Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 548

Chapter 548: A terrifying night
Hours passed by, and when Ariana returned home, it was already past midnight. She hoped that no one was awake and even if they were, they wouldn’t catch her sneaking inside the house.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to return soon but since she had promised Nicolai that she was going to stay, Ariana had no other choice but to stay with him.

“Do you really have to go back now?” Nicolai muttered. Even though she had spent the entire day with him, the man was still as clingy as he was when she went to the penthouse.

Ariana sighed. She glanced at the man and said to him in a helpless voice, “Of course. I stayed with you the entire day and now I need to sleep or else I will not be able to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

“You could have slept with me just fine,” Nicolai told her and Ariana rolled her eyes.

“You said the same thing three hours ago before you pulled me on the bed for the fourth time.”

Her waist was about to crumble; she knew that it was humanly impossible but with Nicolai, Ariana had a feeling that this man was very capable of doing such a thing.

Nicolai flashed her a grin before saying, “It’s not my fault that you are so irresistible.”

As he spoke, he leaned down and kissed her again. Ariana closed her eyes and sighed in contentment as he kissed her.

For some reason, his scent and touch had a calming effect on her. Though she was prone to self-loathing, her thoughts turned quiet for the moment when she was with him.

He gave her the release that she so desperately needed.

Focus.

“I will see you tomorrow, Nicolai,” she pulled away from him and pushed him back with her forefinger pressed on his forehead.

Nicolai pouted but this time around, she did not fall for it. Because she knew that if she did, then it would result in them stripping naked and rolling around in a tangled mess of limbs.

Though she loved his touches, Ariana knew the limits of her body.

She stepped out of the car and waited for Nicolai to drive away; once he was gone, she stepped inside the elevator and headed to the penthouse.

When she stepped inside the house, she ran into Penelope, who was standing in the kitchen, drinking warm milk.

This woman was the last person Ariana wanted to run into at the moment, especially after finding out the cruel things she had done. Ariana decided to ignore the woman altogether and walked past her.

“How shameless…”

Penelope commented as she looked at Ariana, who returned home at one in the morning. “Do you not understand such a simple thing that after returning to this family, you need to watch your actions?”

She eyed Ariana as if the woman was still beneath her and she was the true heiress of the Ashford family before saying to her, “Or do you think that you can do whatever you want now?”

Ariana turned and looked at Penelope, who was yet to let go of her arrogance, which didn’t suit someone who had taken her place and enjoyed the life that belonged to her. It was shamelessness of such a kind that Ariana found it hard to digest as it was too despicable.

She smiled at the woman while looking at her dull green eyes before saying,

“Penelope,” she cut through the pride that Penelope carried just like how Nicolai sliced her skin. “I believe you were punished quite heavily for throwing such unwarranted accusations the last time?”

She then stepped forward and stated in a cold voice, “Not to mention, I am an adult and I have a job, unlike you who have been pampered by taking and using the position that belongs to me—I had to work hard. I believe that I do not need to explain to you why and where I was?”

Penelope’s eyes set ablaze with fire. She stepped forward and with her nostrils flaring, she said to Ariana, “How dare you?” As the battle of glares intensified, she questioned, “How dare you speak to me in such a manner? Do you really think that you can compare your meagre self with me? Do you even know who I am?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Ariana questioned back with a raise of her brows. “Meagre self? You really dare say such words after taking the life that should have belonged to me? I don’t know who you are but I do know that you are the daughter of a thief and a liar.”

“What do you mean?” Penelope clenched her fingers.

“What else?” Ariana smiled at her question. “Your mother treated me so harshly. She used me as if I were her slave instead of treating me as her daughter. Do you not think it’s a bit too weird? Unless she knew that I was not her daughter, then nothing else would explain why she treated me in the way she did when she was alive.”

Penelope didn’t like the fact that Ariana was bringing up the points that she did not want to admit or think about. She warned the woman, “Don’t go around making assumptions without a cause. Just because my family favours you now, doesn’t mean that they will do the same in the future. Recklessness is often the cause of great demise.”

“Maybe,” Ariana’s smile widened as she stated, “but if what you said is true, then the one who will fall first would be you. Mister Ashford was right when he told you that it was my mercy that allowed you to stay in this family. I will suggest that you do not use the little pity that I have for you.”

“Savour the alms that I have left in your care instead of running through them so quickly.”

Ariana walked past Penelope, who gritted her teeth and hurled the glass of milk on the floor. Damn it! Damn it all! She was going to make this woman pay for running her mouth like such!