LOGINMia's POVA few hours later, I was still in Nikolas’s room, completely unaware of time. We had somehow gone from just resting for a little while to lying tangled together on his bed while he absentmindedly played with my fingers and kissed my shoulder every few minutes.The room was dim, and honestly... I could’ve stayed there the entire night.Then suddenly—“Mia!”My mother’s voice echoed from outside, and I jumped slightly, then another knock followed.“Mia, open the door!”Nikolas burst out laughing immediately.“She sounds serious.”“Oh my God.”I quickly got off the bed while trying to smooth down my wrinkled clothes as another knock came.“Mia!”“I’m coming!” I shouted back.Nikolas looked entirely too amused watching me panic. I glared at him before opening the door, but the second the door swung open, my Mom froze because she wasn’t standing in front of my room, she was standing in front of Nikolas’s guest room.And there I was... inside it.For a solid three seconds, neither
Mia's POVI headed straight for my father’s office after separating from Nikolas. The deeper I walked into the mansion, the more obvious it became that my mother had practically declared war on event planning as the staff moved around nonstop. There were flowers everywhere.I even spotted people carrying what looked like an entire ice sculpture through one of the hallways.I laughed quietly to myself. Mom had definitely lost her mind.By the time I reached Dad’s office door, I could already hear his voice from inside.He was on a call.I knocked lightly before pushing the door open. Dad looked up immediately, and the second he saw me, his expression softened instantly.“Alright,” he said quickly into the phone. “We’ll continue this later.”He didn’t even wait for a response before ending the call.“Hey, sweetheart.”I smiled automatically. “Hey, Dad.”He got up immediately and walked around the desk toward me, then he hugged me.“I missed you,” he murmured softly.I smiled against his
Mia's POVThe next morning, I woke up to soft kisses trailing across my cheek. I groaned quietly and tried hiding my face deeper into the pillow.“Nikolas,” I mumbled sleepily.“Mmm?”“Stop that, please. It's too early to be this annoying.”He laughed softly against my skin before kissing the corner of my mouth.“Get the sharpest knife and slice my neck for the crime of loving and showing my girlfriend affection.”I cracked one eye open slightly. Unfortunately for me, he looked ridiculously attractive first thing in the morning. His hair was messy, his voice was still rough from sleep, and the smug little smile on his face made me want to both kiss him and push him off the bed at the same time.Before I could respond, my phone started ringing loudly from the nightstand.I frowned at the sight of Miles calling me, then I ignored it immediately.Nikolas chuckled.“Your brother is persistent.”“He’s only being a menace.”The phone stopped ringing, then started again almost instantly.I g
Mia's POVThe drive away from what used to be my off-campus home was painfully quiet. I sat with my arms folded tightly across my chest, staring out the window while the city lights blurred past us. But honestly, I barely saw any of it as all I could think about was Eric’s face. Especially the desperation in his voice and the way he kept insisting he never touched my mother.I clenched my jaw harder.No, I wasn’t doing this. I wasn’t about to start doubting my mother because of a few emotional speeches from a man I barely knew.Beside me, Nikolas glanced at me carefully, then silently, he reached for his phone. A few seconds later, he placed a call.“Hey,” he said after someone answered. “It’s Nikolas.”I stayed quiet, still staring outside.“I need to know if there are any available flights to New York tonight.”At first, there was a pause, then another pause before he sighed softly.“None?”I frowned slightly but didn’t turn toward him.“Okay… what about tomorrow morning?”He listen
Mia's POVNikolas stepped forward immediately.“Sir,” he said calmly, “I think you should leave.”But Eric didn’t move, he didn’t even look at him properly. His eyes stayed fixed on me as he slowly walked closer.My entire body stiffened but I ignored him completely. Instead, I grabbed one of my bags and dragged it toward the trunk of Nikolas’ car.“Help me load these,” I muttered to Nikolas angrily. “So we can leave quickly since the rapist apparently doesn’t know when to go away.”The word hit him instantly, I saw it on his face.Eric stopped walking. “What?”I slammed the trunk open harder than necessary as Nikolas quietly picked up another bag, while Eric stepped forward again slowly.“Mia,” he said carefully, “I’m not a rapist.”I laughed bitterly under my breath.“Sure.”“I don’t even understand where this is coming from.”I ignored him.“Mia.”Still nothing, and his voice became more desperate.“If you wanted me to stay away from you, you could’ve just said so.”I shoved anothe
Mia's POVI stared at Eric Damon’s number on my screen for what felt like the hundredth time. My thumb hovered over the call button, but I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t.I sighed sharply and started pacing across my room again, gripping my phone tightly while my thoughts spiraled.This was ridiculous. Why was I nervous? Why was I even hesitating?I hated him now. Didn’t I?Yes, of course I did.But every time I remembered the man from brunch, the man who laughed softly over the phone, the man who asked me how my morning was going, the man who looked weirdly happy just sitting across from me, my chest tightened painfully because none of it matched the story my mother told me, and that made everything worse.“Mia.”I ignored Nikolas and kept pacing.“Mia.”“I’m trying,” I muttered.“You’ve been trying for twenty minutes.”I stopped walking and glared at him slightly.“This isn’t easy you know.”“I know,” he said gently from the bed. “But you need to do it.”I groaned and rubbed my for
Mia's POVI hugged Alan a little tighter than usual once the workshop manager finally handed me my keys back. My car sat just outside looking absolutely perfect. There were no dents, no scratches, no reminder that someone had slammed into it days ago and derailed my entire week. It looked like noth
Mia's POVI arrived home just as the late afternoon sun was beginning to soften, the sky washed into quiet gold. My arms ached slightly as I carried the grocery bags inside. But Zara appeared almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting by the door.“Finally,” she said, taking the bags from my hand
Mia's POVThe next morning, I woke up to soft light filtering through my curtains and the faint, distant hum of the city already awake. For a few seconds, I lay still, staring at the ceiling. Then everything came rushing back, the fact that my car was still sitting in a workshop because a reckless
Mia's POVAlan’s hand stayed at the small of my back as he gently guided me away from the cluster of murmuring guests.“Let’s get you a drink,” he murmured, leaning close so only I could hear him. “You look like you need one.”I let out a breathy laugh. “Is it that obvious?”“Yes,” he said fondly.







