I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 345

Half an hour later, the coffee shop felt unusually quiet. Natalie and Alexander sat across from each other, tension pressing in from all sides.

Natalie clung to her coffee cup, her fingers almost trembling. She kept her eyes locked on Alexander. “What is it you really want?” Her voice came out tight, wary.

Alexander took a slow sip of his coffee, looking calm. “I’m trying to find out the truth about the Billy Firth counterfeit mess.”

Natalie blinked in surprise. “You mean you weren’t behind it?”

He set his cup down and looked her straight in the eyes. “Did you really think I’d go after Billy Firth?”

“At the auction, you were clearly blocking things,” she shot back.

“That was only because I didn’t want Camila White to figure out what was happening.”

Natalie stared at him, not sure she’d heard right. “What did you just say?”

“I know everything,” Alexander said, his voice steady. “It was Camila. She orchestrated all of it. Except the counterfeits, though I’m starting to think she’s involved there too. That’s why I’ve been investigating on my own.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “Nicholas told me he was threatened. Someone promised to cover his child’s medical bills if he swapped out the real enamel vase and left Cabinda right away. He did it for his kid. The only reason he came back was because he got a call saying you’d gone to his hometown. That person then stopped the child’s treatment for now, so the hospital had no records of them.”

So that’s what really happened.

“Who did he meet?” Natalie pressed.

Alexander shook his head. “Nicholas never saw his face. He only knows it was a middle-aged man with a deep voice, always wearing a hat and a mask.”

“So you just let me be the scapegoat? Let me take every accusation and every insult?”

Natalie’s eyes shimmered with tears. She let out a hollow laugh.

“I never meant for you to be hurt,” Alexander said, guilt shadowing his features. He sounded almost frantic. “I just wanted to fix everything first before explaining it all. I never wanted to give you up. I never wanted you to be hurt.”

“That’s enough.” Natalie dropped her gaze, tears slipping quietly down her cheek.

She bit her lip, trying to hold herself together.

After a long pause, she looked up again, her eyes cold and set. “You don’t need to get involved with the counterfeit case. I’ll find out who’s behind it myself. This is my fight. It has nothing to do with you.”