That evening, he drove to Sarah's home while practicing the apology he formed in his head.
Her house was in the outskirts of the city. Nicholas always wondered why she wanted to stay far. He loved the city personally. Sarah had said she had enough of cities. She needed the quiet to raise her child.
The drive to her place was a long one but he got there after a while.
Nicholas was already knocking on her door when it occurred to him that Sarah might not be home. He should have called her before he came, but then he didn't call her because he was scared that she would tell him not to come.
"Coming," Nicholas heard and he became calmer. He settled the bouquet of dandelions on his arm and practiced his speech one more time.
Sarah looked surprised to see him in front of her door. Nicholas smiled and stretched forth the flowers. When she did not do anything, he said, "I am really, sorry."
Sarah smiled at that, extracted the flowers from his hands, and stepped aside for him to enter into the house.
She was looking very homey, in sweat pants and a big t-shirt. It made Nicholas feel over dressed in his suit and tie. Her homey place did not help either. Sarah's house reminded him of their grandmother's cottage. It was comforting.
He followed her into the living room and saw Theo sitting on the rug and playing with his toys.
"I see this little bugger is up and back in business," Nicholas said and picked Theo up. His nephew let out a squeak and slapped both his chubby hands In his face. Nicholas laughed and swung him around. The cute smile and noises Theo made was enough to make his day.
"Your mom is mad at me you see. I was very very very stupid, and I said some stupid things, and I am so sorry," Nicholas said to Theo, well to Sarah.
"Actually, I think maybe I overreacted," Sarah said, walking up to him.
"There is no way it would work out. We have the same surname. Everyone in the company knows we are cousins. I should have just told you that instead of storming off," Sarah said as she sat down on the couch.
"Well, Astra doesn't know we are cousins," Nicholas pointed out as he sat down besides her. He did not expect that she would no longer be angry, but thank God for small mercies. He figured he would have to grovel more than that, but it seemed not.
"And Astra is the only person I want to think we are dating. It doesn't have to last long. Even if she finds out we are cousins, the purpose has been achieved," Nicholas pointed out and Sarah nodded. It was still shocking to him how calm she was.
"There is also the fact that she is probably seen the both of us together, so it's not something new. And then the baby," Nicholas said and Sarah frowned.
"Don't bring my son into this," she said. Okay, that was a boundary.
"Of course, it's not so necessary. We don't have to kiss or anything odd like that. We just have to be together and see her. And maybe just saw we are together, yeah," Nicholas said and Sarah stared at him.
"And Astra would just assume that we are dating?" She asked.
"Well, yes. Astra can actually be very dramatic and jealous too. It will work, trust me," Nicholas said. Sarah sighed at that.
"Nick. Do you want to get her back or do you want her to pay?" Sarah asked. It was a very valid question, one that he asked himself over and over again. He still didn't have an answer. He wanted both, but he had to chose one, so what would he choose?
"I don't know, Sarah, I don't know," he told his cousin. Love seemed to do stupid things to you.
Astra was seated in her office trying to complete even more paperwork that was given to her when she heard her phone ring.
It was quite surprising to see that it was Nicholas calling her. She had not seen or heard from him since she got back, and she was expecting he would ask her where she went. Astra could admit that she was a little disappointed when he did not call her at all.
The case with Thompson had reached a dead end and she was working on paperwork instead of other more important cases. It was driving her crazy. She had half the mind to beg Nicholas to drop Thompson's case.
Astra hesitated to pick Nicholas' call as she remembered the last time he called her and how that went.
It seemed like it was an emergency though as he kept on calling her even if she ignoring his call.
Astra stood up from her seat and went to the lobby to take the call. Knowing Nicholas, he would probably show up at her office if she did not pick.
"Hello," she said.
"Is that how you treat your clients? Making them call you for minutes before you pick up?" Nicholas asked from the phone, he sounded angry. The nerve of him. Astra could not help but roll her eyes.
"I am sorry, Sir," she replied sarcastically.
Nicholas did not seem to sense the sarcasm as he said, "You better be. I need you be at my house in the next thirty minutes. It's regarding the case, you should be fast."
Astra could barely believe the man. He was asking her to come to his house during work hours and he actually thought she would go. It was annoying. She had no one to blame but her superiors for the insults he was dishing at her.
"Look, Nicholas. This case with Thompson is going nowhere. As a friend and as a legal practitioner, I advise you to drop the case, it is the best course for everyone," Astra said as gently as she could.
"I should do what? You want me to drop the case against a man that ran my company to the ground? I was broke and miserable for years. Of course you would ask me to drop the case, you are just the same as him," Nicholas said, his words piercing her heart. He was the bastard, he was the one who broke her into pieces. How dare him say that she was just like Thompson? What did she do to him apart from love him?
Astra wanted to shout at him and curse him but she reminded herself that she was still in the office.
"Even if you don't want to drop the case, it's fine. Drag him till the ends of the earth. We can't even go to court yet. Just don't involve me in it. We have better, more experienced lawyers that will be willing to handle your case. Just leave me alone," Astra begged and she could hear Nicholas' sigh on the other end.
"I asked you to come to my house that we had important issues pertaining the case to discuss. I expect to see you there in thirty minutes," Nicholas said and disconnected the call.
Astra frowned at the phone and cussed the wretched man and all he represented.
She was not going. There was no way she would let him control her. It was not possible, Astra said to herself and walked back to her table to sit down.