Nick arrived at my apartment much faster than me. He looked impatient, his hands shoved in the pockets of his long black coat. Surely it kept him warm since the suits were nice to look at but didn't keep you warm when the fall wind was so cold it felt like a slap to the face every time you walked out the door.

"Nina." He greeted in a tight voice.

Nick was definitely not happy at the moment.

"Nick." I greeted back.

I moved past him and unlocked the door to my apartment. I stepped aside to let him in first, yet Nick didn't take up my offer. Like a gentleman, he gestured for me to head in first. So I headed in first, took my shoes off and headed straight to my bedroom.

"I'll be right back, make yourself at home." I called over my shoulder, "I'm just going to put this away. Do you want tea or coffee?" I asked as I tossed my weekend bag on the end of my bed.

I took my keys, phone, and Jacob's penthouse keys out of the pockets of my jacket and placed them on my bedside table. I then shrugged my jacket off and also tossed that on my bed. Reaching for my grey slippers I put them on and met up with Nick in the living room.

"Tea or coffee?" I asked again.

"Tea, please." He sat down on the couch, "I can't stay long, I just felt like we needed to meet up after the bomb you dropped."

"Then you can imagine how I feel right now."

I felt his eyes on me as I made my way to the kitchen, "No, I can't."

There were a lot of thoughts floating around my head about this proposal. The reoccurring one nagging at me that Jacob was just playing a sick game. He couldn't have me despite both of us knowing that I was attracted to him so he tried to tempt me. Tried giving me what I wanted so he could win this game of chase. If I still rejected the proposal I wouldn't be freed from him since he made it so that I still worked for him.

"Have you talked to Lucas yet?"

I nearly spilled cold water all over my brother who needed to head back to the office soon. He didn't look startled and even though I apologized he brushed it off. He was in serious mode. No stalling and definitely no small talk.

"I haven't talked to Lucas yet, I didn't know what was happening." I put the kettle on and grabbed two cups from the cupboard. A navy one for Nick and a rose-colored one for me. Not that it mattered since Nick was only focused on me right now, "I mean he proposed."

"With a ring and all that?" Nick asked.

Grabbing the wooden box which I kept my teas stored in I went through it to find something to my liking. Nick immediately went for an Earl Grey tea bag. I grabbed a strawberry infused with raspberry black tea teabag. We both tossed our teabags in our cups and waited for the kettle to let us know we could have our tea.

"No, nothing like that. It was more like a proposition."

Nick frowned, "And that made you consider it?"

I played with the hem of my shirt, refusing to look at my brother, "Who says I'm considering it."

"You are considering it." Nick stated without hesitation, "And I'd like to know why. What has Jacob Blackwood to offer to make you consider breaking up with Lucas who is a very nice guy? He has been nothing but patient with you."

Nick was right. Lucas had been patient with me. He was a very kind guy who enjoyed spending time with the people close to him. He tried to cook a decent meal to impress me and he tried to involve me more in his life. It had been very nice and comfortable with Lucas. But there was always the little itch I had. I always wondered about Jacob. He was always on my mind. While Lucas always referred to my life as that world. The world my parents and Jacob Blackwood moved in. He wasn't comfortable with it but he put up with it because of me. Jacob wouldn't feel out of place. He was like the king of our social circle. A serious relationship is what I wanted and now the dark and handsome CEO was offering it to me on a silver platter.

Of course, I was tempted.

"My God, Nina. You can't be serious." Nick sighed.

"It's just that I have to consider my options."

Nick didn't need to know I repeated Jacob word for word. He wasn't there, he couldn't know I was drawing a blank and decided to justify this whole thing by making it sound reasonable enough.

"You always need to consider your options." Nick agreed, "But you shouldn't sugar-coat these options you've got."

He reached for the kettle once it started screeching. He poured boiling hot water in my cup first and then poured some water into his cup. He placed the kettle back on the stove, we both grabbed our cups and moved to the living room.

"I know Lucas is an amazing guy, okay." I told him, not needing my brother to remind me of that, "But there are a few things which I noticed and I'm sure there are a lot of things about me he dislikes. Just a few things which made the offer tempting."

Nick rolled his eyes, "And pray to tell what annoys you about the great Lucas Chase?"

It was odd to me how Nick was kind of pushing Lucas onto me. I knew the moms were planning our future wedding already. They were patiently waiting for things to get serious. Well, as patient as they could get. But it didn't make sense that Nick was now behaving like them as well. It felt like something was wrong.

