Deeper Healing

37| Villain

Leilani Edwards

I felt a weird rush of intimidation flood my veins as I stepped into the private room Isla was in, locking gazes with her giving me more nerves than I imagined possible. 

The source of my nerves kicking in was rather unclear to me, but it probably had to be Isla's quizzical look or was it the weird way in which Nikolai and I had made brief eye contact before he robotically tensed up due to his brother's presence?

It had to be either that or the way Isla had her fingers intertwined with Nikolai's as they held hands with her lying on the bed and Nikolai sitting in a chair next to the bed.

I wasn't used to this arrangement of seeing him in such a close and possibly intimate position with another person, especially a woman I already felt had some chemistry with him.

What was I expecting anyway? I wasn't the only woman with eyes to see how much of a drone Nikolai was from both personality and charm to his outward appearance.

A slight stretch of Isla's lips into a feeble smile pushed me to smile back at her politely, walking forward to the other side of her bed opposite Nikolai. She looked way better now from my assessment though a little bit pale and even had fresh clothes on with her hair tied back into a messy low bun.

"Hey," I started, plopping onto the cushioned stool set there. "How are you feeling?"

She hummed lightly in response, raising her chin. "Betrayed."

"Betrayed?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "By whom?"

"You, of course," she replied casually, almost rolling her eyes. "You lied to me about your whereabouts when I called in the morning. You were with Niko, weren't you?"

I shifted my gaze to Nikolai, hoping his reaction would give me the right answer to respond with. Looking at him didn't give me any sort of befitting answer but rather a sense of longing. 

The way his eyes softened when they met mine made me feel feelings of warmth I was familiar with, feelings that made me feel like he cared for me but the circumstances weren't really in our favour.

"He told you that?" I finally replied, shifting my gaze back to Isla.

"He denied it," she sighed, "but you did walk in together suspiciously and you were both nearly drenched."

I chuckled lightly. "It's cleared raining and walking in together doesn't really prove anything. Alex and I walked in together, didn't we?" I asked, looking back to observe what Alex was doing so quietly all by himself.

He stood close to the door, away from everyone else, staring at the ceiling with his hands in the pockets of his grey coat. I didn't need to be told to know the cause of such isolation and withdrawal from his best friends. Even I could feel the thick tension from where I sat.

"What are you doing standing so far away from me?" Isla grumbled at Alex, pouting a little. "Come here and give me a hug, will you?" she said, spreading one arm wide open.

Alex's eyes and stance seemed to soften a little as he gave Isla all his attention. Looking at her must have awoken something in him, or maybe reminded him of the reason why he was here as he approached Isla with a face laced with utmost concern and a bit of relief at the same time.

He came to her through my side of the bed, making me a bit uncomfortable by the way I was confined to the wall in a corner.

He tilted his body towards Isla who still didn't let go of Nikolai's hand, snuggling in for a rather cute hug. Isla wrapped her arm around him warmly, humming a little with her eyes closed and a smile touching her lips.