chapter 2

Maeve.

I blinked, my heart pounding faster. how the hell did Nicholas appear here? Words escaped me, he had a smirk on his face and his blue eyes bore into me. There was something different about Nicholas now, his eyes used to be flooded with warmth but now, they seemed indifferent. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss him. But the more embarrassing aspect was he caught me in a compromising situation.

“You have changed little sis. I wasn't expecting to see you like that” he murmured, his voice appearing deep and sexy.

I gulped hard, a wave of embarrassment washing over my face..

“Pull off the duvet, let me get a full view” he instructed and my body shook as i squinted my brows.

“What ?” I asked, a little taken aback. He wasn't usually this straight forward.

His eyes darkened, a smirk on his face as he stepped closer, my heart beat rhyming to each step of his.

He climbed onto the bed and I got a full view of his face . He was now freaking handsome, his sculpted face was perfect and his blue eyes were more visible, he was making a heat pool in my legs with little or no effort and this was totally wrong, we should be siblings.

“I want to see how much you have grown…” he muttered, slowly pulling off the duvet. I was supposed to stop him but I couldn't, shit he hasn't even stayed up to an hour. Yet look what he was doing to me.

He slid off the duvet and his eyes met my pussy.

A slow dragged smirk crossed his lips and his eyes were totally unreadable. His gaze lingered down there for a while before he returned his gaze to me. I swallowed hard, I wasn't sure what I was doing either or what the hell was going on.

“Stop it” I said quickly as if snapping back to my senses, pulling the duvet closer to me.

He let out a scoff, climbing down the bed. I kept my chin down. This was such a bad way to meet him after four years. And everything feels different. He was no longer the bubbly older brother I remembered.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, little sis” he said out of the blue and I lifted my head, a wave of embarrassment hitting me all over again. There was mid silence.

“Try and lock the doors next time” He blurted after a while then stepped out.

I heaved a sigh the moment he left. I didn’t know how to feel. I should be sad, but I just felt numb. I should be the one mad about his disappearance.

“Maeve!”

That familiar voice came through.

Mom.

Wait… they’re back too? Wow.

I quickly jumped off the bed, grabbing my trousers. It didn’t take me a second to dress back.

I rushed downstairs and, indeed, they were back from their vacation. Mom giggled when she saw me.

“Maeve, my baby!” Mom spread her arms wide.

Nicholas was already downstairs too.

Our eyes met briefly, and my lips pressed into a straight line. I had to act like nothing just happened.

I rushed into Mom’s arms.

“I missed you, Mom,” I said.

We stayed like that for a moment before my stepdad spoke up.

“C’mon, Helen. She’s a grown-up now. Right, Maeve?” my stepdad, Elon, teased.

“She’s still my baby,” Mom said, ruffling my hair.

My gaze drifted around the living room. Their luggage was scattered near the couch.

They had really come back.

Mom, being her usual bubbly self, quickly made her way to the kitchen.

“We got breakfast on the way. Trust Elon not to let me starve.” She winked before turning to Nicholas.

I don't know if it was just me, but there was an awkward tension in the air.

“Maeve, your stepbrother is back home. Have you two met yet?” she asked.

Silence.

It wasn't long, but it felt longer than it should have.

I hesitated.

“Yes, we...” I started, but the words died in my throat the moment the memory flashed through my head.

“Maeve?”

Mom's voice pulled me back and I blinked, I had completely zoned out.

“Yes, Mom,” I answered quickly. Another silence followed.

My fingers curled against my palm.

“Let's have breakfast,” Mom said..

Silence settled over the table as we ate. The clinking of cutlery was the only sound.

Everything felt different now that Nicholas was back home. I felt it.

Elon cleared his throat “Nic is back home. He happened to get transferred to Elite College.”

I paused.

“Your college, Maeve,” he added. “I got the board to approve him as a professor.”

I slowly lifted my head.

A professor?

My eyes darted to Nicholas.

He looked completely unbothered, more immersed in his meal I would say.

"What?" I muttered slowly.

He is becoming a professor at my school?

