CHAPTER 121: – MY PARENTS? –

Viviana opened her mouth, but hadn’t even talked when she saw him begin to stalk toward him. Her hands fell to her side. "Nikolas—"

The dark, blackish red tendrils, rose from his feet, swirling around him before it slithered through the air towards her, wrapping around her waist in a firm grip.

Her body jolted. "What are you—"

The aura yanked her forward before she could finish, dragging her across the space and crushing her against his chest. His sheer height and heat swallowed her whole.

His hand gripped her cheek to keep her head steady. She pressed her palms to his chest, but his hands clamped over the small of her back and locked her in place, their lips crashing together.

She melted instantly in his hold. And kissed him back.

Nikolas dragged their mouths together, reaching out a hand to slam the door of the room shut. Fire blossomed over Viviana’s lips, and travelled down her body. A moan slipped from her lips, and he swallowed it down. She gripped the material of his sweater, her lips parting for him.

He tasted of something sweet. And it wasn’t unusual because Nikolas was a sugar fiend.

His lips left her mouth to her neck, peppering kisses all the way down to her shoulder where he pulled at her dress shirt to give him room.

"Nikolas, wait. What is going on with you?" she asked while her fingers ran up to settle into his hair.

The man walked the both of them until he could have her back planted against the wall. He pulled his head back and met her gaze with no tinge of his usual amusement in his eyes.

"What’s wrong with you?" Viviana asked, cupping his cheek.

He rubbed his face into the warmth of her palms, breathing out as he said, "I’m just a bit mad."

"And is that because of your meeting?"

"Sort of. They fucked everything up."

"Oh, come here." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a warm hug. Nikolas buried his face in the curve between her neck and shoulder, arms dropping to her waist.

"You were gone for so long I thought you weren’t coming back." He took an inhale of her scent.

Her lips twitched. "I had a lot of work."

"But I missed you."

"It was just a few hours."

"Ten hours isn’t a few."

"It wasn’t—"

"Nikolas!" A voice hollered from outside. He didn’t need to think to know who it was.

"Whose that?" Viviana asked.

Nikolas’s face darkened as he pulled away from her warmth. "My twin brother." He yanked the door open and left the room, making his way to the living room.

Lucian of course stood with a pair of glasses perched atop his nose, his much longer hair tied a bit messily to the back.

Viviana, who’d come out with Nikolas, paused. She glanced between the both of them. Her eyes narrowed.

’Wait a minute’

Now that she was closely staring at the two men, they did look identical. More so with the fact that both had on glass right now. The large difference was that Lucian had blue eyes, and much longer hair compared to Nikolas who had shorter hair and a pair of green eyes.

They were the very same height too and weight as well. There was nothing much un-identical about these two, yet Nikolas could swore they looked nothing alike.

"Oh." Lucian, who hadn’t expected to see Viviana over, walked towards her. He grabbed her hand, bowing slightly like a gentle man as he pressed a soft kiss on the dorsal. "It’s good to see you again, sister in law." He rose to his full height, whispering a bit. "He cried like a baby when you left him the last time. Please, don’t do that again. I doubt he’d survive it."

"What are you saying to her?" Nikolas glared at him.

Lucian smirked, letting go of her hand. He gave her a smile before picking up Lucia who was fast asleep on the sofa. "Where are her slippers?" He laid her head against his shoulder before turning to cock a brow at Nikolas.

Nikolas shrugged. "Somewhere...around here. I don’t know where she took it off."

"You can’t even handle one little girl," Lucian mocked. "Her shoes are missing."

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you know how troublesome your daughter is?"

"Or you’re just a terrible uncle? You’re going to suck as a father."

"Says the one who made me leave work to pick his daughter up for him."

Lucian shook his head, eyeing Viviana with a playful tease, "Think twice before having a kid with him. He’s just a charming fellow, nothing more."

"Fuck you, Lucian."

"Mind your language around my kid, Nikolas. And find my daughter’s shoe." Lucian glared.

"Get out," Nikolas gritted.

"Oh? And if I refuse?"

They both narrowed their eyes at each other. "You will make me behave childishly. Not today. Francesca is waiting for me. We will see each other again." Lucian left through the door, and it clicked shut.

Nikolas turned to find Viviana stifling her laughter. "Oh, c’mon, not you too."

Her lips fell apart and she laughed out, shaking her head. She chuckled at the ending, tilting her head as she said, "I’ve got a question though."

"About?"

"In your zoom meeting, I saw Sabrina. What is she doing in your conference?"

"She works at my company," Nikolas responded, holding a crooked smile.

Viviana cocked a brow. "Since when? And how come I’m not aware of it?"

He gave a soft laugh. "She and I came to a little agreement and she wanted me to hire her at my company. She said she had talents in tech stuffs—"

"She does. Like really," Viviana chirped in.

"—Mhm, I can see that. So, yes, she’s a part of the technical department."

"Is that so?" Viviana rubbed her jaw. "How is she so far?"

Nikolas tipped his head back and forth in thought. "She’s not bad. Quite an early bird. There has been no complaint from her boss. So I suppose she’s doing good."

She let out a breath of relief.

———

Sabrina walked out into the living room. On the couch, Sasha was seated, her legs curled to her chest. She was staring into her phone, seeming to be watching some videos.

Standing right in front of her, Sabrina squatted down, craning her neck to look at her face.

"You look pretty."

Sasha quickly snapped her gaze at her. She glanced around before pointing at herself in confusion. "Me...?"

"Yes? Why? Nobody ever told you you’re pretty?" Sabrina cocked a brow at her.

Sasha’s lips fell apart, a bit stunned. "Oh, well, that’s not...it’s just..."

The edge of Sabrina’s lips curled into a smirk. "You’re a shy one." She rose to her feet, dropping into the couch, next to her. Popping open the can of bear, she took a large gulp and shifted it to her. "Want some?"

Sasha slowly shook her head. "I...don’t really drink."

"Is that so? Since you came here, all you do is be quiet, stare at yourself. You don’t talk at all. I really thought you were mute."

She couldn’t give her a response.

Sabrina folded her arms. "What about your parents?"

"My parents?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, my mother died when I was nineteen. Eight years ago."

"My condolences," Sabrina’s expression softened. "Your dad?"

Sasha went quiet.

Sabrina stared at her. Had she asked the wrong question. "Shoot. Don’t tell me he’s dead too."

Sasha shook her head.

"That’s not it."

"Then what? You look like a kicked puppy."

"I don’t know who my father is."

Sabrina blinked her eyes. "Oh..."

"Wait. You’ve never met your father?"

"No."

"Your mother never told you who he is? I mean, you must have been curious at some point, no?"

"She never told me. I’ve asked a few times, but she wouldn’t say." Sasha fidgeted with her hands. "But it doesn’t matter. I don’t really care to know. He must have been a horrible person if my mother wouldn’t even tell me who he was. I rather not know."

Sabrina scratched the back of her neck. "I see..."