Beautiful Catastrophe

Chapter Nineteen:

"If your favourite colour is red, why couldn't I wear it tonight?" Kim called from inside the bathroom.

Nathan was straightening his tie in the mirror beside their bed when he heard her and rolled his eyes immediately.

"Are you still going on about that dress from a couple days ago?" There was humour in his tone, he found it funny but nerves were beginning to kick in for him and what he had planned for that night. He wondered what Kim would think, but tried his very best to put her to the back of his mind for the time being. But forgetting about her for a night was proving to be extremely difficult, especially after she came out of the bathroom, ready to go.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, that was an opinion Nathan would keep to himself. But he could not hide his reaction when catching the first sight of her, all set for the night ahead of them.

Kim's hair was up, her recently purchased make up was flawless and her dress clung to her skin in a way that made her even more irresistible to Nathan. It wasn't just her looks, it was everything about her that made her truly captivating to him- it was something he could not embrace. Nathan found it quite scary actually, how he felt around her.

"I don't like this one." She frowned a little, at first she was looking at him but as soon as the words escaped her mouth, she diverted her gaze to the ground.

"What? Why not?" Nathan quickly walked towards her in order to stand next to her.

"Nothing, never mind. I'm just nervous. Forget I said anything." Kim insisted before walking briskly to the other side of the room to grab her purse.

Nathan followed her and put his hands around her waist in order to keep her near. He kissed her on the lips tenderly and once they broke away, he rested his forehead on hers for a moment.

"Don't be nervous. We're just going to this event, I'm going to handle Green and then we're going to go somewhere else for the night. You have nothing to be worried about, okay?" he reassured her, looking into her eyes. Kim only gave him a nod in response but smiled then once she caught sight of his reassuring smile.

"Let's go." He took her hand and the two left together.

The resort where the function was being held was massive. The casino's bright flashing lights and the huge amount of people that turned up were the perfect distraction that night for Nathan's plan.

The pair arrived in the lobby of the resort and looked around for a couple of minutes to find Stephen. Once the three said their hellos, they went in to the event taking place. The casino in the hotel was buzzing with excitement and eagerness although it didn't appeal to Kim in the slightest. She sipped on her drink and watched as both Stephen and Nathan played a couple games of blackjack. Kim noticed Nathan was being a little off with her, but decided if there was a problem, she would wait to address it the next morning. She didn't want to be the reason any of Nathan's revenge plans were messed up so stayed quiet about it.

It wasn't until the two men spotted Kevin Green on the other side of the huge casino, that things took their turn for the worst in Kim's eyes regarding Nathan's behaviour. Stephen nudged his friend and spoke in a hushed tone to him, but Kim could still just about make out what was being said.

"So you still haven't told me how you're going to pull this off. What are we going to do now?" he asked. The three of them had sat down and were enjoying their drinks when Nathan decided to tell Kim and Stephen of his new plan, but it seemed to turn up right before their eyes, he was unable to get the words out first.

"Hello Nathan." Kim's eyes diverted to a young woman standing in front of their table. She watched like a hawk as Nathan immediately got up from his seat to greet her. His hands went around her waist as he brought her towards him for a hug before she kissed his cheek and smiled flirtatiously at him.

Kim couldn't help but glower in silence at the stranger who seemed to be very fond of Nathan. Stephen noticed her sudden change in mood and watched carefully.

"This is Felicity. Felicity, these are my two friends Stephen and Kim." Kim's head snapped towards Nathan's direction at the word friend. She couldn't help the burning jealousy she was feeling right then although she knew she was being completely ridiculous. "You look beautiful tonight." Nathan said close to Felicity's ear while Kim pretended she hadn't heard.

"Hello." Felicity smiled at the two who were sitting down. Kim gave her a nod and took another sip of her drink while she took in Felicity's appearance.

She was wearing a red dress that accentuated her curves in the right way. Nathan was right, Kim thought deciding to be brutally honest with herself, this other woman did look amazing. More amazing than Kim would ever look.

"This is my new plan. Felicity is going to do the job for me." Nathan finally announced once all four were sitting down again.

"Oh really?" Stephen quirked an eyebrow at his friend.

"Yes and as soon as it's done, she'll give us a signal. We'll slip out calmly without drawing too much attention and then we can go somewhere else." He spoke with finality and control.

Nathan noticed how quiet Kim had gotten, his eyes caught onto hers for a moment but she only nodded in response, appearing to be in her own world at that moment in time. He knew he was testing her patience that night, but he wanted to see how far he could go before she said anything about it. He found the brooding Kim quite funny to take in and continued on with his act.

Soon enough, Felicity was leaving their table and blending in amongst the crowds of people. Nathan's eyes followed her intently as she swanned around the room with elegance, finally reaching Kevin Green who was sitting at the bar.

