CHAPTER 104: – MY DARLING FRANCESCA –

Francesca was in a white dress that went past her ankle, hair also in a bun with stubborn curly strands standing it. But it was cute. She cocked a brow at him, lips arching into a smile.

"Don’t come up on me like that." He blew out a soft breath.

She rolled her eyes. "I’ve been here for almost a minute now. You were absent minded." Her gaze drifted over to Viviana who was getting into her car. "She’s beautiful. Very beautiful."

"Isn’t she..." Nikolas murmured under his breath, the sadness in his gaze, suppressing the sparkles he’d usually have in those green eyes of his.

Francesca looked at him. "You really love her."

"I love her." He didn’t deny it.

"I warned you, Niko," she said. "I told you it was a bad idea to lead things on like that without telling her the truth. Now, what are you going to do? How will you fix this?"

"I..." Nikolas clenched his hands inside the pocket of his slacks. "I don’t really know what to do or where to start."

Francesca breathed out with a smile. "I think everything will work out."

"Why?" He glanced at her much shorter figure.

"Because she loves you."

Nikolas lifted a brow. "And how would you know that?"

She shrugged. "I don’t know, but she truly seems like a woman in love to me. I’ve been there, I still am."

He frowned, unable to understand what she meant.

Francesca chuckled. "She called me ealier."

"Viviana?"

"Mhm. Guess why she did."

"Francesca."

"It’s you," she said. "She was worried for you because apparently you got hurt. And she wondered if you were okay. She sounded afraid that you might be really hurt and she wouldn’t know. And now that brings me to my question. How in the world were you hurt? I’m pretty sure you can heal in seconds."

Nikolas wouldn’t meet her eyes. "Got into a little accident with Lucian."

"And?"

"I wanted an excuse to see her."

"Hm. I see." Francesca slowly nodded her head. She turned, watching as Viviana drove off into the road. "Nikolas, do you really love this human?"

"What kind of a question is that? Does it seem like I don’t in any—"

"Nikolas." She turned and met his eyes. "Is she the one in whose presence you can hardly breathe?"

Nikolas furrowed his brows.

"Is she the one that in her presence, you are unable to think, you lose control of yourself, of your feelings because it’s overwhelming to contain? Is she the one that makes you feel this kind of feeling of impossibility to look away from them? Does she make you feel alive, that urge to lean in, hold them and let their warmth consume you?"

Nikolas blinked at her. He lowered his gaze to his feet, blurting out a laugh. "It’s much more than just that Francesca."

"Shocking," she mumbled. "I never knew you could choose another over your mate."

He looked at her. "Francesca. Do you really think my brother loves you just because you’re his mate?"

She met his gaze. "I..."

"You’re underestimating what he feels for you. Because I assure you that you being his mate doesn’t matter. Mate or not, he would have still fallen for you as he’d done that first night he met you. Nothing would have changed or stopped that. Mate is merely a label. It has nothing to do with who the heart chooses."

Francesca’s heart flickered rapidly and she swallowed, drawing a deep breath. "Lucian..." Her lips dragged into a smile. "You truly do love her."

"Yes." Nikolas nodded with distant eyes. "This woman with eyes like the setting sun is the woman I love. And only we could understand what it’s like to love a human."

Her pupils grew wild. And they sparkled softly.

————

Lucian who’d finally gotten his daughter to sleep, stood up from her bed to leave. Lucia grabbed his pinky finger, though she had yet to wake up.

He glanced back at her, brushed back her hair for a few seconds, then kissed her forehead before finally leaving the bedroom. He headed for the stairs, pausing when he suddenly heard a voice screaming his name from outside the mansion.

"Francesca?"

Lucian quickly hurried his pace, stepping outside in the pair of white pants and shirt he had on. He paused at the door, eyes falling on his wife who stood on under the rain, barefoot on the ground with clean mowed grass.

She stopped when she saw him, lips curling into a large smile.

"Francesca? What are you doing in the rain?" he asked, making his way over to her, uncaring that he’d come out barefoot as well. "You are completely drenched. Oh, look at your hair. Come inside, let me dry it for—"

"I love you."

He blinked at her. Then he chuckled. "I know you do."

"No, I love you, Lucian."

"But I know you love me, Francesca."

"Then I will say it a thousand more times." Her gaze softened so much it made his chest palpitate. "Lucian, I love you. So much, it feels like I can’t express it enough."

Every strand of his lashes batted, dazed, speechless. And then he grabbed her, circling an arm around her waist and weaving his fingers with her much slender ones. He leaned in, and touched her lips with his.

Francesca grabbed into the material of his shirt with the hand she had on his shoulder, slanting her head as he deepened the kiss. It was intimate, burning, and they could each hear the sound of their pounding hearts, dancing in a similar rhythm.

"I love you more," he whispered, shifting his head to bury his face in the crook of her neck. "My darling Francesca."

—-----------

Viviana turned the steering wheel, driving off the road to park by the side. She stepped down, and headed into the desert shop where Sasha had agreed to meet with her.

The last thing she wanted was paparazzi taking photos of her and putting on nonsense speculations on the internet. She couldn’t deal with any of that for now. So, putting on a pair of sun glasses and covering her head with a cap, she pushed the glass door open and stepped inside.