6. Secret unveiled - Part 1

"My wife, I missed you so much."

Niklaus's voice echoed through the room, and Brielle blinked once, twice, thrice before her mind started working again. Her pupils immediately shot towards Lucy, who stared back at her with her eyes wide and her lower jaw slackened as she pointed her finger.

"You... you... you..." Lucy fumbled over her words, unable to say anything. Her mind was totally blank.

Brielle smiled at her sheepishly and hopped out of her chair. Scolding herself for being careless, she moved away and turned off the speaker. 

"Hello," she said, glancing at her friend who hadn't snapped out of her shock yet.

"Hello," Niklaus mimicked her and whispered back. "Why are you whispering? Is somebody nearby?"

"Your call has put me in a fix," Brielle subconsciously complained, completely forgetting for a moment how scared she was of him.

"Why?" Niklaus's smile slipped, and he spun on his chair, turning to face the window behind him. His jaw ticked as he tried to sound as calm as possible. "Did I disturb you? I'm sorry."

Brielle completely missed how tense he sounded all of a sudden. Her mind was fixed on her friend, who had finally broken out of her stupor and was now staring at her curiously as she slyly tried to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"You didn't disturb me. It's just that my friend doesn't know about you, and I just had to put your call on speaker. Why can't you restrain yourself a little?"

'Phew, you scared me for a moment,' Niklaus thought, his lips curling in relief. 

"I'm already exercising a lot of restraint, my darling. If not, you wouldn't be in your office right now, talking to me on my phone."

Brielle bit her lip and lowered her eyes while her toes curled in her shoes.

"I..." She tried to stop him, only for the man to beat her to it.

"You'd be sitting on my lap while I stole all your breath away."

Niklaus's tone was heavy with desire, and Brielle felt her ears heating up when she heard his sensual words. 

"Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is for me to focus on work when I just got married?" Niklaus accused her, making Brielle doubt herself.

'Is he indirectly calling me heartless?' she thought, clutching her phone tight. And her assumptions were proven right with Niklaus's next words.

"You may be cruel enough to ignore me, my darling. But I can't and I won't."

"Stop it, will you?" Brielle didn't know how to deal with the man who hadn't stopped flirting with her from the moment they got married. Although he was accusing her, somehow his words sounded like a sweet complaint.

Brielle's heart thumped madly, and she scolded the man for being a demon. 'What has happened to him suddenly? Why does everything he says sound sweet and seductive?'

"No, I won't. Now tell me if you missed me or not."

"What?" Brielle almost doubted her hearing at his bizarre question.

"You heard me right, my darling. Tell me, did you miss me?" he repeated.

"What are you going to do if I were to say I didn't miss you?"

"Ohh, I will just lean by the wall and scratch it in sadness."

"Are you a cat?" Brielle let out a helpless laugh.

"For you, I can be a cat. Do you want me to be one?" Niklaus asked playfully, and Brielle's mind started working, and she imagined him wearing a cat headband. He looked so enticing that she had to fan herself to calm down.

'Fuck, I'm going to get a nosebleed,' she thought and swallowed her saliva a few times to soothe her dry throat.

"By the way, why did you call me?" Brielle changed the topic. She knew that if their conversation continued, one of them might die of hyperventilation, and it was definitely not him.

"Because I missed you," Niklaus said as if it were an oath.

"You're not serious."

"I am, actually. I was reading some document, and your face flashed in my mind, and I couldn't concentrate one bit after that. By the way, what were you doing?" Niklaus asked, slowly steering the conversation in the direction they had almost passed previously.

"I was talking to my friend. She's also my secretary."

"Hmm. Does she know about me? About us?" he asked, carefully gauging her reaction.

"No, not yet. I was just about to tell her about you when you called."

'Damn it!' Niklaus cursed himself for his stupidity. 'Why didn't I call Elle a few minutes later?'

"Then you go ahead."

"Alright..." Brielle was about to end the call when Niklaus's next words almost made her stumble.

"I'll call you ten minutes later."

"Why do I feel like you're plotting something?"

"Perhaps." Niklaus didn't deny it and gave a vague reply.

Brielle was so lost in her conversation that she didn't notice Lucy approaching her stealthily.

"Ahem!"

Brielle jerked in fright and turned around instantly.

"Considering that you've been talking for a long time and also that you've been smiling all the time, I presume it's not Paul. Who is it?" Lucy asked loud enough for whoever it was on the other side to hear as well.

"Lucy, you scared me to death," Brielle patted her chest with her free palm and sighed heavily.

"I'll take that as an achievement. Now, spill the beans. Who are you talking to? Is he really your husband as he claimed to be?" Lucy looked at her from top to bottom suspiciously.

"Will you kill me if I confirm with a nod?"

"Obviously."

"Who dares!" Niklaus's threatening voice boomed from the phone, startling both the ladies. "Who dares to kill my wife?"

"Ahh.... that's how a protective and possessive husband sounds. Should I be happy for you or scared for me?" Lucy asked, snatching the phone from Brielle's hands before she could even comprehend what was happening.

"Hey... Lucy. Stop."

Brielle was a minute late. Lucy had already switched to the hands-free mode again.

"Hello, Mister, whoever you are. I'm Lucy, Brielle's friend."

"Hello, I'm Niklaus. Brielle's husband."

"Niklaus?" Lucy's forehead creased as she gave Brielle a scrutinizing look, which her friend avoided instantly.

"Why does your name sound familiar?"

"Really?" Niklaus was intrigued. He hadn't given her his last name. So, there was no way Lucy would associate with him unless... His eyes glittered at the possibility while his heart flipped in joy. 'Did Elle talk about me with her friend in the past?'

Lucy studied her friend for a minute or two before her eyes rounded when realization dawned upon her.

"Aren't you the guy who kissed Bri?"