Chapter 97 Chapter 97
When she turned to look at Nicholas, she noticed that his expression had darkened. He was staring coldly at the closed door, and seemed to be losing his patience.
With a careless movement, Nicholas threw Sheila's gift box to the side of the table, away from him, as if it were trash.
He turned to Caroline, held her face with both hands, and frowned, his voice deep and serious: “Are you upset?”
Marcus and Sheila already had their hands on the doorknob, ready to escape, when the order echoed through the room.
“Stop right there.”
Nicholas's voice wasn't loud, but it carried such icy, cutting authority that the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
“Marcus,” Nicholas continued, each word heavy as lead. “If you walk out that door today without greeting my wife, don't bother coming back in the future.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
“She is my wife,” Nicholas declared, his eyes fixed on his friend's back. “That makes her your sister-in-law. If you don't have the decency to acknowledge her as such... then you can forget about calling me brother. I will not have a ‘brother’ who disrespects my wife.”
The threat hung in the air, brutal and definitive.
No one dared breathe. It felt as if time had frozen.
Marcus remained with his back turned, motionless as a statue, but everyone could see his fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles white with tension.
Hiago, sitting at the table, cursed inwardly, cold sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
Damn. The worst-case scenario was happening.
He knew Marcus's cold attitude would irritate Nicholas, but he hadn't expected an ultimatum of this magnitude. Cut ties that had lasted decades? Because of a greeting?
But as he looked at Nicholas's somber face, Hiago understood.
Marcus had made a fatal mistake: he had underestimated how much Caroline meant to Nicholas.
This wasn't just a marriage of convenience. Nicholas was protecting her dignity with the ferocity of a wolf. He would rather lose his right arm than see anyone belittle the woman he loved.
“Nicholas, calm down, Marcus is just...” Hiago tried to intervene, laughing nervously to break the ice.
“Shut up,” Nicholas cut him off, without even looking at him.
“This is none of your business.”
Hiago shut his mouth immediately. The chill that ran down his spine was real. That look in Nicholas's eyes... it was the look of a dangerous man, about to explode. Hiago knew that if he said another word, he would be the next in line.
The sudden change in atmosphere frightened Caroline.
She was stunned. Her heart was racing, not out of fear for herself, but for him.
She didn't care if Marcus ignored her. They were Nicholas's friends, not hers. She knew she was an outsider in that circle and that their loyalty lay with Sheila. She could handle the contempt.
But to see Nicholas destroy his oldest friendships because of her? That terrified her.
“Nicholas, it's okay, really...” Caroline whispered, tugging gently on his sleeve. “I don't care, you don't have to...”
She wanted to say it wasn't worth it.
But before she could finish her sentence, Nicholas turned to her.
“Caroline.” His voice was firm, devoid of its usual sweetness. “Don't say anything.”
Be quiet.“
Caroline froze.
He didn't shout, but the intensity in his gaze made her shudder.
”This is between me and him," he concluded, turning his merciless eyes on Marcus.
Caroline swallowed hard. She realized, for the first time, the ruthless side of the man she had married. He was defending her honor, whether she wanted him to or not. He would not accept her being treated as less than a queen, not even by his “brothers.”
The silence dragged on for agonizing seconds.
At the door, Sheila felt panic rise in her throat.
She knew Nicholas wasn't bluffing. If Marcus left now, the group would be over. And if Marcus was banished, she would lose her greatest ally and her connection to Nicholas.
She couldn't let that happen.
Sheila swallowed her pride and bitterness, pulling Marcus's arm discreetly.
“Marcus...” she whispered urgently. "Please. Admit your mistake. Apologize. Do you really want to throw twenty years of friendship away because of a moment of anger?
Marcus's shoulders shook slightly. He was fighting an internal battle.
“Marcus, do this for me,” Sheila pleaded, knowing this was the only argument that would work.
Marcus closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, fighting his own rage.
Slowly, very slowly, he unclenched his fists.
He turned on his heels, his face expressionless but his eyes still burning with restrained coldness, and faced Nicholas and Caroline.
Marcus's gaze fell on Caroline, cold and laden with undisguised contempt. Instead of apologizing, a sneer curved his lips.
“Miss Ford is truly impressive,” Marcus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So young, a mere student... and yet so capable. Your arrival managed to sour a ten-year-old sisterhood in a matter of minutes.” He tilted his head defiantly. “Don't you feel even a shred of satisfaction at this ‘achievement’?”
Caroline's eyes widened in astonishment.
What... did that have to do with her? She had barely opened her mouth!
“I...”
But before she could defend herself, a shadow crossed her peripheral vision.
VUUUSH!
Caroline saw a blur of crystal flying through the air. Reflexively, she ducked.
CRASH!
The wine glass, which Nicholas had thrown with lethal force, passed inches from Marcus's head and exploded against the tempered glass wall behind him.
The sound of the impact was deafening. Shards of crystal and red wine rained down on the floor like blood and diamonds.
“Ah!” Sheila screamed, covering her mouth with her hands, trembling.
Marcus didn't even blink, but his face paled as he looked at the red stain on the wall next to his ear. He slowly turned his eyes to Nicholas, incredulous. Would it really have hit him if Marcus hadn't moved?
“Get out of my sight.”
Nicholas's voice wasn't a shout. It was a deep whisper, vibrating with a fury that seemed to come from hell.
“Get out of my sight now,” he repeated, his dark eyes fixed on his former friend. “Don't make me get up from this chair to do it myself.”
“Nick, you...” Sheila tried to intervene, shocked.
He threw a glass at his foster brother? Just because of a comment about Caroline?
Was that woman worth that much? More than decades of loyalty?
At that moment, Sheila realized with horror that she no longer knew the man in front of her. The Nicholas who tolerated everything for his friends was dead. The man sitting there was a ruthless husband.
Nicholas ignored Sheila completely. His eyes remained fixed on Marcus.
“Are you deaf?” Nicholas growled. “Get out.”
Marcus's expression contorted into a mask of hatred and hurt. He let out a bitter, dry laugh.