Filed to story: Healing My Disabled Husband Novel
“So, I study in peace for three years. When senior year begins, I’ll go back to filming. At that time, I can honestly say that I really is an actress.”
Emanuel was deeply moved by her words.
It was the first time he had heard Nathalie talk about her dream of becoming an actress so passionately.
But after listening to her story, Emanuel blamed himself even more for not confessing his feelings earlier or waiting for a better time instead of adding pressure on Nathalie while she was still working hard towards her future career goals.
Nathalie noticed Emanuel’s expression and understood what he was thinking right away.
Feeling helpless herself now, she reached out and held his hand saying, “I told you all this not because you should feel bad for putting pressure on me, but I’m not feeling bad myself.”
Emanuel squeezed her hand tightly as he realized how greedy he had become with wanting more from their relationship than before.
He wanted nothing more than staying by her side forever now that he knew how much she meant everything she said about pursuing acting as opposed to fame or fortune in show business.
Nathalie felt Emanuel’s strength and continued, “I’m saying this to tell you that I don’t care about what others think of me, I only care about what matters to me.”
Emanuel was moved.
He can imagine what Nathalie was going to say next.
Nathalie said, “You are also someone I care about.”
Emanuel’s eyes suddenly became moist, but his heart felt a sour ache.
Nathalie said, “If you’re ready and only care about me, let’s try dating.”
Emanuel gave a jerk, pulling Nathalie straight towards him.
Nathalie let out a soft cry, but the next second, she slammed directly into Emanuel’s chest.
Her fingers poked at Emanuel’s chest, causing a sharp pain.
Nathalie said, “Do you really like me? You look like you’re going to kill me.”
Nathalie held her fingers up in front of Emanuel’s eyes, the tips of her fingers red from being squeezed too tightly.
Emanuel took her hand in his and said, “I’m sorry. I just wanted to hold you.”
Nathalie understood now. She had been overthinking things earlier. If Emanuel had ever been in love before, she would have written his name backwards.
“You can’t be a little gentler with me?” Nathalie asked him. “I want to be your girlfriend.”
“Teach me,” Emanuel replied.
Nathalie scoffed and said, “That’s a dangerous thing to say. Usually when a woman teaches a man something like that, he ends up becoming someone else’s man.”
Emanuel furrowed his brow at the convoluted statement.
“I only love you,” he said firmly while looking into Nathalie’s eyes.
She was taken aback by how serious he sounded when she was just teasing him moments ago. Was this really appropriate? But Nathalie had grown accustomed to the way Emanuel spoke – even though it could be confusing at times – because whenever he spoke earnestly like this, it stirred something within her heart that she couldn’t quite explain.
She liked feeling this way around him.
Without any more fussing around with Emanuel, Nathalie straightened up and adjusted her sitting position so that she was closer to him than before – close enough for their breaths to mingle if they leaned forward even just slightly more towards each other’s faces.
Looking directly into Emanuel’s eyes again, Nathalie asked, “So will you try being my boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” came the simple response from Emanuel.
It was such an uncomplicated answer but it made Nathalie smile anyway as she moved closer still until their noses touched.
“Nice meeting you then…boyfriend,” Nathalie whispered without opening her mouth yet.
Her lips were tantalizingly close now; they kept parting and closing as if inviting Emanuel for a kiss which sent blood rushing through his head, making it hard for him think coherently anymore except one thought ??kiss her! Kiss her!
With what little restraint he had left, Emanuel asked hesitantly, “Can I kiss you?”
Nathalie smiled coyly back at him saying, “What if I say no?”
“It’s too late,” replied Emanuel already leaning forward capturing those lips of hers with fervor!
The person he had been longing for day and night was now in his arms, and he was kissing her lips.
All of this felt so unreal.
However, the sensation on his lips was telling Emanuel that he wasn’t dreaming.
All of this was real.
Emanuel’s kisses lacked any technique, and sometimes even caused Nathalie some discomfort.
However, Nathalie couldn’t help but wonder if she was seeing things. Otherwise, how could she feel so fascinated.
When Emanuel was willing to let her go, she still hadn’t gotten enough.
Of course, Emanuel was the same.
He tried hard to restrain himself and let go of Nathalie, just because he didn’t want to be too excessive and cause any bad feelings for Nathalie.
However, in this aspect, they seemed to have a natural soul connection.
They didn’t know how long the kiss was before Nathalie finally couldn’t stand it anymore and fell softly into Emanuel’s arms.
Both of them remained silent and quietly savored the moment.
After Nathalie regained her strength, she pulled away from Emanuel’s embrace.
She took out her mobile phone and said to Emanuel, “Let’s take a picture together.”
Emanuel used to hardly take any photos, but now, at Nathalie’s request, he naturally went along with it.
Nodding his head, Emanuel let Nathalie fiddle with it. Whatever pose she wanted, it was up to her.
Nathalie seemed to be particularly fond of Emanuel who listened to everything she said.
Although he was a person with a strong personality, it seemed like he had let go of everything here.
Nathalie found an angle and took dozens of photos in a row.
Finally, she took another background picture with Emanuel.
She didn’t want so many people to see Emanuel’s face.
Emanuel didn’t know what Nathalie wanted to do, and he hadn’t asked. Anyway, whatever she wanted, he will cooperate.
