Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas)

I stepped out of the room the moment I saw Claudia tugging at Nicholas's clothes. Watching any longer would have been inappropriate.

It was late, and everything around was quiet. I gently closed the door behind me, not wanting to disturb them.

I hadn't noticed when Beth arrived, but as I looked up, I saw her limping toward me.

"Mrs. Hawk, I'm so sorry for being late. Why didn't you go inside and wait?"

Her voice was soft, but when she saw me, she grew emotional. Her voice was choking up as she continued, "Did you tell Mr. Hawk you were here? He would be so happy to know."

I smiled faintly and calmly took what I needed from her hands. "Don't call me Mrs. Hawk anymore. Just call me Ms. Jones like Nicholas does."

I handed her the ointment I had bought for Nicholas. "I'm leaving."

"But..." Beth raised her hand slightly to stop me.

Noticing her gaze fixed eagerly on the doorknob, I hesitated for a second before saying, "Nicholas has drunk too much..."

It shouldn't be considered too much, or he wouldn't have the energy for what he was doing.

After pondering for a moment, I added, "But someone is looking after him. Don't worry."

Compared to Beth's anxiety, I was far too calm. She raised her voice slightly.

"What? That's impossible. Mr. Hawk never allows just anyone into Coral Villa. How could someone be taking care of him? Ms. Jones, are you sure? Let me go in and check.

"Mr. Hawk has been through a lot these past three years. If you still care about the past, maybe we could just take another look."

"I saw everything clearly!" I interrupted her, displeased that she brought up the past. It was because I cared too much about the past that I had come here in the first place! Suppressing my emotions, I said, "I'm leaving."

It wasn't a big deal, just some indescribable emotion stirring inside me. But it didn't matter. I would feel better once I left.

"Mrs. Hawk..."

Beth's voice trailed behind me, but I didn't look back. I got into my car, tossed the files onto the passenger seat, and drove off like I was fleeing.

Beth's expression slowly turned

cold. She tooked down at the bag of ointment in her hand, neatly folded it, and placed it in her bag. She then pressed her finger on the door lock sensor. en FindNovel

The sound of the door unlocking echoed clearly in the quiet night.

Nicholas woke up the next day around noon. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a couple of minutes before fully regaining his senses.

Sitting up in the guest room bed, he felt inexplicably dejected. This damn bed made him ache all over.

He had another dream. If not for the

bed being too hard and waking him

up when he turned over, he would've already kissed me all over and

moved on to the next step.

He couldn't imagine how I must have felt when I gave up my comfortable bed for a woman who was obsessed with him. Back then, he hadn't even noticed my feelings.

Rubbing his temples, the veins in his head throbbed like drills, scrambling his thoughts into a mess.

Nicholas started reflecting. He condemned himself for how his once-prized self-discipline had completely eroded with his illness.

To numb himself, he used to drink

heavily, just to sleep a bit longer and

stay awake less. But now, even after getting better, this bad habit seemed impossible to shake.

After washing up and getting himself ready, Nicholas called Beth. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"There's nothing scheduled, Mr. Hawk," Beth replied, sounding a bit confused.

"Didn't you call yesterday morning to cancel everything for today?"

Nicholas cleared his throat. "I recall there's a dinner party tonight, right? Let them know I'll be attending."