novelxo Chapter 0596
Chapter 0596
The drive back was silent and suffocating. Nicholas and I were separated by an invisible barrier, and neither of us dared to say another word to each other.
His phone rang, breaking the oppressive quiet. After a few brief responses, he hung up and turned to me.
'The police said her injuries are too severe. She needs treatment before they can detain her. For now, they'll station guards outside her room."
"Got it."
Claudia was indeed gravely injured. Earlier, when the officers tried to help her off the bed, blood had gushed from her freshly amputated leg.
The memory of that scene left me dizzy. I closed my eyes and leaned against the car door, unwilling to say anything more to Nicholas.
Nicholas sighed. He grabbed my arm, turned my shoulder, and looked at me deeply with his dark eyes. "I got revenge for you. Aren't you happy? I thought you would be."
I wanted to smile at him, but my heart ached so much that I couldn't.
'I'm not feeling sorry for Claudia. What she did deserves punishment, but you just don't understand me. What bothers me is..."
I suddenly felt a lump in my throat, and I couldn't say anything else.
What really bothered me was that of all the ways he could have punished Claudia, the only thing I saw in his actions was cruelty and violence.
What I couldn't accept was how the man who once smiled with the warmth of spring breezes had become so cold, so ruthless.
I waved him off weakly, unwilling to continue.
"Nicholas, we're not right for each other. Let's take a few days to cool off. I want to take Tabitha home. Please don't make me wait too long for an answer."
"Coral Villa is our home, Ariana. If you think I've done something wrong, just tell me. Whatever it is, I'll change. But don't shut me out like this. It terrifies me."
He shook my shoulders as if trying to force a reaction. But I felt weak all over, as if his hands couldn't provide the stability I needed, much less any sense of comfort.
"Nicholas, I can't accept the way you handle things. You've become too extreme."
He pulled me into his arms and whispered in my ear, "I'll change, I swear I will." "Change?"
I thought to myself, hadn't I heard this before?
Nicholas nodded solemnly, "I will!"
"Since I came back, you've been the one telling me you love me, but you're also the one who locked me up in Coral Villa. How am I supposed to trust you after that?"
I smiled, but my cheeks hurt from smiling. "I can't believe you anymore. I'm afraid the next 'Claudia' might be me."
"I swear I'll never do that to you! I'll love you and spoil you forever!" Nicholas made a solemn oath.
I stared at him, my heart filled with complexity.
After today, I was finally convinced that whatever feelings he'd had for Claudia were truly gone and that I did hold a place in his heart.
But everything we had been through together was not something he could easily erase with a simple oath.
The future stretched endlessly ahead of us, uncertain and vast. An oath made with no cost, no consequences- how much was it really worth?
If he hurt me again, this so-called oath would be nothing but a cruel joke.
I calmly looked at Nicholas and shook my head.