Chapter 9: Change of Plans
1480 Words
Nikolas POV
Lightning and thunderbolt ripped the skies open, releasing torrents of rain. Palm trees swayed against the nasty wind, their stems titling at such great angle that they could snap at any second.
The weather was angry, but not as much as I was. With my fists curled at my sides, I stomped after the blondie who headed towards a jetty.
Considering my stamina and the blinding rage that silenced every voice of reason, I caught up with her and reached for her arm.
She pulled away. “Don't you touch me. What are you doing? Why don't you return to your tiny glossy desk, huh?”
I nearly chuckled because of how ridiculous she sounded. “Really. So, this is about me? You're the one that gets to be mad?”
Clicking her tongue, she spun on her heels to get away. I didn't let her.
I grabbed her arm and forced her to face me, our bodies merely inches apart.
It wasn't passion that held us together. In actual fact, the images flashing through my mind had no element of romance. I wanted to break her, to punish her for putting me through so much hurt.
“Who is he?” I asked over the gusty rain.
“f**k off.”
“I'm not going to ask again.”
“Then, go f**k yourself, Nikolas!” She tugged her arm, but I wouldn't let her go. “Let go of me!”
She pushed at my chest and tugged her arm again. When it became clear I wouldn't let go, she stopped
“Why do you even care? Why bother! You've been been less than an ideal boyfriend and—”
“Boyfriend?” I frowned.
She smirked. “What? Does that hurt you?”
I grounded my teeth, my nose flaring. Nothing I did appeared to faze her.
“We're set to get married in three months, and this is what you do? Jump around from one d**k to the other like a cheap whore.”
No sooner had I said those words than a resounding slap meet my face.
The next set of events happened in a flash: I turned to leave; she grabbed my arm, possibly regretting her actions; and I, still seething, shoved her aside.
Her screams rang out seconds later. And I turned around just to see her fall through the wooden banister to the choppy waters below.
Rushing ahead, I extended my hand for her to grip onto. But the water current doubled in intensity, making her drift away.
I dove in. Her screams faded the further I swam towards her till there was nothing at all.
At that instant, I woke up. It was a the same bloody dream that wouldn't just let me be.
I rolled over the bed to sit at the edge, my elbows on my thighs.
After a while of staring into empty space, my gaze fell on the nightstand drawer, reminding me of the bracelet I'd mysteriously found and had vanished. Just like Brianna.
“What the hell is wrong with me,” I groaned. Here I was thinking about…my absent wife instead of how distressing the recurring dreams were. They'd begun the week Daphne died, meaning that for the past two years, I hadn't had a break. It was like I was being punished.
Those dreams were reenactments of my last moments with Daphne. The argument and threats of a breakup no one else knew about.
Muttering curses under my breath, I paced around the room before yanking the duvet off the bed and kicking the bed frame till my shin hurt.
“f**k!”
×××
The drive to the office was silent. As always, I did my best in pushing away the haunting thoughts of Daphne to the farthest part of my mind and focus on the task at hand.
My first point of call at the office was going through the rest of the emails Morgan had forwarded to me and skimming through market trends.
Thereafter, I sat in the boardroom with executives, touching bases with one of our engineers in Singapore.
The topic of discussion was our latest project: a cruiser like never before. We collaborated with the Huang brothers who were big-time businessmen. They owned multiple chains of hotels, guesthouses and resorts.
Conti Motors brought in her automotive expertise while the Hunag Brothers stood at the hospitality side of affairs.
The meeting ended after a brief announcement. I attended to executive reports and had one-on-one session with an investor and was wrapping up some paper works when Morgan walked in with a suspicious look on her face.
“I hate to be the one to break the news but…” she said even before I could speak as she sent a tablet my way.
Narrowing my gaze at her, I took the tablet and instantly, my breath caught in my throat. The screen was alit with pictures of Brianna in a hotel premises. There was a picture of her exiting through the front door, a picture that showed her hovering in the balcony with a teacup nestled on her palms, and the most daming was the one she stood beside a guy, smiling like he’d been a long-time friend.
My jaw tightened. My blood boiled.
“Where did you get this from?” I said through clenched teeth.
“It's all over the tabloids. Hillary is currently working to bring it down.”
Hillary was the head of publicity and had been good at the job. Now, however, I couldn't say the same thing. Part of his duty was to make sure that scandals, such a this, didn't occur.
I fought the urge to curse out loud. So, this was where Brianna had been all this while. Something in me tagged me irresponsible for not bothering to know her whereabouts all this while. The first day I realised she was gone, during dinner, I hadn't even raised an eyebrow.
Silencing the accusing voice in me, I pushed the tablet back to Morgan. “Tell Hillary to clean up this mess ASAP or he risks losing his job.”
“Uhm…Nikolas? Seems like you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?” I followed the direction of her gaze to the slightly opened door. Squealing, it fully opened, causing my eyes to widened. Grandfather strode in, his cane hitting the floor with a fierce force.
Greeting him, Morgan excused herself, leaving just the two of us alone in the room. Grandfather took a seat across from my desk, rested his cane and pinned me with an intense stare.
“I'm leaving for Tuscany,” he finally spoke.
“Tuscany? Did anything happen?”
“Should anything happen before I head home?”
I almost scoffed in disbelief. We were meant to fly to Singapore tomorrow, and here he was talking about returning to Tuscany? I'd always known Grandpa was an enigma; sometimes, however, he proved so difficult to understand that I saw him in a different light.
“But we're to meet with the Hunag brothers. Everything is set for the trip.”
“Yes, I'm aware. You can handle everything on your own. I'm not as young as I used to think.” An uncanny smile appeared on his face.
What the hell was he talking about? I glanced at his chest, wondering if his pacesetter had failed again.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“I've been thinking. Newlyweds are meant to have a honeymoon. You shouldn't be an exception.”
Really? I stifled a groan and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. “I've been busy. And she took. This isn't the right time.”
“Busy. I see. You have an assistant for a reason. She will take over when you're away.”
I narrowed my gaze at him, having understood what he was driving at. I couldn't help but blurt out, “Haven't I done enough by marrying her? Isn't that that you wanted?”
“Stop acting like you were forced to take your life. Everything I did was for your own good.”
“Right.” I chuckled dryly. “I don't see it. I just don't. You could've easily picked anyone but Daphne's sister. Do you know how ridiculous this is?”
He stood to his feet and grabbed his cane. “I shouldn't remind you of how things are done in our family, Nikolas. Do yourself a favour by proving to the press you're happily married to Brianna. Else you have yourself to blame.”
I didn't understand what he meant by ‘you have yourself to blame’. However, one thing was true. He'd read the tabloids. And now, I had to put up appearance. Grandfather wasn't one to make empty threats after all.
- Writer
