Time stopped.
Nothing moved.
For a moment, everything was still.
For a moment, Nicolette wasn't sure she was breathing.
Alaric's lips against hers were soft, gentle, way more than she had expected—not that she had even thought of kissing him.
His lips lingered. His hands moved to her waist. And that little contact, that little touch was enough to pull her out of his web and snap her back to reality.
Nicolette nudged him away. It was a weak attempt but it was enough.
"What… why…" she asked, her voice hardly audible even against her own ears.
Something flickered in Alaric's eyes.
Panic? Desire? Or simply cockiness?
She wasn't sure what, but before he could speak, the woman who had entered the room earlier walked up to them.
She looked Nicolette over from head to toe before settling her eyes on Alaric. They were soft, and were accompanied by a smile on her face.
"Alaric, I wasn't sure it was you," she said in a really loud voice that made Nicolette wince.
"Violet." Alaric's response was flat, but Nicolette couldn't miss the panic underneath.
Oh this was the Violet.
"How are you doing? Been awhile. What six years? Seven?" Violet said, adding a laugh to her question. She twirled her hair, her eyes gleaming with unconcealed desire.
Too obvious, it almost made Nicolette throw up.
"Yes," Alaric gave another flat response. He then pulled Nicolette closer. "I wish we could stay and talk, but I have to go now."
Violet didn't seem to get the message or maybe she just didn't care. Her eyes drifted to Nicolette, hard and unpleasant.
Nicolette scowled at her. She wasn't going to let anybody walk over her. Especially not this one who looked like she had gone extra miles to look good just for Alaric.
"Who's this?" The tone was harsh, the question was belittling.
"Good bye, V," Alaric said, pulling Nicolette along.
Nicolette didn't know whether to be offended or angry that Alaric had ignored the question. Plus he called her V.
How close were these two?
"Call me, Alaric!" Violet shouted after them. "We have a lot to catch up on."
The instant they got out of the house, Nicolette yanked her hand away, her chest tightened with anger.
"What the hell, Mr Allens?"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Alaric said with a sigh. "Violet can be too much."
"I wasn't talking about that," she shot back, folding her arms. Then her anger melted, and her breath hitched. "I… was talking about the kiss…"
"Oh that," he said casually, as if he had even forgotten that happened. "It was a distraction, I'm sorry for not consulting you first. I just didn't want to deal with Violet today."
"Oh."
She bit her lip and looked away. She couldn't believe she was a distraction, a decoy.
He had kissed her so passionately, making her almost lose her breath, yet it had been casual for him.
It was her fault for falling for it.
It was her fault for letting her guard down!
She clenched her fists, her mouth twisted in a glare. "I don't appreciate that, Mr Allens. That wasn't part of the deal."
Alaric tilted his head, his brow furrowed. "When will you stop calling me Mr Allens?"
She blinked. "What?"
Her defence slipped off. She hadn't expected that question.
"I said when will you stop calling me Mr Allens," Alaric repeated. "We're married now, you can as well call me Alaric. Or baby if you prefer." His mouth curved into a smirk, and mischief twinkled in his eyes.
"This is an official arrangement, Mr Allens," she said. "I intend to keep calling you that."
His frown deepened. "It's just complicated, what if someone hears you? What if they find out we are actually—"
The worry on his face spooked her. Why was he so worked up?
"You have nothing to worry about, Mr Allens. I will call you… that when I have to."
He observed her, his blue eyes narrowing. Nicolette felt heat creep up her cheeks and luckily for her, her phone rang providing the perfect distraction.
"Excuse… me," she stuttered, walking away from him.
Without glancing at the screen, she picked up, using both hands to hold the phone to keep it from falling.
"Hello." She heard how shaky her voice was.
"Lettie. Where are you?" It was Hillary on the phone.
Nicolette shut her eyes to calm her racing nerves. How was she supposed to explain her situation to Hillary?
And now it was looking like a terrible decision since Alaric's parents had problems with her already.
"I'm out," she finally said. "What's up?"
