When Her Death Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel) novel Chapter 2166

Cecilia had braced herself for some grave announcement. Instead, Nathaniel confessed the emergency was nothing more than Eric's arrival.

"So you don't trust me, huh?" Cecilia teased, a half smile curling her lips. "The moment you heard Eric was in town, you rushed straight home."

Nathaniel drew her into his arms. "It's not you I doubt," he murmured against her hair. "I doubt myself."

It took someone as dazzling as Eric to make a man like Nathaniel admit insecurity, and that fact did not escape Cecilia.

She patted his back in gentle reassurance. "There, there. There's nothing between Eric and me. He's handsome and young, sure, but I know my limits."

Nathaniel's brows knitted into a sharp, indignant line.

What kind of explanation was that?

Did she mean he simply wasn't as good-looking as the actor?

Worse, was she refusing Eric only because she believed she didn't deserve him?

Once upon a time, Nathaniel would never have worried about a mere actor. Now, however, Cecilia had become the steady axis of his life, and Eric—with that sculpted face and legions of online admirers—felt like a very real threat.

Nathaniel had watched Eric's relentless advance in the past—the actor's polished smile, the roses, the shameless compliments that fell like hail. And for once, the usually unshakeable man found himself uncertain, wondering if Cecilia might actually be moved by that pretty face.

Just then, the front door opened. Jonathan and Elliot stepped inside just in time to witness their parents locked in a long embrace.

Jonathan, ever the discreet elder brother, lowered his gaze and slipped down the corridor toward his own room, the soft padding of his sneakers swallowed by the hallway carpet.

Elliot, however, had no intention of retreating. Before their parents realized he was back, the boy planted himself between the embracing adults, those wide, curious eyes of his fixed on them like searchlights.

Cecilia jumped at the sudden appearance of her younger son, arms tightening instinctively around Nathaniel before she pulled back, cheeks warming with a mix of surprise and embarrassment.

"Eli, sweetheart, why are you standing here? When did you get home?" Cecilia asked, smoothing the stray hair from his forehead.

Elliot sighed. "Mommy, you hardly notice me anymore. Jon and I have been back for ages. I've been standing there, watching you and Daddy holding each other for, um..."

The next second, the little boy started counting on his fingers. "For as many times as I can count on all five fingers, dozens of times over."

Cecilia's lips parted, yet nothing came out. The moment was so absurd she found herself utterly speechless.

Nathaniel's patience had already worn thin. "Have you finished your homework?" he asked, his brow pinched. "And tell me, genius—what exactly is five fingers counted a few dozen times?"

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