Chapter 7
Niklaus stood in the doorway, his imposing figure filling the small space, his sharp, metal–grey eyes locking onto mine. I froze, my breath hitching as irritation surged through me.
“Goodness,” I snapped, unable to contain the frustration bubbling inside. “Why are you here, Niklaus?”
He didn’t flinch at my tone, his gaze steady. “Why have you been hiding from me for the past few days?”
“I haven’t been hiding,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.
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“You were,” he pressed, his voice low but firm. “You’ve made my life hard ever since you left on our wedding day. That night, you disappeared like a ghost, and you’ve been living an invisible life ever since. You haven’t even shown up at work. Do you
know how hard it‘ s been to track you down?”
I scoffed. “Why do you want to see me, Niklaus? I sent you a clear message that night.
It’s over.
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“I’m not taking that,” he replied simply, stepping further into the room.
We stood facing each other, the tension crackling in the air like a storm about to break. “I wanted to talk to you at the party
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yesterday, but you left before I could. You
shouldn’t have hurt Melanie. She‘ s on
crutches now because her ankle got sprained.
It’s terrible.”
“Niklaus…”
“It’s fine,” he interrupted, his tone softening, though his words only stoked my frustration. “I know you must have pushed her out of anger. I don‘ t hold it against you. I pardon you.”
“Pardon me?” I echoed, incredulous. “She keeps lying, and you keep believing her! You all think she’s an angel. Why?!”
“Rosalyn-”
“She pushed herself last night, just to frame me! She’s sly, Niklaus.”
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He shook his head, his jaw tightening. “No. I
know Melanie. She’s not that kind of
person.”
‘So, I’m the bad guy now?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You implied it with your words!” I shot back, my voice trembling with anger. “You don’t know her at all, and neither you nor your family want to see her for who she really is.”
“We’ve known Melanie for years. She’s a sweet, innocent woman.”
“She’s doing everything on purpose, Niklaus, to act all saintly. Open your eyes!”
“You‘ ve misunderstood her. I’m sure
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that’s what happened between you two last night. That’s why you pushed her.”
“What?” I stepped closer to him, my voice dropping into a deadly whisper. “You came here to accuse me?”
“No,” he said quickly, his gaze softening as if to diffuse my anger. “But Melanie was admitted to the hospital last night because the pain was unbearable. She was discharged about an hour ago this morning, and, like I said, she’ll need crutches for the
meantime.”
I stared at him, my chest tight with rage and disbelief. “I see. And what’s my business with that?”
“My family isn’t happy about what
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happened.”
I laughed
redulously, shaking my head.
“Of course they’re not.”
Niklaus took a step closer, his voice softening.
“Look, I want us to fix things. Please.” He reached for my hands, holding them tightly, his eyes piercing mine. “I’ve planned something for us–a dinner tonight at
Ocean’s Resort with my family. Six o‘ clock. Please come.”
“I’m not going,” I said firmly, pulling my hands from his.
“Rosalyn,” he said, his voice pleading. “I know Cherry was upset when you left her party like that. This dinner is for us all to talk, to make things right. Please.”
Chapter 7
“No, Niklaus.”
He sighed, fistration flickering across his face. Then, reaching into a box that has dropped from his hand when he entered, he pulled out a shopping bag and placed it in my hand. “Here,” he said.
“What is this?” I asked, peeking into the bag.
“I got you this dress. Wear it tonight.”
I opened my mouth to refuse, but before I could, he leaned down and pecked my lips, his hands gently cupping my face. His eyes, those magnetic grey depths, locked onto mine, and for a moment, I was lost. My resolve wavered under the weight of his gaze.
“You must show up. Please.” With that, he
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turned and left, leaving me standing there, clutching the bag.
Later that evening, I stood in my bedroom, the dress he’d given me lying on the bed beside another one I owned. It was a plain, fitting gown, nothing special. Abby, my closest confidante, stood by the dressing table, watching me intently.
“It doesn’t look bad, though,” she finally said, gesturing to the dress Niklaus had picked.
I picked it up, running my fingers over the fabric. “No, it doesn’t,” I murmured, nodding.
As I turned it over, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call. Absentmindedly, I
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answered, not bothering to check the screen,
and froze when Melanie‘ s face popped up.
“Hello, Rosalyn,” she said sweetly, her
smile as fake as her innocence.
“How did you get my number?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Cherry gave it to me,” she replied, grinning. She shifted the phone, showing herself walking around.
“You can walk?” I arched a brow, disbelief etched on my face.
“Of course,” she said with a casual shrug. “I’m fine.”
“But Niklaus said you’d need crutches.”
“I made it seem that way,” she admitted
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with a chuckle. “Sorry about last night, by
the way. Just wanted to be a bit naughty.”
“How dare you?” I hissed, fury boiling beneath my skin.
Melanie grinned, unfazed. “Forget that. Just look at this.” She shifted the camera again, revealing a gorgeous dress and a sparkling set of jewelry. “Niklaus got me all these for the dinner tonight with his family. Aren’t they lovely?”
“He did?” I asked, my stomach twisting.
“Yes,” she said smugly. “He was with me this morning after he brought me home from the hospital. I watched him make the order online. He got me everything I wanted–this dress, the jewelry, even a pair of shoes.” Her
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gaze flickered to something behind me. “Oh,
and that plain dress on your bed? He got that for about 100 bucks. Meanwhile, he spent thousands on me.”
Her words hit me like a sledgehammer. I glanced back at the dress on my bed, bile rising in my throat. Melanie smirked, clearly relishing my discomfort, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Without a word, I ended the call.
Abby walked up to me, her expression dark.
“Niklaus has some guts, you know. He doesn’t even know what you like, let alone bother to ask. But for Melanie? He went all
out.”
“It’s fine,” I said quietly, my voice betraying my inner turmoil.
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“It’s not fine!” Abby snapped. “Why must
you even go to that dinner? To get humiliated again?”
I met her gaze, my lips pressed into a thin line. “Niklaus has always been the type to fix things, to keep up appearances for his reputation.”
Abby frowned, her frustration evident. “How long will you keep taking this?”
Her words hung in the air, a sharp,
unrelenting echo of the truth I’d been trying to ignore.
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