"Why are you suddenly so pushy when it comes to Lucas?"

Nick looked away from me, staring at his tea, "Jacob Blackwood is just not a good guy."

"He is kind of like the devil, I know. It still doesn't make sense for you to be on team Lucas like that."

My brother sighed tiredly, "Fine." He then looked at me, "I think something happened between Jacob and his assistant."

I nearly spilled my tea, "What?" I asked, steadying my cup so I wouldn't burn myself, "How? I mean what?" I asked again.

Nick nodded, "Yeah, I think he made this offer because something scandalous has happened between the two and he needs you to keep his image pristine." Nick snorted, "Well, you know what I mean. People love gossiping about his dating life but they do respect him."

"And whatever happened between Fenna and Jacob can make people distrust him?" I asked in a small voice.

"Pretty much."

That man once again played me. It shouldn't be a surprise at this point anymore. He always won and he always pissed me off so much I wanted to march up to him and smack him in the face. I wouldn't do it though. That would just lead to angry sex and I should avoid that.

"Okay, so I need to refuse his proposal then."

Nick placed his hand on my knee, "Nina, don't destroy the good you have by your own hand. Focus on Lucas, he'll never hurt you. I can promise you that."

That sounded pretty weird too. I narrowed my eyes on him and pointed my finger at him, "Okay, spill it. Did you stalk Lucas?"

Nick pulled away from me and tried to sip from his tea. It impressed me that he could sip that hot tea without burning his mouth. He used it to cover up his words but I still heard him.

"I might have hired someone to do some digging. The men in your life were questionable, I just wanted to know what you were getting yourself into."

"I love you, you know that?"

Nick frowned, "Yeah, I love you too but wasn't that the part where you freak out about me hiring an investigator to dig up some dirt about both Lucas and Jacob?"

I shrugged, "You did it to protect me. I respect that and I very much appreciate it."

Nick needed a minute to let it settle. He then smiled and looked a lot more comfortable around me. He leaned back in his seat and sipped his tea. I guess we both felt better after we spilled our secrets. I had been meaning to find me some female friends to gossip with but I now realized no one would be better than Nick. He'd be my brother and my best friend. Joy might be a perfect candidate as a first close female friend but she'd never replace Nick.

"So what are you going to do?" Nick asked.

He didn't want to tell me what to do, but after the secrets were spilled it was very clear what I was supposed to do. I'd be out of my mind if I accepted that damn proposal of that demon of a man.

"Refuse his offer and up my prices." I crossed my legs and smirked, "He wants me back as a personal shopper and that is fine by me. But then he needs to pay me triple because he forced my hand. He made sure that if I refused his offer I'd still be around."

Nick nodded, "Because of what he told dad."

"Yeah, he always thinks four steps ahead."

Nick smirked, "Maybe even five."

"Maybe."

We finished our tea and that's when Nick took his leave. He reminded me to choose the option which wouldn't destroy my life. He didn't need to have to remind me though. I wouldn't let that man fool me once again. I was so angry that he dared to rope me into something way too complicated just to save his freaking public image.

Fucking asshole.

I couldn't remain angry for long though. Lucas called me after his shift and asked if he could come over. He sounded hesitant and unsure. He made it sound like he wasn't welcome anymore. It nearly made me cry hearing how small his voice sounded. I made bolognese spaghetti and grabbed a bottle of white wine. When Lucas arrived I already prepared our plates. We sat down on my living room couch side by side and quietly ate while a movie was playing in the background. Lucas reached for his glass of wine and sipped it. He placed it back on the coffee table and faced me.

"I know it's none of my business but about this morning-"

"Nothing happened." I let him know quickly, "I didn't go there and I'm sorry I made you feel like something more was going on."

Lucas looked relieved, "Not that I imagine you would do that to me but I was kind of worried. Jacob Blackwood is your kryptonite."

"He kind of is," I muttered in agreement.

"So what happened?"

I sighed, playing around with my food on my plate, "He asked me to marry him."

"What?"

I smiled at Lucas, "I didn't accept his proposal. I discussed this thing with Nick and he let me know that Jacob Blackwood has done something which could potentially ruin his public image. He wants to marry me to cover that up."

"Did Jacob tell you the truth as to why he proposed to you?"

I shook my head, "No, he made it sound like he suddenly changed his mind about me and really wanted to marry me because I don't know he liked me or something."

Lucas' voice lowered, "Did you consider it?"

