16 His heart skipped a bea

''Now, time for my magic hand! '' the man exclaimed with a small smile as he rubbed his palm together;

Tiana sat on a seat as he worked, he first of styled her hair before working on her face; the smile on his face vanished as he worked; he was quick but meticulous and when he was through he shifted away from the mirror for her to see herself;

''Wow! '' Tiana couldn't help but exclaim; she looked breathtaking.

''Yeah, that's my skills, baby! ''

The lady stood up from the sofa and smiled when she saw Tiana's face;

''Well, I'm not surprised; she's a beauty to start with. Now, let's get you into your gown and heels; we have less than thirty minutes to go. ''

The lady said as she picked her gown from the bed and the man excused them; Tiana wore the dress, and the lady fastened the straps to the back;

When the man applied her makeup, she had selected some jewelry for her; so she took out the diamond necklace, earrings, and bracelet and helped Tiana with it.

After that, she helped her put on the shoes;

''Whew! You look ravishing! '' She exclaimed;

''Thank you '' Tiana said with a faint smile. If only she knew how much she didn't want to be there.

''Okay, this is your purse, it goes with the jewelry. '' The lady said as she gave her a diamond purse. Tiana wondered how much everything would cost; the rich were just so extravagant.

''Oh, it's barely five minutes; I'll go check if he's here. He says he'll be here by six, just wait a minute. ''

The lady said and rushed out of the room, but as she opened the door, she saw the makeup artist standing there, about to knock;

''Oh sorry, he's here; he says we should bring you out. ''

Tiana inhaled deeply when she heard what he said; this was the first time she would be in the same car with him, in the same space with him! She didn't know if she could withstand his frosty aura.

Taking silent steps, she walked out of her room;

Some maids were standing around, but when they saw her, all eyes turned to her; she was a sight to behold. Some wondered if she became his mistress because of her beauty.

Nicklaus was standing beside his brilliant black Lamborghini Aventador; he wore a royal blue blazer with a black shirt over a black slim-fit suit trouser, his shirt had two buttons unhooked revealing some portions of his tattoo; he was on a call and he had his back turned to the house; when he finished the call, he turned around to know what was keeping the lady; then he saw her;

He watched her approach him, his eyes transfixed, unable to pull away, but just when she raised her eyes to look at him, he looked elsewhere. Immediately, he opened the driver's side and got in; a guard standing beside hurried over to the other side and opened the door for Tiana; she shot him a little smile, and she got into the car; after the guard had closed the car; Nicklaus zoomed off, not saying a word to her.

Tiana held onto her purse tightly as he drove onto the road; there was not a single sound in the car, not even the sound of music; everything was just black, black like his devilish soul. She wondered how someone would feel so secure with so much darkness around him.

Having nothing to do, she began counting the trees as they passed by; she needed something to take her mind away from the suffocating air in the car;

Suddenly, Nicklaus swerved to a low valley and parked; Tiana looked around and there were no houses there, just grasses and little trees; she turned towards him with a little frown, wondering why he had stopped.

Nicklaus put on the light in the car and turned to look at her; this was the first time he had really looked at her, she was so beautiful and innocent; her skin was flawless, he couldn't believe that she had been living with him for over a week and he was just noticing how beautiful she was;

Tiana blinked nervously as she became uncomfortable with his stare; she immediately looked away from him; her gesture made him come back to himself, he immediately pushed away those thoughts;

He was someone who never harbored such thoughts; he had seen beautiful women, there was nothing special about her.

''I'm taking you to meet my extended family and I'll like you to know that my extended family consists of other nuclear families but not all of them are nice so you shouldn't be friends with everyone.'' He paused for a moment;

''Now these are the rules;

When we get to the house; I want you to act like we are a thing, do you understand? ''

Nicklaus asked, his brows creased a little; Tiana nodded immediately; although she could not possibly act like she was a thing with that demon of a man, she had no choice but to nod.

Nicklaus paused for a moment, then he took out his tablet; the first picture was that of an old man;

''This is my grandfather, and this is my grandmother '' He said swiping across the screen;

''This is Elizabeth and her husband; '' Elizabeth is my father's sister,

You should be nice to these people, now any other person you see there, without my permission, do not have any conversation with them, is that understood?''

Tiana nodded; Nicklaus stared at her for a moment before he dropped the tablet and started the engine again;

Tiana was confused; he just showed her those four people, so what of his parents? Were they his enemies too? ''

She wanted to ask, but she kept her questions to herself. They weren't close enough for her to ask such questions.