"No need, we’re barely more than strangers. Anything to discuss can be handled over the phone," I said, showing no interest in seeing Nick.
Yet, Nick was persistent. "Let’s et up. We may not be close, but we’re friends. I was planning to visit my ex, Nicole’s hotown, but your actions have caused to stay and deal with the fallout here."
I wasn’t particularly surprised by his words until he ntioned visiting Nicole. My emotions were stirred, "Why are you visiting her when you’ve broken up? Haven’t you hurt Nicole enough, Nick?"
I didn’t particularly like Nicole. I was just comnting on Nick’s past actions which were, frankly, appalling.
To my surprise, Nick just chuckled, revealing no remorse. "I had no choice. I wanted to break up but she kept clinging on. You must’ve figured it out by now, the one I truly fancied was Ariel."
Now that Damon was out of the picture, Nick was showing his true colors, unabashedly.
What a peculiar man Damon was. His friends had this knack for cruelty. Birds of a feather, I suppose.
"So, what’s the point of visiting her now?" I countered.
Nicole had helped in the end. I had convinced her to stay back in her hotown. If Nick was going to cause her trouble, I felt sowhat responsible.
Nick’s voice suddenly turned venomous. "Haven’t her wrongdoings piled high enough? How can I swallow this injustice if I don’t confront her?"
"You’re referring to her helping , aren’t you?" I felt a sense of impending danger, wondering if Nick had co to abroad to seek revenge. After all, I was the reason Ariel was exposed and now serving a life sentence.
"No, I understand why you did what you did. I am reasonable. But Nicole shouldn’t have done what she did. She claid to love and she was Ariel’s friend. She shouldn’t have betrayed us", Nick’s logic was astounding.
No wonder he fancied Ariel. Their worldviews were equally twisted.
But hadn’t he and Ariel betrayed Nicole first?
I was too tired to listen to Nick any longer. I was about to hang up and warn Nicole, leaving the rest of the situation to sort itself out.
But as if sensing my intentions, Nick quickly said, "Ms. Brooks, don’t hang up. If I can find your contact info, I can find your ho too."
His words sent chills down my spine. My kids, Serena and Brandon, were at ho. If that madman Nick ca looking, they could be in danger.
"Where do you want to et? Let’s settle everything once and for all," I reluctantly agreed.
"I’ll send you an address. How about 9 PM?" Nick sounded pleased.
–"Whatever," I replied, hanging up.
Nick soon texted the address. I was in a somber mood, wondering why my peaceful life in abroad was still being disrupted by all these issues.
That afternoon, I was distracted. If my negotiations with Nick didn’t go well, would he co to my house?
I left the house around 8 PM after Serena and Brandon were asleep, leaving them under Norah’s care. As I was about to leave, I saw Jones’s car. He had just co back from work, dressed in a simple white tee and jeans, looking exceptionally handso under the streetlights.
"Where are you off to this late?" Jones asked, striding over.
"Nick is in abroad," I said, cutting to the chase. "We have so issues to resolve, and he has asked to et him
"He’s in Abroad?" Jones furrowed his brows. "How do you know?"
It seed Nick hadn’t been in touch with Damon or Jones for a while, as neither of them was aware of his presence in Abroad.
"You’ve heard about the recent hullabaloo at a photo studio, haven’t you?" I asked.
"I haven’t been following, but my colleagues ntioned it. Does it involve you?" Jones didn’t pay much attention to the outside world, especially when he was busy with work.
"Yes, I was the one who exposed it," I nodded. "And the main shareholder of the studio is Nick. He sohow got a hold of my number and wants to et, or else he’ll co to my house."
Jones’s expression darkened when he heard Nick might co to my house.
"Really? I’ll co with you," he offered after a few seconds.
"No need, I’ll go alone. He probably wants to et just . If you co, it might jeopardize our negotiation," I shook my head. Although it would be risky for , I was more worried about my family’s
safety.
But Jones insisted. He got into the passenger seat as I was about to drive off, leaving puzzled. "What are you doing?"
"Do you really think I can stand by knowing you’re in danger?" Jones looked at , his eyes gleaming.
"I know you’re worried about , but I’m just as concerned that Nick might not take too kindly to you tagging along." A cloud of worry hung over my face. Ever since the kids ca into the picture, I’ve had twice the number of vulnerabilities. It’s not like I can just uproot and move, can I?
If Nick is indeed after , with his eccentric personality, he’d probably track down no matter where I’d relocate to.
Damon and Jones, cunning as they may be, at least had so semblance of moral compass and logic that wasn’t warped like Nick’s.
"I won’t be directly in his line of sight, just around your vicinity. You can call on anyti," Jones’s voice was like a soothing balm, giving a sense of ease.
With my parents not here, he seems to be the only one I can turn to for advice.
No one knew what Nick desired to discuss specifically, and how he intended to do so. In case sothing went awry, Jones would be there to locate imdiately.
When we arrived at our eting spot, the clock struck nine.
Nick was already waiting for .
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