Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas)
Chapter 0431

Nicholas looked up and followed my gaze out the car window. This place was not unfamiliar to either of us. We had been here twice before, so today would mark the third time. His body visibly shuddered. Then, as if on reflex, he tried to escape by frantically starting the car. I quickly grabbed his hand.

I was afraid he would speed off again. I was scared I would end up dead along with the baby in my belly. Looking up at him with my other hand on my stomach, I shook my head. His agitation gradually subsided. He forced a stiff smile as he covered my eyes with his hand. "Ari... I... Do you think I look scary like this?"

I did not understand why he asked that, but he kept explaining, "I'm sorry. It's just... when I think about you leaving me, I lose control a little. But I'm trying to keep it in check."

Caught off guard, my vision went dark. In my mind flashed his face from earlier, which could barely be called a smile.

"It's okay." I did not want to provoke him further, so I did not pull away. Besides, it would be easier to see my own feelings in the dark.

"Why is it okay? Why don't you care about me?" he growled, unsatisfied. "Do you think even this is happening because of fate?"

"I..." For a moment, I did not know what to say. I could not exactly tell him he was just angry because of me.

His voice carried a hint of coldness as he firmly denied my words. "I've never believed in fate.

"If fate really existed, then the heavens must have it out for me." He paused for a long time after saying this. He paused so long that in the cramped space, all I could hear was our alternating breaths.

He continued, "This is clearly what you want. Why blame it on fate?" His arm was shaking, while his words were tinged with a hint of grievance.

Did he feel wronged now? I felt like laughing. "Nicholas, we've been together for almost five years. Apart from throwing some money at me, what else have you given me?"

"Whatever you want, I can give you!" He had learned to answer quickly, but to me, he just wasn't thinking before speaking.

"Your body doesn't belong to me. Your heart doesn't belong to me. Besides fulfilling your so-called 'husbandly duties', you haven't been faithful to me. You don't even meet the basic requirements of being a husband. What can you possibly give me?"

The next second, I felt a cool touch on my lips. My heart seemed to stop for a moment. When he kissed me, it was like I had died. The long-forgotten sensation and that inappropriate touch felt so absurd!

"Nicholas!" I shouted his name angrily. "Get off me!"

But my reaction gave him an opening. The hand covering my eyes slid down my cheek to grip my chin, forcing me to look up at him. It was a position that made me vulnerable, one that pleased him.

"Ari, you don't know how much I've missed you." Nicholas's voice was muffled, his whole being out of

control. In his dark eyes, I saw amet

overwhelmingly strong desire to possess me, almost crushing in its intensity.

It was as if he was trying to vent something through this forceful kiss. His dark eyes gradually turned red. In the already cramped car, a kind of indescribable, desperate intimacy seemed to spread silently

My tightly closed teeth were slowly pried open by his tongue until they gave way completely. This doomed struggle went on for so long till Nicholas's phone suddenly rang.