CHAPTER 107: – SHE WAS CRYING –

Nikolas dangled his feet, fingers playing with the fountain pen as he peered hard at her. "Fine. You’re hired. However, for now, you’ll work under the boss in the tech department."

Sabrina’s face leapt in a kind of joy she couldn’t hide. Her lips threatened into a large smile, until Nikolas spouted another word.

"However—" he said. "—I’ll fire you instantly if I feel you’re not competent enough. The pay is very high over here, but diligence is what I need in return, and if I can’t get that... Do you agree?"

Sabrina quickly nodded. "That is nothing to worry about. I take my work seriously."

"I don’t need you to tell me. Just show me." He shrugged.

Her lips stretched in a trembling grin. "I don’t regret recommending you to Viviana."

"What?"

"Oh, you have no idea? I was the one who set up the blind date. The pretty lady with curly hair sent your photos and I gave Viviana’s to her. It was a match."

’Francesca’

"I see."

"Aren’t you going to say thank you?"

"For what?"

"Don’t be a smartass Mr. Bastiani. Viviana wouldb’t be yours by now had it not been for me. I’m the glorious match maker."

Nikolas almost found himself chuckling. She sounded just like Francesca.

"How do you intend to help me anyway?" he asked. "Don’t assume I agreed to your request for free."

Sabrina crossed her hands. "First of all, tell me how you’re trying to get her back?"

"She doesn’t want to see my face. But I’ve been sending her flowers everyday. She likes roses."

"Ah..." She nodded, approving of the method. "That’s not bad at all. But there is something I don’t think you know about your wife."

Nikolas furrowed his brows, head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I don’t see any harm in knowing. If anything, it should help, after all, the Viviana I know would hardly spill her vulnerability out to anyone."

"What are you trying to say?" Nikolas was getting confused. ’Vulnerability?’ He’d seen all of her. What else was there he was missing?

Sabrina shifted closer, stippling her fingers against the desk. "See, this thing with her family has always been like this since we were barely even teenagers, but it just got worse over the years. Her father was awful to her mother, and I mean really bad. And Viviana grew up seeing every one of it, to the extent that at some point, she uh started to take the pain for her mother."

Nikolas’s face fell. "What does that mean?"

She cleared her throat, unwilling to spell it out. "I think you should know. I mean, you should have seen those...scars, right?"

"Scars?"

Nikolas’s face darkened.

"What are you talking about?"

Sabrina blinked at him. ’Didn’t you two...’ She held a confused look. "Are you joking?"

"About what?"

"You really have no clue?"

"A clue about what?"

She scratched the back of her neck. "Well, you’re just going to have to find out for yourself. Ask her, and let her show you. If she hasn’t shown you, then I can’t tell you myself. She’s very conscious of it. But I will tell you something else that you need to know, which might help you understand her better than you do, why she’s the way she is."

"Seeing all that while growing up from a child to an adult—" A soft breath fled her nose. "—It changed something inside of her. Seeing her mother break into pieces because she loved a man, it has planted this fear inside of her. She doesn’t want to end up like her mother, because let’s be honest, Viviana is a broken woman already. Emotionally, she’s a mess. And to add to that—"

"—You’re not her first love."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Who is?"

"A man named Emilio. He bombed her with love, promised her whatever you can imagine. Oh, they were even thinking of leaving together, and she wanted to take her mother with her. But you see, Viviana was someone Emilio couldn’t have. He looked down on himself, because...I mean, she’s Amadeo Di-grassi’s daughter, and setting that aside, Viviana is Lady Di-grassi, a successful woman who’s just a step behind her father. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he deceived her, coldheartedly left her without an explanation, without even calling once. But that’s not all, he stole a huge amount of money from her. The thing though is, Viviana wasn’t broken about the money. She was hurt that he’d lied. Why had he pretended to love her? He gave her hope and crushed it right before her eyes. I mean for someone like her, to finally think someone does actually love her, just to get stepped on like that. What do you think it did to her?"

"It broke her even more than anything has." Sabrina fidgeted with her fingers. "She started getting worse. She developed this paranoia that anyone who says they loved her didn’t. And only sought to use her. Setting her father aside, Viviana had never dated because she couldn’t trust anyone. She was afraid so I was really surprised when she agreed to finally go on that blind date, not to mention, marrying a man she’d only just met. She didn’t know what kind of a man you were, and I knew would never take that sort of risk, yet she did."

Nikolas was silently listening to her.

"So, no matter how many times you tell her that you love her, it’ll be hard for her to believe you. I really don’t know how you can convince her, but I hope you wouldn’t abandon her regardless, because..."

"Because what?"

"Because she loves you. She’s just afraid." Sarbina quickly shot to her feet, turning her back on him. "I’ll be taking my leave now, Nikolas."

She walked to the door before he could even say a word. But she paused, and turned her head to look at him.

Nikolas sat stunned.

She was crying.