Chapter 154 - Letting go

Tiana took in a deep breath caressing her temples; she couldn't even think straight;

'' don't worry, you can think about it, okay? I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend; I'm just asking that you give me a chance to be close to you, to help you heal. ''

This was too much for one day; Tiana felt dizzy all of a sudden;

She steadied herself before opening her eyes;

''Liam, I'll think about it and get back to you, can we go now?''

She asked, already tired and overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

''Sure; ''Liam spoke standing up and taking her hand, aiding her to stand erect.

When he was sure she was steady, they walked out of the park.

Tiana didn't speak for once throughout the journey home. She was in deep thoughts. 

Liam was right, Nicklaus was already seeing someone else, there was no need waiting for him.

Her throat tightened as realization dawned on her;

Even though she had refused to accept that she had been waiting for him to come back, right now at that moment, she realized it was the reason she was still sad after all, she had been earnestly and stupidly waiting for him. But there was no need to wait anymore; he had moved on, she should move on too.

Tiana took in a deep breath.

Letting go of Adrian was not half as hard as this. Why was Nicklaus different?

''You live alone? ''

Liam asked as he stopped in front of her house; Tiana looked towards the house and shook her head;

''I live with my sister, but she's in New York now. ''

''Oh, okay. ''

He replied and stepped out to the other side, helping her out.

'' don't cry anymore, okay? ''

He consoled; gazing tenderly at her;

Tiana nodded; ''Thank you for today, I really appreciate it. ''

''You don't need to thank me, what are friends for?''

Liam smiled and Tiana pursed her lips;

''Make sure to lock your doors, and switch off your lights okay? ''

Tiana nodded; ''Okay. I'll be going in now, drive safely. ''

''Mm… '' Liam replied but he did not move from in front of her;

Tiana raised her eyes to him curiously, wondering why he was still not moving;

''You… do you perhaps need a hug? ''

Liam asked boldly and Tiana's eyes widened; then she looked to her feet;

Liam acted like he was calm and patient, and he spoke like he was not pushy, but she felt that he was so forward with his actions. Saying one, and doing the other.

But at that moment, she wasn't even thinking about all these; the only thing on her mind was the fact that she was going to dream about Nicklaus that night.

Maybe, just maybe if she hugs him, Nicklaus would not torment her dreams.

''You shouldn't if you don't want to; I felt you might want a hug, so I offered… ''

Before Liam could complete his words, Tiana closed the gap between them and enveloped him in a hug.

His words caught in his throat, and he looked at the woman in his arms, after a few seconds he hugged her back.

Tiana shut her eyes as his scent wafted into her nostrils.

He smelt nice, his body was warm, but… but it was not Nicklaus's.

With Nicklaus, she felt she belonged there, when she hugged him, her world stopped, their hearts would beat at the same rhythm and she wouldn't want to let go, but with Liam, she didn't feel all of these things. She wasn't drunk with his scent, neither did she feel like this was the right thing to do, at that moment, the only thing on her mind was to break free from his hold.

In the next second, Tiana let him go and looked up to him with a small smile;

''Thank you, I'll be going in now. ''

She smiled and turned quickly to her house, not waiting for his reply. Liam watched her enter her house and lock the door before he entered his car and drove away.

But what none of them knew was that there was someone standing afar off, watching them.

…

Nicklaus drove slowly down Tiana's street, his mind filled with different thoughts. He wasn't sure if she would want to see him, but he still needed to try to talk things out. He didn't care who was at fault, in fact, he would take the blame for everything; these past days without her in his life had been hell.

Nicklaus parked his car a few meters away from her house and stepped down; his heart raced as he walked slowly towards her house, organizing his words in his head.

What if she didn't want to hear him out? What if she slammed the door to his face…''

Nicklaus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the figures in front of Tiana's house. Even if he was asleep, he knew Tiana's figure, but the man by her side…

His brows creased as he watched them talk but he could not hear what they were saying, since he was far from them.

Suddenly, Tiana closed the gap between her and the man, hugging him tightly.

Nicklaus felt the world around him stop and his heartbeat slowly till he could barely hear it anymore;

His face paled and his eyes darkened; he watched the sight in front of him for some seconds before he pulled his gaze away, it was too painful to watch.

Nicklaus felt his heart squeeze so much that his feet nearly gave way.

He couldn't keep standing there, at that moment, he felt he didn't belong there, and the only thing on his mind was to turn around and leave as fast as he could.

Nicklaus did not breathe until he was inside his car; his head fell on his steering and he shut his eyes, pictures of what he had just seen appearing behind his eyes;

He was having sleepless nights and mourning over a woman who had moved on.

Did she ever love him?

Nicklaus asked himself; he didn't believe her when she said it that day, he didn't want to believe that she didn't even have an atom of love for him, but right now, his hopes were dashed, thoroughly.

He had held onto the last string of hope that she could come back to him, but right now, seeing her in the arms of another man, he knew it was no longer possible; it was time he let her go.