Wife By Benefits ✔️

Chapter Ten







Unedited

NATHANIEL FELT as through someone had carved out his insides. He felt empty—no, he corrected himself, it wasn't an only an emptiness he was experiencing, there was more to it that he couldn't pinpoint where from.

He abruptly dropped his head on the car chair headrest, realising a sigh. Blankly he stared on the black plain roof, the brooding thought of the past few hours got to him.

After dashing away the dinning room, leaving the entire shocked family behind, wide mouth left agape. Never had he planned on take such action, but strangely part that was hard to fathom, Samantha's disappointing gaze.

Once again another disappointment added wiry the tons of one laying wide open—or rather hidden, in his horrible dark life.

Day by day he prayed for light, a bright illuminating one, to change the tragedy part in his life. Nathaniel couldn't help but wonder, maybe he was meant to have the taste and tranquility of happiness.

The happy frolicking life, of the once jovial kid, all came smashing unto the ground. At the call of a faithful, dreadful day, one Nathaniel at times like this regrets.

A groan slipped his lips, he rack his fingers through his dark hair, almost pulling it from the root. The ache hammering his head continuously, heightened to a higher level.

He almost jumped off his skin at the heavy knock, on the tinted glass if his car. One outside wouldn't notice anyone was in there—at a moment like this; the running engine of his car gave him away.

An elderly, grey haired man stood outside the drivers side, leaning on towards the BMW—probably trying to catch anyone at the other side.

Nathaniel contemplated on either rolling down the glass, or ignore the wrinkle faced man. Knowing was going to regret his decision later, he pressed on the button, watching as the glass whine down.

The elderly man's scowling face brighten, once the full view of Nathaniel showed. "Thank God! A young lad at last." The Scottish accent rolling from his tongue, immediately captured Nathaniel's full attention.

Knitting his brow at the enthusiasm the man toss his way. Nathaniel shift backwards, trying to prevent his eardrum from getting destroyed.

As small and fragile as the man was, he sure do have a very loud speaker's voice. For a man such as he was, his young youth years must have been adventurous.

"How may I be of help, Sir?" Nathaniel questioned, carefully studying the man at the other side. The shaky hands of the unknown old man reached up, reviewing a full bags of groceries.

A heavy, large weight such as that, left on the hands of a man like that. Another point to his youth spreadsheet.

"I need a helping hands with this stuffs. My house is just a few blocks behind, right at the corner." The commanding tone of the man, I unnerved Nathaniel a lot. If there was one thing Nathaniel knew about himself—never order him. But the pressing edge of his tone, made Nathaniel think otherwise.

Speaking from the corner of his mouth, he shifted his hands forward, grabbing the grocery bags. "Okay, I'll give you a lift." He volunteered willingly, but hesitantly—already regretting his decision.

The clicking sound of the man's tongue, turn the while event around. Shaking his head in disapproval, he gestured his head at the right. "We walk." The unknown man countered, the accent once in his lips long gone.

Bewildered Nathaniel almost chock on his saliva at the man's suggestion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me right the last time boy." He spoke out, not hesitating for a second. His impelling brown eyes, not wavering away from Nathaniel's.

Something about seeing that familiar brown eyes, made Nathaniel fidget on the car seat. The thought of Samantha flashed through his head, instantly.

Nathaniel had no idea why he kept remembering the chestnut hair female. Not one second passes by that the constant thought of the lady doesn't disturb him.

But as time passes in, he needs to keep reminding himself, it was his late wife's sister, his vulgar mind keeps printed in his head.

"Come on. Off we go." Once again the man snapped him off his calculating thought. But this time around he didn't wait behind by his car.

Nathaniel rolled the glass up, as he shut and locked the car. Trailing towards the striding man, Nathaniel took his time noticing his surrounding. He had no idea how he mystically found himself in this area.

"Young man like you shouldn't think much, it not good for the health." The man noted, not sparing a gaze towards Nathaniel's direction.

With the fast way the man kept working Nathaniel couldn't help but wonder why he was helping with the groceries.

This certainly was absurd.

"You still haven't told me your name." Nathaniel stated, placing himself in a earnest position. Walking side by side with the unnamed man.

"Joe." Nathaniel resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the plain, lone, straight answer. "And no talking we here already." He cut Nathaniel short, as his mouth opened for more questions.

