Chapter 165 - I love you

Tiana swallowed hard and she tried to glare at him, but her eyes had a mind of its own, instead of glaring, it stared at him puppy-dog-eyed.

''Why did you kiss me? '' She finally found her voice and asked;

''I missed you. '' Nicklaus replied, gazing at her with deep affection written in his eyes and a beautiful smile on his lips;

Even when she didn't want to, Tiana found herself blushing; ''that was not my question; I said why did you kiss me? '' she tried to raise her voice and sound firm but her voice came out breathy and soft as a result of the kiss, she gritted her teeth at her own silliness. She was really helpless in front of this man.

''I love you,'' Nicklaus said again, making Tiana's blush deepen. He smiled and squatted before her, taking her tied hands in his;

''Grandpa lied to you, Beautiful. I never chose to marry Claire. The truth is, he met you first before coming to me, and he told you I had already agreed to the marriage agreement which was only to get you to yield to his demand. And when he finally came to me, he told me you already agreed to leave me.

I was shattered, I couldn't believe it, and so I ran home to you. But when I got here, you were long gone. I couldn't come to you that night because I made a deal with Grandpa to settle in issue in the company within 24 hours, unless the company would be given to my Uncle, Douglas, so I had to work hard to solve the issue because I didn't want to take grandpa's offer.

I came to you right after that, but you didn't want to see me anymore; you said you hated me, and I didn't even know where I went wrong. '' Nicklaus stopped; a smile found its way to his lips as he took her tied hand and kissed them.

Tiana's heart was beating rapidly now as all fluid drained from her face, she found it hard to breathe,

''You…''

''I never stopped loving you Beautiful, and I meant it every time I said it, I knew you doubted me the more because I didn't tell you about my sleep issues; the truth is that I did, but you didn't believe me, I wanted to explain everything clearly to you that night before grandpa broke the news of the disaster at the company and because of that I forgot. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, but I never stopped loving you. Even when you said you hated me, I loved you more. These days without you have been hell for me, I don't know how I survived up till now without you… ''

Tiana shook her head as she tried to connect the dots; if he didn't choose Claire then why was he with her?

''If what you are saying is the truth, how then are you together with Claire? ''

She asked, her brows frowning in confusion.

''I came over to your house a few days ago to see you, I couldn't take the torture anymore so I wanted to put everything behind and ask that we start over, but… when I got there, I found you in the arms of another man. ''

Tiana's eyes widened at his words, she remembered she had hugged Liam a few days ago and she cursed under her breath;

''At that moment, the pain was unbearable, seeing you in the arms of another man… knowing that you could never be with me anymore, I was shattered. Before this, Claire had come to me, and although I didn't love her, I knew I had to let you go. I thought if I got together with another woman, I would forget you, but when I saw you at the gala… Beautiful, I knew, I just knew, there was no escaping from you. I never, even for one second, stopped loving you beautiful. We've been forced apart by some misunderstanding but we can start all over. Please, let's start over, I promise there would be no secrets between us anymore, we can make this work…''

Tiana gulped; everything was happening so fast that she could not even think straight anymore;

''You… don't love Claire? '' She asked, her heart still racing rapidly; she couldn't believe it was possible for someone not to like Claire; she was a complete package, perfect in all ramifications.

Nicklaus shook his head; ''I've fallen for only one person in this universe and that is you, beautiful. ''

''Did you… kiss? '' her voice trembled, as though she was afraid of what his reply would be, he might not have fallen for her, but he might have kissed her.

Nicklaus kissed her hands again; ''Beautiful, we haven't done any of those things; I have only talked to her and nothing more. ''

Tiana's smiled a little, and looked down on her hands;

''I hugged him because I was so vulnerable, I just got to know that you were dating Claire, and I needed someone to cry to, I couldn't take the pain, so I called him. I'm not going out with him yet, we just wanted to know if it would work between us, and that hug, that is the most intimate way I have been with him. I'm sorry, I should have trusted you more, I should have asked you, but I was scared. I was so scared of what you would say. I was scared that you would tell me you just used me to my face, I knew I couldn't take the pain, so I didn't ask. I'm so sorry… '' Her eyes clouded with tears, as she remembered all the hurtful words she had said to him that night. She couldn't imagine how broken he must have felt.

Nicklaus cupped her cheeks with both hands, shaking his head ''No, you don't have to apologize, it was not your fault, Beautiful, it was not your fault, maybe everything happened for a reason. We should let the past go now, and look on the brighter side, okay? '' his eyes searched hers as though looking for answers; Tiana nodded;

''Okay, God, I missed you, so so much, it was unbearable!'' She cried and lifted her hands to touch him but realized she was still tied;

''Oh; '' Nicklaus exclaimed when he saw her tied hands, and he undid it quickly.

Tiana wrapped her arms around him and kissed him all over the face; ''I love you, so much! Do you know how hard it was for me without you? '' She cried as she kissed him, her hands slid up to his thick hair and she pulled.

''I'm sorry, I won't let anyone or anything come between us again, I promise. ''

Nicklaus reassured, pecking her lips, she pulled him closer and deepened the kiss, kissing him like she was starved because she actually was. She had dreamt of kissing him like this, a countless number of times and now she was doing it, she couldn't get enough. Her hands hugged him tight as she continued to suck on him like he was her last breathe. Nicklaus groaned as he stood up halfway, making her lie on the couch, and he straddled her, all the while their lips not breaking.