The Traps of the Black Swan (Book 2)

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Everything happened so quickly that Ruby Jane was caught off guard. Numerous things played in her mind in a mere second but everything went blank when Nico seized her in his arms.

She clenched her teeth, curled her fingers when they trembled, her heart squeezed and shuddered, hitting the accelerator hard. She wanted to get rid of the man regardless of why he might have held her.

Nico was passing by on a bike when he noticed Ruby Jane speaking to the delivery guy while passing him the banquet.

The Shadow team were at a good distance and before they could identify the man, Nico had already hugged Ruby Jane. They rushed up to them but paused when Lisa came to their view.

Lisa had a few emergency mails to check so he hadn't left the penthouse with her. Once he was done, he left with Zain and Jisoo. He wanted to drop by at the shop and accompany Ruby Jane for a while as he had to talk to Ruby Jane about Seungri.

He was just a step away watching Ruby Jane whose panic for the physical contact was a lot controlled after staying with the Manoban family the whole day.

Lisa was about to pull Nico away from Ruby Jane, Nico unwrapped his arms after a quick hug but he held Ruby Jane's arms. Without giving her time to collect herself, he blurted out without noticing Ruby Jane wasn't being her normal self. "I am sorry, I am so sorry. I really didn't know you came looking for me at the base. I had no idea of it. Why didn't you call me that day? How..."

His voice was laced with regret and disappointment about himself. He was truly apologetic to the mistake, he hadn't even done it.

Lisa was quick to discern Nico was talking about the past. He hadn't heard the complete past from Ruby Jane yet, so he understood his Cupcake had tried her best to escape from Seungri.

Anyway, he shrugged off Nico and gently cupped her face. Their eyes met and slowly, Ruby Jane's breathing stabilized and her struggling expression calmed down.

On the surface, it would look like they were displaying affection in public but Nico, who knew how cold yet serene Ruby Jane behaves, noticed the changes as soon as he came to his senses from overwhelming thoughts. He had thought he might not get a chance to meet her.

He didn't care about the identity 'Ruby Jane.' He knew she was Jennie and nothing mattered.

Lisa didn't speak or ask too much. Revealing her weakness was what he least wanted. Wrapping her in his arms, he didn't care about the eyes they were grabbing as it was still pre-office hours.

Once she calmed her nerves, Ruby Jane tried to recall what Nico said and then threw it behind her head. She looked up at Lisa who should have been on the way to the office, was catering to her.

She pouted, "I sent flowers to you, just now." If she knew he was going there, she could have handed him herself.

Lisa was used to her multiple thoughts brain so he wasn't surprised how she ignored Nico and his actions and focused on him. "I will go and collect them."

He was aware she doesn't send normal, easily available flowers to him. She always gets him unique, rare flowers from her farm which won't be available easily to other customers unless they write down a special order, sometimes waiting in queue for their turns.

Ruby Jane nodded before both looked at Nico and the Shadow team members. Ruby Jane cued them to leave before entering the shop with Lisa and Nico in tow.

Nico couldn't hold his patience for long, especially after he discovered Jennie had passed the life and death gate to become 'Ruby Jane.' What bugged him the most was, he was at his base when she was at the main gates asking for him. He could have saved her, couldn't he?