22 What were you doing there?

There was no smile on his face, his face was cold as ever and she knew he was angry; her eyes slowly fell to her already jittery legs.

''What were you doing there?''

He asked, taking small steps towards her, his eyes fixated on her;

Tiana's heart beat fast as she watched him approach, when he was almost close to her, she started stepping back, she inched backwards until her back was against the door; he was a few inches away from her now, and she was finding it hard to breathe. His fresh breath fanned her face, and she didn't know why she was suddenly feeling sleepy in that serious situation;

''Do you have hearing issues, or are your lips sealed? ''

His eyes narrowed, and he asked with an irritated tone. Tiana gulped down hard and she felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead; she knew she was in big trouble now.

''I'm sorry. After keeping the flask… I saw pictures hanging on the wall and went to look. '' She answered soberly; there was nothing she would do to evade his wrath, so the best was to brace herself for it.

Nicklaus paused and his eyes turned to the parlor and he knew what she was looking at;

''So, have you satisfied your curiosity? ''

He turned to her, his jaws clenched; Tiana could see anger flash through his eyes and she wished she never came up.

''I'm sincerely sorry for invading your privacy, if you would let me go this time; I promise it won't happen again… ''

If she left there alive, she would never step her feet into that room again without his permission, no matter the consequence; her lips thinned into a straight line, she was almost pale from how fearful she was.

Nicklaus stared at her trembling form without saying a word; ordinarily he would have punished her by locking her up in the dark room and starve her till she thinned out but he didn't know why he just couldn't bring himself to. It was as though something else was controlling his mind. He was not one who forgave or listened to pleas but he just couldn't do anything to the woman standing in front of him;

After watching her for a moment, he turned around and walked away;

''Leave… ''

He said, but Tiana did not hear him correctly; so she asked;

''Uh? ''

''I said, get out!! ''

He screamed and in the next second Tiana was scooting away from his room, her heart in her mouth;

She didn't breathe until she was safely downstairs, back inside her room. She was this close to being punished; if she knew that he was in there, she would never have gone up. After what just happened, she would not enter there ever again without his permission, whether he was in there or not!

''Adrian… ''

''Tiana, I've missed you. ''

She heard him say, his voice low.

''I've missed you too, Adrian. ''

She knew it was unfair to him to wait for her like this, she felt a tug on her heart and it was a little hard to breathe;

There was silence on the other side for a moment;

''Tiana, can you come home? I want to see you. ''

Adrian asked with a sober tone that was hard to refuse; she knew she had annoyed Nicklaus, and it was crazy to go ask for permission from him to leave the mansion;

What was she going to do?

She thought for a while, she didn't want to say no to him, she would have find a way.

''I'll try my best, but if I can't make it, I'll let you know. ''

She explained;

''Thank you, I'll be waiting for you, I love you. ''

''Love you too. ''

Tiana ended the call and dropped her phone on the bed, she thought for a while, then she stood up and walked towards the window, shifting the curtain; she peeped outside;

Nicklaus's guards were already getting his car ready, which meant that he would soon leave, if she could sneak out of the estate and return before he came home, then there would be no problem,

Problems will arise only if she gets caught. But how would she leave the gates without getting caught?

Suddenly, a thought came into her mind and she looked at the three cars that were waiting for him; there were three guards, which meant that each guard would drive a car;

Nicklaus would obviously use the one in the middle, if she could get herself into the last one and leave the house, then she could find her way from there;

She smiled at her risky but wonderful thought; turning around, she grabbed her phone and hopped out of her room;

Her heart raced as she walked out of the front porch; the angry looking guards were standing still, waiting for their boss.

Her gaze swept through them as she turned right and pretended as though she was walking to the garden;

She didn't know how much longer he would take so she needed to act fast; she walked around the cars to the other side; her palms were becoming sweaty; this was the first time she had tried something as stealthy as this!

She wasn't even considering the fact that she could get caught or the repercussions that could come with it!

The guards were facing the house, so they couldn't see her, and except the door makes a sound, she could get herself safely into it.

One

Two

Three…

Tiana counted to three, and she immediately tiptoed to the car as fast as she could; bending low, she quietly opened the back door and entered it, closing it quietly after her.

'So Close!'

Tiana gasped within her; she didn't think she could be that brave!

A triumphant smile warmed her features as she celebrated her victory.

But something she did not know was that someone had watched her every move.