Chapter 160 - Hold me back

''Nic…klaus? ''

Tiana's eyes widened with shock; what was he doing here…?

Her lips trembled but she could not form any words; did he see her crying earlier?

No, he couldn't have come because of that; he didn't care about her that much.

Did he come to tell her not to tell Claire about them? Tiana gripped her bag tightly as her eyes wandered;

Nicklaus panted lightly, staring deeply into her eyes. He didn't know how he found himself here, he only knew he had been so troubled that he excused himself and started walking; until he found himself outside the restroom; and he realized that he had come to look for her.

What was he thinking? He asked himself, his hand running through his hair frustratingly, but just when he decided to go back, she crashed into him. She was looking at him now, with a thousand questions in her eyes but he didn't even know what to say; it was very awkward.

''You… were you… ''

"I'm not going to tell Claire…; '' Tiana interrupted him; her eyes were still lowered and she was a little shaky as she spoke; Nicklaus creased his brows.

''I'm not going to tell her about us, so you don't need to worry. ''

Right, she thought he was here because of Claire. Nicklaus swallowed. He had a thousand things he wanted to talk to her about and that was not even among them. Did she hate him that much?

Tiana waited to hear his reply, but for the longest time, she didn't hear a word from him. She creased her brows and lifted her head to look at him, and her breath hitched when she saw he was gazing at her passionately;

Nicklaus's Adam's apple bobbled and he blinked;

''That was not what I was going to say. '' Tiana's eyes widened in shock;

If he did not come to say that, then what did he want to say?

Tiana's heart started racing as a million thoughts flashed through her mind. She opened her lips to speak but no words could come out.

Nicklaus gulped, his lips thinning. With what she said, he couldn't bring himself to say anything anymore, he felt so weak…

''Are you… '' He paused; Tiana's brows arched as she waited to hear him, her heart racing rapidly;

''Are you really going out with him? ''

Tiana blinked as his words filtered into her ears; his eyes were deep with emotions, but he had pretended so much in the past that she didn't know what to believe anymore.

Why was he asking her? Did he not want her to go out with Liam?

She swallowed;

If he didn't want her to be with another person, then why didn't he come to her all these while?

Why did he even hurt her in the first place?

Tiana exhaled; even though she wanted him badly, and she was jealous of Claire, she wouldn't do anything to sabotage their friendship, her answer would have been different if he had not moved on, but he was with someone now, and that someone was her friend.

''Yes… '' She did her best not to sound pained, but she knew her emotions were in her eyes. 

Why was he asking her that when he had obviously moved on? Why did he even bother when he hurt her and was with the woman he had dumped her for?

Tiana could not put her head around it, everything was so blurred. She didn't even know what to think anymore.

''Why do you ask? You're with another woman now; don't you think this is disrespectful to her? ''

Her brows creased as she was beginning to feel hurt all over again. He had not looked for her all these while, and now they had met coincidentally, he was concerned about the man she was with?

Nicklaus felt a knot in his throat, why did he even ask, when he knew the answer already? And he was just going out with Claire because he wanted to get over her, he didn't love her. 

''Tiana, I… ''

Tiana shook her head; ''I don't think we have anything to talk about, we've both moved on with our lives, I don��t think it'll be nice to dig up old sores. And like I said, I won't tell Claire anything about us, I value the friendship we have. So, if there's nothing else, I would like to go back in. ''

She completed, her hands fisting by her sides. She didn't want to hear anymore, she didn't want to start crying all over. She missed him but she was going to leave it at that. Anything he was going to say was going to hurt and she didn't want that.

Although she said that, deep inside of her, she wanted Nicklaus to stop her and say something, and maybe tell her he was sorry, even though he hurt her, if he was sorry, she would really go to him. At that moment, she was desperate, desperate for him; but sadly; Nicklaus stood there, staring down at her, and not saying anything. Tiana waited still, but he didn't still say a word.

Tiana's eyes clouded and she blinked several times, looking away from him.

She knew he wouldn't stop her. He didn't love her; she was pathetic to think that he would even fight for her. Tiana exhaled a breath and smiled painfully;

''Alright then… I'll be going; you should wait till I'm seated before coming in, so they won't suspect a thing… '' With that, she turned around and walked away. Her heart sunk as tears brewed in her eyes again, she wished he would stop her, but he was just watching her leave. This man, why did she still love him…

Tiana's thoughts were cut short when she felt someone grip her hand and turn her around, her eyes widened but before she could say a word, she was enveloped in a hug.

The world stopped for Tiana, and her eyes bulged out so much that she couldn't breathe. His sweet cologne wafted into her nostrils, making her dizzy, she could hear his heart slamming against her ears and her own beating in the same rhythm.

His arms pulled her closer into him and his breath fanned her neck; Tiana was so shocked that she couldn't think. Why… why was he hugging her? And why was she not pulling away?

Even when she knew it was wrong, and she was betraying her friend, Tiana could not help hugging him back. Her eyes closed, shutting away every atom of reason and just relishing the moment.

God… she missed him, she missed him so much.

''I've missed you, I miss you so much. '' Nicklaus spoke, kissing her hair. Tiana trembled as she hugged him back tightly. She didn't know how much starved she was until this moment, she didn't want to let him go, not for anything in the world!