Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas)

Pete's fury skyrocketed the moment Nicholas raised his fist to strike him. He forcefully shoved Nicholas off and hurled himself on top of him. He used all his weight to pin Nicholas to the ground.

In an instant, the tables turned. Pete looked down at Nicholas, a sneer spreading across his face.

"Nicholas, why do you keep showing up in front of Ariana? If you truly loved her, you wouldn't make her suffer like this! She's finally moving on from the past, but just when things are getting better, you throw her back into the abyss. How can you be so selfish?" Pete's grip on Nicholas's collar tightened. His eyes were filled with a deep hatred that wanted to tear him apart, limb by limb. But deep down, Pete knew that no matter what he did to Nicholas, I wouldn't feel any better.

That realization nearly drove him to the brink of collapse, the pain in his heart far worse than any punch. He felt the pain for himself, but even more for me.

Nicholas gripped Pete's fists, raising his upper body slightly as his eyes darkened. The bulging veins on his neck could barely hide the violent thoughts stirring inside him.

The knife may cut into his own flesh, but how could someone else feel the pain? Even if I saw all his scars, he knew I wouldn't pity him.

If he hadn't let me go and tried to leave me with a somewhat intact memory of him, we wouldn't have been apart for three years. Pete wouldn't have had the chance to swoop in.

"Pete, what has got you so worked up? What did she tell you? Did she cry to you about how much she suffered with me? Is that why you're so desperate to fight me in front of all those guests? Honestly, you've only gone backward these past few years." Nicholas's words struck a nerve. Pete's voice rose with the mounting fury inside him.

"Cried to me? Nicholas, you give yourself too much credit! In all these years, Ariana has never once mentioned you! Do you think you're the only one who has had it rough? You drove her out of the country, away from the land where she was born and raised. Do you think that was easy for her?

"When she was in labor, nearly dying, I was the one outside that hospital door. When she needed a man, where the hell are you? She went from being a nobody to becoming an internationally influential lawyer! Do you think that was easy for her?

"Let me tell you something,

Nicholas From the very start, I've

been by her side! If you plan on destroying everything she has built, I

might as well beat you to death right.

here!"

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Finally, Pete's raised fist came down, landing squarely on Nicholas's face. Instantly, Pete was taken aback. He lowered his head and looked at Nicholas. "Why didn't you dodge?"

Nicholas let out a bitter laugh, spreading his arms as he lay flat on the ground.

"I'll take that punch. And as her ex-husband and future husband, I thank you for looking after her. I'll take care of the kid too. It doesn't matter who she calls Dad." "What the hell are you..." Pete shot up off Nicholas, swallowing back the rest of his sentence.

Nicholas sat up, his dark eyes locking onto Pete.

"Within a month, I'll have Tabitha's last name changed to Hawk. As for Ariana being pregnant with your child, I won't let that slide.

"But out of respect for you taking

care of her suggest you leave the country soon. Otherwise, the world outside won't belong to the Shelmans anymore. If you want to fight me over her, we'll settle it in the business world."

Pete was utterly stunned. What the hell was Nicholas talking about? Didn't he know that I was already pregnant when I left the country? How could he not know?

Pete had always assumed Nicholas

cared about his child. When I

ē

returned to the country, he changed

Tabitha's last name just to piss

Nicholas off. I didn't even know about it.

Had Pete been wrong about Nicholas this whole time?