Alaric

"Are you alright?" Nico asked softly as he stepped closer behind me.

Before I could even answer him properly, his hand settled gently against my back, and the warmth of his touch immediately seeped through the thin fabric of my shirt.

My entire body stiffened almost instantly beneath his palm while heat rushed violently into my face so fast it felt humiliating.

God, why did he always touch me like that? There was never anything casual or careless about the way Nico touched me. Every brush of his fingers felt deliberate, steady, and far too aware, like he already understood exactly what his touch did to my body and enjoyed watching me fall apart because of it.

Nico touched me with the kind of confidence that made it feel like he already knew exactly what his hands did to me every single time.

And unfortunately, my mind betrayed me immediately afterward.

For one reckless second, I imagined those same hands sliding lower across my waist while he pressed me backward against the dining table. I imagined him leaning close enough for me to feel his breath against my skin while those dark unreadable eyes pinned me in place the same way they always did whenever he focused on me too intensely.

I imagined entirely too much.

"Do you want water?"

His voice snapped me out of my thoughts before my imagination could become even more embarrassing.

I cleared my throat quickly before shaking my head while keeping my eyes fixed firmly on the wine glass sitting in front of me instead of looking directly at him.

"I am fine," I muttered quietly.

Nico remained standing behind me for another second longer than necessary before finally removing his hand slowly from my back, and somehow the absence of his touch felt even worse than the touch itself.

"You sure?" he asked again.

"Yes."

"You started choking because I flirted with you a little."

I turned toward him immediately with narrowed eyes.

"I started choking because you are incredibly annoying."

Nico laughed softly beneath his breath before walking back toward the table again with his wine glass still loosely balanced between his fingers.

"You keep saying that," he murmured lazily.

I hated how smug he sounded.

I inhaled slowly before following him back toward the dining table again. The atmosphere inside the penthouse felt completely different now. Earlier, the tension between us had been awkward, but somehow it had shifted into something far more interesting.

And honestly, I did not trust myself around whatever this was becoming.

I pulled my chair back before sitting down again while immediately reaching for the wine glass in front of me.

"Fine," I muttered before taking another sip. "Let us do your stupid twenty questions."

Nico’s grin widened immediately.

"Oh?" he drawled while leaning comfortably back in his chair. "So the princess finally agreed."

"Do not make me regret it."

He chuckled softly before lifting the wine bottle again and carefully refilling both our glasses.

"Every time one of us answers a question," he announced while sliding my glass back toward me across the table, "we drink."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him.

"That sounds significantly less like twenty questions and more like alcoholism."

"It sounds fun."

"It sounds like a terrible decision."

Nico lifted his wine glass slightly toward me with a knowing look in his eyes.

"And yet you are still participating."

Unfortunately, he had a point.

I rolled my eyes before lifting my own glass reluctantly.

"Fine," I muttered. "But once this is over, you are leaving my penthouse."

Nico lightly clinked his glass against mine.

"We will see."

That answer immediately irritated me.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," he replied smoothly before taking another slow sip of wine, "you are terrible at pretending you do not enjoy my company."

"I enjoy silence."

"You invited me to stay."

"You forced your way inside."

"And yet I am still here."

I genuinely hated how impossible it was to argue with him sometimes.

Nico leaned back comfortably afterward before motioning lazily toward me with his wine glass.

"Go ahead," he said. "You can ask the first question."

I hesitated briefly.

There were honestly far too many things I wanted to ask him.

Far too many things I probably should not care about this much.

But unfortunately, one specific question had been stuck inside my head ever since Bahrain.

"What exactly is Sophia to you?" I finally asked quietly.

Nico let out a low chuckle almost immediately.

My face heated again in annoyance.

"Do not laugh," I snapped quickly. "And before you start saying nonsense, I am not asking because I am jealous."

Nico looked deeply unconvinced.

