Chapter 18

Arie’s POV

The yellow tulips lay scattered across the floor while I stared at the emerald necklace on my pillow.

Nico was in Seattle.

The thought had barely formed when the quiet click of my apartment door closing reached me from the other room.

My entire body went still.

I had left the door open while searching the apartment.

A second click followed.

The lock.

“You still hide things in the most obvious places, baby girl.”

His voice travelled through me like a touch I had spent months trying to forget.

I turned slowly.

Nico stood in the bedroom doorway.

For one impossible moment, my mind refused to accept that he was real. He wore a black shirt beneath a dark coat, and his hair was slightly disordered, as though he had repeatedly dragged his fingers through it. Exhaustion shadowed his face, but it did nothing to lessen the authority surrounding him.

Three months had passed since I had last stood this close to him. Three months of teaching myself to live without his voice, his touch, and the way his presence changed the air inside every room.

One second was enough to destroy all that distance.

My gaze dropped to his left hand.

The wedding ring remained on his finger.

Pain struck before anger could protect me.

“What are you doing here?”

Nico ignored the question and examined the room instead. His attention travelled over the narrow wardrobe, the scratched bedside table, and the small window overlooking the wet street.

“This is where you’ve been living?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“The Contini estate has closets larger than this apartment.”

“Then go back to your estate.”

His gaze returned to me. “You crossed an ocean for second-hand furniture and a lock any man could open in less than a minute.”

“It’s mine.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” I forced strength into my voice. “My name is on the lease. I pay for it with money I earn. Nobody gave it to me, and nobody decides when I can enter or leave.”

Nico stepped farther into the bedroom.

I retreated instinctively until the edge of the bed struck the backs of my legs. His eyes noticed the movement.

“You’re afraid of me.”

“You broke into my home.”

“I used a key.”

“I never gave you one.”

“Your landlord did.”

Cold travelled down my spine. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing permanent.”

“You threatened her.”

“I explained that allowing you to live behind a lock that weak was irresponsible.”

“You had no right.”

“I have every right where your safety is concerned.”

“You lost every right to me when you married Bianca.”

His jaw tightened. “We’ll discuss my marriage later.”

“There is nothing to discuss. You married her, took her on a honeymoon, and allowed the entire world to celebrate your perfect relationship. Now you’ve come here because you can’t tolerate seeing me live without you.”

“Perfect relationship?” His voice lowered. “Is that what you think you saw?”

“I saw enough.”

“You saw photographs created for newspapers.”

“I saw the ring on your hand.”

Silence fell between us.

I wanted him to deny what it represented. Some pathetic part of me still wanted him to remove it and tell me that the vows had meant nothing.

He continued wearing it while standing inside the life I had built to escape him.

Nico’s attention shifted toward the yellow tulips on the floor. His expression became dangerously still.

“He gave you those.”

It wasn’t a question.

I moved between him and the flowers. “Don’t touch them.”

His eyes lifted to mine. “You’re protecting another man’s flowers from me?”

“They belong to me.”

“So did the necklace on your bed. You had no difficulty abandoning that.”

“I abandoned everything connected to you.”

Nico moved closer. “No, Arie. You tried.”

My heart began beating harder. “How long have you been watching me?”

“Long enough.”

“The cars outside my office?”

“My men.”

“The package after I arrived?”

“Mine.”

“The message warning me about Ethan?”

“You ignored it.”

I stared at him as the full violation settled over me. Every moment of safety I had experienced had been false. While I carried groceries through the rain and slept inside this apartment believing I was finally alone, Nico’s men had watched.

“You followed me for months and let me believe I was free.”

“I made certain you were protected.”

“You watched me.”

“I kept you alive.”

“You don’t get to rename control and call it love.”

Something fractured beneath his composure. He closed the space between us so quickly that I barely saw him move. He didn’t touch me, but his body blocked everything else from view.

“I watched you build a life as though I had never existed,” he said. “I watched you work beside him, laugh with him, and dance in his arms.”

My mouth became dry.