Nathalie ultimately chose that background image.
She edited a tweet and sent it out.
Nathalie tweeted: Childhood sweetheart, inseparable and destined for each other. He loves me so much and I love him just as much.
At the moment Nathalie sent out the tweet, Emanuel’s phone rang.
It was the notification sound that the tweets he should pay special attention to.
Nathalie was speechless.
She looked at him in astonishment, blinking her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it, and asked incredulously, “You also have a Twitter account?”
Emanuel finally became a little uneasy.
He said, “To follow you.”
Nathalie was particularly happy and laughed with great joy.
It was known that her brother Ridge hadn’t even followed her.
Nathalie hugged Emanuel tightly and nuzzled her little face against his neck, saying, “You really love me so much.”
Emanuel hooked his arm around Nathalie’s waist and opened Twitter. After seeing Nathalie’s tweet, a smile appeared on his usually stern face that he didn’t even realize was there.
Of course, Emanuel would be even happier if he didn’t see Nathalie’s Twitter comment.
Nathalie released Emanuel and leaned over to his phone, taking a quick glance before snatching it from his grasp.
“Hey, don’t look at it. There’s nothing interesting here. I’m already used to it,” Nathalie said.
Before Nathalie decided to post her tweet, she already anticipated what the comments would be like.
Actually, it was a little better than she imagined.
Emanuel said, “Sorry, tell me, what should I do?”
Emanuel did as Nathalie asked, he could hug and kiss her, but how to comfort her? He didn’t know how. Nathalie couldn’t help but laugh at his awkwardness and hugged Emanuel’s neck. “Just being with you is enough for me. You make me happy and forget about all those negative voices,” she said.
Emanuel held onto Nathalie tightly around the waist. If he were to handle it himself, he might resort to a more aggressive approach and confront those who spoke ill of them one by one.
But that wouldn’t be good for Nathalie, so even if he wanted to do it that way, he couldn’t.
For now, all Emanuel could do was hold her close like this.
Nathalie’s announcement of her relationship caused quite a stir. She had been receiving criticism for years, especially after returning to the film industry following graduation and starring in a niche movie that didn’t do well at the box office. Almost everyone blamed Nathalie for the movie’s poor performance.
Despite some viewers acknowledging Nathalie’s improved acting skills compared to three years ago when she was still in school, people were quick to label her as someone who prioritized love over career and used studying as an excuse.
Nathalie wasn’t one to flaunt her relationship online or go on dates where she could be easily spotted by fans. However, rumors about their breakup circulated almost every month among netizens who created various versions of what happened between Nathalie and Emanuel. The most popular one claimed that Emanuel cheated on Nathalie.
Nathalie was fed up with all these speculations but chose not to engage with them. Instead, she focused on improving herself academically and professionally while enjoying her time with Emanuel whenever they could meet without being disturbed.
The decision to star in this particular movie was entirely hers. The director was a former teacher from drama school who had several excellent scripts but couldn’t get them produced due to various reasons.
This movie was one of them.
When Nathalie stumbled upon the script by chance, she fell in love with it immediately and knew how much people would regret not seeing it if it didn’t get made into a film. So despite knowing that this might not be commercially successful, she decided to take up the role as part of her comeback plan while showcasing her acting abilities.
However, from its release until attending various film festivals afterward, Nathalie received harsh criticisms continuously until good news finally arrived: The movie won Best Foreign Language Film
Award at a prestigious festival where Nathalie also won Best Actress Award!
This news sparked an online trend on Twitter: #IOweNathalieMovieTicket#.
Nathalie didn’t have much of a reaction to this. She had thought it through before choosing this movie.
It was a film that would leave a lasting impression on those who watched it, but it wasn’t a commercial success.
That was why Nathalie didn’t arrange for many screenings, even with Miles backing her up.
Now, having won Best Actress, Nathalie took the stage and graciously thanked many people while also explaining why she chose this particular movie. And then, at the end of her speech, Nathalie announced some big news: she was getting married tomorrow.
Two bombshell announcements in quick succession left netizens stunned.
Nathalie didn’t pay attention to the online chatter though; she was ready to become Emanuel’s bride.
The wedding took place at the festival venue with all their important guests in attendance. As Nathalie walked towards Emanuel arm-in-arm with Patrick, she felt truly happy in that moment.
Patrick had planned out what he wanted to say to Emanuel about taking care of and loving Nathalie but when it came down to it, all he said was “I’m entrusting her to you.”
Emanuel looked back at him solemnly and replied “You can trust me.”
With that exchange between two men complete – one handing over his beloved daughter into another man’s care – Nathalie began a new chapter in her life walking hand-in-hand with Emanuel towards their happily ever after.
The applause and cheers from the audience faded away as they only saw each other now; Emanuel saying “I love you” as they walked together towards their future happiness.
As Patrick held Aimee’s hand watching them walk away, his eyes were filled with bittersweetness yet also an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
Aimee met his gaze and without needing any words exchanged between them, they both knew what each other meant by just one look.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
There were no more moving words than these three simple ones.
Patrick lifted Aimee’s hand up placing gentle kisses on them like he did when they first fell in love. Time may have moved forward but their love never changed.
Their grand wedding continued as two people who loved each other forever remained so until eternity.
—-THE END