CHAPTER 101: – NIKOLAS... –

Nikolas narrowed his eyes on him. "What are you getting at?"

Lucian yawned. "The last time you cried was before you were put into that sleep. But that was understandable. She was your mate. However, a human?"

"You wouldn’t cry for Francesca?" Nikolas cocked a brow.

"Oh, absolutely I would." Lucian barely raised his guard. "She is my mate after all. But a woman who isn’t my mate? I doubt I could love anyone who isn’t my soulmate, a woman that I don’t burn for."

"Is that so?" Nikolas shoved him, and took two steps back before pointing the tip of his sword at him. "You’re trying to tell me that if Francesca wasn’t your mate, you wouldn’t love her like you do now? You wouldn’t craze for her?"

Lucian’s confident expression dropped. His lips trembled, parted and closed. He found himself unable to answer the question. Trying to imagine the idea."

Nikolas snorted at him. "Can’t answer the question?"

Lucian looked at him. He pressed forward with a light swing that Nikolas easily blocked. "I’d love to understand how you fell in love with a woman you didn’t burn for—"

"Wrong," Nikolas cut off, attacking this time around. "I burn for her. Every part of me. I could care less about that soul mate bullshit."

"Oh?"

"Lucian, do you really think you love Francesca merely by the standard of her being your mate?"

Lucian narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying?"

"Let me ask you a question." Nikolas twirled his blade. He jabbed lazily, missing by inches as Lucian swerved. "Can you stand seeing Francesca with another man—"

"Never!" Lucian glared.

"And if she wasn’t your mate, can you then imagine such a thing? Her smile that she gives to you, her time, her warmth, all of it given to another man. Her love, all of her. Can you?"

Lucian’s grip on the sword tightened and he lunged toward Nikolas’s if he’d gone angry, slamming down on his sword. He gripped Nikolas by the collar, gritting out, "Francesca is mine. Mate or not, she belongs to me and to me only. No one, and I mean no man other than me could ever be deserving of her. She. Is. Mine. And I love her."

"Exactly." Nikolas stared dead on. "So, don’t you ever ask me again how I could love or cry for a woman, who isn’t my mate. Because you would do the very same were you in my shoes. Mate or not, you would have still fallen in love with Francesca, because you loved her the very first moment you met her. And maybe...that was the case with me too."

Lucian snorted.

They went back and forth, fighting, neither truly attacking, or defending. Just clashing swords, rolling eyes at each other when convenient and biting words in retorts. Sparks flew with every hit, the sounds echoing loudly in the large room, training room within the family house.

Nikolas turned his back suddenly at him, taking out his phone from the pocket of his pants. Elio was calling. "Hold still for a second," he muttered, swiping into his phone.

Lucian scoffed, attacking the open. "You idiot, don’t turn your back on an opponent."

Nikolas’s eyes grew and he quickly turned around to dodge. He did, however, only narrowly before he felt a sharp sting slice over his abdomen. He stumbled back, tossing his sword aside. Blood soaked through the fabric instantly.

"Damn it!" He hissed, teeth clenched. "Lucian!"

"What? You were the careless one." Lucian rolled his eyes. "Heal yourself."

"You’re asking for it." Nikolas glared.

"Alright, sorry. My bad," Lucian apologized, but he was smirking. "Although, why aren’t you healing?"

"Nevermind that. I know someone who can treat me. I need an excuse anyway." Nikolas gave him a hard glare, turning to walk out of the room.

Lucian raised a brow, confused.

———

Viviana stood at the mirror of the bedroom. She was drying her wet hair, but her gaze seemed so distant and dazed as if she wasn’t present.

A sigh fled her lips and she dropped the dryer on the table. She brushed her hair, gazes bouncing around until they landed on the ruby necklace around her neck. She stared hard at her reflection in the mirror.

This thing...she should have given it back to him.

’Why do I still have this?’

She;’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him, yet she still kept the necklace he gave to her, almost as if she couldn’t bring herself to let go.

Her lashes dropped shut and she rubbed the stone around her fingers, a shaky breath fleeing her mouth. "I miss him." She could admit that to herself, here, alone with no soul present. "I miss him, it hurts."

The urge to run to him, wherever he was and pretend none of this had happened. It—

Her door bell rang.

She blew her eyes open, turning her head. It rang again. Viviana got up and walked out to the living room towards the door. She pulled it up, and lifted her head, only to freeze.

"Ni.."

"...Nikolas."

Viviana stood frozen.

Nikolas stood right in front of her, face a bit too pale and his brown hair tousled. His lips were parted as he breathed, staring down at her, hard and yearning as if he hadn’t seen her in a year or more.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Her chest was pounding, thumping too loudly in her ears she felt the drums might just burst. Her breathing was heavy, pumping right out of her.

"Nikolas..." she stuttered again, before she could stop her.

Her hand twitched at her side, aching to reach for him.

She’d missed him all these while and she hated that after everything, just one look at him was enough to crack her walls like this. Every part of her, every little instinct screamed to jump into his arms. To hug him. To...

’No. What am I thinking?’

Viviana forced herself to breathe. She hardened her face, questioning, "What are you doing here?"