Trouble in Paradise

I froze for a moment. Before I even had a chance to take in the luxurious private room, the man in front of me had taken up all my attention.

Nicholas and I were pressed tightly together. Our faces were so close that I could see the stubble just starting to appear above his lip under the strange lighting here.

He reeked of cigarettes, and there was no longer the tea scent I used to love. I tried to push him away, but he grabbed my hands and hooked them around his neck. He then kissed me even more fiercely.

My eyes grew damp without me even realizing it. I felt a cool sensation when I blinked, and my heart slowly became cold too. Only when he had squeezed every last bit of oxygen from my lungs did he finally lift his head. His eyes were red as he stared at me intently. "Do you want me to do this with someone else?"

Gripping my face with one hand, he pecked my lips again. "I'll kiss others like this too!"

I gazed at his throat before slowly moving my eyes to his face and into his eyes. They were swirling with complex emotions. Feeling suffocated, I found it hard to even breathe.NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.

As if he thought I was not upset enough, he grabbed my chest with one hand. "I'll play with other women's bodies like this. Would you not care either?"

Shaking my head, I was finally unable to hold back a sob. "Enough! Let me go! Don't touch me!"

I felt utterly heartbroken and wronged. So what if I cared or not? When had Nicholas ever cared about my feelings?

If he had distanced himself from Claudia earlier, he would surely be touching my belly now and figuring out how to take care of me during pregnancy! How did we end up in this situation?

My cheeks hurt from his grip as he forced me to look into his eyes. In the surreal lighting, his gaze seemed unreal. There seemed to be a hint of pain within.

He told me softly, "Arianna, once this door opens, we can't go back to how things were anymore."

I looked at him in disbelief before asking him in confusion, "What exactly can we go back to?"

Nicholas's eyes gradually dimmed. I smiled faintly as I uttered, "We never had a past to return to."

My words seemed to have pierced his heart. Looking at me in disbelief, his arms dropped to his sides uncontrollably.

At that moment, we were both enveloped by a sense of helplessness. He felt like a victim,

and so did I. If that was the case,

what else was there to say?

I gently pushed him away and turned around. I knew that there were girls younger and prettier than me behind that door. All I had to do was open it.

His large hand covered mine on the doorknob. Hugging me from behind, he lowered his head to kiss my cheek.

"Ari, let's start over!"

I turned my face and felt his warm

breath

of cigamy skin. I hated the smell

even more now.

Staring at him with disgust, there was a cold smile on my lips.

"What do you mean?"

าวเ

He kissed my neck softly and mumbled, "We do have a place we can go back to. Let's go back to when you just returned from our honeymoon. I'll pretend not to know about your little schemes to manipulate me, and then none of this would have happened. We'll be even."

Pondering his words, I slowly came to my senses. "Even?"

I recalled what happened back then. "How can we be even? You'd still abandon me for Claudia. We can never be even!"