NICKOLAS I walked into the meeting hall, and the elders were already seated anxiously waiting, probably wondering why I had called for them. I slipped my hands out of my pocket and sat on the chair left vacant for me. My eyes scanned the room and fell on Sam. I looked away instantly. Magnus cleared his throat. "You sent for us, Nickolas... is something wrong?" He paused and looked around. "What was so urgent that you had to send it to us as soon as possible?" he asked, and the rest of them nodded their heads as they agreed to the decision I made earlier. I tapped my fingers against the wooden table as my eyes travelled from one of them to the other. "I want you all to prepare a banquet," I paused. "A banquet? Nikolas, for so many years now, you haven't done a banquet."Ragnor asked. I let out a mischievous smile and propped my hands on my jaw. "I want to celebrate with my wife and her family... is there anything wrong with that?" I
The door creaked open, causing fear to grip me as my hand flew to my chest. I looked up when I heard whispers of my name. "Xhafer?" I called quietly. "Miss Valeria," Xhafer whispered as he walked in. He held out his hand for me, and I grabbed it. He helped me up as he looked around, hoping no one was out. "Are we leaving now?" I asked as my eyes twitched. There was nothing I wanted more than leaving this sick place that I was in, and I hoped that Brutus would pay for all he had done to me as well as other people. Xhafer nodded his head... his voice was barely above a whisper. "Yes, we'll have to take it slow. That way, no one would notice that you were gone." I nodded my head immediately. He reached out his hand to me, and I grabbed it, enclosing mine in his as we tiptoed out of the building. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask Xhafer, but I would rather leave them for the next time we were going to see them because ri
FLASHBACK "Run! Hide.. Now!" Catherine whispered loudly as she pulled Nickolas into the storehouse. Nickolas had no idea what was going on as he remained hesitant about doing what his mother had asked of him. "Are we in trouble mother? I will stand and fight for you," he insisted as he slipped out of Catherine's grasp. "I want to go and play with Brutus, I saw him walking in with his father. I want to go to him," Catherine pulled him back. "Nick! Now isn't the time for games okay? We are in trouble and your father will protect us, not you... You still have a future ahead of you and you shouldn't mess with that," Catherine stared at Nickolas as she waited for a response but the six-year-old boy was adamant. "Okay?" She almost thundered as her hands trembled but she managed to keep her voice low. "Okay ma but you promise that you will make me cookies later in the evening?" Nickolas curled his fingers on the ladder railings.
NICKOLAS 'Mate!' Asher growled, and I rudely pushed Zara, the blonde lady, over to the side. 'What do you mean by mate? How is it possible that our mate is here and I do not have time for this?' I took a deep breath. 'The last time you did this, I ended up with a woman who lied to me.' 'I didn't lie about our mate the last time... you were the one who chose the wrong bitch. But now, our friend is here. Can't you smell her?' Asher grimaced. 'She's so close.' 'Where?' I asked as my eyes scanned the room. The bartender walked up to me and said, "Sir, you sent it to me. What would you like to have tonight?" he asked. Not concentrating on him, "Vodka." I cleared my throat. "Two bottles of Vodka. No three." The bartender stared at me confused. "Three?" he wanted to be sure. "Correct." He nodded his head and headed back to the counter, where he did his job. 'Nickolas! You haven't eaten, and you are orde
VALERIA "So tell me what you were doing there. What did you have to do with him?" I asked. I was anxious because if Brutus ever found out that I escaped from his mansion and I was with Nickolas, I was certain that things weren't going to end nicely. "We are rivals, but that would be a story for another day, okay?" He gulped down another glass and poured himself another. "I just want to know how you got there." "Alright. But why are you suddenly acting so nice to me?" I asked. "I came here to look for you... when I saw you by the window that day, I had a feeling that you were the one there, so I had to come back." He paused. "I did a DNA test and confirmed that Emilia isn't the mother of Giselle. I can't believe she lied to me all these years." "It makes me hate myself for all I've done wrong to you. I'm sorry that it took this long." I remained still and watched Nickolas empty the first bottle, the second bottle, and the th
VALERIA I laid Nickolas on the bed and cleaned his body, which had been wrecked of alcohol. When I was satisfied, I showered and lay beside him, after which I dozed off as well. Deep in my sleep, I perceived a strong, rusty, and potent smell of blood. It made my stomach churn as I stirred around the bed. When it struck me that it might be my period, I jerked off the bed and rushed to the bathroom, panting as I wondered why it had to start today of all days. I peeled off my clothes from my body and checked myself, but I saw nothing. Then what was that smell? I quickly put on my clothes and rushed out of the bedroom. The smell hit my nostrils again and caused an uproar in my stomach. I switched on the lights, and my jaw dropped. "Nickolas!" I screamed and rushed to him. I kneeled beside him as he kept on vomiting blood. Tears welled up in my eyes as I paced around the room, thinking about what to do. My eyes darted to the wal
NICKOLAS My eyes zipped open at the sound of the footsteps. My back ached as I buried my face in the pillow and threw the covers over my head while I scrambled against the bed. My thoughts drifted off to what had happened last night. I couldn't remember exactly what happened, but I could pick pieces of it apart. I jerked my head and searched around for Valeria, but she was nowhere in sight. I pushed the blanket away from my chest and rushed to the window. I stared outside the driveway and then the bathroom. Did she leave? Why? My gaze darted to the door as it flew open, and Valeria walked in with one of the hotel receptionists behind her pushing a trolley. "Valeria..." I whispered. “You can leave." Valeria curled her fingers around the trolley, and the lady shut the door behind her. Valeria rushed up to me, her palm clasping my face. "Why didn't you tell me about it?" Her eyes were glossy. "You let yourself go through all that al
“Get ready... we will leave by sunset!" Brutus' voice echoed throughout the hallway as Xhafer and Lucian strolled behind him. Xhafer paused at his pace. “Why is that happening now?” He knew fully well what Brutus was capable of doing. He knew his brother would stop at nothing till he gets everything he wants on earth. Brutus crossed his arms behind him. “You have no say in this. You should've been happy you are going back there.” he thundered as his eyes flared through the room. “Of course I am, but not with you, and it hasn’t been up to three weeks since I returned. What are you up to this time?” Xhafer asked bluntly, his eyes pinned on Brutus as he concentrated his attention on him. He still had no idea why Brutus hasn't asked if Valeria, or was is also part of his plan? If Brutus eventually finds out that he was the one who released Valeria, he was certain that his head was going to roll off the platform. Lucian pulled him back and took a step closer to him. “I think you shou
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y
Camilla pushed some chairs out of her way as she rushed to Sam. Her eyes fell on Sam, sipping wine as he scrolled through his phone. Her ears flared up. "Sam, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you quiet, like we are not part of the family?" Camilla rested one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. Sam didn't say a word; he didn't even look up at her. He remained engrossed in his phone with no atom of emotion written on his face. "You sat there while that stupid girl humiliated me and our daughter. You watched her slap me, and you did nothing about it." Camilla kept on ranting. That was all she could do. She couldn't fathom the fact that Sam remained quiet and wasn't saying anything. Or was he part of everything that had been going on? She had doubts about it but hoped it wouldn't be true. Sam adjusted his glass, turned off his phone, and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked up at Camilla and crossed his legs. "Camilla, y