Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 576

Chapter 576: One step closer to the vault
Nicolai had never been one to freak out. He had, in fact, hardly ever freaked out unless his mother was missing from her bed in the middle of the night.

Though she had stopped doing it ever since she understood what it did to him.

From then on, Nicolai stopped having sudden bursts of panic. So imagine his surprise when he woke up and found the side of the bed where Ariana slept cold and empty.

At first, he thought that the woman might have left him and gone back home, but Nicolai shook his head and rejected that notion. Ariana might be many things but she was not a deserter; if she was going to leave, she would have told him that she was leaving.

He slipped down the bed and wore the bedroom slippers before walking to the bathing room. He stopped in front of the door and knocked on it. “Pallas, are you in there?”

There was no response from inside, which meant that she wasn’t here.

Nicolai’s frown deepened and he stepped out of the room before heading to the kitchen.

Though he didn’t know why, Ariana was careful about her cooking to the point of being called neurotic. She was an amazing cook and yet she would measure even the last grain of salt if possible, as if it would change the taste of the dish.

Not to mention, once she decided the menu of breakfast, lunch, or dinner—whatever it was, she would rather let go of her comfort and prepare everything instead of changing the menu that she had decided on.

Sometimes he wondered why Ariana was so fixated on such little things.

While lost in his thoughts, Nicolai arrived at the kitchen but didn’t see Ariana. Don’t tell him that she really left him without telling him.

He took out his phone and called her, not because he wished to question her but because he was worried that something might happen to her. The second he called her, the sound of ringing echoed from the second floor.

Frowning, Nicolai turned his head up and walked up the stairs once again before heading to the guest room. Ever since Ariana started living with him, she made the guest room, which was at the end of the corridor, into her little me place. Nicolai was not allowed to enter the room as she wanted to keep this room just for herself.

And Nicolai had nothing against that; as long as the woman was staying in the penthouse with him, she could do anything she wanted. If anything, he was a tad bit proud that he made Ariana create a small space for herself in his penthouse.

He knocked on the door, waiting for Ariana to open the door so that he could jump on her and hug her. Believe it or not, that ice-cold woman loved every time he hugged her; she would laugh so loudly that her tinkling laughter would echo in the penthouse.

However, the door never opened. Nicolai knocked on it one more time, then a second time and a third time but the door never opened. A furrow etched between his brows as he dropped his hand and used the code to open the door.

He pushed open the door and began, “I am sorry but you were not—”

His words faltered when he saw Ariana standing in the middle of the room with the only uncovered canvas covered in a complete mess of black, red—you name it. The palette was sticking to the wall as if it had been thrown at something with full force with the desire to kill them.

The myriad of colours was splashed on the floor, and her dress even her hair did not escape the splashes.

This wasn’t like Ariana. She was no fucking organised and controlled; how could she cause chaos as wild as this? Looking at her standing in the middle of the puddle of colours was simply beyond just being abnormal.

Nicolai paused before slowly approaching Ariana. He caught a glimpse of her face that was devoid of any emotions and she was clenching her fists so hard that her nails were digging into the flesh of her palm.

“Pallas?” Nicolai called her, however, she didn’t even look up at him. It was as if she couldn’t even sense his presence or more like she was rejecting his existence very strongly.

So instead of wasting his time by calling her, Nicolai moved in front of her such that she was looking right at him. However, even though he was right in front of her, her eyes were still filled with silent terror and resistance, as if the person standing in front of her was her biggest enemy.

Nicolai reached out to touch her hand but Ariana gritted her teeth and her body turned another degree stiff.

What the fuck was wrong with her?

Nicolai had to force her to unclench her fists and his heart ached when he saw blood on her fair palms.

Who was it? Who did this to her?

“Ariana?”

She didn’t respond and Nicolai reached forward to cup her cheeks. He leaned his forehead against hers and muttered, “Princess, don’t scare me alright?”

Finally, her eyes flickered, and she looked at him with the deer caught in headlights—look. She looked so lost that Nicolai felt his heart clench.

“Nicolai?” She blinked her eyes. “Why? When did you come here?”

“Just a few seconds ago,” he lied as he pulled away from her, his hand still holding onto hers. Just for a second, he thought that he was about to lose her. “What are you doing? Are you okay?”

“I am alright,” she replied with a frown as if she were unaware of the situation she was in at the moment.

“You are not fine, princess,” Nicolai wished to drag Mrs. Harlow back from hell and give her the veating of the century because what the hell did she do to Ariana? “You are standing in a mess in the middle of the night… looking as if you have seen a ghost.”