...
Nicklaus pushed the door open slowly and stepped in; Tiana was still lying down, but now she was facing the other way. He stared at her posture for a moment before going to lie down beside her;
Tiana, who was half asleep, felt the bed beside her deepen and she turned and hugged him close, snuggling in his chest.
Nicklaus wrapped his arms around her, his eyes staring at her peaceful face, he removed some strands of hair away from her face and a sad sigh left his lips;
If he failed to protect this woman, there was no reason to fight anymore. At first, it was about the company, but right now, it was about this woman in his arms. If he failed to protect her, then the fight was not worth fighting.
Nicklaus kissed her hair, and turned to look at the lonely night; he wasn't sure grandma would let Grandpa be operated on, but he knew that grandpa didn't die a natural death. Grandpa was a strong man, and he paid extra care to his health, so if he was going to die soon, there should have been a sign.
If what he was suspecting was true, then, this was the beginning of unending war.
…
When Tiana woke up the next morning, Nicklaus had already woken up; she rubbed her eyes and quickly hopped out of bed; pushing open the bathroom, she heaved a sigh of relief when she saw him standing in the shower;
Nicklaus wiped the soap from his face; ''Good morning, didn't want to wake you up, want to join me? ''
Tiana smiled and shook her head; ''No, take your time; I was just checking If you've left. ''
She shut the door and walked to the window, pushing the curtains aside, she looked outside;
As she had suspected, there were a lot of cars in the compound, Grandpa was a very significant person, so it was expected; she wondered what the headlines would be right now.
She wasn't sure if she should go with Nicklaus, maybe he wouldn't want to introduce her yet;
''Beautiful, I'm done; you can go take a shower. ''
Tiana turned when she heard him speak, he was tying a towel around his waists and was looking a little brighter than yesterday, she was happy he was getting himself together.
''Okay, '' she changed into her towel and turned to the bathroom, her steps hesitated for a second and she turned to look at him;
''Uhm, are we going to be together? '' She asked, raising her eyebrows;
Nicklaus's brows creased at her question as though thinking about it; when he understood what she meant, he nodded;
''Yeah, we'll go together, we'll just keep the marriage a secret for now. ''
Tiana smiled; ''Alright, I'll go take a shower now. ''
Nicklaus sat on the couch as he watched her dress up; her phone rang for the third time on the vanity;
''You should pick it; '' Nicklaus said and she sighed; ''I'll call them later, now isn't the best time. ''
Claire had called twice and her sister, once. She knew they must have seen the news about grandpa's death and were calling to sympathize with her; but this morning was very busy for Nicklaus, she didn't want to waste his time, knowing that guests were waiting; she would call them when they came back.
As she had expected, the living room was filled with a number of guests, all with gloomy expressions on their faces. Her eyes fell on grandma, she was sitting with a couple and they were speaking quietly.
This was the second time she had experienced guests as the ancient home, and this time was a huge contrast to the first.
Tiana accompanied Nicklaus to greet the guests; when the saw her, they gave her the questioning glances but none of them was bold enough to ask Nicklaus who she was.
Soon, the guests began leaving one after the other, until it was just family left, then Tiana saw Diana, she just bid a guest farewell and was returning back to the mansion. It's been long they spoke, and last night, she did not have the chance to talk to her. She whispered something in Nicklaus's ear before she walked to her;
''Diana, been a long while. '' Diana smiled when she saw her.
''Tiana, it's been a while, you look pretty. ''
''Yeah, you too; I'm truly sorry for your loss, '' Tiana said, her face looking apologetic and Diana smiled; ''thank you dear, but don't think too much of it, you should save your strength for Nicklaus.'' They laughed faintly.
Diana didn't seem like she was very sad, but Tiana knew that she was; she looked like one who would mask her pain from the world.
''Tiana, long time no see. ''
They both turned to the direction of the voice and saw Richard walking towards them; Tiana mentally rolled her eyes, but she forced herself to look calm.
''Yeah, long time. Sorry for your loss. '' she forced a smile, which obviously appeared fake. That moment, the only thing on her mind was turning around and going back to Nicklaus's side.
''wow, do you get prettier by the day? You are more beautiful than the last time I saw you. ''
Tiana felt a bitter taste on her lips and she gulped; ''you don't look bad yourself, alright, take care, I'll be right inside… '' she said, turning quickly to escape from him, but before she took the first step, Richard grabbed her wrist;
''Hey, hey, wait… we're not done yet. ''
Diana's eyes widened and she glanced at Richard in shock, did he just grab Nicklaus's woman?
Tiana turned to look at him, all color draining from her face;
Did he just hold her hand?
She had not felt this disgusted in her entire life, and more so, from the son of her husband's enemy?
Instantly, she tried to pull her hands away, but just when she was about to exert strength, Nicklaus appeared from nowhere and held her hand, stopping her from exerting force on it.
''Don't hurt yourself beautiful, he's not worth it. ''
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