Alaric

The instant the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

The tension around the dining table shifted almost immediately after I mentioned Sophia, and suddenly I could not stop thinking about how ridiculous I must have sounded.

Why the hell did I even say that?

I was tired of hearing her name leave Nico’s mouth every five minutes, and somehow that irritation had slipped out before I could stop myself. Now I sounded exactly like what I did not want to sound like.

Jealous.

Nico’s brown eyes never left mine after that question, but I looked away almost immediately because I could not bear holding his stare after saying something that embarrassingly possessive.

The silence stretching between us afterward felt unbearable.

The warm atmosphere from earlier disappeared completely, replaced by something tighter and far more awkward. Even the soft music still playing quietly in the background suddenly felt too loud inside the silence.

For several long moments, neither of us spoke.

Nico remained leaning back slightly in his chair while studying me carefully, and the longer he stayed quiet, the more uncomfortable I became beneath his gaze.

Eventually, I could not take it anymore.

"Do not get the wrong idea," I muttered while reaching for my wine glass again. "I only asked because I wanted to know how you found my penthouse and how you got my number."

Nico let out a low, quiet chuckle beneath his breath, the sound soft enough to almost blend into the silence filling the dining room. Then he slowly pushed himself up from the chair, his movements unhurried and calm in a way that immediately made my chest tighten with nervous anticipation.

My entire body immediately stiffened.

He took two slow steps toward me before leaning slightly closer across the table, and for one humiliating second my breath caught somewhere in my throat while my heart started pounding violently against my ribs.

I genuinely thought he was about to do something reckless.

Instead, he reached past me calmly and picked up the empty plate sitting in front of me.

"That is adorable," he murmured casually.

I frowned immediately. "What is?"

"The fact that you are pretending this is about your address."

Heat rushed into my face instantly.

Nico glanced toward me again while stacking the plates together carefully.

"I think you asked because you are jealous."

My eyes widened so quickly they almost hurt.

The accusation hit me like a slap despite the fact that he was not entirely wrong.

Still, there was absolutely no way I was admitting that out loud.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" I snapped immediately. "Why the hell would I be jealous of my ex?"

Nico said nothing.

Which somehow made everything worse.

"I am not jealous," I continued defensively while gripping the stem of my wine glass tighter. "And besides, I do not care who you sleep with and—"

I stopped abruptly the moment his eyes met mine again.

God.

The way Nico looked at me sometimes should have been illegal.

There was something steady and unreadable inside his gaze that made my chest tighten painfully every single time he focused on me too intensely. It always felt like he could see directly through every lie I tried telling him.

I quickly lifted the wine glass toward my lips before finishing the rest of it in one swallow just to avoid looking at him any longer.

Nico let out another quiet laugh beneath his breath.

Then he picked up his own plate before turning toward the kitchen.

I exhaled slowly, hoping the conversation had finally ended there.

Unfortunately, Nico Park never let anything go that easily.

Halfway toward the kitchen, he suddenly paused before glancing back toward me over his shoulder.

"By the way," he said casually, almost too casually, "there is nothing going on between me and Sophia and I already knew your address from that night at the gala silly.’’

Then he clicked his tongue softly and continued walking away before I could answer him.

And unfortunately for me, my heart reacted immediately.

The violent flip inside my chest felt sudden enough to steal the breath from my lungs while warmth spread sharply through my entire body before I could stop it.

The relief that crashed through my chest the moment Nico said there was nothing going on between him and Sophia felt so immediate and overwhelming that it almost embarrassed me.

The tightness that had been sitting painfully inside me since dinner loosened all at once, replaced by a warmth so humiliatingly comforting that I instantly hated myself for reacting that way.

I hated how relieved I felt.

Absolutely hated it.

Because the moment Nico said there was nothing between him and Sophia, the tightness sitting painfully inside my chest since dinner began disappeared so quickly it made me feel ridiculous.

What made everything even worse was the fact that I knew Nico noticed my reaction immediately.

Of course he did.

Nico had always been terrifyingly observant when it came to me, always catching the smallest changes in my expressions, my tone, or my behaviour before anyone else ever could. That smug bastard noticed absolutely everything about me, including the things I desperately tried to hide.

