Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 535

Chapter 535: Nicolai is missing (2)
But this evening, when she was writing a message to Nicolai, her brother walked in her room and in her hurry to close the phone, she ended up sending the message that was never supposed to be sent.

It was a moment of impulse when she saw Nicolai post a picture where he was sitting in his jacuzzi. She did not know why she did it, but in a moment of her jealousy, she ended up sending him a message —

[Have you found a replacement so soon?]

It was pathetic. Ariana agreed that it was simply pathetic on her part, but like she said, she didn’t have the foggiest idea how to move past this—whatever it was called. So she ended up sending the message, and no matter how much she wanted to take it back..

It was too late for that.

So, she could only throw her phone to one side as if it had suddenly grown several legs.

She had been waiting for his response for a while now; if Ariana’s rationality was not intact, she wanted to drive to his penthouse and kick the woman who had taken her place out.

But how dare she do that when she was the one who pushed Nicolai into the arms of others?

He finally replied after six hours; however, this message of his did nothing to help her heart, which had already crumpled to ashes.

[Who is this?]

If anything it had set fire to the remains of her heart.

He might have as well stabbed her in the chest and left her to bleed. Ariana sucked a sharp inhale before typing,

[Sorry, it was a mistake.]

She was about to set the phone back on the floor when it started to vibrate again.

And when she turned it around, Ariana felt her heart thump.

Nicolai was calling her? He was finally willing to talk to her?

She felt her hand tremble and she swore that this didn’t even happen when she realised that she was about to marry Noah.

She swiped up and answered the call.

No sooner did she do that, Nicolai’s furious voice drummed in her ears,

“Ariana–what the fuck…” there was a sharp intake of breath as he lowered his voice and continued, “What do you want from me now?”

Ariana slowed down her breathing as she clasped hold of her phone like she was grasping to her last straw.

“Nicolai…”

“What?” the man snapped but his voice was still controlled. He was obviously angry but he was still controlling his temper for her sake.

“I thought you deleted my number,” she was relieved that he hadn’t done anything like that.

“Who said I didn’t, just tell me what you want and end this call.”

“I am not used to you talking to me in such a tone,” Ariana whispered. “I don’t like it.”

“Do I need to give a fuck about what you want or you like? I told you that we are done. So stay away from me, Ariana.”

“But I don’t want to,” Ariana tried to act the same way as he had once when he started to chase her.

“What did you say?”

“I said that I don’t want to stay away from you.”

There was another sharp exhale. “Then are you going to say anything to your parents?”

When she did not respond at once, Nicolai sucked in a breath and released it.

“Stop bothering me when you are still a coward.”

He ended the call, and Ariana closed her eyes. She blamed herself for being slow. How difficult was it for her to say that she truly missed him? And she would take the risk that he was asking her to.

Was it that difficult?

She went to sleep while holding the phone, imagining that Nicolai was holding her in her strong arms.

The next morning, when she woke up, Ariana expected Nicolai to text her but he didn’t. She felt her heart fall to the bottom of her pit inside of her stomach. She was so tired that she did not even want to get up from her bed and go jogging.

What was the point when Nicolai was not with her?

She could not help but blame Nicolai for making a habit that he was not going to keep. Why did he have to storm in her life like a hurricane if he was only going to leave nothing but ruins behind?

However, she had to put forth a smile and pretend that she was fine. The only problem was that it was not fooling her mother, though Kaylyn Ashford had not spent a day with her, that woman could understand and see through things much more clearly than her.

As soon as she stepped down the stairs, her mother, who was buttering up the toast, smiled at her and asked, “You are not feeling alright, today as well?” Though she was asking, Ariana knew that her mother knew more than she was letting on.

Pressure built behind her eyes as she looked at her mother. Maybe it was a child-to-parent connection or it had something to do with Kaylyn reading the room better than the men of the house, but she knew and perceived things better than others.

“I don’t know,” Ariana sat down on the chair. “What if my notion of being alright is different from others?”

Kaylyn set down the toast in front of her. She took a seat opposite Ariana before saying, “Listen, Ariana. Everyone’s perception is different regarding every single thing. Just because you are alright with something doesn’t mean that others will be fine with it, and just because others find something alright, you don’t necessarily have to agree with it either.”

“What if I disappoint others?” Ariana asked. “I will be honest with you; I have always tried to live my life in my own ways. But every time I take a step forward, I will end up hesitating. I will take back what I have decided and hurt others because I cannot decide what I want.”

“Everyone disappoints someone at some point,” her mother said wisely. “No one is perfect. I know that you had this perception of being perfect drilled in your head, Ari. But I assure you that it’s a myth. I know your father must have said some things to you, but he is the last person you should listen to. When he was young, he had done a lot of things to let his parents down and so have I… I —”

She frowned and added, “I have made some mistakes as well, which had led to some contradictions, but I did what I wanted, or else I will not be here with your father.”

She stretched her hand and touched Ariana’s hands before saying, “I know you are scared with the changes in your life; as much as you don’t want to have expectations from us, you do have a few, and of course we have some as well.”

“But Ariana, remember one thing—it doesn’t matter what you do. I am not Marcie, who is expecting you to do everything according to my decision. Neither is your father. We can tell you, guide you as your parents, but in the end, if you think we are wrong—then you should do what you want.”

“We will be angry with you, but we will never abandon you. No matter what your choice will be in the end, your dad and I will do our best to protect you. Even if you make mistakes, even if you let us down, we will do anything in our power to keep you safe. You don’t have to carry the burden within yourself to please us.”

Ariana smiled at her mother. So this was what it meant to have a family.

She nodded and said, “Thank you…. mother.”

Kaylyn’s eyes brightened when she heard Ariana call her mother but before she could say anything, Ariana’s phone rang and when her daughter swiped up to answer, they heard Aiden’s worried voice,

“Ariana, have you seen Nicolai? He has been missing since last night.”