“What good does it do to force him?”
Paula licked her lower lip, as if savoring the taste of the kiss, “Nicholas would still be moved by just a glance from me.”
“How does it feel to have your beloved taken away by the substitute you created yourself?”
“You don’t know yet, do you? When Nicholas brought me back, we did even more outrageous things in the car.”
She pulled open her collar and the red mark on her neck burned my sanity.
I recalled the scene from my previous life where Nicholas had frantically read aloud in front of Paula’s portrait in the funeral hall.
Slap!
A sharp pain shot through my palm.
Paula’s head was knocked to the side by my blow. She covered her face with her hands. Her eyes filled with disbelief, yet the corners of her mouth curled slightly upward.
The sound of a medical kit hitting the ground echoed from behind us.
My wrist was gripped so tightly that five fingerprints were left behind. Nicholas dragged me into the room.
He pressed me against the wall and my breath was instantly stolen.
Coming to my senses, I bit down hard on Nicholas’ lower lip.
He winced in pain and wiped away the blood with his hand.
“What’s wrong?”
Nicholas asked softly, “Aren’t you angry about that kiss?”
“I lost my mind. Don’t make things difficult for Paula.”
Having spent half my life with Nicholas, how could I not hear the protective tone in his voice toward Paula?
Seeing that I didn’t budge, he pulled my wrist toward him and pressed a kiss on the red mark.
“You can hit me as much as you want.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Do whatever you want.”
“After all... you’re back, right?”
“In the last life, I saw all your passion. This time, I won’t push you away.”
The lingering tone of Nicholas’s voice was utterly seductive, but I remained frozen in place.
The thing I had once longed for was now within my grasp.
“As long as you don’t make things difficult for her.”
All I felt was disgust welling up in my chest.
Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering echoed through the room.
From outside came Paula’s pained moans.
In less than a second, Nicholas reacted and rushed out.
Paula lay on the ground, vomiting continuously.
Her clothes were covered in vomit, but Nicholas didn’t care as he cradled her in his arms.
“Paula!”
His tense tone betrayed his anxiety. His gaze shifted to the table, where the vibrant lily pollen caught his eye.
“You know Paula is allergic to pollen, yet you had someone buy lilies?”
The earlier sensual atmosphere vanished instantly and Nicholas returned to the domineering man I knew.
He lunged forward, grabbing me by the throat and pressing me against the wall.
“If anything happens to Paula, I won’t let you off easily.”
With that, Nicholas picked up Paula and strode out the door.
In my previous life, no matter how dire the situation, he always remembered his status.
He would never do anything that would overstep the bounds with me.
With all our emotions exhausted in this new life, he didn’t even notice the simplest frame-up.
Watching their backs as they walked away, I suddenly felt unprecedented relief.
I was grateful for their indifference, which allowed me to watch them walk down the path to certain death without pity.
Early the next morning, the butler handed me a document with a troubled look on his face.
The title, “Prenuptial Agreement,” made me furrow my brows.
“Miss Valle, he doesn’t seem to know about your marriage to the Martinez Family in three days.”
“What do you think?”
I lifted my hand and placed the prenuptial agreement on the candle to burn it. “There’s no need to tell him.”
“I’ve already said that my marriage is a top-secret matter.”
“Those within the inner circle need to know. A bodyguard doesn’t need such detailed information.”
On the wedding day, Nicholas looked slightly anxious as he kept glancing at his watch.
According to tradition, someone should have already delivered the wedding attire and arranged a private car to take him to the wedding venue.
But today, the villa was empty and utterly desolate.
The TV suddenly turned on and the loud noise disturbed his nerves.
Just as he was about to turn off the TV, he saw that it was showing the live broadcast of my wedding.
I was holding hands with Stephen, smiling broadly.
Nicholas’s pupils dilated.
The next moment, he rushed to the garage, stepped on the gas pedal and headed to the wedding venue that was supposed to be for him and me.