"Is this going to take long?" Kim asked, hoping her true emotions wouldn't be evident in her voice.

"Let's hope not. She seems to be doing a good job at luring him in anyways." Stephen was the one to give her a reply.

"I need another drink." She said before getting up and going to a bar nearest their table.

"So Felicity huh?" Stephen eyed Nathan with curiosity before continuing. "I didn't know you two still talked."

"We bump into each other now and then." Nathan's poker face was on.

"And what made you decide to bring her in on this?"

"She's an agent too; she deals with this kind of stuff all the time. I didn't want Kim involved in any of this, for her own good. I need to make sure she's okay."

"You don't seem to be acting that way tonight?" Stephen shot back, rather daringly. It made Nathan stop looking across the room and turn to his friend then.

"Don't start Stephen."

"What? I'm being honest. Sure, you needed Felicity to be a part of this but the way you're behaving with her is a whole different story."

"It's my own business, not yours."

"I'm just saying. I don't think you should be playing any games with Kim, which is exactly what you're planning on doing. If you want to make sure she's okay then why be like this in front of her?"

"Since when do you care about what's between me and Kim?"

"I don't I'm just saying-"

"Well don't." Nathan narrowed his eyes at the other man. Kim returned to their table, meaning the conversation immediately turned to something else.

It didn't take much time before Felicity gave Nathan the signal and all of them were heading back to Kim and Nathan's hotel. The casino was huge there too, and also as crowded as the other one. They played a couple games, and placed some bets to pass the night away. Throughout that time, Kim felt as though she couldn't take it anymore. Nathan seemed to be with Felicity all night. He didn't even spare Kim a second glance. Because of this, she stuck with Stephen for the night.

"Nathan." Kim called him, tugging at his sleeve to get his attention. He was clearly annoyed at being torn away from his conversation with Felicity.

"What?" he asked, his voice harsh and stern.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she remained her usual self, she wouldn't let it show how upset she was becoming and that was the reason Nathan was taking this so far. He wanted a reaction and was yet to receive one.

Kim wanted to go to bed. She was exhausted and wounded; all she wanted was her extremely comfortable bed upstairs in their extravagant suite.

"Can't it wait 'til tomorrow?" he came across as bored and uninterested. Kim didn't know what to do, but definitely wasn't going to fall at his feet because he was showing interest in another woman. She would make him come crawling back soon enough.

Instead of crying about his harshness, she scowled at him before rolling her eyes.

"Sure." She said through gritted teeth before walking away from the pair.

"Where are you going?" Stephen, who was clearly uncomfortable about the whole thing asked as she walked away.

"I need the bathroom." Kim called over her shoulder.

Once inside, she took a minute to breathe and reflect on what had happened so far that night. Kim was smart enough to realise Nathan was playing a big game with her. She would be the bigger person here and not play into it like he would surely expect her to. He hadn't done anything that was wrong, but the sight of seeing him so close to another woman made her shockingly jealous. She didn't want to be that girl, and so calmed herself down.

Kim needed to keep her composure for the rest of the night. If she reacted at all to Nathan, she knew that would mean he had won and Kim was not a loser. After spending a good five minutes in the bathroom preparing herself for however long she would have to deal with Nathan and Felicity, Kim finally left the toilets and headed back to where she had left everyone else moments ago.

She was surprised to find a lost looking Stephen, sitting awkwardly by himself sipping on a fresh drink. Kim frowned at the sight of him alone and did not sit down.

"Where's Nathan gone?" she asked, a question Stephen had been expecting to be her first.

"They went to get some air." His words were stiff and his tone showed he was clearly fed up.

"I'll be right back-"

"Kim don't bother. Nathan's not being serious about all of this, don't worry about it." Stephen butt in, making her stand in her spot contemplating what her next actions would in fact be. He sighed and looked at her again, waiting for her to say something but instead she turned around and briskly walked away from him.

Kim made her way through all the people in the busy casino and out to the lobby of the hotel. She spotted Nathan straight away, and Felicity of course, in her red dress. But neither had seen her yet. Kim stood in her spot as she looked on with apprehension.

Both were standing outside but could be seen clearly because of the huge floor to ceiling glass windows. Felicity was closer to Nathan than she had been all night but Kim was too far away to spot his uncomfortableness from it. He knew he was tiptoeing on dangerous ground. There was a line that he was choosing not to cross, but it seemed to become a difficult thing to do right then.

Kim watched with complete disappointment as the other woman place soft kisses around Nathan's jaw, each time getting closer and closer to his mouth. He held her but was not pulling her closer nor was he pushing her away.

"Felicity..." he warned, but Kim could obviously not hear.

"Shh." She whispered before hungrily putting her lips on his.