Chapter 103 - Confrontation Part 1

"I'll listen to you tonight for Andrew's sake. But before you apologize and say your piece, I will tell you what happened after leaving that letter to me." Peggy said calmly, but everyone could sense her anger and disgust in her voice.

Nina and the others didn't say a word and just waited for Peggy to continue. But she kept biting her lower lip while picking her nails. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't stay to look Peggy directly into her eyes.

"The morning you disappeared, Andrew rushed into our bedroom and told us the bad news. He gave me the letter you left for me. After reading it, my husband snapped and almost killed Andrew. I thought we had moved on from Mirea's death, but it was just the start of our nightmare."

Nina was surprised as she listened to Peggy. She didn't know that Jayden almost killed Andrew, and hearing that made her heart shatter.

"If it weren't for my brother, Jayden would have killed Andrew already. Kyle injected something to make my husband unconscious. I thought it was fine since we couldn't control him, but when he woke up, Jayden couldn't remember from the day he found me in Sydney until the day you left. He couldn't remember that we got married. He didn't even remember Mirea, our daughter who just died because of the attack of the Mafia."

Peggy's voice started shaking, and when Nina glanced at her, tears were falling from Peggy's eyes. She looked at Jayden, who was quietly sitting beside his wife. Kyle and Emily were the same as well as the others.

Nina bit her lip as the tears kept flowing from her eyes. Andrew held her sweaty hand, making her feel that he was beside her. But his gesture made her cry even more.

"That day, Jayden started switching from different personalities. We left Flousia a week after you disappeared, and we had to leave Caden behind for his own safety. Though it was my fault that he needed to stay in Flousia, but knowing that you, Benjamin, and the rest of the Santelmo Clan were looking for the true heir, we had no choice but to leave Caden." Peggy paused, trying to muster the courage to continue.

"I had to live away from my son for two years. He would call me in the middle of the night because he was scared. He was getting paranoid even though he was inside the palace. He didn't feel safe anymore. Can you imagine the trauma a six-year-old had to bear for years? And it wasn't only Caden. Even the twins Lucas and Alira had nightmares. The kids had to meet with a child psychiatrist because they were diagnosed with PTSD. " Peggy continued.

Nina burst out crying when she heard what happened to her friends and their children. She wanted to vanish into thin air in front of them from shame.

"We've been living in fear and trauma for four years because of what you, Benjamin, and the Santelmo did. But you know what's more traumatizing? It's not the Mafia's attack and my foster father's lies; it was your betrayal Nina. If only you had chosen to trust us or if you just told Andrew about Paolo Santelmo's threat. Maybe everything came out differently. Maybe the result wasn't that bad."

Peggy couldn't take it anymore and cried on Jayden's shoulder. Jayden hugged his wife to comfort her.

Nina felt like something was in her throat, but she needed to say something to her friends.

"I'm sorry. I was a coward. I was stupid. I-I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve to be your friend, all of you. B-But I wanted to apologize personally for the past four years. It was my fault that our lives were messed up. It's my fault that Mirea died. It's my fault that Caden had to live away from you and Jayden. No words can describe how I hurt you so bad, Peggy. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I regret my decision ten years ago."

Nina lied to her friends for six years then left them for four years. It's been a long time since she kept her guilt. She couldn't tell anyone how miserable and disgusted she was to herself by betraying her husband and her friends.

"I will do everything to atone for my sins. I-I know it's just words, and I don't have the right to ask you to believe me, but I have never forgotten about all of you for the past years that I was on the Santelmo's side." Nina said while sobbing.

"Did you really regret your decision back then?" Alora asked.

Nina looked at Alora and she knew she couldn't lie to them anymore. She shook her head and took a deep breath before answering.

"My only regret was betraying all of you. But when I saw Andrew's mother, I somehow felt relieved that she was finally free."

"Will you make the same decision if you could turn back time?" Alora asked again.

"No. If only I could, I will trust and put faith in all of you." Nina answered immediately.

They were quiet for a moment, but Alora decided to break the silence.

"Can you leave us?" The ice princess asked.

Alora was talking to the men at the table. Luke and the others glanced at each other before deciding to leave. Andrew looked at Nina and smiled, then he kissed her on the forehead and went with the rest of his friends.

Nina heard Alora sigh, and like her habit, she was tapping the table. When they were young and lived at Queen's, Alora would continuously tap the table with her fingers if she was mad or thinking of something.

"Nina, what happened to you in the Santelmo mansion? Is it true that you were beaten by Paolo Santelmo even though you're already pregnant?" Alora asked.