Chapter 23 22. Jealous but Stubborn

Chapter 23 22. Jealous but Stubborn
Chapter 22
Jealous but Stubborn
Vanilla was supposed to get angry at Nick. She was supposed to storm out of the party, and Nick was supposed to chase after her.
That was how it was supposed to go.
Unfortunately, Vanilla remained remarkably calm. She showed no reaction at all until Sophie’s birthday party came to an end and Beck proposed to Sophie, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers and a diamond ring at the end of the evening.
Vanilla acted completely normal. Even when they were about to leave the party and Charlotte approached Nick to give him a goodbye kiss on the cheek, Vanilla showed no reaction whatsoever. Perhaps it was because Charlotte had kissed Vanilla on the cheek as well.
But deep down, Nick was terribly disappointed that Charlotte’s carefully arranged scheme had failed so completely.
“Do you know when Beck is going to marry Sabun?” Nick asked, merely trying to make conversation because of the awkward atmosphere inside the car.
“You can ask Beck. Why are you asking me?” Vanilla replied a little sharply.
Nick frowned. “I saw the three of you talking for quite a while earlier.”
Vanilla did not respond. She turned her face toward the window and stared at the city lights and the cars passing along the relatively quiet streets. The drive back to her house suddenly felt unbearably long. The air inside the car felt thick, as though poisonous gas had filled the space and was making it difficult for her to breathe.
If she had not been so determined to protect her pride in front of Sophie, she would have run out of the party the moment she saw Charlotte kiss Nick on the lips. If she had done that, Sophie would probably have laughed herself to death in triumph while mocking her.
“Mi Amor...” Nick called.
Vanilla remained in the same position. Even though she heard him calling her, she had no desire to turn around. All she wanted was for them to arrive at her house as soon as possible because she had no desire to spend another second with a man who was merely playing with her feelings.
For the first time in her life, she wished she had Doraemon’s Anywhere Door so she could escape the irritating situation trapping her now.
Vanilla let out a heavy sigh. She felt as though she had spent her entire life being far too serious, too focused on Beck, and now she regretted it.
She should have enjoyed herself while she was in New York. She should not have spent all her time studying and studying just so Beck would finally notice her when she returned to Barcelona.
Now, because of her lack of experience, she had been so easily fooled by Nick.
Oh, God.
“Mi Amor, are you okay?”
Nick’s hand on her shoulder snapped Vanilla out of her thoughts. Apparently, he had pulled the car over to the side of the road, and she had been so lost in her thoughts that she had not even noticed.
“Mi Amor, are you okay?” Nick asked again.
Vanilla turned to look at him, annoyed. “My name is Vanilla, not Mi Amor.”
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s wrong? You’ve been spacing out this whole time. Are you thinking about Beck’s engagement?”
“Take me home and stop calling me Mi Amor, sweetheart, or anything else.”
Inside his head, Nick grinned triumphantly. He would have to thank Charlotte. If his best friend’s trick worked, he might even make her the Goddess of Love.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
Vanilla snorted and opened her bag to retrieve her phone. “I can take a taxi home.”
Nick gently took the phone from her hand. “It’s two in the morning, Mi Amor.”
Vanilla glared at him. “Give me my phone back.”
Nick returned her stare, then gave her a mischievous smile. “Or what?”
Vanilla turned her face away again, but Nick gently caught her chin and made her look at him.
“Just tell me what I did wrong first.”
Vanilla looked back at him, her lips forming a slight pout. “Nothing is wrong. I’m the one who’s wrong. Okay?”
“I don’t understand, Mi Amor.”
Vanilla snorted. “You kissed that Jockey Girl, and it annoyed me. It really annoyed me. Happy now?”
Inside his head, Nick began beating the drums of victory.
“We didn’t kiss. Charlotte kissed me. I didn’t...”
“You didn’t reject her, Nick,” Vanilla cut in.
“It happened so suddenly. I didn’t have time to...”
“You could have... Oh, my God.” Vanilla glared at Nick.
Nick removed his hand from her chin. “Vanilla...”
“I have no right to be jealous, do I? Fine. Okay. I know. I know my place. I’m only your prospective girlfriend. I have no right to control you. I don’t have any rights over you,” Vanilla interrupted again, her voice rising.
Without saying another word, Nick shifted the car into gear and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.
“Nick! Are you crazy?” Vanilla screamed, squeezing her eyes shut in terror as the car sped down the road.
“Nick! Slow down! I don’t want to die in some stupid accident!”
Unfortunately, Nick completely ignored her. Instead, he drove even faster, recklessly increasing the speed before making a sharp turn that nearly threw Vanilla from her seat if not for her seat belt.
Vanilla struggled to steady her breathing when she felt Nick slam on the brakes and the car come to a stop a few seconds later.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
She looked around, then immediately turned to Nick with a protesting glare.
Nick did not say a word. He unbuckled his seat belt, opened the car door, and quickly got out. He walked around the car and opened the passenger door for Vanilla.
“Nick, I want to go home.”
“This is our home.”
Vanilla let out a breath. “Nick...”
“Vanilla.” Nick looked directly into her eyes. “Can’t you give in just a little?”
“What do you mean? You’re the one who always has to get your way.”
Nick held the car door open with one hand. “Stop pretending you don’t want me.”
“I’ll accept you if you pass the test I gave you. That was our agreement.”
Nick raised one eyebrow. “To hell with that.”
Vanilla stared into Nick’s eyes. “Nick, I don’t think we’re compatible,” she said hopelessly.
Vanilla felt that she could not be in a relationship with Nick. He had far too many beautiful women around him, and there were too many other things about him that worried her.
Nick bent down, bringing his face closer to hers.
“What did you say?”
Vanilla sighed. “Nick, take me home now, or let me call a taxi.”
Nick was losing his patience. Just moments ago, Vanilla had finally shown her jealousy over Charlotte, and now she had changed again, building her walls impossibly high.
“You said we aren’t compatible, right?”
In one swift motion, Vanilla found herself in Nick’s arms.
He kicked the car door shut and walked toward the front entrance. Vanilla thought Nick was going to kick the door open just as roughly as he had kicked the car door shut earlier.
But as they approached, the door opened automatically.
“Tomorrow, you need to program your retina into the system too so you can open the door to this house,” Nick growled.
Vanilla blinked. Although she was impressed by the advanced technology installed throughout Nick’s home, she still held on to her pride.
“Nick, I told you I want to go home!”
“You’re so stubborn, Amor.” Nick dropped Vanilla onto the couch, a little roughly.
“Nick...” Vanilla’s voice nearly caught in her throat. She had never expected Nick to behave so harshly.
“You’ve been playing games with me for far too long, Mi Amor.” Nick narrowed his eyes, the corner of his lips lifting into a sly smile.
Vanilla’s courage shrank when she saw the anger on Nick’s face. His jaw was tense, and there was something dangerous in his eyes.
She felt like a small rabbit about to be caught by a lion.
Oh, no.
A tiger.
Nick was a tiger.
“Nick... What are you...?” Vanilla tried to rise from the couch.
But Nick pushed her back down, forcing her to sit again.
“You said we aren’t compatible, so I’m telling you this. From now on, we’re going to make ourselves compatible.”
With one sharp pull, Nick yanked at the dress Vanilla was wearing, causing it to slip down to her stomach and exposing her bare breasts.
Vanilla immediately covered her chest with her hands.
“Nick... please... don’t do anything to me...”