"Give me that phone!" came her father's voice before he started to shout. "Have you lost your mind, young lady? I told you dinner was by 8. Where are you?!"
Anger surged through her chest as she remembered everything Ronald had done to her.
"I'm not coming," she said firmly. "Have your dinner without me."
"This better be a joke!" Ronald snapped. "Come home this instant or you forget about me helping you with the business!"
Her anger heightened, and she burst out. "I am not your puppet whom you can choose to love or hate at will! I am your daughter, and I am done with your manipulation! I am married now, find someone else to manipulate!"
There was silence on the other side for a moment before her father spoke again. "Don't… no… it can't be." The disbelief in his voice was unmistakable. "The news is false, right? You are definitely not married to a… an Allens." He spat the last word like it was poison on his tongue.
He paused waiting for her—no, daring her—to deny it.
And she played on it.
Nicolette waited, listening to her father's short, frantic gasps. She counted to ten, the corners of her mouth tugged into a smirk even though he couldn't see that.
"Well, the news is correct," she finally said.
"Fuck that! Fuck that!" Ronald flared, his voice loud and strained. "Fuck…"
Then there was static and she could only hear muffled voices. Some moment later, the static stopped, and it was Hillary on the phone.
"Lettie. What have you done?!"
"I don't care! I am done being manipulated," she replied more determined than ever.
Well, how did they like it now?
How did it feel to need help but be refused?
She had needed her father. He could have stopped her from leaving six months ago, he could have offered to help, yet he didn't.
He watched her from afar, he watched her struggle, he watched her crawl, and then like a thief in the night, he took everything, only for her to start afresh.
Well, she wasn't starting over. Joke's on them.
"Come home, Lettie, please. Let's work things out," Hillary said, her soft tone got to Nicolette but she hardened up, shaking it off.
"It's too late, Hills. I'm sorry." Then she ended the call.
She exhaled sharply, rubbing her hands lightly together to ease her tight muscles. She counted to ten inwardly before walking back to the car.
Alaric leaned against the car, scrolling through his phone. From the looks of it, he was patient.
He lifted his head and tucked the phone in his pocket. "Ready, Cole?"
"Yes," Nicolette said with a tight smile, not ready to argue.
"Alright," he said, straightening up. "Should we go and get your stuff now or tomorrow?"
"I would like to go to Suzie's place."
Alaric's brow lifted. "We've talked about this already. The contract—"
"Yes, I know," she interrupted, trying not to show her annoyance. There was no point arguing with him. She was too tired already. "Just for the night, please."
Alaric folded his arms and tilted his head, after some seconds, he dropped his hand and said, "Fine. Just for the night then."
"Thank you."
"I am only agreeing to that because of… everything that happened," he said as he opened the car's door.
Nicolette's phone rang, but she ignored it without looking at it, knowing who it was.
Alaric looked at her, a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes. "Who's that?"
"Nobody," she replied, sliding into the car.
"Is that your boyfriend?" he asked as he joined her inside.
The edge in his voice thrilled her.
Was that jealousy she heard? Or the poor tone of a man who didn't have his way?
Either way, she enjoyed it.
Let him sweat.
"Seems like your parents really hate my dad," she said instead, and watched him clench his fist.
He looked out the window, ignoring her.
Good, he should learn to mind his business.
The rest of the drive was quiet as usual, allowing Nicolette to drift into thought.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize they had reached Suzie's house until Alaric nudged her.
"We're here."
"Oh," she said, lifting her head and stepping out of the car.
"See you tomorrow, Cole," Alaric said, his expression hard.
"You too, Mr—"
But his car had already zoomed off.
Nicolette laughed, pleased with his attitude. It could only mean she had successfully annoyed him.
As she turned towards Suzie's house, she was suddenly ambushed. A strong hand held her from the back and before she could react a black bag was placed over her head.
"Hey!" she yelled, trying to free herself from the stranger's grip.
"Shut your mouth." The command was direct, harsh, and it made her heart pound.
Nicolette stiffened with fear as reality set in.
She was being kidnapped!