Until There Was You by J.J. Bamber Read Free Book Online

us? Why would Joshua do this to us? How could I have been so blind?
    He wanted to talk to Joshua, scream at Joshua, embrace him, and push him away. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hold onto one emotion for long enough to make any sense of it. He knew that he was furious, but he also knew that he would give anything to walk into Cecily's house with Joshua beside him and see him pick Bailey up. The neatness of the room was cartoonishly at odds with the storm of thoughts and feelings that was causing havoc in Nate's brain. Nate felt more tears roll down his cheeks. Thinking about Bailey threw Nate back into reality, and he knew that he had to do everything he could do to make things better.
    Nate sat up straighter in his chair. His spine was strong, and a solidity rose from the back of his stomach and built a wall between his heart and his chest. He ran through his thoughts so that he could grab onto any ones that felt remotely practical. "There were a lot of things that I didn't know. A lot. But, um, I will buy the house, or at least put down some kind of deposit that secures it for me and my son. And Joshua—when he comes back, when he comes back to me. I mean, if he comes back to me. To us. I write books, and they're pretty successful, and I've just signed a new contract. So I have some money."
    Nate decided that he was going to be a warrior—that he was going to at least try to fight for the things that he wanted. For the first time in a long time, he didn't have someone in his corner, someone taking the blows and kicks for him. There was no longer any shelter. Nate felt betrayed by Joshua; he had never thought for a second that he would be in this kind of situation without Joshua by his side. The betrayal felt like darts in his back. He just wanted to be in a room with Joshua so that he could shout and ask questions and try to pick through the situation. Nate didn't want to be alone and that made him feel stupid; he wanted to be strong and capable and adult about everything.
    "You don't have the money. Believe me, I have tried to think of ways, any way , for you to keep the house. My wife is a huge fan of your books. She reads passages out to me all of the time. I suppose we feel like we know you. All of this time, Joshua assured me that you knew what was happening. If I had known that you were in the dark, I would have contacted you sooner.
    "Your main account is a joint account with Joshua, and he never said that you raised any concerns about what was happening. Everything you have earned for the last ten years has been put into an account that Joshua has been using. You don't really have anything in your name alone. When you came into the office to sign the remortgage agreement, Joshua gave us the impression that everything had been explained to you." Jack maintained his professional demeanor, but a flash of sadness in his eyes made Nate wince. Nate could suddenly see himself the way others would: as an idiot who didn't even think to question the basic financial foundations of his own life.
    "How do you know that I don't have the money?" Nate asked.
    "Because I am the person in charge of your financial affairs. They are all bundled in with Joshua's—you two are a package deal. You are in a strong financial position, but you are quite a long way off from being able to save the house. It's an expensive property and, as such, it's out of your price range. Even with the new book contract. A lot of the lump sum you received has already been used to pay the last two months of staff wages, administration fees and a big advertising push that Joshua green-lit a couple of months ago. You have some money, but it's just not enough to pay off the missing mortgage payments and fees and then still have enough money to live your life. It would be tantamount to throwing your money into a hole. Staying in the house would make your life very difficult."
    "Are you sure? Maybe I could get a second opinion, or a loan?" There was