Chapter 70 Chapter 70: The More She Denied Him, the More Obvious It Became
Chapter 70 Chapter 70: The More She Denied Him, the More Obvious It Became
The morning air beside River Villa felt cooler than before, carrying the scent of river water and freshly cut grass through the long driveway as Elara and I stood beside the black SUV waiting for Nicholus. The massive estate behind us had finally gone quiet, the distant music from earlier completely gone now, leaving only the sound of birds somewhere near the trees and the occasional movement of servants cleaning up the aftermath of last night’s party. I stood near the passenger door with my hands folded together while Elara leaned impatiently against the side of the car, sunglasses back over her eyes despite the cloudy morning. Every few seconds, she checked the time on her phone with growing irritation.
“He’s doing this on purpose,” she muttered coldly, slipping the phone back into her handbag. “I swear to God, he could be standing fully dressed beside the window right now and still make us wait another twenty minutes just because he knows it’s annoying.” Her heel tapped sharply against the pavement in restless rhythm. “Nicholus treats punctuality like a personal attack.” I glanced nervously toward the mansion entrance before looking back at her carefully. “Maybe he’s just trying to wake up properly first,” I offered quietly. Elara let out a dry laugh. “Sera, the man survived three years in boarding school by bribing people to attend his morning classes for him. He’s not waking up properly. He’s performing laziness professionally.”
I tried not to smile at that, but the corner of my mouth twitched anyway. Elara noticed immediately. “Don’t encourage him,” she warned flatly, though there was less anger in her voice now than upstairs. “People always think Nicholus is charming until they’re forced to rely on him for something important.” She crossed her arms tightly. “Then suddenly he becomes everyone’s worst nightmare.” Her gaze drifted toward the front doors again. “And today, unfortunately, I need him conscious, dressed, and capable of behaving like a functioning human being in front of draven’s.”
The front doors finally opened, but instead of Nicholus, a servant hurried outside carrying a pair of sunglasses and what looked like a wrinkled suit jacket. He disappeared toward another parked car nearby before Elara groaned softly under her breath. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. “He’s still not ready.” I shifted awkwardly beside her. “Miss Elara…” I hesitated before speaking again. “Do you think he’ll actually behave at the hospital?” She looked at me over the edge of her sunglasses with complete seriousness. “No,” she answered instantly. “But if we’re lucky, he’ll at least behave badly in a quieter voice.”
A faint breeze lifted strands of her hair as silence settled between us again. From where we stood, the river beyond the estate shimmered faintly beneath the gray morning sky. The entire place looked peaceful now, almost beautiful enough to hide what kind of nights happened inside it. I glanced back toward the villa carefully. “Have you known Mr. Nicholus your whole life?” I asked softly, mostly to fill the silence. Elara sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately.” Then, after a second, her expression softened just slightly. “He used to follow me everywhere when we were children. Grandfather called him my shadow for years.” A small smile almost appeared on her lips before disappearing again. “Then he turned twenty-one and discovered alcohol, women, and the horrifying idea that responsibility was optional.”
Before I could answer, another voice suddenly echoed from the entrance behind us. “And yet somehow I remain everyone’s favorite cousin.” I turned immediately as Nicholus finally stepped outside. He wore dark sunglasses despite clearly being hungover, his tie hanging loose around his neck while he struggled halfheartedly with the sleeves of his expensive black shirt. Even from several feet away, he still looked like someone who had gone to sleep only an hour earlier. “You know,” he continued while walking toward us lazily, “most people start their mornings with coffee. Not emotional abuse.” Elara stared at him blankly. “Most people also don’t disappear during family emergencies.”
Nicholus pressed a hand dramatically against his chest like she had wounded him deeply. “You’re still on that?” he asked tiredly before pulling open the SUV door. “Grandfather’s alive. I’m dressed. We’re all suffering together. Isn’t that what family is about?” Elara looked moments away from shoving him back inside the villa. Meanwhile, I quietly stepped aside to let him enter the car first, though the exhausted amusement in his voice made it strangely difficult not to laugh. As Nicholus climbed into the SUV with all the energy of a man being forced toward execution instead of a hospital visit.
The SUV pulled away from River Villa smoothly, gravel crunching beneath the tires before the estate slowly disappeared behind us through the tinted windows. Inside the car, the atmosphere shifted almost immediately. Elara sat beside the window with her legs crossed elegantly, one hand resting against her temple while she stared outside with visible impatience. Across from her, Nicholus looked far too relaxed for someone dragged out of bed less than thirty minutes ago. He loosened his tie further before leaning back lazily into the leather seat with a long sigh. “Alright,” he said finally, rubbing tiredly at his jaw. “Tell me exactly how miserable this hospital visit is going to be.” His sunglasses slid slightly down his nose as he looked toward Elara. “Who’s already there?”
Elara didn’t look away from the window. “Father will come after the board meeting,” she answered calmly. “Richmond Draven is already on his way.” Nicholus nodded once. “Makes sense. Richmond and Uncle Simon practically share the same brain at this point.” Then his expression shifted slightly with sudden realization. “Wait.” A slow grin spread across his face. “If Richmond’s coming…” He turned toward her fully now. “That means Auren’s coming too, doesn’t it?”
For the first time since entering the car, Elara hesitated.
It was small. Barely noticeable. But Nicholus noticed everything.
