Chapter 11

Kimberly took a deep breath. Once again, she woke up in Nicholas's apartment. Even though she had just opened her eyes, she already knew where she was. Nicholas's room was so familiar to her that she could recognise it at a glance.

Again and again, Kimberly always ended up in this apartment when she was drunk. It made her realise that she had been too dependent on Nicholas all this time. She always troubled him with her personal matters.

"I guess I’m too much of a burden," Kimberly muttered with a small laugh. "Maybe it’s time for me to keep my distance from Nicholas. We both have partners." Kimberly stared at the ceiling, her memories swirling back.

Looking back, Nicholas knew almost everything about her, but Kimberly didn’t know anything about Nicholas. She had never even met her best friend’s family, even though Nicholas was very close to her father.

"Am I a bad friend?" she asked herself. Whenever there was a problem, she would seek Nicholas to listen to her stories. Yet Kimberly didn’t even remember the last time Nicholas talked about his own issues. All she knew was that Nicholas's family was quite wealthy, possibly even wealthier than hers.

Kimberly exhaled roughly. She closed her eyes and inhaled the lavender scent that filled the room.

"He even knows my favourite scent." Kimberly sighed and turned to change her position. She had been lying on her back, and now she was curled to her right side. Kimberly opened her eyes again, just as the door swung open. Nicholas entered, carrying a tray with a bowl of hot soup. From where she lay, she could smell the distinctive aroma of the soup. The steam was still rising from the bowl.

"Eat this. It will help with your hangover."

Kimberly furrowed her brow at Nicholas's behaviour, which had returned to how it used to be. However, she tried to remain calm because she had resolved to keep her distance from him. They both had partners, so it was better for her to avoid him a little.

Kimberly sat up and gently tapped her head as she felt very dizzy. It seemed she had drunk too much alcohol last night.

"Thank you," Kimberly said as she accepted the tray. She kept her head down, trying to appear busy by stirring the spoon in the bowl. The atmosphere suddenly felt awkward. Both Kimberly and Nicholas fell silent, unlike their usual interactions.

"I’ll head to the office first. You should finish that soup quickly and come to the office," Nicholas said, looking genuinely awkward, as if they were strangers who didn't know each other.

Kimberly only nodded, not even lifting her gaze to meet Nicholas's eyes. She wasn’t angry with him; she was just confused about how to act, especially since it was Nicholas who was keeping his distance from her.

Kimberly placed the spoon on the tray and sighed deeply after hearing the door close. Her eyes suddenly darted to the door, where Nicholas's back had vanished.

"Why is my heart beating so mad?" Kimberly murmured, placing her hand on her chest. She felt something strange that she had never felt before. She didn’t even dare to look Nicholas in the eye like she usually did. "What’s wrong with me?"

After finishing her soup, Kimberly cleaned herself up and changed her clothes. On the dining table, there was a sandwich waiting for her.

"Eat this!" Kimberly read the note next to the sandwich. However, unlike usual, Kimberly ignored the sandwich and left for work feeling hungry. She would start distancing herself from Nicholas to get used to being without him.

Kimberly took a taxi to the office since her car was still at the club. However, when she got out of the taxi, she was surprised to see Harry in front of her office. Seeing the worried look on Harry's face only added to Kimberly's confusion.

As soon as Harry saw Kimberly, he rushed over to her. "Are you okay, Kim?" He placed both hands on Kimberly's shoulders as he reached her. "I tried to call you since this morning, but your phone was dead. I was worried that Nicholas did something bad to you."

Kimberly's forehead creased even more upon hearing Harry's words. "I’m fine. What are you worried about?" she asked, reaching for her phone in her bag. "It looks like my phone battery is dead. Also… how did you know I was with Nicholas?"

Kimberly tried to remember what happened last night, but she couldn’t recall anything after arguing with Sam.

Harry gave a faint smile after hearing Kimberly’s response. It indicated that she didn’t remember when he kissed her.

"I called you last night, and a man named Ben answered. He told me you were drunk and asked me to pick you up. But I was late, and Nicholas took you first. I saw him about to do something inappropriate with you, and I warned him, but he just hit me." Harry leaned forward, showing her his bruised face from last night’s punch. "Look! My face is swollen because of that guy’s punch. I wanted to take you with me, but he hurriedly took you into his car."

Harry fabricated the story, trying to tarnish Nicholas's name in Kimberly's eyes. He wanted to ruin the relationship between Kimberly and Nicholas. He was sure Nicholas was just pretending to be gay to get closer to Kimberly. Harry could see in Nicholas's eyes that he had feelings for Kimberly.

Kimberly squinted her eyes, looking at Harry's swollen face. It was indeed a bruise, but she didn’t believe what Harry was saying. "There’s no way Nicholas kissed me." Kimberly shook her head. She didn’t remember anything, but she knew that couldn’t have happened.

"So you don’t believe me, Kim?" Disappointment was visible on Harry's face.

"No! It's not like that. It’s just that I know Nicholas better than anyone. Even at that time, I..." Kimberly shut her mouth tightly, refraining from saying what was on her mind. She almost let slip that she had kissed Nicholas first and teased him while under the influence of an aphrodisiac.

"At that time, what were you, Kim?" Harry's eyes narrowed, waiting for Kimberly's next words.

Kimberly shook her head. "It's nothing." She swallowed hard and spoke again. "I just know that Nicholas wouldn't do that. Maybe you misunderstood. Don't you also know that Nicholas is gay?"

Harry stared at Kimberly for a long time until he finally relaxed his previously tense facial muscles. His expression changed drastically. "Maybe I saw it wrong last night. I’ll apologise to Nicholas for misunderstanding. I should have remembered that Nicholas is gay, so he couldn’t have done that to you."

Harry chose not to continue his lie. He didn’t want Kimberly to hate him just because of Nicholas. However, he would find a way to keep Nicholas away from Kimberly. That guy was such a nuisance.

Kimberly, who was still not fully sober from her drunkenness, remained silent. She had drunk too much alcohol last night, and even now her thoughts weren’t entirely clear. She still felt dizzy in her head.

"I'm sorry, Kim. I didn’t mean to say anything bad about Nicholas. I just worry and feel jealous. Why are you closer to him than me? Even Ben said that you both often go to the club together."

Kimberly bit her lower lip, feeling guilty. She was indeed more comfortable with Nicholas than with Harry. Kimberly looked at Harry for a long time, as if there were feelings she couldn’t express. Harry was too good for her, but she always took him for granted. Even last night, she got drunk after seeing Nicholas being intimate with his boyfriend.

"I will distance myself from Nicholas and try to get closer to you." The words slipped out of Kimberly's lips. She had resolved to stay away from Nicholas, and there was no harm in accepting Harry wholeheartedly.