Novel Catchup
Chapter 464 Words of wisdom
«At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a father. I didn't especially like the twins. They were... a surprise? But now, now I can't imagine life without them.»
«It's normal, don't you think?» Doctor Mason said before Nate could change his mind and decide not to say anything in front of Lara.
He was collaborating, to her surprise. And he was doing his best, at that, telling something she could swear he wouldn't admit under torture.
«You were living your life when, suddenly, there it was: a family. You needed your time to accept it. But now it's good. You love your kids, don't you?»
«I do.»
«Do you tell them?»
Nate thought about it for a moment.
«I do. Not too often, actually. But I do tell them to rely on me, and that we're family.»
«It doesn't have to be often. Once in a while is enough, just so they know you are there for them and not just their mother.» Find your next adventure on empire
«Oh, I was clear about this,» he said. He had to be clear because he had told them, at the beginning, he wanted Lara.
But things were kind of settled, on that front. Jaden knew, and Scarlet didn't care. They were a family, now.
«But, doesn't that make it difficult to progress in your relationship?» Doctor Mason inquired. «Do you see Lara as the mother of your children? Is that how you see each other?»
In the end, the children were the obstacle in their way. They were doing just fine, but the twins were involved in just everything.
«No,» Nate said. «The twins are Lara's children. It's not the other way around.»
It had been such a straight-forward reply. Doctor Mason choked, taken by surprise. Nate's face didn't show any hint of discomfort while saying that.
She was starting to realise what won Lara's heart. If he said such things even when they were alone... What woman could resist so much devotion?
Who could have known that Nate Woods would be a smitten man with his wife? If only there wasn't patient-doctor confidentiality, she would have sold that gossip to all the tabloids!
«I... I understand,» she sighed.
In the end, she had to bring it to their attention. She couldn't hope they would reach that conclusion on their own.
«But, don't you feel like the children are in the way of your relationship?»
«How so?»
«Wouldn't you like to be just the two of you, sometimes? What I mean is: you two didn't have the period together when there's just the two of you, without kids. That's when a couple grows even closer and starts cohabiting. It's an important phase, but you just skipped it. It was not your fault, just the circumstance. But don't you wish to be alone sometimes?»
Nate blinked.
«We date alone,» he said. «We send the twins to my mother, and we go out.»
Wasn't that what she meant?
«Do you feel like it's enough?»
He shrugged. To him, it was fine.
«Do you think the children are in the way, sometimes? Do you ever wish to be just the two of you?» she asked.
«Not at all,» said Lara.
«Just sometimes,» was Nate's reply. Saying otherwise would have been a lie.
Lara turned to him, her lips parted in surprise and her eyes wide. She stared in silence, as if seeing him for the first time.
Nate regretted his words. He had been carried away by the atmosphere: how could he forget that he was just number two on her list of priorities?
«You think so?» Lara said. Her tone was neutral, calm. She wasn't accusing him, just trying to understand.
Her cubs were her life, so she couldn't even think of leaving them on the side. But for Nate, it was different. Of course it was. And there was nothing wrong. But she needed to know, to understand him better.
«I love them,» he tried, his forehead covering with sweat.
However, he had done the misstep already. Now he could only proceed in that direction and hope everything would return to the right place one day.
«I thought you didn't mind,» Lara said. «You help me so much taking care of them that I thought you liked doing so.»
«I love it,» he repeated. «But when they are nearby, our attention is mostly on them. When we are all together, I can't help but look at them instead of at you. Just think about breakfast: it would be so different without the p... the kids. I don't say it's bad this way, just...
Sometimes, I realise I'm not paying enough attention to you.»
«That's how being a parent is,» Lara explained, leaning on the elbow on the armrest. «You forget about yourself because your kids need you.»
«I don't find it tedious or tiring. I like being their father, and it's natural to devote my attention to them. But sometimes, just sometimes, I wish we were alone.»
«I... I didn't know it was so important for you,» Lara said. In fact, with how wolves lived - in packs, together - she had thought that a family was the best option for everyone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, if Nate wanted to be alone, then they should have found some time.
«Shouldn't we move forward that vacation?» she said, in fact. «We should spend a few days alone. Just you and me.»
Doctor Mason looked at the clock. Time was almost over, and those two had done it all by themselves. If all her patients were like that, she would have been rich without moving a finger.
«That's an awesome idea,» she said. «Time for yourselves is the best option when you feel you need to rest. Or when you're growing apart. No one is saying you should forget about your children. Just, you can't think about romance with two toddlers to take care of, can you?»
Nate nodded, agreeing with the doctor a hundred per cent. If he knew it before, he would have sent Lara there way, way sooner. Doctor Mason had so many words of wisdom!