Chapter 69: The Letter

The scratching of the pen on paper was the only sound that broke the heavy, completely silent study of Nathan. Around his desk on the floor were the crumpled drafts, each a failed attempt to capture the raging emotions within, but now, at last, the words flowed out as if the dam had been opened. "Dear Olivia," he began, his usually crisp handwriting shaky and uneven. Well, I doubt if I even have the moral right to write this letter to intrude on your life after everything that has happened. But I've been reading lately about your illness and the battle you've been fighting, and I feel overwhelmingly burdened with regret, concern, and a desperate urge to get in touch with you right now. Nathan stopped, the pen hovering over the paper. Are you sure about this, Walker? Reopening every old wound, disrupting Olivia's life yet again? But then that image of her in that gallery nudged him, pale but radiant. "I was a coward, Olivia. I walked away when you needed me the most—too much in all m