Chapter 20
“Boss, what the hell happened to you…”
“She won’t come back.” Nikolai’s voice was barely a whisper, so quiet it was hard to make out. “Veloura won’t come home with me.”
The assistant showed no surprise. Everything seemed to be exactly what he’d expected. He said nothing, just sat quietly nearby.
Nikolai looked at him with desperate, hollow eyes. “What should I do? Tell me what to do. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing anymore.”
The assistant was stunned–this was the first time Nikolai had ever asked for his advice. He stood up carefully and spoke respectfully: “Sir, you might not want to hear this, but I’ve been with you for eight years. I’ve watched you and Miss Belcour through everything.”
He paused deliberately, watching for Nikolai’s reaction. “You loved each other passionately, weathered huge storms together, but couldn’t survive ordinary, peaceful life. Miss Belcour has left, and she’s not coming back.”
“I can help you force her to return, keep her imprisoned,” the assistant said seriously. “But she’ll never forgive your betrayal. And I think you know that.”
Nikolai shook his head violently. “No. I want her to come back willingly. I want her to love me again.”
The assistant looked at him in amazement and suggested that Nikolai court her again–making her fall in love with him again was the only shot he had.
Something desperate and manic lit up in Nikolai’s eyes. He immediately checked himself out of the hospital and bought the villa on the other side of Veloura’s house.
For three days, Veloura lived in constant terror. Every sound made her jump. Every shadow looked like him coming to drag her away.
Three days passed without any sign of him, and she finally began to relax. Then she noticed the house next door had changed owners.
Nikolai appeared at her door carrying homemade chocolates, his stern face trying to soften with a smile. “Little beggar, your favorite chocolates.”
The nickname hit her like a slap. He hadn’t called her that in years–not since he’d decided she needed to be “refined” for his social circle.
More than “baby” or “darling,” she’d always preferred hearing him call her “little beggar.” Only during that time had their feelings been pure.
Now it just sounded pathetic.
‘I don’t eat chocolate anymore.” Her voice came out flat, emotionless. “I’m diabetic now. Stress–induced.”
She saw him flinch, saw the smile crack around the edges. She walked inside and slammed the door.
Through the window, she watched him stand there for ten minutes, holding that stupid plate. Then he hurled it against the wall, chocolate exploding everywhere.
The next morning: “Little beggar, have some apple juice!”
‘I bought your favorite flowers for you.”
‘Veloura, little beggar, good morning.”
From that day on, Nikolai constantly hovered around her, bringing food, flowers, and gifts. Every day, a new offering. A new desperate attempt to buy back her love.
Her small courtyard became a graveyard of rejected gifts. Flowers wilting in their vases, food rotting in pretty packages. He’d throw away whatever she refused and show up with something new the next day, like some broken record that couldn’t stop playing.
A month passed. Veloura never responded, but Nikolai persisted.
A month of this bullshit. A month of him camping outside her house like some lovesick teenager, and she felt… nothing. All those things she’d once loved most–when Nikolai brought them to her again, they only made her feel disgusted.
17.16
Co Play Your Duet with Your Victrees: My He’s Melody is Going Solo un My Own
14.09
Chapter 20
But that girl was dead. He’d killed her.
Today, Veloura was playing violin in her house when Nikolai appeared again.
He leaned against her doorframe, sunlight falling on him and outlining him in gold. He was still breathtakingly handsome, but her heart no longer stirred.
She glanced at him coolly and continued playing.
When the piece ended, Nikolai climbed over the wall and looked up at her.
“Little beggar, today’s your birthday. Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you. Any wish you have, I’ll make it come true.” There was something desperate in his eyes, something that might have broken her heart once upon a time. “I know you’re still angry with me, but I’ll keep trying until you forgive me.”
Veloura looked down at him from her window–this man who’d once been her entire universe, now reduced to begging in her garden like a stranger.
She felt a kind of peace settle over her. Clean and final.
“Nikolai, come upstairs.” Veloura’s attitude was unusually calm today. She didn’t want to drag this out anymore–she wanted to settle things with Nikolai once and for all.
The hope that flared in his eyes almost made her feel sorry for him.
Almost.
But she was done feeling sorry for Nikolai Virellic. Done letting him take up space in her head.
Time to end this once and for all.
17:16
