The cheeky woman
Ari's feet came to a halt as she turned her head to the side and looked behind her. It was just like Nicolai said, the guards who were keeping an eye on her were already aware of her disappearance and were now searching for her.
If she got caught then ——
'Noah will lock me up even more securely,' Ari knew her husband. He was a freak when it came to control, everything had to be done in a proper order and according to the plan that he came up with in that f*cked up head of his.
Nothing was allowed to go against his well-thought schemes, if it did then the consequences were imaginable.
And by running away from him when Noah had specifically told her not to, Ari didn't even need to use her toes that she was in grave danger.
"You are not going to wave to them? That's sad," she heard Nicolai sat from behind. "I thought you were going to deal with this case through legitimate means." He then paused and added, "Oh, don't tell me that a classy lady like you cannot shout? That will explain why you are staying quiet, so should I help you? My voice is quite loud, and I can totally attract their attention."
Ari turned her head around and caught the teasing glint in Nicolai's eyes, and before she could say anything, she watched him raise his hand and shout, "Yahoo! Look here——"
Nicolai's words came to a halt when Ari pressed her hands against his lips. She couldn't believe it, this man knew that she had taken a risk of getting pummeled to death by climbing down from the third floor of the hospital, and yet, he was actually calling those bodyguards?
Was he out of his damn mind?
On the other side of the street, one of the bodyguards turned to look at the alley from he heard the sound and turned to look at his colleague.
"Did you hear something?" He asked.
"What? No, I didn't. Stop looking at useless things and look for that woman, if she is not found then we will be in trouble," the other bodyguard said with a frown on his face as the two of them walked past the alley. It was a good thing that the alley was too dark for them to see Ari, but even then, Ari felt like her heart was going to jump out through her chest.
She didn't even dare to breathe until the two bodyguards left and then looked up at Nicolai. Ari questioned angrily, "What was that? What were you trying to do?"
Instead of replying to her, Nicolai curled his eyes up as if he were smiling and then ——
"What the f*ck! Why did you lick my palm? Are you a dog?" Ari questioned as she wiped her palm on the pants that she was wearing.
"Woof, woof," Nicolai barked like he was indeed a dog, causing Timmy to look up at him. It was as if the real dog were questioning what a human was doing, trying to act like a dog.
"You are out of your damn mind," Ari muttered when she heard him bark.
"I am out of my mind, and you are out of options. We do make a much better pair, don't you think so?" Nicolai stated with a wicked grin. He leaned back when Ari glared at him, though it didn't matter much to Nicolai, it was a big thing for Ari.
She was still married to Noah and had no desire to walk down the same shameful path as him. This might be something that Nicolai might not understand as he had no morals, maybe he slept with a married woman every now and then to chase excitement.
"Woah, what's with that glare," Nicolai questioned, and only then did Ari realize that her thoughts were now written on her face.
Oops.
She immediately smoothened her expression and then stated, "It is nothing."
A part of her wanted to run away, but as much as Ari wanted to put up a brace facade, she recognized how careful she had to be now. The bodyguards were looking for her and if she were to step out of this alley without a plan, then she was going to be caged like a canary.
She, thus, abandoned the flight option and looked at Nicolai, who was smiling down at her.
'He is playing with me, this is all fun to him,' Ari thought angrily. She knew that her struggle to survive must be quite an amusing play for Nicolai as he was someone who saw people pleading, begging and crying for their lives every day.
People like him enjoy watching others suffer. However, this was something she would deal with later on. For now, she needed to get out of here and go somewhere Noah couldn't catch her.
"Can I borrow ten dollars from you," Ari asked. She might be out of her mind asking a mafia for a loan, but this was the safest thing she could come up with. The irony, taking help from a mafia prince was actually safer than being caught by the guards of her husband.
Her words caught him off guard Ari caught a hint of surprise in his eyes as he raised his eyebrows. "You want to borrow money from me?"
"I don't see anyone else," retorted Ari as she held her hands out and spoke, "I already owe you, so ten dollars shouldn't hurt."
The man stared at her for a whole two minutes before he burst out in laughter.
"You are f*cking amazing. I have always seen people trying their best to avoid taking a loan from mafias and here you are demanding money from me, fcking fantastic," he stated as he took out a ten-dollar bill from his pocket. "But what will I get in return?"
"My eternal gratitude?" Ari offered sweetly.
"Nah. I don't do that sh*t," he replied with a grin. "How about another meal on top of the one you already owe me? Invite me to dinner when everything is over?"
Though every molecule in her body was demanding to kick this man and send the shards of his sunglasses in his eyes, Ari smiled and nodded. She could have returned the ten dollars, but no, this man had to entangle her in an even deeper mess.
She couldn't understand why Nicolai was adamant about asking her out on lunches and dinner dates but compared to offering her body, this was better.
Seeing that she had agreed, Nicolai finally handed her the ten dollars that she wanted, giving Ari the reprieve, she was looking for.
"Then I will see you when?" He asked as Ari turned around to leave.
Hearing his response, Ari paused and cheekily smiled before saying, "When I am divorced, Mister De Luca. As I do not invite other men to lunch and dinner as a married woman."
Nicolai: ????