150

150

Like the morning before, despite having household assistants working, Alesya still cooked and served breakfast for Nicholas, specially made by her own hands. She didn't want Nicholas to keep eating the food prepared by the household staff, especially now that she was his companion.

Indirectly, Alesya wanted to give the best to the man she was falling for, though she was still hesitant to admit her feelings for Nicholas, fearing rejection.

"Including some for me," Bryan stated as he took a seat.

More precisely, he occupied Nicholas's usual spot at the dining table.

Alesya nodded. "Yes," she replied shortly and went back to the kitchen to prepare coffee for Nicholas.

Rather than staying longer at the dining table arguing with Bryan, Alesya decided to remain in the kitchen while waiting for Nicholas to finish getting ready upstairs.

Seeing the altercation between Alesya and Bryan, their household assistants wisely chose to stay away and find other tasks, far from the kitchen and dining area. They didn't want to become outlets for Bryan's anger, as it had happened before. He would seek out a suitable rival to vent his frustrations.

"If you have problems with your wife, resolve them properly with her. Don't bring them to the dining table, especially not in front of food. It's not good," Nicholas advised as he found a new seat since Bryan had taken his usual spot.

"Don't act like you can tell me what to do. You know nothing about my life. Just mind your own business with Alesya," Bryan retorted sharply, not appreciating Nicholas's advice.

Aware that Bryan and Shabila were still having issues, Nicholas simply smiled thinly.

"It's not good to leave your wife in such an emotional state. It's better to make amends before she leaves, and you regret it. There's no point when she's gone," Nicholas replied.

"Once again, I insist, don't ever interfere in my affairs with Shabila. She's my wife, and it's not your place to meddle. Besides, I've never meddled in your relationship with Alesya."

"Not that you've never meddled. You indeed shouldn't be involved in my and Alesya's affairs. Because you already discarded her and handed her over to me. So, Alesya is no longer your responsibility to manage her personal life."

"But why do you meddle in my life with Shabila?"

"Because Shabila is my sister-in-law, and there's nothing wrong with me being kind to my own sister-in-law. Is that wrong?"

"Of course, it's wrong because you're someone else in our marriage."

"I'm not someone else; I'm your brother, and I'm just giving advice to my sister. So that you don't regret it for the second time. Because I see how your behavior has led you to this point of regret in your heart, now that Alesya belongs to me completely."

"Don't act like you know everything," Bryan hit the table, stood up from his seat, and left. He followed Shabila, who was still angry with him in their room.

Maybe Nicholas was right; he shouldn't have left Shabila in such an angry state. More accurately, not angry, but perhaps already resenting him because last night Bryan had treated Shabila as if she were not his wife, but rather a prostitute who had refused to serve him.

"Bryan asked me to go to the hospital," Alesya complained as she sat down next to Nicholas and began to fill his empty plate with the fried noodles she had made.

"To the hospital again, for what?" Nicholas asked curiously. "Didn't you finish everything yesterday? Or... are you sick? If you're sick, it's better to go with me, not with Bryan," he suggested. He didn't want Alesya to get close to Bryan.

Nicholas had noticed that Bryan was starting to falter in his marriage with Shabila. In his eyes, Bryan was no longer a good fit for his wife because he understood Shabila's actions behind Bryan's back. Unfortunately, his brother refused to listen to any other facts about Shabila. Perhaps it was because of his deep love that Bryan always blamed others for the truth and believed every lie that came out of Shabila's mouth.

"I'm not sick, Nik. Besides, I can't possibly be sick and then ask Bryan for help. I also refuse to be helped by a cowardly man like him."

"So, what's your business at the hospital?"

"Well, it's to check if you and I are really done."

"Oh, just that? You can go; most likely, it's Father's request, and I already know which hospital you'll be going to."

"So?"

"Well, just go, and I'll follow you from behind. If all the hospital checks are done, then I'll leave for work. Hopefully, Bryan will ask you to go back on your own later so I can take you with me."

"Am I allowed to go to the restaurant now? Didn't you always forbid me from going there?"

"Not forbid, Al, I just don't want to leave you alone there. Usually, I work outside taking care of all the wedding preparations for Devin. Now that it's all done, I have no other commitments outside, so I'll stay at the restaurant and keep you company."

"Guarding me, or isn't it the other way around? I'm the one going there, which means I'm the one protecting you from other women's temptations."

"You're joking. How can any woman be interested in me?"

"How can they not? The proof is your ex-girlfriend keeps contacting you."

"Ex-girlfriend?" Nicholas turned to look at Alesya.

"Yes, Viska. She's been trying to reach you since earlier. Maybe she's still trying to contact you," Alesya guessed.

"Viska again," he sighed. Nicholas quickly retrieved his phone from his pants pocket, checking if there was indeed a call from his ex-girlfriend.

Nicholas pursed his lips, shaking his head, and handed the phone to Alesya. "Today, you can use this. I'll use your phone; is that okay with you?" he asked. "Since there are no important clients today. If someone contacts you and asks about my involvement in your work, you can just forward them to my secretary's number in this phone."

"Are you sure about this?" Alesya hesitated about Nicholas's decision. After all, their relationship status wasn't clear yet.

"I'm very sure. I don't want any more contact with that woman."

"Why not just block her?"

"It's pointless because I'm sure she'll keep trying to contact me. There are so many people selling phone numbers in this city. Of course, it wouldn't be difficult for her to keep changing numbers to reach me. This way, when she contacts me but ends up connecting with you, she'll get tired and give up eventually."

"That's a good idea too."

Alesya liked that Nicholas was firm in his decisions. When he said no, she knew he wouldn't accept Viska back into his life. So now she could confidently believe that she was the only woman occupying the handsome man's heart who sat beside her at the moment.

"Let's have breakfast!" Bryan pulled back the blanket covering Shabila, waking up his wife.

Shabila didn't respond, remaining silent in her curled-up position, holding back tears. She could still feel the pain of how Bryan had treated her like a call girl. Last night was the first time Shabila had been treated so poorly by a man, and it happened to be her own husband. Shabila had never imagined that Bryan would be capable of such behavior. She swore that the memory of that night would never leave her, even in death.

"Why like this? You should think about what made me so angry last night. You started everything, so it's natural for me to get emotional and act badly towards you."

"Natural, you say?" Shabila sat up, staring defiantly at Bryan. He was audacious to accuse her and justify all his wrongdoings from last night.

"I did it because I was angry, Sha," Bryan defended himself. "Please understand. What husband wouldn't be angry when his wife goes missing and suddenly returns home late, drunk, and hugging someone in the front yard? Do you think that's normal?"

"I met him by chance at the club, and you should thank him for helping me so I didn't fall. Instead, you accused me of all sorts of things and acted recklessly like last night. Remember that I'll never forget all of this, and I'm tired of this marriage. If I may ask, just divorce me. I want to go back to Dad's house. You're not a good husband, and you've broken all your vows and promises when you married me."