"Yes," Elon answered.

"Nic, make sure you take care of your younger sister," Elon directed the words at Nicholas, who had been silent the entire time, casually eating his food.

Everyone's attention shifted to him.

Nicholas dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin before looking up.

"Do I need to?" he asked lightly. "I think she's a full-grown adult."

His eyes flickered to mine.

"From what I saw, at least."

My heart nearly stopped. What the heck was his deal?

Mom frowned slightly.

"What you saw?"

A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"I mean—"

"Nicholas," I cut in quickly. All eyes turned to me instead.

I forced out a laugh that sounded anything but natural.

"I think what he means is that I'm not a kid anymore."

For a second, nobody said anything.

Then Nicholas leaned back in his chair.

"Exactly."

His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer.

And somehow that felt worse. I sighed deeply. Are we enemies now?

I swear I wanted to skip school today, but with Mom finally back from vacation, I couldn't think of a single valid excuse.

School had just begun anyway.

My lips twitched as I stood beside Nicholas's car.

Mom had insisted we go together since we were both heading to Elite College. It was his first day too.

No wonder he was dressed like that.

The dark suit fit him perfectly, and his hair was slicked back neatly, making him look more intimidating.

Words escaped me. I wasn't sure when things had become so awkward between us.

Or maybe awkward wasn't even the right word.

Four years ago, we could talk for hours.

Now standing next to him felt harder than taking an exam.

My arms folded across my chest. Nicholas leaned against the car, a cigarette resting between his fingers. He took a slow drag before tilting his head back slightly. A stream of smoke escaped his lips.

He looked so cool doing it. I wanted to stay cool like my heart wasn't doing that little thing it always did years back.

I cleared my throat after minutes of tracing circles on the ground with my foot.

I wanted to speak, but I didn’t even know what to say.

“Nicholas. You just—”

My words died when he dropped the cigarette butt on the floor and crushed it under his shoe.

“Get in the car, sis,” he said flatly. “Or take a cab. I don’t even want you sitting in my car.”

My brows pulled together.

I stared at him, unsure if I heard him correctly. I pulled open the front passenger door just as he stepped into the driver’s seat. He didn’t say anything, just started the engine and drove off. The car was quiet, his eyes fixed on the road like nothing else mattered. I kept stealing glances at him, my mind running in shambles. I had questions. Too many of them. I let out a sigh that felt louder than it should have.

“Nic…”

No response.

“Nicholas…” I tried again, turning slightly toward him.

“What happened to you? You just cut off contact with me for four years.”

His jaw tightened a little but his eyes stayed on the road.

“I think you should be more concerned about yourself, sis. I cut off contact, so?”

My brows pulled together. “I don’t understand. No one told me anything. I was worried about you.”

“Worry about yourself,” he replied immediately.

“What is wrong with everyone? I literally asked Mom about you countless times.”

“Not their fault.”

I stopped, letting out a slow breath. There was a pause between us, heavy and uncomfortable. Then out of the blue, he asked,

“Did you miss me?”

My body went still. Miss him?

I did more than miss him. I just couldn’t even find the words to explain what that meant. And he still didn’t look at me.

“I…”

My words didn’t come out.

The car suddenly pulled over.

I jerked slightly in my seat, heart skipping for a second. For a moment, I thought something was wrong—an accident, or something worse.

But it wasn’t.

Nicholas just sat there for a second, then finally turned to me.

His blue eyes caught mine.

And I forgot what I was about to say. I could see the clear yearning or maybe what I thought.

My throat tightened under his stare.

He didn’t speak at first. Just looked at me like he was trying to figure something out without saying it.

I hated how still I became under it.

Hated even more that I didn’t look away.

Nicholas leaned slightly closer, slow, controlled like he was stopping himself from doing something he shouldn’t.

My breath caught.

He leaned closer, his lips brushing against the side of my neck before I even had time to react. He nibbled kisses softly, eventually sucking my neck. It was so good that I never had time to think straight.

It happened so quickly soft, sudden, disarming.

A wave of pleasure shot through me, I'm doomed for sure..