"I asked because I keep seeing both of you together constantly," I continued defensively. "You arrive at events together. She appears around you all the time. People talk."

Nico remained quiet for several long seconds afterward.

The teasing look on his face faded slightly while he slowly rotated the wine glass between his fingers thoughtfully.

Then the silence stretched long enough for me to start regretting asking the question altogether.

Finally, Nico exhaled quietly before speaking.

"My family is extremely conservative," he said calmly.

I blinked once in surprise.

Nico rarely spoke seriously about personal things, even during interviews. I had absolutely no idea who his family was since he was only a beta. Unlike the De Villier name, which was widely known in Monaco and throughout the Formula One world, I had never once heard anyone mention the Park family at any gathering. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

I shifted slightly in my seat as he continued speaking.

"They still believe in very traditional expectations," he continued quietly while staring down at the wine inside his glass. "Man marries woman. Man has children. Man continues the family line. That kind of thing."

Something inside my chest tightened painfully while listening to him.

"My mother has spent years trying to force relationships on me," Nico continued with a dry laugh that sounded far more exhausted than amused. "Every single time I visit Korea, she asks why I still have not brought home a girlfriend."

I shifted slightly again in my seat while watching him carefully.

The effortless confidence he normally carried around like he was untouchable slowly faded with every word that left his mouth.

"So Sophia and I made a deal," he admitted eventually. "She needed publicity after a scandal damaged her brand two years ago, and I needed my family to stop arranging blind dates for me every six months."

I stared at him quietly afterward.

And embarrassingly enough, relief spread warmly through my chest all over again knowing they were only together because of a deal.

"The world is advanced now," I muttered eventually before lifting my wine glass again. "There are literally female alphas getting omega men pregnant now. People should stop acting shocked over who someone loves."

Nico finally lifted his gaze toward mine.

"That does not mean everyone changes," he replied softly. "Especially families like mine."

The room fell silent again afterward for a moment until I finally decided to ask another question.

"You are still in the closet with them?" I asked more gently.

Nico nodded once.

"Yes."

Something painful twisted quietly inside my chest at that answer.

Because suddenly I understood far too many things about Nico all at once. I understood that the recklessness he carried around so effortlessly was not confidence at all but a distraction, something loud enough to keep people from noticing the parts of himself he kept hidden. I understood that his arrogance was carefully polished armor, the kind people wore after spending too long protecting themselves from judgment.

Even the constant teasing finally started making sense to me because Nico always turned conversations into jokes the moment they became too personal or dangerously honest. Every time something real tried settling between us, he immediately laughed, flirted, or said something outrageous just to shift the attention away from himself. And perhaps the thing I understood most painfully of all was that Nico never truly allowed anyone to look too deeply at him for very long. The moment someone got close enough to see beyond the charm and confidence, he immediately built another wall between them.

"All right," I murmured quietly after another moment passed. "So you and Sophia are still pretending?"

Nico nodded again before a faint smirk finally returned to his face.

"Yes," he admitted. "Unfortunately for both of us."

I released a soft breath I had not even realized I was holding.

Then, before I could stop myself, another question escaped my mouth.

"So there is genuinely nothing between you?"

Nico’s grin widened immediately.

"There it is."

I instantly regretted opening my mouth again.

"I meant romantically," I corrected quickly while glaring at him. "Do not start acting unbearable."

"Too late," he replied proudly.

I rolled my eyes before immediately reaching for more wine.

Nico laughed softly before finally crossing one leg lazily over the other beneath the table.

"Now it is my turn," he announced.

I instantly became suspicious.

"That expression alone already worries me."

"It should."

I narrowed my eyes at him while Nico leaned slightly forward against the table.

For once, the teasing smile completely disappeared from his face.

And somehow that made him infinitely more dangerous.

His dark eyes settled directly on mine while Monaco’s city lights glowed softly through the massive windows behind him.

"Do you still love Sophia?" he asked quietly.