Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas) novel Chapter 554

I wasn't sure if Nicholas had ever studied parenting, but he was doing a great job.

He gently patted Tabitha's back, waiting for her to fall completely asleep in her crib before setting the storybook down. Then, he quietly slipped out of the room.

I followed him downstairs and saw him off at the door, silently urging him to leave quickly.

Standing at the door, Nicholas hesitated, letting out a soft sigh. "Did you get hurt today?"

I looked up at him. "Who are you worried about getting hurt?"

I hadn't kept everything about the incident that happened earlier under wraps. I had asked Douglas to upload part of the footage online.

I'd kept the part where I slapped Claudia and the words I said while hitting her. That slap was repayment, and the second one was interest.

If anyone wanted to search for the truth, they could easily find traces of it. So, was Nicholas going to search for it? Or perhaps, by standing here in front of me and saying these things, he had already done so?

In the video, I came across as the dominant one, no matter who watched it. How could I possibly be hurt?

"Don't worry. When she was carried away from my office building, I had someone buy her some medicine, the kind that costs 20 bucks."

"I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about you. You're the mother of my child, the woman I care about. She is nothing!"

Nicholas reached for my hand but hesitated, remembering my outburst the night before when we had been too close. He raised his hand before lowering it again, unsure whether to touch me.

Nicholas' eyes filled with a stinging bitterness as he blinked hard, suppressing the emotion.

"If you need anything, you can come to me. You can do whatever you want. I don't want you caught in the spotlight."

I almost laughed. Was he worried I would get caught in the spotlight, or was he more afraid I would push someone else into it?

Suddenly, my vision blurred. That man, who didn't want me in the spotlight, was the same one who had caused me so many scandals because of him.

Not once had he stood in front of me. Not even now.

Nicholas felt a sharp pain in his heart as if someone had stabbed him with a dagger. "Did you see my trending topic? Don't you have any questions for me? Don't you want to know why I did that?"

I walked past him, brushing close enough to catch the faint scent of tobacco clinging to him. The open door let in a breeze, dispersing it slightly.

Standing by the door, I glanced at him and said in a calm tone, "I know."

Nicholas' dark eyes grew even deeper, his voice hoarse. "You know?"

"Yes. Claudia said you did it for her, that you stripped down to accompany her."