Several minutes later, Nico returned from the kitchen holding a dark wine bottle loosely in one hand while carrying two freshly cleaned glasses with the other.

"I found this in your wine collection," he announced casually as he walked back into the dining area. "So I decided we should drink it while you ask me all the dramatic questions you clearly want answers to."

I frowned immediately the moment my eyes landed on the bottle in his hand.

"Oh no," I muttered under my breath.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

The bottle he grabbed was a 1998 Château Margaux I had been saving for years. It was one of the most expensive wines inside my collection and one of my personal favorites, reserved specifically for an occasion important enough to deserve opening it.

Not whatever the hell this dinner had become.

"Not that wine," I said quickly while sitting upright in my chair.

Nico looked down at the bottle briefly before glancing back toward me with absolutely no concern whatsoever.

"This one?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, that one."

"Why?"

"Because that bottle is expensive."

Nico scoffed softly.

"You are rich."

"That is not the point."

"It literally is the point."

Before I could stop him, Nico grabbed the corkscrew resting beside the kitchen counter and smoothly twisted it into the cork with the confidence of someone who had absolutely no respect for my emotional attachment to expensive alcohol.

"Nicholas," I warned sharply.

The cork popped free with a soft sound that immediately made me feel physical pain.

"There," Nico said proudly while pouring wine smoothly into both glasses. "See? Nothing exploded. You are being dramatic."

"That bottle was for a special occasion."

Nico glanced toward me over the rim of the wine glass before a slow grin spread across his face.

"Then let this become our special occasion."

My entire chest tightened stupidly at the sentence.

I hated that.

Absolutely hated it.

Nico only winked lazily afterward before walking back toward the table and reclaiming his previous seat beside me like he owned the place.

Then he pushed one of the glasses toward me across the table.

"Come on," he said while lifting his own glass slightly. "Let us play twenty questions."

I stared at him flatly.

"Why the hell would I want to play twenty questions with you when you should already be leaving my penthouse?"

Nico chuckled softly before bringing the wine glass toward his mouth.

The warm lighting above the table reflected against the dark red wine while he took a slow sip, completely relaxed despite the chaos he continuously caused inside my life.

"Because," he replied smoothly after swallowing, "I know you have questions you want to ask me."

"I absolutely do not."

"You absolutely do."

"I really do not."

Nico pointed his wine glass toward me accusingly.

"You literally became jealous over Sophia ten minutes ago."

"I was not jealous."

"You almost looked ready to commit homicide."

"I was curious."

"You looked emotionally unstable."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You are unbelievably irritating."

"And yet you still let me stay."

"That is because removing you physically would probably count as assault."

Nico grinned immediately.

"So you have considered it."

"Several times."

"Aw," he murmured while pressing a hand dramatically against his chest. "You think about me constantly."

I genuinely contemplated throwing the wine bottle at his head.

Nico must have noticed the look on my face because he burst out laughing again before leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"Relax, princess," he said teasingly. "I am offering you valuable information here."

"I do not need information from you."

"Really?" Nico asked knowingly before taking another sip of wine. "So you’re telling me you are not curious about how Sophia and I know each other?"

Silence.

Nico’s grin widened immediately.

"That is what I thought."

I hated how easily he read me.

Every single time I tried pretending not to care, Nico somehow saw through it instantly like my emotions were written directly across my forehead.

"You are annoying," I muttered while finally reaching for the wine glass he poured for me.

Nico lifted his own glass slightly in victory.

"So that means you agree to twenty questions?"

"I did not say that."

"You picked up the wine."

"That means nothing."

"It means everything."

I rolled my eyes before taking a long sip from the glass just to avoid answering him properly.

Unfortunately, the wine tasted incredible.

Nico noticed my expression immediately and smirked triumphantly.

"See?" he said smugly. "I make excellent decisions."

"You opened my expensive wine without permission."

"And now we are bonding over it."

"We are not bonding."

Nico leaned slightly closer across the table before lowering his voice deliberately.

"You keep saying that," he murmured softly, "but somehow I am still here drinking your favorite wine inside your penthouse while you stare at me like you want to kiss me and strangle me at the same time."

My throat immediately tightened around the wine I had just swallowed.

Coughing violently in front of him was unfortunately not how I imagined maintaining my dignity tonight.