Chapter 17 A Strange Jealousy
Alyssa fumed, seeing the photographs of the gorgeous girls on aunt Claudia’s mobile phone. They were all accomplished and beautiful and would be suitable matches for Nicholas. It was very difficult to choose one of them. What irked Alyssa most was that they were all career-oriented and settled in their own fields. One of them was a jewelry designer, while another was in her final year of engineering and so on.
“Nicholas likes career-oriented girls and all of them are doing well. So, which one do you like the most?” his mom whispered, while Alyssa’s face paled. She didn’t want any of them for Nicholas, but she couldn’t tell them that. Could she? Aunt Claudia’s words rang in her ears like a broken record, upsetting her further.
Nicholas likes career-oriented girls!
“Mom, shouldn’t you take my opinion first?” asked Nicholas, looking amused by their topic of discussion. He got up and sat down beside his mom and snatched the mobile phone from her hands. “Wow! They’re great. It’s difficult to choose without meeting them first. Don’t you think so?” he asked Alyssa, while admiring the pictures of the smoldering beauties. Alyssa boiled with jealousy and clenched her hands into fists. If he was so interested in them, why did he flirt with her all the time? Why did he stare at her all the time? Unable to tolerate it further, she got up and flashed a fake smile at granny and aunt Claudia.
“I think Nicholas is the best person to consult on this. I’ll be on my way. Thank you for the treats, granny, aunt Claudia.”
“Alright, dear. Come down sometime whenever you’re here in the neighborhood,” said granny, and Alyssa nodded.
“Leaving already? Won’t you fix me a girl before you go?” chuckled Nicholas while Alyssa glared at him.
“You don’t need my help with that,” she shrugged, turning to leave.
“What’s the hurry to leave?” he asked, getting up.
“Alex has been calling me non-stop since morning. I need to go home now.” She didn’t stop, but Nicholas followed her to the door and she did not know why he insisted she stayed. Rushing towards the door, she was eager to escape before he realized how jealous she really was, but Nicholas caught up with her. He opened the door before she could while she glared at him, wondering what he was up to.
“Or maybe you’re just jealous,” he leaned in to whisper, making her jaws drop with surprise. He knew she was dying of jealousy!
“Why should I be jealous? I don’t care who you fuking date or marry!” she gritted out, amazed at his arrogance. With him blocking her way, she seethed with annoyance.
“Liar, I know you do. I know you came here only to see me. I know you were watching me last night,” he whispered, removing his hand from the doorway.
“I know it was the other way around. You’re the one who can’t keep his eyes to himself.” She stormed out angrily towards her car, unable to tolerate him even a single second more. Nicholas chuckled after her as he closed the door when she angrily sped off without even giving him a second look. Her words rang in his ears and he felt euphoric that she noticed the way he stared at her. He couldn’t help it. His eyes found her of their own accord! It was true that he wanted to teach her brother a lesson and take his revenge by using Alyssa, yet there was a strange attraction he felt towards her he couldn’t deny. His body reacted to her and his eyes? They just couldn’t stop staring at her! It was strange since he had never been affected this way by any other girl before!
“Nick, what are you doing there? Come and choose the girl you like and we can set her up with you,” said his granny, seeing him standing near the door, dazed and lost in his own thoughts. He came out of his reverie and walked up to his mom and granny. Obviously, he had no interest in the photographs his mom showed him. It was just an act to rile up Alyssa. Her face was like an open book to him and he loved seeing the jealousy reflected in her clear blue eyes. It boosted his ego, and he went out of his way to make her more jealous.
“I’m not interested in any of those women. I was just playing along.” He shrugged, picking up a bottle of water and emptying it down his throat while his mom and granny gaped at him.
“You aren’t interested in women at all, or aren’t interested in these women?” asked his mom, massaging her temples as she was tired of this topic. With Lucas settling down, she was worried about her other two sons. Marcus was a rebel, and it was useless putting any sense into his head. Nicholas, on the other hand, was turning into a workaholic day by day with no time for relationships at all. He hardly went out on dates or brought home a girl, flaring up at the mention of any date they could fix him up with. It only made them suspicious if he was at all into women! However, Alyssa’s presence around him somewhat made them hopeful that maybe he wasn’t immune to women as they had thought him to be.
“No, he’s interested in the woman who just left,” chuckled granny, making Nicholas’s cheeks color a little while his mom chuckled too.
“You both are impossible! I’m off to work,” he said, escaping the torture, knowing that this would now be the hottest topic of discussion between the three of them after he left.
Alyssa unlocked her door and went into her apartment, her mind still pondering over Nicholas. Did he finally choose a girl to date? Assole! She would never cross his path again as he was the biggest ashole she had ever met. What did he think of himself? Why would she need to watch him? Seething with anger, she didn’t notice Eva in the kitchen and stormed into her room. However, the smell of freshly brewed coffee made her swoon.
Who was making coffee in her house? She walked out of the room towards the kitchen and, to her immense surprise, there was Eva pouring coffee into two mugs. “Eva? When did you come in? Where did you get the keys to the apartment?” she asked with astonishment, while Eva blushed a little.
“I just finished my night duty and Alexander brought me here against my will. He sort of abducted me,” she said apologetically, making Alyssa’s jaws drop to the floor.
“He did what? Wait, are you telling me we’ll be living together again?” she asked with disbelief, but Eva shook her head, looking embarrassed.
“No, he wants me to live in his apartment and pay him rent.” Alyssa slumped onto the bar stool in shock.
“What? He’s ready to share his precious apartment with you?” she gasped in shock. What was wrong with Alexander? Was he sick or something? He never agreed to share his apartment with her in his entire lifetime! “Are you sure there’s no catch? As far as I know him, he’s the meanest guy on earth!”
Eva shrugged, unable to tell her the real reason Alexander wanted her to stay with him. “I don’t know if there’s a catch. I’m sure he’ll tell me if there is.”
“Why have you made two mugs of coffee? Did you know I was coming?” asked Alyssa, looking clueless. Eva looked uncomfortable and shook her head.
“No, it’s for Alexander. His coffee maker isn’t working, and he handed me the keys to your apartment to make him some quick coffee.” Alyssa gaped at her as her head reeled with the information. Since when did Alexander need to use her coffee maker when he had a chef of his own to do his bidding? He usually had his coffee at his restaurant whenever his chef took leave!
“Umm, this is unbelievable! Anyway, why don’t you give him his coffee and come back here? We have so much to catch up on,” she said and Eva nodded and walked towards the door carrying the coffee mugs on a tray. Alyssa rolled her eyes at her friend. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she get over her crush on her brother? Despite his rudeness, Eva was too sweet to bear any grudge against him.
However, just as Eva opened the door to her apartment, she gasped at seeing Alexander there. “What took you so long? I need to go to work. I can’t wait for my coffee all morning!” he told her gruffly, while Eva looked apologetic. Alyssa walked out of her kitchen to face her brother. How could he take advantage of a kind soul like Eva’s and play with her innocence?
“My friend isn’t your slave, Alex. She doesn’t need to make your coffee and do your bidding. You have your team of chefs to do that.” Alexander looked up at her with surprise, obviously not expecting to see her at all. His jaws clenched angrily, and he glared at his sister.
“So you finally found time to return home? I think I specifically asked you not to have anything to do with Nicholas. Yet you had to visit his house and spend twenty minutes with him. Can you explain that to me?” he growled angrily.