Chapter six- A Glimpse of the past

Mira

 

Nicholas’s brow furrowed into a frown as he steadied himself; however, it was in that brief moment that I took a close look at him. 

 

Nicholas Sterling was tall with a slim, muscular build that made the tailored black suit he wore well fitted. His murky black hair was slightly rough as though he had run his hands through it a couple of times. 

 

His brown eyes blended with his light skin, which also complemented the silver key necklace that rested above his chest, but it wasn’t his face or his other features that held me captive. 

 

It was the fact that I remembered and felt something that I had buried inside me for five years. 

 

I stepped back while these memories clawed their way back to the surface.

 

That night! The one I had tried my possible best to forget, even though it was so hard to do so, found its way back to my mind again.

 

My piercing screams, the way Rocco’s father’s soft touch turned violent, the ripping of my clothes into pieces, the sound of the fabric tearing, the sting from hot tears gathered at the corner of my eyes, how drunk he was, how helpless I was at the end of it all.

 

Everything!

 

Every single thing that happened, I could now remember. 

 

My heart drummed so painfully against my chest that I felt every beat, my hands shook, and my knees felt weak beneath me. 

 

How could a man’s touch be doing this to me? 

 

I asked myself, feeling the weight of every single emotion gnaw at me.

 

Meanwhile, Nicholas didn’t say a word to me, but he studied me carefully. Using his eyes, to touch every part of my body.

 

Swirling around, I exhaled sharply, then I gripped the edge of the sink to keep me grounded. 

 

“Don’t do that again,” his deep baritone broke the silence, causing my gaze to flicker and meet his eyes through the mirror. 

 

“Do what?” I asked with a cracked voice. 

 

“Don’t push me again,” he replied with so much anger in his eyes; I could feel it too. 

 

I glanced at the door as my legs itched to move. Maybe if I run so fast, leave this place, and lie to Lucius that I hadn’t seen Nicholas, I would get back my son and leave this country once and for all. 

 

Without thinking, my body shifted, and my legs already moved before my mind had fully decided to do so. 

 

“Where are you going? I haven’t completed my part of our deal. His voice was sharp and laced with mockery, and it froze me mid-step, just when my hand hovered inches away from the door handle. 

 

I couldn’t turn around; every nerve in my body screamed at me to run, but there was something about his tone that rooted me in place. 

 

“I have forgiven…” I said slowly, but the words lodged in my throat for a while. I took a deep breath, and as soon as I exhaled a crooked “you”, I gripped the door handle and twisted it with trembling hands before I left without looking back. 

 

The air outside was cooler, but it did nothing to calm me down while my heels clicked against the hard marble floor of the casino’s corridor. 

 

As the corridor stretched endlessly before me, I quickened my pace and passed a line of golden lights and black walls. The sound of laughter and the clinking of glasses echoed from nearby rooms, yet it had no effect on my noisy mind. 

 

“My sweet little Mira,” A voice from the past, muffled and distorted, sounded so loud in my ears. 

 

Quickly, I whipped around and darted my eyes through the corridor, but there was no one. Not a single soul.

 

“It’s all in my mind.” Struggling to catch my breath, my throat tightened, making every gasp a battle until I entered the main casino and looked around.

 

“Where’s the exit?” I asked, peering from one corner to the other until my gaze landed on a big exit sign close to a whisky counter. 

 

As soon as the heavy casino slammed shut behind me, my phone buzzed violently in my purse, causing me to stiffen while I reached for it. 

 

With trembling fingers, I pulled it out, and with a quick swap of my screen, a single word flashed at the top. 

 

‘LUCIUS’

“Lucius? How did he know that I was out already?” My thumb lingered over the screen for a minute because I was too terrified to open his message, and I hadn’t done what I was supposed to do.

 

 I didn’t get any useful information from Nicholas; as a matter of fact, I didn’t even get anything from him, only a kiss and an intimidating glare. 

 

What was I thinking? There was no way he would agree to return my son back to him if I couldn’t do what I was instructed to do.

 

“Fuck!” I breathed, staring at the notification. I failed, but there was no way I would tell Lucius that. He was a perfectionist yet utterly unpredictable. 

 

Every move he made was calculated, every plan was perfectly executed, and his predictions were always accurate. 

 

I glanced up and down the lonely street, searching for any sign of Lucius, but he was nowhere. I was somehow relieved even though I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was close, always close and always watching even when he wasn’t there. 

 

Before I could decide if I was going to read his sudden message, my finger betrayed me, and his message displayed on the screen within seconds. 

 

“Your son is counting on you…”

 

I read the words again and again as if repeating them would somehow lessen the pain. It didn’t; instead, my vision blurred as tears streaked down freely. 

 

The noise from the casino behind me faded into nothing, leaving only the thumping of my heart. 

 

Suddenly, a drop of rain fell, striking the back of my hand. Just as I was about to process what was happening, another drop followed, this time on my cheek.