Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Chapter 40

GISELLE

I woke up to the sound of Nicholas's agitated voice drifting into my ear.

"Fuck if I know. Gather the made men. We're having a meeting to address this issue. Call me when you have a meeting spot." He paused, listening to whoever was on the other end of the call. "Like fuck, I am letting anyone of them come near her after the shit Maria pulled the last time." The sleep cleared from my eyes. He was talking about me. He didn't want his family near me because of Maria. "I do have a plan. One that won't come to bite us in the ass eventually, but everyone needs to know of our new threat."

He hung up, throwing his phone on the bed before he buried his face in his palms.

"Things aren't going too smoothly for you," I said, drawing his attention to me.

He turned to look at me over his shoulder, shrugging. "The path to victory isn't usually smooth or easy."

"Stop," I laughed. "You sound like a war general from the 1700s."

"I'm glad I could serve as a means of amusement to you early this morning," Nicholas said, his tone flat.

I laughed harder. "You're losing your touch with the poker face thingy. Your eyes are filled with amusement."

"Good morning to you, too," he drawled, sarcasm rolling off his tongue effortlessly. "How are you doing?"

"I feel sore."

His eyes filled with regret. "Too much?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. I liked it."

Nicholas opened his mouth to speak again, but someone pounded on the door, cutting him off. Evander's voice followed shortly after.

"Enough with the fuck fest. I've got shit to do, too."

My face heated in a flash. I'd totally forgotten about him being here last night.

"You should go talk to him. We kept him waiting all night."

"He's probably eaten everything in the fridge, so yeah, he can wait a few more minutes," Nicholas replied. He looked serious, too.

"That's not nice."

"I'm not nice," he deadpanned, reluctantly rising to his feet. "Wait a few minutes, Evander. I need to get dressed for the day."

Evander let out a string of curses in Italian as his footsteps disappeared down the corridor.

I got off the bed, padding into the bathroom to start my day. I'd just finished brushing my teeth when Nicholas walked in.

"You don't have to stop your family from coming here because of me," I told him as he squirted toothpaste on his toothbrush.

He shook his head. "They haven't been here in years. It's not about you."

"Your mother then?"

Nicholas tensed, and I feared I'd crossed a line. Why did my big, stupid mouth choose to say that?

"You lied to me."

"Nicholas..."

"The other day you came to my office. We talked about mother."

I couldn't bring myself to lie with his eyes boring into mine, so I nodded. "I didn't know you were drunk that night. Your voice didn't sound like..."

He cut me off, snorting quietly. "I'm not mad if that's what you're thinking." I relaxed by a fraction. "What else did I say?"

"You said you were sorry for getting married to me. You also said Father was lying about the details of the accident. Is that true?" I asked when he remained quiet.