Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas)
Chapter 0473

Seeing Nicholas act so nonchalantly almost made me lose my composure. It felt like an invisible force was pressing down on me.

If I stayed with him for even one more minute, the facade I was desperately holding up would crumble completely.

I forced myself to shake my head and said as calmly as possible, "You should go ahead, Mr. Hawk. I'll be there by 9:00 a.m."

Nicholas took his last puff, tossed the cigarette to the ground, and elegantly crushed it with his toe before speaking.

"Since when did Ms. Jones become so hesitant? The Ariana I remember was bold and straightforward."

His tone had a hint of teasing, making me think of our intimate past. But when I looked up at him, his face was expressionless as if the words had come out without any deeper meaning. He asked me, "Do I need to invite you?"

I quickly glanced over his face before turning away in disgust. I remembered how he had once stood not far from me in the underground parking lot, making a gentlemanly gesture of inviting me into the car. I gritted my teeth and lightly said, "Thank you, Mr. Hawk."

I tried treating Nicholas like any ordinary acquaintance. If I kept retreating, it would seem like I was the only one still trapped in our past, which was an embarrassment I couldn't bear.

I had no intention of sitting in the front passenger seat, so I reached for the back door.

But before I could open it, his hand grasped mine. I heard Nicholas's voice saying, "Three years of being waited on, and now you think I'm your chauffeur?"

I froze. Before I could react, he had already pushed me into the passenger seat.

It wasn't his mocking that got to me it was the fact that he had just held my hand. Not my wrist, not my palm, but our fingers were intertwined. It was brief but real.

That short contact felt more real

than any of the ambiguous moments we shared in the past. Back then, we had only deceived each other, and every physical touch had been tainted with lies.

"Have you eaten?" Nicholas asked casually as he got into the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

He had been watching me feeding Tabitha earlier but hadn't seen me take a bite myself. Yet, he heard me reply, "Yes, I have."

"Then keep me company while I eat something," Nicholas said, sounding irritated. His tone was laced with sarcasm.

I had no idea what Nicholas was trying to do, nor could I guess his intentions. He was far more unpredictable than he had been three years ago.

People used to say he was gentle, but deep down, he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

However, after recovering from his illness two years ago, the moment he appeared in that interview, his entire demeanor had changed. Now, he was a wolf through and through.

Hawk Corporation's position in

Radiant City had always been

strong. In the past, there were still a

few large companies in the city, but over the last two years, many had gone bankrupt or been merged.

Shelman Group, in particular, had suffered devastating blows. If Pete hadn't been supporting them from abroad, the Shelman family might have fallen apart by the time he returned.

From what Douglas told me, Jones Corporation hadn't had a smooth run either, but at least it hadn't reached a breaking point, and he could still manage.

So, I had prepared myself for the meeting today. But I hadn't expected Nicholas to show up at my doorstep so early.

Wherever he planned to eat breakfast, I kept silent. I didn't mind letting the strange tension between us become even stranger.