Nicolai’s tone caused the nausea in Ari’s throat to fall back and dread to take over.

He was just as everyone described, harsh, ruthless and dangerous.

What was worse was that she could not even breathe properly because the idiot in front of her seemed to be unaware of personal space, or more like he couldn’t care less about it. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of metallic scenes of blood, with a hint of blood orange and patchouli.

The scent was overwhelming and caused a chaotic swirl in her head, making it impossible for her to not choke.

“I…” She opened her mouth, which had gone dry the second Nicolai’s scent enveloped her. She wanted to tell him that it was not her fault, but words simply failed her.

The mafia prince, Nicolai, must be quite impatient as he let out an annoyed sigh. Of course, he was, there would be hardly any idiot in this city like Ari who would make this man wait. She should have gotten on her knees and begged him to let her off, and yet, she was foolishly stammering while trying to find the correct words to explain the situation.

Just as Ari was about to say something, the man reached out his hand and tipped her hand with his fingers.

“Oy are you even listening to me? Why are you looking at my shoes?” He only used his forefinger, yet he held so much power in that small action that Ari was surprised that she did not crack under his touch.

No sooner did he tip Ari’s head up, the latter felt her head throb and all the air leave her lungs. She was never good with direct confrontations, she often avoided them unless Ari had no other choice but to engage in one, like when she caught her husband cheating on her.

However, Noah was a white-collared businessman. He would not bury her body in the middle of a mountain if she were to confront him, he had a bottom limit. Nicolai had none of that.

If she pissed him off he would and could kill her right here and now, even if Ari were to scream for help, the pedestrians would take one look at Nicolai and walk away.

Though some justice warriors would candle march for her, Ari hardly believed that it was going to help her.

She would rather not get into a disagreement with a man who had unhinged tendencies.

Nicolai clicked his tongue when he noticed that she was silent and trembling. Even though the street was bustling with activities, Ari heard his tick loud and clear.

“I am asking you something,” he spoke as he pushed his half-transparent red-tinted sunglasses on the top of his head. However, his body stiffened as he came to a sudden halt and Ari ceased to breathe.

The hostility that was wafting off Nicolai also subsided. Instead, it was replaced with a hint of curiosity, even the tightness of his muscles loosened as he looked at Ari.

“I met with an accident,” Ari blurted out, she did not know what made the man suddenly calm down but being cornered by a six-foot-five beast still scared the living daylights out of her. She took her chance and cleared up the situation.

She stepped away from Nicolai, she didn’t understand why amusement and interest filled up his eyes. Ari only knew that it was way too morbid than his cruelty.

Ari sucked in a few gulps of breath now that she was standing away from Nicolai and then pointed at the road. She turned her head to the black marks on the road which were caused by the sudden turn of her car and explained, “I was driving correctly, but some drunken driver came into the wrong lane. He was drunk and would have smashed into me if I had not swerved at the right moment. I did not know that your car was parked here, and I truly couldn’t——”

“Did you cry, Ariana?” Nicolai asked, his rumbling voice echoing in Ari’s ears like the warmth of hot coal. “What a surprise, I did not expect to meet you like this.”

“You know me?” Ari asked with a whip of her head, her pink locks whirled in front of her, and some of them got stuck to her lips. Her words tumbled out before she could stop them.

“Hah!” The man barked out laughter that was as chaotic as the wild look in his eyes. He stepped closer to her causing Ari to take a step back, and as she did not watch where she was going, Ari ended up getting knocked into the trash can behind her.

She fell on her bottom, the purse that she was also clutching tumbled down, and the divorce agreement that Ari had placed inside the purse fell out.

Snip.

Ari felt a crack appear in the wall that she had built around her before it widened under her feet and she was almost sucked into a puddle of humiliation.

She did not want anyone to see the divorce agreement or her failure. Thus, she scrambled to put the divorce agreement back in her purse, but before Ari could do that, Nicolai swept down and snatched the divorce agreement.

Snip.

The puddle widened under her feet and the surge of humiliation got even bigger until Ari couldn’t breathe.

“What are you doing?” She asked, angrily, trying to snatch the divorce agreement from Nicolai. “This is mine, you cannot take it.”

“So, you finally decided to divorce that good-for-nothing bastard, huh?” He rumbled with a gruff note. With his tall stature, Ari couldn’t snatch the divorce agreement even if she hopped like a rabbit.

“What is it to you?” Ari had always been in a state of hyperawareness, and she did not like it when others poked into her business. Especially one that made her feel like a failure.

She did not want this man to see her failure as Ari knew that even if it was Noah who cheated on her, society would blame her for not being able to keep her husband. A failure as a wife.

Nicolai, however, did not pay attention to her and continued to read the agreement before clicking his tongue, “What a loss. You are leaving him without alimony. What a lucky f*cker.”

Ari felt exasperated and said, “Can you stop? We don’t even know each other. This is a breach of my privacy——” no sooner did she finish speaking than the man was back in her space as he asked in a sinister voice,

“Do we really not know each other?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.