argued with him, and was blunt to him was one of his own. He pointed to her face and said, “Your face… Let me take you to the hospital.”
Kate hurriedly rejected, “Oh, it’s fine. I’ll just go home and put some ice on it.” Gwen piped up, “Nate, is your arm all right? Why don’t I take you to the hospital?”
With a glance at Gwen, Nathan replied a little impatiently, “I’m fine! You should go back.” Gwen frowned. “How could you be fine? I saw that guy hit you square on the arm. It must hurt really bad.”
Saying that, she moved forward to take a look at Nathan’s arm. However, Nathan dodged away from her. “You don’t have to. I’m really all right.”
Kate felt like a third wheel right now, a huge one at that. Although Olivia said that they were just colleagues and had nothing between them, how could that be true if she was being so concerned about him now?
She coughed lightly. “If it hurts, you should go to the hospital.” Not wanting Kate to worry, Nathan hid his arm behind his back and said nonchalantly, “I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
Kate sighed silently. Is he trying to quickly send me away? With a smile, she said, “Well… if you’re fine, I’ll get going. Thanks for your help earlier.” At that, she picked up her bag and left.
As he watched her gradually retreating back, Nathan felt a pang of reluctance swelling in his heart. His words lingered at the tip of his tongue for a few moments, before he finally couldn’t resist and spoke up. “Katie, can I treat you to dinner?”
Kate forced herself to hold back her tears. Dinner? Was it going to be just both of them, or the three of them? She could feel that her emotions were unstable, and she was afraid that she might burst into tears in front of him.
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly turned around with that same distant smile on her face. I’m not free today. I’ll treat you next time
as thanks!” Her voice was soft, as if it were a piece of paper that could fly away with a gust of wind. Nathan laughed awkwardly as well. “Okay. Are you alright by yourself? How about I send you back?”
Kate hurriedly waved a hand. “No, it’s fine. I’ll call someone to pick me up. I’ll get going now.” Saying that, she left. However, Nathan stood rooted to the ground, unable to turn away for a long time. When she said she wasn’t free, was it because she made plans with someone else? When she said someone would pick her up, was she referring to Jasper?
Gwen glanced at Nathan, then at the faraway Kate. “Nate, who is she? You actually rushed in and fought for her. That’s so awesome!”
Nathan turned around and glanced at Gwen, suddenly getting the feeling that if it weren’t for this woman, Kate might not have rejected him. “Can you not cling to me?” Gwen looked at him hurtfully. “What’s wrong? I was just worried about you.”
Nathan replied, “You don’t have to.” Saying that, he supported his wounded arm with the other and went to the counter to pay for the things he had damaged before leaving.
At the same time, Kate had already gotten into the taxi, and her heart was in a mess. She thought about Nathan’s injury, but she felt that he didn’t need her concern at all. Why was she flattering herself?