Taking in the note of Joe heading towards a small old wooden house, painted white. Following along to the porch, Nathaniel plan on dropping the grocery bags down, but another item handed towards him put him to a stop.

"Here, hold this." The toss a banquet of flower on Nathaniel's chest, not waiting for an answer. A groan almost once again left his lips—already growing tired with the commands.

Nathaniel at a point felt the urgency in knocking his own head at not taking sight of the flowers laying in the man's arms.

He had no idea how manage, he found himself from the front porch  to the backyard. But the least he ever expect is three grave laying at the center.

A throat clearing as the banquet was taking from him, snapped Nathaniel's gaze away, to face the elderly man—who looked broken.

Hunching on his knees, Joe lay the banquet on the center of both graves. Placing his hand briefly on the stone. The vivid engraved word brought Nathaniel thinking.

Josphine Marshall

1954-1999

Freda Marshall

1975-1999

Frankie Marshall

1975-1999

It wouldn't take a genius a second to realize what was really going on here. A wife and children. Something about such scenario presented to him, felt too familiar.

Nathaniel felt out of place at such emotional breakdown. He himself would have felt that way also, but he couldn't find it in himself to leave.

Lowering down and sitting by his side, taking the heartbreaking view. Joe broke the silence first, as usual. "They all died on a plane crash. One of the worst day of my life. She was such a wonderful wife and blessed with beautiful babies. But life choose to cut it all short." The mouth leaving the mans mouth felt similar to his side of his life story.

"I'm so sorry for your lost." Nathaniel whispered out an apology. Already shattered at the painful sight at his view.

"It's nothing," He replied back sincerely, his gaze still in the three grave. "But do you know what's something? Not being able to move on. The regrets that comes from it, leaves a long trail of 'had I know'," Joe sigh weakly, blinking eye continually. "And that word, is such a painful word. More painful than the death of your loved once, you wouldn't won't to keep depressing on the dead."

Perfect silence filled the yard as the sun shine through the large tree almost covering the entire yard. Slowly he digest the words spoken by the man.

Wasn't that what he was doing?



"TAKE THIS it'll freshen up your system more." Anna handed over a glass of ice tea, towards a red faced Samantha, who had bawled out her painful load, weighting down on her heart.

She quickly murmured a thank you as she took a sip from the glass. Already feel light and empty, due to offloading the words imprinted on her chest,.for months now.

Samantha couldn't be more happy in revealing it to Anna Carter. One of the most admirable woman she'd ever encounter.

The Carter children should be proud of such wonderful woman like she was. How Samantha wish to have an older woman by her side, to be able to understand how she felt. The one person who stands for her was long gone.

Samantha's red eyes sting with tears, at taking the knowledge that Natasha was gone forever. She was never returning again. Her heart bleed in pain, as she took the full impact of the truth she kept running away from.

She was never going to have her sister back again. Not in this life.

Life was indeed cruel and wicked. Along all people in the world, why must it be her only surviving relative. Why Natasha? Why her?

A warm hand rubbing her back made Samantha heave in a shaky breath, as she forced in the tears back. Not wanting to break more in front of Anna.

"That's enough dear. Stop thinking about her Samantha. You're a young beautiful woman to be stressing yourself like that." Anna cautioned her, while handing over a tissue to use and wipe away the tears in her cheek.

Samantha let out humourless chuckle, carefully shaking her head, with the tissue tight in her hands.

She wasn't anywhere close to beautiful. If Samantha could describe herself, she'd say—plain. A chesknut hair and pale white skin isn't beautiful.

A current marital status in a prove of it all. She wasn't wrong by any chance.

She was plain.

"Don't you even dare go there. I can see that look on your face like you don't believe a word I said." Anna disappointing voice pointed the main fact of her unbelievable thought.

Samantha shook her head, casting her gaze towards the wooden center table on the large porch. "That because I'm anything but beautiful. I'm far from it."

Anna's silent reply, made her avert her gaze up, she was immediately greeted with a small smile. A smirk could be hinted on her expression. "Oh that where you're wrong. I'm not the only one who thinks of you as such. There's certainly someone special who can testify to that."

Samantha's brown contort in confusion, as she stammered out short of words. "W-Who could that be?" She asked, but only received a chuckle from the older woman's lips, as she threw her head back in laughter.

But the answer she got in reply only left a huge, large question mark.

"You'll know soon."

********

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