Trouble in Paradise

The smoke had me in such a bad shape that I teared up. Nicholas' hand was on the top of my head when he said, "I am heartbroken for you."

He threw the cigarette to the floor and tilted his head down to kiss my cheek. His arms were trembling when he held me, and I heard him ask, "Can we not get a divorce?" He acted as though he just got a toy that he loved. I could not tell if the liquid on my face was my tears or if it was something he left on me when we kissed. It was warm. My entire body was cold one second and hot the next. My lips trembled as I suppressed the desire to hold him and calmly said, "Claudia was the one who locked me up." Nicholas straightened his back. His gaze fixated on me, and he asked, "What did you say?"

I knew he had heard me. He simply didn't believe my words. I mercilessly pushed him aside. It felt as though someone was gripping my heart, and it hurt so much, but I said, "I want a divorce." That was my answer to him.

"Ariana, I watched her fall asleep last night," insisted Nicholas.

He kept glaring at me and demanded, "Why do you insist on dragging others into our relationship? Why do you always bring Claudia up every time I want to be nice to you?"

Nicholas raised his voice and demanded further, "Do I not treat you well? How many times have I told you? She is just my baby sister!"

I couldn't believe he dared to ask me why. Claudia had been an impossible obstacle between him and me the entire time. Nicholas was just ignorant of it all.

I secretly clenched my fists behind my back. If possible, I wanted to give him a valid explanation as well, but I had talked to him about that many times. He simply refused to believe a word I said.

I thought about it for a while. To end this nonsense, I could only feign idiocy and ask, "Are there even any feelings between us?"

"Oh, wow! Okay! No feelings, huh? Then why the fuck-"Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence and roared, "Do not use that kind of language with me!

"Nicholas, are you willing to forgo having a baby with Jasmine? Are you willing to keep your distance from Claudia for my sake? Hell, are you even capable of saying you love me? Even once?" Even my voice was trembling when I roared, "You don't even have the guts to do that, so why are you even talking about feelings?"

Every question I fired at him was as chilly as a bucket of ice water. It extinguished his fury along with his other emotions.

Nicholas tilted his head up a little. He closed his eyes to calm the turmoil and struggle within him. When he opened his eyes again, he reverted to his calm state. It was as though the person who had lost his temper earlier was a completely different guy. "Ariana, must all love be passionate and wild? We live together, eat together, and have sex together. Does that not count as love?" asked Nicholas. "I'm sorry, but I might never develop the kind of feelings you described."

Nicholas waved his hand as though he was a merciful god and was letting me off the hook. He said, "Sleep well for now. I have a meeting to go to."

He carried me to the bed and helped tuck me in. He even stroked my head sweetly. Everything he did was like a habit. I was in a little pain. Sometimes, humans needed someone to argue with. Letting it all out was better than feigning peace when everything in our hearts was a mess. Nicholas was right. He simply didn't want a divorce and didn't want a broken family.

I was like a sex doll that could satisfy any lust he had for a wife. He wanted someone to sit opposite him and have breakfast with him, to satisfy his biological needs, to obey his words, and never have any emotion. The wife he wanted was none of anybody else's business. I was nothing but his sex doll.