"Natalie, wait." Daniel caught up to her and held her arm.
She angrily turned to face him.
"Leave me alone, Daniel. I didn't ask for any of this." She shouted at him angrily, yanking off her arm as she walked away.
"Babee, please, please wait."
Annoyed, he turned back scowling and walked up to his mum.
"What was that all about?"
"Oh, please, you spoil her too much. What did she do to deserve all this?" Julian retorted.
Daniel looked on at his mother as though she were an alien.
"I don't understand you." His tone was a mixture of disbelief.
"What has Natalie done for you not to like her?"
Julian looked at him, bewildered that he could even ask her that. "You are my son, and she is not good for you," she responded, walking away. "She is no daughter-in-law of mine."
"Mum," He called out in disbelief.
Julian eyed him and walked past him, leaving Daniel standing alone.
Meanwhile, Natalie had already changed her outfit to a light dress and wore flip-flops. She had just picked up her phone and was about to leave the room when Daniel walked in.
"Babe, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect her to come over and ruin our date."
"It's okay, Daniel. Could you excuse me?" She sighed tiredly.
"What is it, babe? Are you okay? He looked at her.
"Hmm," She nodded.
He came towards her and held her waist, causing Natalie to flinch.
Daniel tried to kiss her again while she turned away. He held her that way for a while and moved her towards their bed.
"Daniel, you should stop." She said softly.
"You know you don't want me to." He responded, smiling, and was successfully able to capture her lips. He ravaged her lips hungrily and touched her.
"We can't do anything, Daniel." She held his hands to halt his movement, making him look at her.
"My flow has started." She said, looking away from him, folding her arm across her chest.
'Oh," Daniel hopped in beside her and held her in his arms. "It's okay, I just want you beside me." He whispered close to her ear.
Natalie simply sighed and made herself comfortable. Fighting him was useless; besides, Daniel was always used to getting his way.
They both lay in bed, his arm around hers as they listened to each other's breathing.
After a while, Daniel stood up, asking her to hold on for him briefly and not to go anywhere.
She looked at him and sighed.
She was torn; being so close to him was messing with her resolve to end their marriage.
Did he really love her?
Could he change for the better?
All these thoughts and more were going through her mind.
She still loved her husband, amidst everything. If he was going to be sincere with her, she could truly give them a chance, but he needed to work for her forgiveness.
She couldn't just let him have his way easily. She thought.
But she was making it easy for him at this rate.
Daniel walked back in with a cup of green tea, a gift box, and a rose on a tray.
He moved on to the bed and handed over the cup of tea to her.
"I got you this." He said. "To relieve the pain of you know – "He swallowed.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him, "Why are you doing this?" She asked, taking the cup from him.
Daniel shrugged, "I'm trying to get you to forgive my errors. We can have a baby, start over." He smiled.
Natalie eyed him; she was confused.
"I don't know Daniel. I don't know how to start over with you. Our marriage isn't working, and I don't think I can cope with you cheating on me, or having to fight with your mother daily because I'm not perfect for her." Her chest heaved with so many emotions.
"We can make this work, babe. As for my mother, she would learn to accept you once we have a child."
Natalie shook her head in denial. Julian hated her so much that she knew for certain. The past three years with her had proved that.
She was tired.
Daniel picked up the rose and went on one knee in front of Natalie. She sat up, looking at him. She felt torn, seeing him; the way he spoke with her made her resolve weak. He was her first, the only man she had ever known. She still loved him despite everything, and if he was going to change, maybe he had to prove himself worthy of her forgiveness.
"Give me some time," She said softly
"You don't love me anymore," Daniel accused her.
Her silence made him more frustrated. "What do you want me to do? I will do anything except divorce."
After a long while, Natalie took the flower from him. "Let's take some time off to reflect on us if we sincerely want this marriage to work or not."
"How long? I need you, Natalie."
"I don't know Daniel,"
"One month, Natalie. You can take this break for one month. I am still here and will prove to you that what I want is us.' He breathed wordlessly, looking at her.
Natalie simply nodded.
Throughout the week, Natalie simply packed most of her stuff and moved to her new place quietly. It started with a bag, then two bags; it was almost unnoticeable.
She took a rest at noon at her place, then came back home in the evenings.
She had gotten into a few conflicts with Julian; the tirade they had was the usual, about her being absent from the duties in the manor, but that didn't bother Natalie much. Julian kept acting as though she hadn't gotten the memo from Natalie's attitude lately toward her and the duties in the house in general.
Daniel, on the other hand, was always giving her gifts; he had sent her a hundred million dollars to her bank account and random gifts, which she was tired of unboxing.
She had spoken with her parents about her progress on moving out her stuff gradually, but also hinted at how torn she was; she was so close to forgiving him and moving on. She was that soft.
Kayla, on the other hand, had been firm with her on moving her things regardless of her emotions and had urged her daily. Even if Natalie was going to change her mind in the end and take Daniel back, she needed this break to make him see the error of his ways and sincerely mean to change for the better.
"You are too soft, Natalie," She had chided. "Have you forgotten the pictures?"
It's not like she did. Whenever she thought about them, her chest visibly hurt. But lately, Daniel had been coming home for dinner, and he had been having conversations; it was as though they were a couple again.