Trouble in Paradise

"I started it. For no other reason than the fact that she looks like she deserves a good punch in the face," Claudia said. suddenly. "If I see you again, I'll punch you." Things descended into chaos just like that.

When Nicholas arrived, the first thing he did was to grab Claudia, whom I was shielding. Then, someone pushed me from behind. I ended up getting slapped by the woman. My mind went blank. My ears were ringing from the force of the slap.

I raised my hand up to my cheek. It was swelling quickly.

When I saw Nicholas holding Claudia in his arms and shielding her from harm, it was as if the world had stopped spinning for a moment. I could almost hear my heart shatter. Claudia buried her head in Nicholas' chest and cried bitterly. "Nick, she stole my bed. I told her that I was moving back into the dorm, but she refused to give me back my bed." She sobbed hysterically. "I can't go home, and I can't go back to my dorm. Nick, am I homeless?"

Nicholas had brought some of his men with him. They quickly dealt with the whole situation. They brought Claudia's

classmate to the hospital and discussed the terms of compensation with her parents.

"You can hit anyone you like. I'll pay for the compensation,"

1.

Nicholas said.

To him, right and wrong were redundant. Everything was a transaction to him.

He would spend all of his money on Claudia.

There was nothing I could say.

When he brushed past me, he gave me a dark glance. Clearly,

he was blaming the entire affair on me. "I will deal with you later."

"Nick, can you bring Ariana home? I don't want our family to be separated."

Claudia reached out a hand to me, but Nicholas caught it and held it tightly. He glanced at me coldly and said to Claudia, "Ignore her. I'll take you home."

I couldn't stop the scoff that came out of my mouth. I'd rushed over here in a rush just to get slapped and have my heart broken.

A family? They were a family. I wasn't part of it.

Nicholas was truly cruel this time. He had watched me get slapped and did nothing just to teach me a lesson. It hurt more than the slap ever could.

When I exited the college, I was surprised to see Pete at the entrance. He ran over to me. When I looked at him, my vision. blurred.

"If you're looking for your sister, she's over there." I pointed.

0035

Pete frowned. "What sister? You're enough of a handful as it is. I don't have time for a sister."

"You're only three months older than me. Don't patronize me."

"Oh, talking back, are we? Looks like there's no brain damage, then." He looked at me with amusement, but his eyes were dark.

He stared at my face for a moment. "What happened? Did Nicholas hit you? Or Claudia? Who hit you?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I was taken aback by his concern. "It has nothing to do with you," I deflected instinctively.

"Fuck you, Ariana. Stop being so fucking stubborn. I'm going to get revenge for you. Do you want me to? I've never even hit you before. How dare someone else hit you first!" Pete said darkly. He looked serious. He didn't look like he was playing around this time.