Nate needed to be completely honest but he didn't want to hurt Madeline. He sat with her on the couch and watched ESPN.
"You've been so distant lately." She said suddenly.
He was lost in his train of thought. "Huh?"
"Is something wrong? You've been weird lately."
He shook his head. "No. Nothing."
She leaned over and started kissing his neck. "How about instead of watching TV, we have some fun?"
He leaned away. "I really want to watch this."
"I'm trying so hard here Nate. What is with you?"
He turned off the TV. "I need to tell you something." He looked down at his lap. "I…I slept with Serena."
"What?" She jumped off the couch and started biting her nails like she did when she was anxious.
He stood up and walked over to her. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."
She struck him hard on his cheek. "You bastard! I trusted you! I said nothing when you ran around with her the whole time she was in town because I knew she was important to you! And you took complete advantage of my trust. How many times?"
He didn't expect that question. "Just once."
"Do you still love her?"
He thought about his answer. "I loved her for a long time."
"What about me? Where do I stand? Do you even love me?"
He looked down. "I don't know. I'm so sorry."
"Why did you even want to get married?"
He felt so guilty. "I don't know; you're amazing, really. I am just so confused.
She started to cry then but she still let him hug her. He knew he should have regretted what he did. But he really didn't, which only made him feel worse.
"Madeline, please understand. You deserve someone better. Who gives you that feeling in the pit of your stomach, someone who makes it hard for you to breathe around him..."
She took her ring off and put in his hand. "Here! Now you're free to be with her. That's what you wanted, right?"
"This isn't about Serena. It's about me and you."
"Bullshit! The least you could do is be honest!"
"You're right. But Serena and I will probably never work out, as much as I'd like it to."
She started crying again. "What am I going to tell everyone? This is so humiliating. I love you Nate."
"I'm so sorry. I'll take care of everything, just worry about your parents." He took her hand and kissed it.
She frowned. "Goodbye Nate."
…
Serena tried to keep herself busy with work. She still thought about Nate every day. She knew he was better off without her so she decided to stay away as long as possible. But by the end of July, her agent advised her that it was time to move back to Manhattan, if she wanted her career to move forward. She found a perfect place in the Upper West Side. It was gorgeous and her first home. The first thing she did was calculate how far it was from Nate's house. It would take her 7 minutes to get there.
She dialed Blair's number and her best friend answered the phone quickly. "Hey!"
"Hey B. Guess who is moving back?"
"When!" She couldn't hide her excitement.
Serena smiled. "I'll be there in a week." She was silent while Blair talked. "Have you talked to Nate?"
"A little. He's so busy." She paused and her tone changed. "The wedding is off."
Serena's tone changed too. "What? Why?"
"You know why. He can't marry someone else. He belongs with you."
"That was a long time ago Blair. He deserves to be happy."
"He does. So do you. He wouldn't have been happy with her. One day he was going to wake up and realize how miserable he was. It's better this way."
"I should get to bed. I have to wake up early and start packing."
"Okay. Night."
"Blair...I broke up a relationship. What kind of person am I?"
Blair was silent for a while. "The kind of person who's in love."
...
Hey guys! I know this is a little shorter than most of the chapters but I just wanted to update this story before I start my finals cause I won't be updating for a few days! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for your reviews! xoxo