Chapter 6 Untying the Truth

Nadia's POV

As I peered out the penthouse window, the city lights below gleamed like a sea of stars, clearly generating tension in the air. The idea that something so lovely could coexist with the darkness I felt within seemed odd. Though the truth was out there now, the repercussions were just starting to show. Like a poor movie I couldn't turn off, the events of the previous night kept running over in my head.

Since Venessa's estate confrontation, Jake hadn't talked to me. His silence was worse than any dispute we could have had. I knew I couldn't blame him; he had looked at me with such betrayal in his eyes. I had misled him and deleted all of them. But how might I have done something different?

I inhaled deeply, working to calm the turbulence within me. The flash drive sat weighty in my pocket, the key to untangling Venessa's last threads of power. I knew Sam was straining too, even though she was in the other room sorting the papers we had taken from her safe. We had all paid great prices for the lies we had to spin to bring her down.

The memory of Jake's face when he saw me with Venessa stayed with me. His expression had changed from uncertainty to hurt. He was unaware that every action I took was deliberate in safeguarding Sam, him, and somehow me personally. But how would I help him to grasp that?

The door creaked open behind me, and I turned to find Sam walking into the room with his grimace as usual. His eyes locked with mine, and for a minute I felt something else than the icy detachment that had defined him from the start of our charade of a marriage.

He said, lifting the papers, "We have everything we need." Venessa's influence is over. The authorities have what they need to put her long-term away.

His comments ought to have given relief, but they did not. However, at what expense the work was completed and the purpose achieved?

I nodded, but the words I wanted to say choked me. "Then Jake?"

Sam's jaw got tighter. "He's enraged, Nadia. Wounded. He finds it incomprehensible why you did what you did."

"I never meant for him to get caught in this," I said quietly. "I meant not to hurt him."

"You had no option," Sam said, his voice softer now, even sympathetic. "Venessa needed to stop. And Jake will come around finally."

I was not sure. The look in Jake's eyes had been one of mistrust, not only directed against me but also against Sam. And even though Sam was attempting to soothe me, I knew he was just as dubious about the future as I was.

Sam said, trying to bring the discussion back to safer territory: "We need to focus on what's next. The company has to be reconstructed. The board has to be advised. A lot of work is ahead."

I nodded, knowing he was correct. Even still, my mind kept returning to Jake even as I agreed. Could I go along without trying to write things with him?

"Sam," I said reluctantly, "I have to speak with Jake. I want to clarify."

Sam's eyes grew black. "Do you believe that to be sensible? Nadia, he is hurt. Perhaps it would be best to let him have some room."

"But I could not let it go. I have to explain something to him. Not only bits of the truth from me, but he deserves to know the whole truth."

Sam did not argue, but I could sense concern in his eyes. He was worried about more than just Jake; he was worried about what my need to write things would cost us both.

Finally, he whispered, "Be careful, Nadia." "This is not quite finished yet. Venessa is in detention, but she is not missing moves. One never knows exactly what risk exists."

Understanding the underlying warning, I nodded. That didn't stop me, though. Even if it meant revisiting past hurts, I had to face Jake.

My heart thumping in my chest, I stood at Jake's apartment door later that evening. Fearful that he may refuse to see me should I call ahead, I had not done so. Now that I was here, though, I wasn't sure I could follow through.

The door opened before I could change my mind, and Jake stood there with an unclear look. His eyes locked with mine, and for a minute we simply silently gazed at each other.

At last, he muttered, "Nadia," his voice tinged with tiredness.

I blurted out, "Jake, I need to talk to you." The words flowed out before I could gather myself. "Please, let me clarify."

He paused then moved aside so I may come in. The flat was dark; the sole source of illumination was from the city skyline seen through the windows. There was great conflict between us, nearly stifling.

"I'm not sure there's anything left to explain," Jake remarked, his voice lifeless. "Last night I saw everything I needed to see."

"No, you didn't," I argued, my voice shaking. "You observed what I had to do, but you lacked understanding of why."

Jake crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze. "Then why? Why are there all the lies? If you were only going to turn on me at last, why would you want to be engaged with me?"

I stammered at the word "betray," but I pushed myself to meet his eye. "I never turned on you, Jake. I was attempting to shield you. to safeguard Sam. I got engaged with you because I love you."

He sneered and shook his head. "You give me concern? Given you were playing a part the whole time, that is difficult to accept."

My voice shaking, I objected, "I wasn't playing a role with you." "Jake, my emotions for you are real, even if it's difficult to believe. With Venessa, everything was part of the strategy to bring her down."

"And what about Sam? He questioned, his voice rising. "Was that also included in the strategy? To get near to him, to wed him, just to collect information?"

"Indeed, at first," I said, tears filling my eyes. "But it developed beyond that as well. Sam... he is not the person I expected him to be. He is not merely a frigid, far-off billionaire. He is a man who has suffered and who Venessa has manipulated for years. I wed him to shield him, Jake."

Jake turned away and tightened his jaw. "And what about each of us? Why were we?"

"We were real," I said softly. "At least, I aimed for us to be."

Silence enveloped us, and the weight of all that was left unspoken crushed down on me. I wanted to reach out and grab his hand so he could grasp it. I knew, though, that I could not make him forgive me.

"I don't know if I can trust you again, Nadia," Jake murmured at last, his voice full of feeling. "Everything we had feels contaminated now."

My heart ached, and I answered, "I know." Right now, though, I am not seeking pardon. I only want an opportunity to demonstrate that our experience was authentic and that I am not the person Venessa created."

Though Jake's eyes softened, the raw, unhealed grief remained. "Perhaps in due course over time. But just now I need room. I have to learn what is actual from what is not."

I nodded while tears ran down my face. "I see. I will give you that room. Nonetheless, Jake, please avoid excluding me."

He ignored me; I felt it was time to head off. Jake's voice stopped me as I turned to head off.

"Nadia," he said gently, and I turned back toward him. "Exercise caution. Venessa... She is not done with us yet."

Understanding the caution, I nodded. Venessa's impact still hovered over us, and I knew she wasn't out of the game even behind bars. Never would be her nature.

I knew my battle wasn't finished as I walked out of Jake's apartment into the chilly evening air. Though the truth was out, the repercussions were just beginning. And even if I wanted to hope Jake and I could find our way back to one another, I knew the road ahead was dangerous.

My dishonesty cost a lot of money; hence, my only hope was that it was not too late to write things. Still, I knew the fight was far from finished with Venessa's shadow hovering over us.

The city lights flickering around me as I left served as a reminder that in this world of power, betrayal, and secrets, nothing was ever as it appeared. And the only thing I could do was keep one step ahead toward whatever the future contained.