“Yes,” she answered carefully a second later. “Auren’s coming.” The moment his name left her lips, Nicholus let out a loud, dramatic laugh that instantly filled the SUV. “Oh my God,” he said, leaning back against the seat like he had finally solved a mystery. “Now this makes sense.” Elara’s eyes narrowed immediately behind her sunglasses. “What exactly makes sense?” she asked coldly. Nicholus pointed lazily toward her. “This.” He gestured vaguely between her and the moving car. “You dragging me out of bed at gunpoint. The emotional terrorism. The screaming before noon.” His grin widened dangerously. “You don’t actually care about us visiting Grandfather. You care because your future father-in-law and future husband are going to be there.”
“Shut up, Nicholus,” Elara snapped instantly, though a faint flush had already begun creeping into her expression. He noticed that too. Of course he did. “Oh, she’s embarrassed now,” he teased mercilessly, looking toward me for support like this was the funniest thing in the world. “Sera, do you see this? She’s pretending this entire morning isn’t about Auren Draven.” I quickly lowered my gaze, suddenly feeling like I should not be included in this conversation at all.
“Mr. Nicholus, I don’t think—”
“No, no,” he interrupted dramatically. “You need to witness this. Elara waited half her life for this man to look at her properly, and now suddenly Grandfather falls down one staircase and she starts acting like the grieving widow of a billionaire dynasty.”
“Nicholus.” Elara’s voice came out sharp as glass now. “Keep talking and I’ll personally throw you out of this car.”
But instead of stopping, he leaned forward slightly, studying her face with infuriating amusement. “You like him so much it’s actually painful to watch,” he said bluntly. “You realize that, right?”
Elara scoffed immediately and looked back toward the window again. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Am I?” Nicholus challenged. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’ve spent the last twelve hours spiraling every time that man breathes incorrectly.” He tilted his head slightly. “Did he at least call you after he left last night?”
“How do you know that?"
“ I had my sources” Silence.
Heavy silence.
Nicholus blinked once behind his sunglasses. “Oh,” he said slowly. “He didn’t.” Elara’s jaw tightened instantly.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Which means definitely no,” he replied smugly. “Interesting.” He leaned back again with the satisfaction of someone piecing together gossip in real time. “So let me understand this correctly. You ruined my peaceful morning, dragged me across the city, and forced me into a hospital visit because Auren Draven is going to be there… and he didn’t even call afterward?”
“Elara,” I said softly before things could explode again, but she was already glaring at Nicholus hard enough to kill someone.
“You think you’re funny,” she muttered coldly.
“I think I’m correct,” he replied immediately. Then his expression softened just slightly beneath the teasing. “Relax, cousin. I’m not judging you.” He shrugged lazily. “Honestly, if I spent eleven years obsessing over one person, I’d probably lose my mind too.”
Before Elara could throw another sharp reply at Nicholus, the SUV suddenly slowed beneath us. The smooth movement of the car shifted into a gradual stop, tires crunching softly over gravel instead of pavement. The teasing atmosphere inside the vehicle vanished almost instantly. I lifted my head from the window just as the dark tinted door beside the driver opened from the outside, letting in a rush of cold morning air mixed with distant noise—voices, camera clicks, shouting.
A tall man in a black suit leaned slightly into the vehicle. I recognized him immediately as Damien Cross, the chief of security from the Varya estate. His expression was tense in a way that immediately made my stomach tighten. “Miss Elara,” he said carefully, glancing briefly toward Nicholus before continuing, “there’s a large media crowd gathered at the front entrance of the hospital. Reporters, photographers… more are still arriving.” His tone remained professional, but urgency pressed beneath every word. “They’re waiting for statements regarding Sir Senior Varya’s condition.”
Nicholus let out a low whistle from beside me. “Damn,” he muttered, leaning back against the leather seat. “The old man falls once and suddenly the entire city acts like the president’s dying.” He looked toward Elara with amusement still lingering in his eyes. “You celebrities really live exhausting lives.”
Elara ignored the joke completely. Her posture straightened immediately, irritation flashing across her face. “How did the press even find out this quickly?” she asked sharply. “The hospital was supposed to keep everything private.” There was frustration in her voice now, the kind that came from losing control over something she desperately wanted contained. “I don’t want cameras shoved in my face before nine in the morning.”
Damien Cross lowered his voice slightly. “Someone from the emergency department likely leaked the information overnight. We’ve already arranged an alternative route.” He stepped back slightly from the open door. “It would be best if you enter through the rear service entrance instead of the main lobby. The front is blocked with reporters.” Even from inside the SUV, I could hear faint shouting somewhere beyond the walls and gates surrounding the hospital grounds.
Nicholus groaned dramatically. “Wonderful. Nothing says family bonding like sneaking through hospital back doors.” He ran a hand through his hair before smirking toward Elara again. “You know this is only happening because the reporters think Auren Draven might show up too, right?”
Elara’s jaw tightened instantly. “Can you stop talking for five minutes?” she snapped without even looking at him. “Not everything is about Auren.”
Nicholus laughed under his breath, clearly unconvinced. “Sure,” he said lightly. “And I’m sure you dragged me out of bed this morning purely because you missed my company.” He glanced toward me then, grinning lazily. “Tell me, Sera, does she always get this defensive whenever his name comes up?”
Heat rushed awkwardly into my face before I could answer, but Elara cut in first. “Enough.” Her voice turned cold again, sharp enough to silence him completely this time. She looked back toward Damien Cross. “Fine. We’ll use the back entrance.” Then, after a brief pause, she added more quietly, “And make sure nobody gets close to Richmond or Auren when they arrive. I don’t want reporters harassing them the second they step out of their car.”
Damien Cross nodded immediately. “Understood, Miss Elara.” He stepped aside, and the SUV slowly began moving again, turning away from the crowded front side of the hospital. As we drove along the quieter rear road, the noise of the reporters faded behind us, but tension still lingered heavily inside the vehicle.