Trouble in Paradise



Chapter 0597

I pulled Nicholas' hands off my shoulders and turned silently to look out the window.

The reflection in the car window showed his pain. I saw him open his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

When we arrived at Coral Villa, the driver parked in front of the gate.

As if eager to please me, Nicholas patted my thigh gently and said, "Ariana, I'll open the door for you."

He quickly got out of the car and ran around to my side. But by the time he reached me, I was already standing in front of him.

His expression crumbled almost instantly. "Ariana..."

I gave him an indifferent look and walked past him.

Nicholas took a large step and stood in front of me. "Ariana, don't be like this..."

I paused for a moment, my gaze growing colder and colder. "Get out of the way."

Nicholas closed his eyes briefly. He swallowed his bitterness before stepping aside.

I went inside to grab the car keys. When I came back out, he was still standing in the same spot. He was startled when he saw me come out.

He then followed me like a tail. I took a step, and he took half a step. I paused and looked at him, and he stopped too. As I moved forward, so did he.

I ignored him until I was about to get into the car. Nicholas pressed my car door shut and asked, "Where are you going? I'll take you."

There was still some time before Tabitha finished school, and I planned to go home and tidy up her things.

If Nicholas wanted to be my chauffeur and errand boy, I wasn't about to stop him. Tassing him the keys, I walked around to the passenger seat and sat down.

He leaned in to help me with my seatbelt, but I raised my hand to stop him. The audible click of the belt was enough to draw the line between us.

Nicholas got into the car, his hands nervously rubbing the steering wheel.

"Ariana, when I'm with you, I feel like I have no confidence left. I'm always afraid I'll do something wrong and upset you. Ariana, can you at least smile at me?"

Resting my head on my hand, I gazed out the window. "Take me back to my home."

I heard a sigh in the small car. I couldn't tell if it was his or mine. He didn't press further, focusing instead on the road.

Inside, my mind was in turmoil. I wasn't deliberately ignoring him; I just needed to process everything I had learned today.

After hearing what Claudia had said today, I finally had answers to questions that had been troubling me.

Now, whether I blamed him or not felt meaningless. What mattered was how I would handle our relationship moving forward.

It wasn't just Nicholas who felt 'unwilling to let go. But now, I thought I could finally let it go completely.

From this point on, "Nicholas Hawk" would only be a name in my life. When I thought about him, I could recall the past without any bitterness, without special meaning. People came and left in life; he was just one of those passersby.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

When we arrived home, I directed Nicholas to help me pack Tabitha's things. She had her own special utensils,

her personal bottle.

"These utensils were custom-made for Tabitha. They have different colored circles on them, which the doctor said would help with her cognitive training. Luckily, Tabitha likes them too."

Each time I handed him something of Tabitha's, I explained its significance. As her father, he should know more about his daughter.

As Nicholas sat on the bed folding Tabitha's clothes, he hung his head dejectedly, his voice hoarse.

"I seem to have missed out on a very important stage of your and Tabitha's lives. Can I still make up for it?"