At Crystal palace
"I can never get used to how beautiful this place is", a woman sighed as she threw herself on Nicole's couch and looked around the apartment in admiration.
"Me neither! I still can't believe that I actually own this place now like whaaaaaat!" She squealed as she passed a glass of wine at her friend.
"I want a place too! Like I would die with no regrets if I owned an apartment here!" She said still admiring the place.
"Well, Neela, too bad you're not a close friend to The Mrs. Victoria Frost nor are you a girlfriend to Xavier Frost otherwise...", She gave a mischievous smile and sipped on her drink.
Neela gasped as realization dawned on her before she broke out into a laugh. Nicole joined her in laughing before the two clinked their glasses and sipped on the sweetness of red wine.
"Speaking of which", Neela started as she stirried the contents in her glass. "It's been three months Nicole, three."
"I know", she said nonchalantly.
"Nicole", she warned with a danger in her tone.
"I said I know", she answered with clear annoyance before sipping on her wine.
Neela held the glass to her lips and stared at her friend with brows furrowed. She could smell something fishy from the way Nicole carried herself. The latter was drowning in her own thoughts. She knew what Neela's reminder was. Her heart dropped to her stomach making it to twist in an unpleasant manner.
"Nicole, you do remember, don't you?" Neela asked while carefully eyeing her; looking for any slip ups.
Nicole chuckled, it was full of self mockery. Hurt and anger reflected in her eyes as she stared into space. "How could I forget?"
"Good", Neela relaxed.
Nicole smiled then looked at her best friend who returned her with one. "Don't worry, we're good."
"Then when do we start?"
"We already started", she answered.
"No."
"Isn't it too soon?" She asked with a worried expression.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Too soon? Too soon? There's no such thing as too soon. What is this? Are you in love with him or something?"
Nicole fell quiet and simply took a sip of her wine. She could feel Neela's eyes boring a hole on the side of her face as she refused to look at her. Afraid she would see something in her eyes that neither of them wanted. Tension was building up between the two as Neela awaited an answer.
Suddenly, Nicole's phone rung. Her brows went up in surprise. Shouldn't he be at the family dinner she bailed on? What could be the reason he called? Neela peeked over and chuckled when she saw the caller I.D.
"Ssh!" Nicole held up a finger, silencing her before answering the call. "Hey... Yeah, I'm up... Yes..... Alright, sure."
"What?" Neela asked after Nicole ended the call.
"He's downstairs, he just got here", she said.
"And that's my cue to leave."
She emptied her glass and set it on the coffee table. Nicole did the same and walked her to the door. They exchanged a hug before Neela went her way. Nicole went back in to clear the wine and glasses, changed clothes into something more seductive, and waited for Xavier's arrival.
In the hallway, the doors to an elevator swung open. Xavier stepped out with an impassive expression, suppressing his annoyance. He had just had a terrible evening thanks to his mother. He knocked on Nicole's door and she opened it within seconds.
While the two shared a kiss in greeting, someone was watching from the shadows. The two disappeared into the house and closed the door. Neela appeared from the corridor she was hiding.
Her eyes flashed with murderous intent as she peeled her eyes on the closed the door. She scoffed when she heard the moans coming in from the room.
"This needs to end", she said before walking away in silent rage.
***
"Wake up sleepy head....."
A soft voice traveled through Xavier's ears. His brows furrowed before he slowly opened his eyes. He squinted his eyes at the blurry vision that greeted his eyes. He closed and opened them, this time they cleared. Nicole was staring down at him with a smile playing on her face. She was dressed in a jumpsuit and hair tied in a ponytail.
There was a fresh coat of make up on her face, a simple look that complimented her grey eyes. It was those bewitching eyes that Xavier was especially drawn to.
"Good morning", he said in a groggy voice.
"You'll be late for work, get up."
She held his arm and groaned as she helped him sit up. The sheets were still messy from their previous night's lovemaking. He sighed and run a hand on his face remembering his mom's announcement.
"Go shower, I'll go make us breakfast", she patted his arm before getting up.
He sighed as he watched her walk out of the room. He got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
The walls had great sound proofing, you could not hear what was happening in places like the bedroom or bathroom. So while he showered, she made breakfast. A call came through on her phone while she was in the midst of cooking.
Not too long after, Xavier exited the bedroom in the previous night's clothes. He could now hear Nicole speaking in hushed tones. As he got closer, the words got clearee from the kitchen as he walked there.
"Yes.... Not yet.... Yes..... No... No... Don't worry about a thing..... Yes..... Tonight
." She spun around when she heard noises from behind her and gasped, almost dropping her phone, looking surprised.
There was clear guilt in her eyes as she juggled the phone in her hand before catching it in a tight grip. Xavier paused from making a cup of coffee and raised his brows at her. She seemed shaken for a minute.
"Let me call you back", she abruptly ended the call as she looked at him.
"Who was that?" He asked, carefully eyeing her with his hand holding his mug.
She gulped. One question crossed her mind: How much of that conversation did he hear?
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