Do You Trust Me?

"I know you said it couldn't happen, but if they were somehow able to take your company away because of what your father did, I'd let you go."

He pulled back, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me. "What do you mean?"

"I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything. If me being away from you keeps you out of trouble, I won’t mind it. I would let you go to Rosemary to keep Simon quiet. Of course, until we figure out what to do." There was no way I would allow it permanently.

He shook his head. "I'd rather have you and nothing else than have all of this without you."

With one sentence from him, it no longer mattered who was trying to take us down. Whether it was Hector, Rosemary, or Simon, it didn’t matter what else happened because I knew Nicholas prioritized me and the baby over money and power. He loved me as much as I loved him.

I kissed him until he was groaning in my mouth and tugging my panties down. We made love with the sound of the pounding rain accompanying our whispered words. Confessing our love, each in our own way.

We eventually made our way to the shower and then downstairs for some food, but the remainder of the day was spent cuddling and remaining in our bubble.

I was so happy that it slipped from my mind that Monday would bring with it the real world. And it would crash around us once again. Or maybe it was coming sooner than I thought.

Nicholas' phone buzzed with a text, and I glanced at his frowning face as he held me on the couch. I paused the movie we were watching.

"What is it?"

He sighed. "I told you I was going to take care of this. You're not supposed to worry, right?"

"That's impossible. I'll be more worried if you keep me in the dark."

He set his phone on the table, bringing his arms around me again. It made me more nervous because he was hesitating for so long to tell me.

The last thing I expected was the words that eventually came out of his mouth. "I'm going to see Hector tomorrow."

.

I kept my mind occupied during class and at home the next day. I did everything to keep myself from thinking about Nicholas and his meeting with Hector. He hadn’t given me the details when I questioned him, but he did tell me that everything would be alright.

Needless to say, with the lack of information on my end, I was nervous.

I had set up residence in the kitchen, and I tried to make dinner for everyone. Laura kept a wary eye on me. I was trying my hand at lasagna and doing a pretty good job in my opinion.

Just as I was finishing the last layer, my phone rang. I sighed when I saw who it was, knowing she was going to be upset after Jefferson informed her what had really happened between Rosemary and Nicholas.

"Hello, Clara."

"Willow." Her voice was hoarse… sad. She cleared her throat before continuing. "I'm calling to make sure you were still on board to attend the charity function with me. I never really got a chance to ask you over the weekend."

It was a charity benefit, raising money for a children's hospital. There was no way I would back out of helping such a good cause, no matter what kind of craziness was going on in my life.

"Of course, I'll be there. I still have to find something to wear, but I'll come up with something." She laughed, but it sounded strained.

"Are you okay, Clara?"

She sobbed but tried to hide it. "I'm sorry. I told myself I wouldn't cry when I called. You have enough to deal with."

"It's alright. I know it had to be hard for you to hear what happened."

She was quiet for a minute, but I didn't push her, instead giving her time while I put the pasta in the oven.

"I've never been so angry in my life. Angry at her. Angry at Jefferson. Angry at myself. I—I don't even know how to face Nicholas."

I tapped on the countertop, trying to come up with the right words. It wasn't her fault, but I understood how she would feel guilty regardless. "I think he's finally starting to let it go. Just be there for him. He loves you. He always has. You don’t need to feel guilty for not knowing what happened when he didn’t tell you himself."

She sniffled. "I'm just glad you and Nicholas found each other. I don't like to think about how miserable he would have stayed if you hadn't."

I hadn't thought about an alternate reality of Nicholas' future if he and I had never met. Would he have ended up with Rosemary somehow? Would he have remained alone? Would he ever have understood his father's attitude toward him?

It hurt me to even think about those things. All I knew was none of them would actually happen. And the truth was, he filled as many holes in my life as I did in his.

"I'm thankful for him every day."

"I know you are, sweetie." The smile was back in her voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great. I'm not nearly as exhausted as I was in the first trimester." I wasn't going to talk about my nervousness. "I'm actually cooking right now."

"Laura's really letting you in her kitchen?"

I laughed. "She's keeping a close eye on me." Laura looked up from the table where she was reading a magazine and winked at me.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'll be in touch with more details soon. Please let me know what you decide to wear."

"I will. Thanks for calling."

Nicholas walked in soon after we hung up, surprising me by wrapping his arms around me from behind. Nicholas chuckled between his kisses to my neck and I spun around in his arms to face him.

"Well, what happened?" I questioned.

He smirked, ignoring my question. His fingers played with the strings of my apron. "You're cooking?"

"Don't sound so shocked. I can cook when I put my mind to it."

He sniffed the air. "It does smell pretty good, but did any of the tomato sauce actually make it into the pan?"

I slapped his hand away, my eyes darting down to take in my sauce-splattered front. It was a good thing I was wearing an apron. "Shut up or you won't be eating any of it."

He leaned in close. "There's something I want to eat even more than your lasagna."

I blushed and checked to make sure Laura hadn't heard him. He was such a pervert but I was no less of it. I pushed him away before things escalated any further and I burned my culinary masterpiece.

He held up his hands and backed away, licking his lips. Damn him. He had me flustered enough to almost forget about my interrogation. I pulled out some bread and butter, slicing and spreading as he poured himself a drink. Laura excused herself to do some laundry.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Half of my worry had already disappeared simply from Nicholas being in such a good mood. I expected him to be angry and vigilant, not playful and horny.

"It went well. Just like I had expected."

"What did you talk about?"

He smirked again. "I made him an offer."

"You did what?" I gasped.

"I made him an offer," he repeated.

"An offer to do what? How could you possibly benefit from working with that snake?"

I had been a nervous wreck all day, waiting to hear how his impromptu meeting with Hector had gone, fearing Nicholas would lose control again. Now he was telling me they were partners in crime or something? What the hell?

"He hates Simon as much as I do." He lifted his head, his eyes blazing.

I huffed. "But he's working with Simon." It made no sense to me.

"He did it for money mostly, the fact he was also fucking me over was only a bonus." He gave a short laugh. "He's a stupid asshole, but I'm going to be the one using him now."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, not liking the idea of putting any trust in Hector. Nicholas sounded so confident, though. I wanted to believe he knew what he was doing.

"How are you going to do that?"

"Simple. I'll let him think he's getting what he wants."

"And how are you going to do that?" I walked over to stand in front of him.

Apparently, that wasn't close enough because he pulled me down to sit on his lap.

"You trust me, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."