He knew about the party.

Nico reached inside his coat and removed a folded photograph. He opened it and placed it beside the necklace.

Ethan’s hand was cupping my cheek while his mouth covered mine. My fingers were curled into his jacket, and my body was pressed against his.

The picture had been taken from somewhere beyond the hotel terrace.

“You had someone photograph us?”

“I had someone protecting you.”

“From what? A man who asked before he touched me?”

Nico’s eyes darkened. “You kissed him back.”

“So?”

The word escaped before fear could stop it.

His face became frighteningly calm. “So?”

“You kissed Bianca in front of me,” I said. “You placed a ring on her finger and took her across Europe while magazines called you the perfect couple. You don’t get to judge me for one kiss.”

“I had to watch that bastard put his hands on you.”

“I had to watch you marry my cousin.”

The words struck him. I saw it in the sudden tension across his face, but he gave me no apology.

“I should have come for you the night he kissed you.”

“You should never have come at all.”

“I wanted to give you more time.”

“I never asked you for time.”

“No. You asked for freedom.” His gaze travelled around my apartment. “So I allowed you to enjoy your final taste of it.”

My blood turned cold.

“This is my life.”

“This is where you came to hide.”

“I’m not hiding anymore.”

“Then why did your hands shake every time one of my cars slowed near you?”

I hated that he knew. I hated imagining him somewhere behind tinted glass, watching me struggle against the fear he had created.

“You need to leave.”

“I didn’t cross an ocean to leave without you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

A flicker of impatience crossed his face. “Pack enough for the flight. Everything else can be replaced.”

A broken laugh escaped me. “You walk into my home after three months and expect me to pack because you ordered me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re insane.”

“That never stopped you from loving me.”

My chest tightened. “I don’t love you.”

The lie stood between us.

Nico examined my face with the relentless attention he had always used to uncover everything I wanted to hide.

“Say it again.”

“I don’t love you.”

He leaned closer, and the familiar scent of his cologne surrounded me.

“Look into my eyes and tell me my wedding destroyed everything you felt.”

I forced myself to hold his gaze. “Your wedding destroyed the woman who believed you would choose her.”

Pain flickered across his face before disappearing beneath cold control.

“The aircraft leaves tomorrow morning,” he said.

“You’ll be on it alone.”

Nico looked toward my open wardrobe. “Pack.”

“No.”

“Arie.”

“I said no.”

I pushed past him and hurried toward the front door. I didn’t know whether I intended to find a neighbour, call the police, or simply run until my legs gave out. I only knew I couldn’t remain trapped inside this apartment with him.

My hand had almost reached the lock when Nico caught my wrist.

His grip didn’t hurt, but it stopped me completely.

“Let go.”

“You aren’t leaving.”

“This is my home!”

“And there are four men outside who will return you to me before you reach the stairs.”

I looked through the peephole.

Two men in dark suits stood at opposite ends of the corridor. The other two were probably waiting downstairs.

Panic tightened around my throat.

Nico released my wrist, but his body remained between me and the door.

“You planned this.”

“I plan everything.”

“Did you ever consider that I might choose not to go?”

“I considered it.”

“And?”

“It changed nothing.”

My handbag rested on the kitchen chair only a few feet away. Inside it, Ethan’s number remained hidden in my wallet. I wondered whether I could reach it before Nico stopped me.

His gaze followed mine.

“Who are you thinking of calling?”

“No one.”

“Hale?”

I said nothing.

A cold smile touched Nico’s mouth. “Call him. Let him discover how little his promises mean when you are standing inside my reach.”

Fear moved through me, but anger followed it.

“You’re threatened by him.”

“I am threatened by no man.”

“Then why did one kiss bring you across an ocean?”

His expression hardened.

Nico reached past me and turned the lock. The final click echoed through the apartment.

“Pack your things, baby girl.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He stepped closer until my back pressed against the locked door.

“You misunderstood me, Arie.”

His eyes held mine with terrifying certainty.

“I wasn’t asking.”