Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85: Making Amends
### Chapter 85: Making Amends
She was crying, and Zachary Hawthorne lost all interest.
Wiping away her tears, he pulled Nina Wainwright into his arms and said gently, "Alright, don’t cry. If you don’t want to, we won’t."
Nina clutched his clothes, hating herself for still feeling so reluctant to let him go, even now.
She had clearly made up her mind to divorce him, yet the thought of them separating still broke her heart. She would find herself crying uncontrollably at the thought of another woman by his side.
Zachary gently patted her back. "Get some rest first."
Nina curled up in his arms, sniffling softly.
After she cried herself to sleep, Zachary found he couldn’t sleep either. Suppressing his own desires, he got up and went to the bathroom. When he came out, he sat in the hallway and smoked a cigarette.
After finishing his cigarette, he glanced at the sleeping Nina inside, then turned, went back into the room, and picked up his phone.
Stepping outside the door, he dialed Silas Sinclair’s number.
Silas picked up after just a few moments.
Zachary held the phone, silent for a moment, before finally saying indifferently, "It’s nothing."
With that, he hung up.
The next morning, Nina got ready for work. Just as she came downstairs, she saw Zachary waiting in the living room.
"I’ll drive you to work," Zachary said as he saw her come down.
"Aren’t you busy today?" Nina didn’t really want him going to her workplace. Although she knew he must have already investigated it, the thought of him actually showing up made her feel an internal resistance.
"The company’s mine. What does it matter if I go in a little later?" Zachary walked toward her, his eyes lowered slightly with a faint smile.
’He hasn’t spoken to me like this in a long time,’ Nina thought.
Before Luna Sterling came along, he used to talk to her like this almost every day. frёeωebɳovel.com
After Luna returned, he was rarely home, and the days they spent arguing grew more and more frequent.
’His sudden offer to drive me to work today... has he finally remembered that, as a husband, he hasn’t shown me any concern in a very long time?’
At this thought, she gave a quiet hum of assent and walked toward the dining room.
After finishing breakfast, Nina got into his car. Zachary was driving himself.
As the car pulled out of their residential community, he kept his eyes on the road and casually brought up a topic with Nina. "It must be inconvenient for you to take public transportation every day. I’ll have Silas Sinclair look at some cars for you today. What brand do you like?"
"There’s no need. I haven’t driven in three years, I’m out of practice," Nina refused immediately.
Zachary glanced at her involuntarily, suddenly at a loss for words.
In the three years since they’d been married, she had rarely gone out, and when she did, a chauffeur drove her. It was only normal that she’d gotten rusty.
After a long moment of contemplation, he spoke again. "You can always practice again. Just pick one."
Nina stared out the window, her expression calm as she watched the scenery for a long while. She spoke slowly, "I prefer taking the bus and things like that now. You should give the car to someone who needs it."
’In her view, Zachary’s sudden generosity in offering to buy her a car was just an admission of guilt. He knew he had wronged her by buying Luna Sterling a ring worth over thirty million, so now he was trying to compensate by driving her to work and offering her a car.’
’But it was far too late to start thinking about mending their relationship now.’ freewebnoveℓ.com
Zachary said no more, simply driving on in silence.
They arrived at The Moonlight Tavern.
Zachary parked the car and entered the tavern with Nina.
Nina paid him no mind.
Leo Larkin wasn’t in yet today. The cleaning lady was tidying up, and the tavern was empty of customers this morning.
Nina put her bag in the break room. When she came back out, she saw Zachary walking around the tavern. He watched her emerge from the break room and start working at the bar, but he didn’t disturb her.
Nina’s morning duties consisted of polishing the glasses for the day and wiping down the bar.
When the occasional customer came in, she would mix them one of the drinks she was currently best at making.
Zachary sat in the tavern for a while before deciding to leave.
As he passed the bar, he stopped and asked Nina, "Are you sure you don’t want the car?"
"I don’t need it," Nina replied without a moment’s hesitation.
Zachary didn’t press the issue and left the tavern.
The moment he was gone, Nina felt her entire body relax.
As soon as the cleaning lady saw him leave, she sidled up to Nina and asked, "Who was that?"
Nina glanced at her but didn’t answer. Instead, she reminded her, "If you don’t hurry up and clean, the boss is going to chew you out again when he gets here."
She thought the cleaning lady was truly inefficient at her job.
And she was nosy, always trying to pry into matters that were none of her business.
"He looked pretty rich. Someone that wealthy wouldn’t let you work in a tavern like this, would he?" the cleaning lady pressed on.
Nina just smiled and said nothing.
Seeing she wasn’t going to get any answers, the cleaning lady could only go back to mopping the floor.
It was almost ten o’clock when Leo Larkin finally arrived. Nina had already served several customers, recommending her own concoctions, which, thankfully, they had all accepted.
Leo came over and first ran a hand over the bar.
Nina had cleaned it, and he was very satisfied with the result.
When he went to check the tables, however, his face darkened after inspecting a few. He immediately went to find the cleaning lady, who was wiping down the liquor cabinet. "You haven’t been putting any effort into your work these past few days. These tables aren’t clean."
"It’s been so busy this morning. She only wiped the bar and didn’t even think to help me. When I get busy, I sometimes miss a table..." the cleaning lady mumbled, clutching her rag and glancing toward Nina. "She’s been here for days and all she does is wipe the bar?"
"She’s the bartender. Wiping the bar is an extra task for her, but you are the cleaner. If your memory is really that bad, or if you’re too busy with things at home and can’t handle the work, then I’ll just find a replacement," Leo said with a frown.
Hearing that he wanted to replace her, the cleaning lady was immediately displeased. "Mr. Larkin, I’ve been working here for so long! Even if I haven’t made great contributions, I’ve put in the hard work, right? She’s only been here a few days and doesn’t even know to help out. You’re not sticking up for me, and you’re taking her side?"
Leo listened to her with a cold expression, now fully understanding her intentions.
She was pulling rank.
She was unhappy that Nina’s entire day consisted of just mixing a few drinks and wiping a single bar counter.
"Jobs can be divided into replaceable and irreplaceable. Which category do you think you fall into?" he asked, leaning against the liquor cabinet, his tone devoid of any warmth.
At his words, the cleaning lady instantly fell silent.
"There are plenty of people who would do this job. If you really think you can use the few years you’ve worked here as leverage to intimidate newcomers and force them to do work that’s not in their job description, then I don’t think you need to stay here any longer," Leo finished. He straightened up and walked over to Nina.
The cleaning lady muttered something under her breath, then took her rag and went to check the tables.
Leo walked over to Nina and tapped his fingers on the countertop. "Your job each day is to mix drinks. Once you’re done with your tasks at the bar, that’s it. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you to do something."
Nina hummed in response.
"I’m stepping out for a bit. Just focus on your own work," Leo instructed before leaving.
