Chapter 158 - Torture

Tiana's lips parted slightly and she exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her lashes fluttered over her eyes that were already stinging with tears.

''Tiana, I didn't know you were coming? Oh, who is he? ''

Claire's eyes shifted to Liam and she smiled brightly;

Tiana gulped, pulling her eyes away from Nicklaus quickly and looking at Claire, but before she could reply, Liam answered;

''I'm Liam, Tiana's boyfriend. '' He said, pulling Tiana closer to him;

Tiana's eyes widened at Liam's reply, and her gaze shifted to Nicklaus, he was still talking to the couple, but she was sure that if he was paying attention, he would have heard Liam.

She didn't know why she was feeling bad that Liam said he was her boyfriend, obviously, Nicklaus was dating Claire now, why was she feeling guilty?

''Uh, Tiana, you didn't tell me about him, he's very handsome and… '' Claire stopped and tilted her head to the side; 'why do I feel he looks like… '' she turned to look at Nicklaus who was now coming to her;

''Oh dear! I was just thinking about you now, this is my friend Tiana, she's a model and this is her boyfriend, I don't know, but the two of you have a resemblance, are you related or something? ''

Claire asked with a sweet smile on her chin; she was still checking Liam and Nicklaus out and she didn't notice the prolonged daze Nicklaus and Tiana were in.

Tiana gripped her chair so hard that she felt her fingers break against it. Her heart slammed against her chest and she could hear their drumming in her ears, she wanted to pull her gaze away but her eyes, against her will remained transfixed in his smoldering ones. Even when he was not very close to her, his familiar and intoxicating scent still made her hazy. Tiana's eyes clouded lightly, but just when they were about to become noticeable, she turned to Claire.

''Do they? '' She swallowed, her dry throat hurting much more than she had expected, she wished she did not agree to Liam's request to be his date. At that moment, all her suppressed emotions had jumped out of the cage she had locked them in and she wasn't sure if she would be able to control herself for long.

''Yea, they do look alike. Nicklaus, are you guys related? ''

Claire asked, oblivious of the tension between the three of them.

Nicklaus, who was gazing at Tiana turned to Liam, he was about to say 'no' when suddenly, his brows creased, there was a striking resemblance between his father and this man, and his initial 'no' hung in his throat.

Liam smiled as though relaxed, but his heart was beating fast, the last thing he wanted was for Nicklaus to notice him, but he had just walked into the lion's den; ''Now I finally meet the man whom everyone has rumored I look like; it's nice to meet you, Nicklaus Howells, I'm Liam Anderson. ''

Liam lied, stretching out his hand for a shake; he never thought he would meet Nicklaus. He thought that Nicklaus wouldn't be attending the event since he had been absent from events for a long while. His name was Liam Wills, but he had told Nicklaus Liam Anderson in order to ease his suspicion but he wasn't sure if it would work.

Shit! It would be horrible if his mother found out.

It would have been better if he had come to the gala with another woman, but no, standing right there with him was Nicklaus's ex, that alone would pull his attention to him and now with the facial similarities between the both of them, he was sure Nicklaus wouldn't let it go.

Shit! This was so bad!

Nicklaus observed Liam for a moment before he nodded;

''Nice to meet you; '' he shook his hand briefly, his eyes still staring at Liam intently;

''Oh, and I'm Tiana, Claire's friend. '' Tiana did her best not to sound shaky as she raised her hand to Nicklaus for a shake, but she couldn't help the painful dryness of her throat, but then, she did her best to conceal it. He had not changed one bit, he even looked like he had been doing great, and it hurt.

It hurt that this was the reality_ he never loved her. It hurt that while she was heartbroken and crying; he had moved on effortlessly. And it hurt more because he was with her friend and she would be forced to see him again, and again.

But she was happy for Claire, even though he had crushed her heart to pieces; he made Claire happy so she would not ruin it for her. Claire was a good person, and if Nicklaus was who she wanted, then so be it.

Nicklaus's gaze moved to Tiana, and they fell on her outstretched hand; then as though he was really meeting her for the first time, he raised his hand and shook her.

''I'm Nicklaus Howells, it's nice to meet you. ''

Tiana forced a smile and quickly retraced her hand; if she held him a little longer then she would not be able to control the tears brewing behind her lids.

''So you both are not related then, it's rare to see such striking resemblance between two unrelated people. '' Claire continued mindlessly;

Nicklaus's gaze stirred to Liam again and Liam forced a smile and tried to appear normal but he knew Nicklaus had already suspected something, and it was not going to be good.

''Alright, since we are all here, let's sit. ''

Claire spoke, sitting down first and waving Nicklaus over.

Tiana gulped; just when she thought she was going to be relieved of her suffering;

God, how was she going to survive with staring at Nicklaus through the night without breaking?

Liam held Tiana's chair for her to sit and then he sat down after her. Nicklaus hesitated a little before sitting. Tiana made sure not to look at him again; she wasn't sure of her stability if she did. She knew she missed him, but she didn't know to what extent until that moment. That moment when every cell in her body ached to touch him, to hug him, but she couldnt. She didn't have the right to anymore, he belonged to someone else. At that moment, Tiana knew true torture.