Trouble in Paradise

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Chapter 0595

The sky had grown dark. A heavy feeling settled in my chest. I wanted to step out and get some air.

Nicholas was still seething with anger at Claudia. But he refused to let go of me, holding my hand tightly. In a hoarse voice, I shook my head and said expressionlessly, "I'm not interested in her apology." Nicholas gripped my wrist tightly, completely oblivious to the pain he was causing me.

He said, "What about me? Aren't you interested in me either? You promised to give me a chance to explain!"

Nicholas tried to force a smile, but I couldn't see through it. I almost forgot that I was supposed to listen to what he had to say.

"Go on," I said.

He let out a bitter chuckle.

*I... I was a mess for a few years. During that time, I was in such a bad state that I couldn't even remember what I'd done. I was constantly torn between loving you and hating you.

"If I had known this would happen, I would never have done what I did. I would have definitely gone looking for you, and I would have stayed by your side."

Hate. It wasn't the first time I'd heard Nicholas use that word.

He repeated it so often that I knew he meant it. While I had done everything in my power to leave him and escape his control, he had hated me just as much as I had hated him.

"If I had known this would happen was a completely hypothetical situation. It was a self-comforting excuse he used after failing to forget me and hate me.

If he had succeeded, his emotions wouldn't have been affected by me, and he wouldn't have had this hypothetical scenario.

Only through Claudia did I get to know Nicholas' inner thoughts for the first time. He hadn't really explained anything, which meant that everything she said was his true feelings.

I suddenly felt like laughing. Perhaps Claudia understood Nicholas better than I did. It wasn't entirely his fault that our relationship had reached this point.

Nicholas sighed. "Ariana, I'm sorry...

I shook my head. "You don't need to apologize. I don't blame you."

Nicholas was startled. Before he could widen his smile, I interrupted him.

"You need me now only because you're not willing to let go. You can't stand the fact that you are unable to forget me."

He forced a smile. "What do you mean, Ariana?"

"We've been apart more than together all these years, for whatever reasons. It's over. We just weren't meant to be, Nicholas. Why don't you try to forget me again? I'll give you time."

"I thought you said you didn't blame me?" Nicholas wrapped his arms around me tightly and buried his head in my shoulder. "You don't want me anymore..."

On the hospital bed, Claudia could no longer muster the strength to laugh. She stared at the scene before her in disbelief, unwilling to accept it. The brother she had idolized, who seemed larger than life, had fallen to such depths of humility.

She blinked, and the light that always seemed to surround Nicholas dimmed in her eyes. Every part of her body ached. Who could tell her what her obsessive love for him for so many years meant?

She asked, "Nick, what about me? What do I mean to you? Do I mean anything? Have you ever felt even a flicker of pain for me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Nicholas opened the door. "Take her away. She should be punished."

"Nick, did you call the police?" Claudia asked in disbelief.

He waved her off dismissively like one might shoo away a stray dog. He didn't even spare her a glance.