CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BITTERNESS

~Evric’s POV~

Then, he leaned down, and the familiar, incredible heat of his mouth wrapped around my erection. A deep, involuntary groan tore from my chest. That felt so overwhelmingly good, I could only manage a hoarse whisper. "My dick looks good in your mouth."

Zayn smiled, looking up at me with eyes full of promise. "It has to look good," he murmured, the words delightfully muffled against my skin, "because it’s mine."

"It is," I agreed, running a hand through his hair, pulling him closer to the heat. "Yours and yours alone."

I settled back against the pillows, letting his mouth guide me through a long, exquisite journey. The focus was complete, the tension building in slow, agonizing waves. I didn’t need the violent, full-body release from before; I needed this deliberate, devoted communion. When I finally hit the point of no return, I shifted, ensuring the climax was all about him, his skills, and the undeniable pleasure he created.

After that intense focus, we moved into a beautiful, lingering phase of pure, physical romance. We didn’t need penetration to feel connected. Instead, we lay tangled together, hands exploring every curve and muscle, using mouths and skin to share a passion that was intimate and fiercely protective. We explored each other with a new tenderness, trading kisses that ranged from feather-light devotion to deep, consuming hunger. We drifted through a silent, touch-filled landscape, proving that our bond was more about the connection we shared than any single act.

~Zayn’s POV~

It was the day after Nicki was released. The whole week he was locked up, I couldn’t shake the guilt, not for the situation he was in, but for Nantam having to manage it alone. I had insisted to Evric that I needed to talk to Nicki face-to-face; I truly believed a conversation was the only way to stop the harassment for good.

Evric dropped me off at Nantam’s place, his face tight with controlled worry. "Call me the second you want to leave, or the second you feel uncomfortable," he instructed, his eyes serious.

"I will," I promised, giving him a quick kiss.

I walked up to the house and knocked. Nantam opened the door, his relief palpable.

"Zayn! Come in," Nantam greeted, pulling me into a quick hug.

"Hey, Nantam. I won’t be staying too long," I said, stepping inside. "Evric dropped me off and he’ll be back soon to pick me up."

"Okay," Nantam said simply, understanding the necessity of the time limit.

I didn’t waste any time with small talk. "Is Nicki here? I need to talk to him."

Nantam paused, his expression growing wary, but he respected my need. "Yeah, he’s in the kitchen. Just give me a second."

Nantam turned and called out, "Nicki! Zayn’s here for you."

A moment later, Nicki walked out, his steps slow. He looked tired and thinner, the recent confinement having taken a toll. He avoided my gaze, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

I managed a steady smile, extending a hand slightly. "Hi, Nicki."

I waited patiently while he sat down, choosing the chair farthest from me, his shoulders slumped. Nantam quietly retreated to the kitchen, giving us privacy. The silence stretched for a minute, heavy with unspoken resentment.

"How are you doing, Nicki?" I asked softly, trying to soften the edge of the confrontation.

"I’m fine," he mumbled, refusing to meet my eyes.

I decided not to waste time on pleasantries. The clock was ticking until Evric returned. I leaned forward, keeping my tone gentle but firm.

"Nicki, I’m here to talk to you about my boyfriend, Evric," I started, going straight to the core issue. "I wanted to talk to you so that you can respect my relationship and leave us alone."

He finally looked up, his expression hardening immediately.

"Before we go any further," I continued, holding his gaze steadily, "I need to know something. Why? Why do you hate me so much?"

Nicki let out a short, cynical chuckle. "You are asking why I hate you?"

"Yes," I confirmed, holding his gaze.

He leaned back, his eyes finally locking onto mine, and the resentment was a cold, hard thing in their depths. "Okay. I hate you because you’re lucky with everything. I hate you just for the sake of it, but mostly, I hate you more because of Evric."

His voice dropped, bitterness coating every word. "Evric was my ex. We were together for so long, and he never once treated me right. Never took me seriously. He was possessive and awful, but he never valued me. But you? The minute he met you, he was treating you like something... like a fragile, precious thing. Why, Zayn? Why do you deserve that, and I didn’t?"

His expression twisted with painful envy. "I hate you, Zayn, and I can’t deny it. And I can’t stop this hate, not after you’ve managed to have everything I ever wanted from him."

"And it’s not like you even wanted all these good things," Nicki continued, his voice laced with burning indignation. "I already heard the story of how you two met. It wasn’t like you were chasing him from the start. Evric had to chase you until you finally gave in! But me? I wanted him the moment I met him, and I stayed through all the awful times, all the times he made me feel worthless."

He paused, a wounded look briefly crossing his face before hardening into resentment. "I stayed even when he didn’t want me, because I hoped he would change. He just spent all his time having sex with me, trying to own me, never caring about me."

Nicki leaned forward, fixing me with a sharp, accusatory glare. "And there’s no difference between us, Zayn! You met Evric because of sex, too! That’s how it always starts with him! But for some reason, some reason I can’t understand—Evric chose to treat you right. Why? Why did he choose you?"

"But you cheated on him," I countered softly, my gaze unwavering.

Nicki snapped forward, his voice rising sharply. "I cheated because I was young, and all I wanted was love! After spending all that time with Evric, I realized nothing else made sense to him aside from sex!"

He gestured wildly, the pain from the past evident in his movement. "Nothing ever made sense to Evric aside from sex and money! If I wanted money, he’d give it to me, but aside from that, he gave me no care! he gave no love! It made it so obvious that he was only with me for sex!"

His voice dropped, filled with a hollow ache. "I wanted love, Zayn. I was very young, and I truly loved Evric. But he didn’t love me; he only loved what he enjoyed about me. So, I went looking for it. I found someone who would take me out, someone who would give me attention beyond the bedroom. I knew my relationship with Evric was going nowhere, but I was desperate to keep him."

"Our relationship was so unhealthy," Nicki said, his voice heavy with despair. "We kept hurting each other again and again. And because of that, I ended up hating Evric while still in a relationship with him."

His jaw tightened. "So, after his father caught me cheating, I told him not to tell him. I said I would break up with him myself, because I was already completely tired of him."

I listened intently. I had already heard Evric’s side of the breakup, of course. My purpose in coming here was to hear Nicki’s full story, the raw truth, so I could understand the depth of their animosity and finally know how to put a stop to everything between them. I needed to judge the situation equally.

"But the drug, Nicki," I asked, shifting my weight, the question a careful probe. "Why introduce drugs into the situation?"

"Why won’t I?" Nicki retorted with a shrug, though his eyes were frantic. "He already looked like someone who could take drugs, so I figured I could hang out with him and spice things up, also have enough rest from him, but on another level. Because only when Evric took drugs could he sleep for hours! Don’t you realize Evric doesn’t sleep?"

He leaned forward, lowering his voice in genuine frustration. "No matter what time Evric goes to sleep, he will always wake up before you. He’s not acting like a human, Zayn. I hate that part about him, so I drug him."

His words struck me with sudden, sickening clarity. I realized Nicki was speaking another truth about my boyfriend. Evric genuinely did sleep less. And now that I thought about it, I had never once woken up before Evric, even on the nights he stayed up working until dawn. He always woke first.