Trouble in Paradise



Chapter 0570NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

Nicholas' expression was devoid of emotion, his voice chilling like ice.

"No, I want to say this. I know she wants to see you, but more than that, she's scared. I understand that fear-that crushing loneliness that magnifies when you're not there for her. She hasn't been sleeping well, plagued by nightmares and crying nonstop...

He paused briefly before continuing, "Tabitha must be missing you terribly right now."

"Nicholas, are you even human? You're her father too! How can you be so heartless?"

I slapped the umbrella out of his hand, glaring at him with all the hatred I could muster.

The rain intensified. The moment the umbrella hit the ground, the growing puddles shattered our reflections into countless fragments under the relentless downpour.

Nicholas lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. His voice, laced with a faint choke, broke through the rain.

"When I fell behind you, did you care? You didn't give a damn whether I lived or died. So tell me, why should I care? Does it even matter if I do?"

Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders with a force that rattled my very core. "Ariana, tell me does it even matter if I care?"

The pain in my chest was suffocating. I used every ounce of strength to shove him away. "Don't say those things to me!"

Why should I care about him? When I was on the brink of death, who cared about me?

I once thought there was some misunderstanding between us, that we could clear the air. For Tabitha's sake, I was even willing to try and get along with him, or at least fake it.

But reality slapped me in the face. One should never believe that someone's rotten nature could be corrected. Nobody had that kind of power, at least not me.

I refused to waste another word on him. I needed to send that message to Douglas immediately. If it came down to it, I'd fight for Tabitha!

Nicholas caught on to my actions and laughed mockingly. "Go ahead, send your message."

I froze, staring at him in confusion. He looked far too composed as if he didn't care in the slightest about my plan to bring people to take Tabitha away.

*Better call in as many as you can. Then we can have our people clash, guns and blades in the mix, and make a grand scene out of it.

"Your wounded men would then search floor by floor for Tabitha until they break down her door. Let her see everything. I promise it'll leave a mark on her childhood so vivid she'll spend her whole life trying to recover from

it."

Time seemed to freeze. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

My steely gaze rested on Nicholas' face-a face I had once traced countless times with my eyes. I couldn't believe he could speak such cruel words with such a calm expression, especially when they were directed at his own daughter...

"Nicholas, you bastard!"

My entire body trembled with rage. I grabbed his tie, raised my hand, and slapped him hard across the face. His head tilted to the side. The rain-soaked skin of his pale cheek quickly flushed red.

He turned his face, his hand darting out like lightning to grip my jaw. His expression remained indifferent.

"Yes, I'm a bastard, but you forced me to be one. I treated you well, and you wouldn't even look at me. So, I figured I'd try being forceful instead. Maybe I should've done this from the start. As long as you stay by my side, what's wrong with being a bastard? I don't give a damn!"