Tparted my lips but couldn''t find my voice Just then, the door to the


    private dining room was hung open, and before he even walked in, I could aready smell his familiar scent


    Nichs gaze lingered on me for a few seconds


    ore he turned to Marcus and sneered. "What exactly are you implying, Mare? That I am somehow beneath the standards of your family?"


    I was his ex-wife, after all. So, when Marcus insulted me, he was basically


    insulting him as well.


    He kicked the chair aside, adjusted his trousers, and sat down. He wrapped his arms around my waist and forced me to sit on hisp while he looked at Marcus with a smile that didn''t quite reach his eyes. Marcus stiffened, his expression growing solemn. "Nick, you know I didn''t mean it like that. But this is about my family, and he''s my younger brother. I just can''t-"


    "Marc!" Nichs cut him off. "What you''re worried about won''t happen. Some things are set in stone, do you understand?"


    Marcus let out a sigh and nodded. "In any case, I have my limits. I don''t want to see my younger brother involved with a woman who''s been divorced!"


    "So what if I''m divorced?" I retorted, my outwardposure belying the tempest within. It wasn''t as if being divorced was a crime.


    "Marc!" There was a glint in Nichs'' eyes. "Ariana is and always will be my wife!"


    "What are you on about?" I struggled with all my might, but he just held me even tighter.


    Marcus rose from his seat. "Nick, I hope you can resolve your family issues. soon. I''m not going to risk my younger brother''s future over this." With that, The stormed off. "See? No one else wants you but me. Everyone else avoids you like theTêxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    gue


    Nichs hands suddenly slipped


    under my arms. He lifted me as if he were holding a child, spreading my legs before cing me on his He then leaned in, trapping me between the dining table and his arms, his breathing. growing heavy_


    I felt humiliated because the way he was handling me reminded me of udia. I wasn''t his stepsister. I wasn''t the one who liked to cling to him affectionately. Even though we had been through so much together, udia was always a thom in my side. Every time I thought about her, I felt like I couldn''t breathe. "Let go of me! I don''t like this position! Don''t impose your habits with others


    on mel


    He smiled and pressed himself against me, his breath growing warmer. What position do you like, then?"


    He abruptly wrapped his arms


    around my waist, spun me around to face away from him, and settled me


    on hisp. His voice was husky as he asked," What about this position?"


    Im sure you''re not enjoying this any more than I am, are you?" I asked through gritted teeth.


    I could feel him growing hard


    against me, and it seemed like he was tommenting me to see who would cave first. I knew, without a doubt, that I wouldn''t be the one to sumb first.


    Sure enough, he loosened his grip on my waist and sounded a bit dejected as he said, "Ariane, I recall how you used to burn with desire for me, so you eem especially cold now!"


    Nicholes had this habit of being utterly overbearing, only to turn around and act like the victim. All of a sudden, I couldn''t make heads or tails of him. "Will you only let go of me if I''m actually seeing someone else? Do you want me to sleep with someone else? If that''s what it takes, I''ll do it." 1


    If he couldn''t forget the Ariana who loved him unconditionally, then id destroy those memories for him.