I grabbed my glass of wine and gulped it down. I needed more wine and I was so done with the food, "I'm going to grab another glass, you want more wine too?" I asked as I got to my feet.

"Nina."

Lucas sounded stern, he never used that voice on me before. It was kind of hot but it also made me freeze right to the spot.

"Yeah, I considered it. It sounded tempting to marry someone who already knows about the obligations I have toward my family. I am the Merigold heiress with that comes certain tasks I cannot refuse. And yeah, I already told you, that I do feel attracted to that man. So for a few minutes, I considered it. Then I talked to my brother about it so he could tell me I'm being an idiot."

"I never meant to make you feel like I hate that part of your life."

"But you do hate that part of my life. You always call it my world. And yeah, you're right it is my world and I will never turn my back on it even though it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable."

Lucas frowned, he looked upset with me. I think I could officially call this our first fight. I didn't know if it would be our last. Maybe it would. At this point, I was emotionally drained and I didn't care that much about our relationship ending. I might need to remain single just like Nick. It was definitely less complicated.

"I'm not asking you to turn your back on that part of your world."

"So let's say we get married and we build a life together. Would you happily go with me to these social events? Would you do it without complaining about it and would you agree with me that our kids if we have them also be part of that world you dislike so much?"

"We're talking about maybe ten years from now, Nina. We don't know how our life will be then. I can't make promises about things so far in the future."

"Ten years from now?" I asked.

He must have heard the shock in my voice because he got to his feet as well. He took the plate I was holding onto from me and placed it on the coffee table along with his. He wanted to take my empty wine glass too but I refused to give it to him. I walked to the kitchen and filled my glass to the brim. I sipped it immediately, needing the wine so much right now.

"Nina, we just started dating."

I kept drinking my wine because it was the only comfort I had right now. Lucas wasn't having it. He grabbed the glass from me and cut me off.

"Come on, talk to me."

I giggled, "What is there to talk about? I mean sure I didn't expect a ring on my finger today. But I sure as hell am not waiting for it for ten fucking years. I might as well stay single like Nick and enjoy the single life. It's not a nightmare despite people making it sound like it is."

"That's the wine talking." Lucas tried to brush this whole thing off.

It was another thing I hated about him. He always tried to keep the peace by either brushing things off or going along with whatever I said. Sure he sometimes stood up for himself but those moments were rare. I was sure there was also a reason why he was together with me. Maybe he was tired of the single life and settled for me. A woman his mother approved of, surely it would keep her off his back while he dated me on his terms.

There was no such thing as the perfect man to date.

Then again I wasn't fucking perfect either. But I sure as hell didn't deserve to be pushed around for ten years so Lucas could decide if I was it for him. I thought we agreed on this thing between us being serious. But then again he might have said that to placate me.

"It's me talking." He told him firmly, "I don't expect a ring on my finger today." I repeated, "But I was hoping to get married to you in a year or two. If we did decide to keep seeing each other that is. I thought you agreed to that but maybe you were just saying that in the heat of the moment. I don't know fucking know why I thought you were on the same page as me."

"Nina." Lucas tried to step forward but I held my hands out, trying to keep him at bay.

"Please, give me some space tonight. I just need to be alone."

He looked confused and shocked at the same time. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he found his voice again.

"Are you kicking me out?"

My throat felt tight and my heart was beating out of my chest but I kept my foot down. I needed to be alone right now. Some private time with my bottle of wine while I settled in bed. I'd decide what to do with my life tomorrow. There was no guarantee Lucas would be there for me tomorrow but that was okay.

"Yes."

Lucas nodded, "I see. Then I'll go."

He hesitated, maybe he hoped I'd change my mind but I really wanted him to go. I wanted to cry and I wanted to do it without him present. I cried too many times in front of him already. I was done with that too.

"Okay, goodnight."

Lucas turned on his heels and left the apartment. Once the door was closed I quickly moved to lock the door. I cleaned up the food and washed the dishes. The entire time I was doing these little tasks tears streamed down my face. I just need a bit of crying to feel better. Once everything was clean I grabbed the bottle of wine and my glass and headed to the bedroom. My phone was ringing. I recognized Nick's number. I wondered if Lucas somehow contacted my brother and told him about our night.

I didn't question it.

Grabbing my phone I declined the call. I turned off the volume and placed my phone screen down on the bedside table so it wouldn't distract me. It was just me and my wine right now and I felt so damn good about it.