Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 414

Chapter 414: In the end: Its him
“M—Mister Patrick?” Ari stared at the man who stood in front of her with a slight furrow between her brows. “How may I help you?”

The man looked down at her, Ari wasn’t small. In fact, among many women, she was taller than most. However, in front of Patrick and his mountainous build, she fell short.

With his hands clasped in front, Patrick looked at Ari with a small smile playing on his lips. “Nico sent me here with a small message for you. He asked me to tell you that he will be expecting you in his penthouse tonight —as per the arrangements that the two of you have set earlier.”

“Of course, if you don’t want to, then he asked you to forget those terms,” he added swiftly when Ari opened her mouth to speak. Ari raised her head and looked at Patrick, who continued smiling at her.

There was this glint in his eyes and Ari asked, “There is a catch, isn’t there?”

“Nothing like that,” Patrick shook his head. “He only said that if you refuse, then let it be the end of this —whatever the fuck, you can call it.”

That did sound like Nico. No explanation, no excuses for why he had been missing for weeks after weeks. Just straight-up passing childish demands.

Either do it his way or do it her own way at her own risk.

Ari pursed her lips, her eyes flickered to the entrance of the arena where the cheers of the crowd were getting louder and louder.

“So what will it be?” Patrick asked like a God of choices, the smile playing on his lips was really wicked as he peered down at her.

“I—”

***

Once the fight finished, Nicolai was a mess, but not any more than Zayden. With his anger getting the best of him, Nicolai had absolutely destroyed his cousin. The crowd was cheering madly, his supporters were wild with glee as they cheered his name.

Many women called for him, their hands touching his bare skin as he walked past the ropes and the small corridor that led to the backstage.

But their touches didn’t do shit. Nothing at all.

If it had been Ari, his skin would have exploded with heat the second her breath skimmed over him.

Don’t fucking think about her.

Nicolai glanced at Patrick who stood on the side of the ring, if Ari had agreed to his request, then Patrick was supposed to be driving her there. Since he was here, and she wasn’t — it only meant that she picked the latter half of the deal.

She had walked away and left him behind.

Why wouldn’t she? What did he even have when compared to those preppy bastards?

He knew he should be feeling relieved. He fucking should as this was what he wanted, but Nicolai didn’t feel better.

With his feet striding past the crowd, he stormed inside the locker room, his shoulder was tensed, and his throat was working furiously. Snatching a bottle of water from the bench, he drowned it before hurling it against the locker.

Every breath, every swallow, every freaking thing —it was cutting his inside, right where his heart lay. The blood seemed to seep from every cut on his heart and swirled right up to his head.

Whenever he lost his temper—he had ways to regain it back but this time it might have as well got lost in La La Land because Nicolai couldn’t even find either the head or tail of it.

Get the fuck out! He slammed his fists on the locker, creating two heavy dents on its door. And yet, the excruciating pain was not enough to make the rage in his heart stop.

Why? Why didn’t she choose him? If she had—if only she had—

Why them and not him? Why not him?

A flicker of sharp blue caught his eyes and Nicolai picked up the phone that was lying on the bench. As he tapped on his skin, he noticed a string of messages displayed on the screen.

Every single one of them was from his Pallas.

[Ari: If you had something to say, then you should have come straight to me. I don’t know what you are trying to do after disappearing on me for weeks, but I will be waiting for you at the penthouse.]

[Ari: I am not going with Patrick, he spooks me out. When I agreed, he looked at me like he knew something, did you tell him anything?]

She didn’t send anything after that, but there was a ding and —

[Ari: I am here.]

Ah, fucking fuck.

Fucking hell.

Fuck Him.

She didn’t leave—she didn’t leave him. Nicolai slid down until he was half crouching on the floor.

Of course with the fucked up state, he should be avoiding her, but Nicolai knew he couldn’t, she was so freaking irresistible.

He might as well get her blood tested, for he needed to know what kind of magic she cast on him.

*******

‘Maybe I need to leave.’

Ari thought for the thirteenth time as she looked around the empty penthouse. After she arrived here, she felt a bit uncomfortable. Even to her, she thought and believed she resembled a bit of a clingy —pathetic lover.

Nicolai had left her alone for weeks, had gone MIA —and yet, the second he called her, asking to have the so-called deal done, she had hopped on a taxi and came straight to the penthouse.

She didn’t even demand an answer for his absence.

‘Because that’s what I am here for,’ thought Ari to herself. ‘I just want to know what that man is thinking and why he avoided me.’

‘Liar,’ tittered the voice in her head.

She suppressed that voice and uncomfortably shifted on the couch. Her breath echoed in the silent living room, like a caged beast too scared to venture anywhere but its safe corner.

Her eyes flickered around the modern, slick and polished penthouse. Everything was perfect —which only meant that this space was unused by Nicolai.

As that man was anything but perfect.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and noticing the time, Ari sighed. What was she even doing here?