''That day Liam kidnapped me… he kissed me… ''
Tiana could hear the breezing sound of the heater in the room as the room grew cold and quiet. Nicklaus was leaning on his elbow as she spoke and even though she had not said a word, the terrifying look on his face told her he was not just angry, he was mad.
She shouldn't have told him. She should have just kept it to herself. Damn, were they going to fight now? He just came back to her, she didn't want to fight with him, what did she do?
Tiana's heart raced as she watched him, the quietness in the room becoming unbearable.
''He did what?''
Nicklaus asked, as though he had not heard her. Tiana swallowed hard;
''I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, I was scared and ashamed, I wanted to forget it, but I just find myself remembering it over and over again. '' She looked at him with teary eyes, was he mad at her for keeping it away from him?
She bit her lower lip as her eyes fluttered, why was he not saying anything?
Nicklaus was quiet for the longest time, staring at her with different emotion in his eyes when suddenly; he pulled Tiana to him, and hugged her. Her eyes widened with surprise, was he not angry?
''are you scared of me? '' Nicklaus asked in a calm voice which made her gulp. Tiana shook her head;
''No, I'm not, it's just… I didn't want you to worry, and you were already blaming yourself terribly at that time, I didn't want to make the matter worse by telling you. But as time passed, I realized maybe I should have told you earlier. I'm sorry for keeping it away from you. ''
''Was this why you were so scared? How can I be mad at you for this? '' Nicklaus asked, letting her go and staring into her eyes.
''I'm mad, really mad but not at you. Never; you should have told me; '' he caressed her cheeks with his thumb lovingly;
Tiana looked away; ''I couldn't; felt… dirty… '' She said in a soft tone, loud enough for only him to hear.
''He kissed me Nicklaus, and I couldn't do anything. I watched him laugh at how pitiful I was and all I could do was stare at him, it broke me, I let another man touch me, I felt used. I wanted to kill him myself I promise, but I knew you wouldn't let me go with you. ''
Nicklaus sighed as he held her head with both hands making her look at him;
''You should have told me before I killed him; I would have given him a more befitting death. Now I regret the one shot I gave him; ''
Tiana pouted; ''I'm sorry; ''
Nicklaus stared at her eyes and he saw the sadness in them, he imagined how it felt for her, being vulnerable with that man, watching him kiss her, without being able to do anything, it must have been scary.
''I'm sorry, '' Nicklaus apologized with a heavy voice. ''I'm truly sorry for everything you've gone through because of me, I'm sorry for not being able to protect you. Beautiful, you don't know how much it breaks me to know that you were in so much pain. I wish I can turn back the hands of time, then maybe I'll be able to stop certain things from happening. ''
Tiana shook her head; ''Even though it makes me want to bite my tongue thinking about his face close to mine, I don't regret going through everything that happened, as long as it would bring us here, where we are now.
And I'll go through every single pain again for this moment with you.''
She said with a smile on her chin and Nicklaus pinched her chin; ''you're crazy ''
Tiana laughed; ''yeah, I'm crazy over you. ''
Nicklaus smiled, and he rubbed on the spot he pinched lightly; ''I love you. ''
He said the words with a light crease of his brows as though shocked by how much he actually did love this woman.
''I love you too. '' Tiana raised her hand to his hair and caressed him; they stayed like that for a long while lost in each other's gaze, Nicklaus broke away from her eyes with a smile and he looked to her lips,
''He was very lucky because if you had told me earlier, I would have personally chopped off his lips, so even in his next world, he would not be able to kiss any woman. ''
Tiana laughed at his words, it was funny, but he looked very serious.
''don't worry, it's behind us now, I just wanted to make sure I'm not holding onto anything from the past.''
''Yeah… but I think there's one more thing left. '' He said, his eyes still on her lips. Tiana's brows creased;
''what is left? ''
''The memories, I'm going to make you forget that sad thought of his lips on yours, ''
Tiana chuckled; ''How? '' although it didn't matter if she remembered it, now she had told him about it, she felt a lot better.
''I'll kiss you till you won't remember it anymore. ''
Tiana smiled; ''I don't care about not remembering, but as long as I'm kissing you I'm all in. ''
She grinned pushing him down on the bed; leaning down, sucking on his lower lip;
''I said I'm going to kiss you, not the other way round; '' Nicklaus groaned against her mouth;
Tiana laughed when she felt him flip them over, and he was on top of her. Her eyes lit up at him and when she saw the hunger in his eyes, she grinned;
''This is really going to be a long kiss session. ''
…
''CATHERINE WILLS AND HER SON, LIAM WILLS HAVE BEEN FOUND DEAD IN THEIR HOME!''
Michelle watched the news quietly, her eyes wide with shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Did Douglas kill them too?
No, Douglas was not that stupid, he wouldn't want to implicate himself this way, not after he was almost caught for killing Nicklaus, but that did not matter, did it? This was all to her favor.
She smiled and was about to turn off the television when the channel showed another headline;
''NICKLAUS HOWELLS, ALIVE! ''