Emily decided to visit her sister and her husband but changed her mind. Nicolas would definitely look for her there because she had nobody else she could visit or stay with.

Her father was not an option because he'd tell Nicolas she was there and keep her with him till he came to get her. Her father wouldn't care about her reasons, he wouldn't even give her a chance to explain.

She found a space to park and thought of what she could do or where she could go since she had left the house for the day. She thought of Quinn and wondered what Quinn would do on a day off from work but came up with nothing.

Suddenly an idea came to her mind. She would go to a sip and paint house. She used to love drawing and painting but her father stopped her from doing any of that because he believed artists aren't responsible people.

Art was the best way Emily knew how to express herself and let some really deep feelings go. It was exactly what she needed to do to clear her mind and her heart even if it was going to be for a while.

She started her car again and drove to her destination feeling good about her recent decisions.

She spent the rest of her day drawing and painting while sipping the cold strawberry juice she ordered with a large bag of chips. She loved the fact she was still able to draw easily like she never stopped. She loved the fact that she wasn't scared or worried about anything for once in a long time.

When she was done with her final painting, she was surprised to find out it was already a few minutes after eleven p.m. Her back felt a bit stiff from sitting in one position for too long and she felt like throwing up when she caught a whiff of the juice she was drinking. She'd drunk so much of it, it made her feel sick.

She stretched her body while admiring her art, then made plans with the owner of the place who agreed to help her keep them safely till she could come and get them.

As she started her car, all the fear and worry she'd forgotten about hit her so hard she suddenly felt like crying. She had no idea what to expect from Nicolas which made things worse for her.

He had never hit her before so she didn't think he'd do it now. She didn’t know him as the type of man to hit a woman but then again she didn’t really know anything about him at all.

If he would do anything, he'd just insult her in a nice way like he always does. She sighed as she braced herself for the unknown and decided to drive home quickly. It would be better not to go home later than it was.

When she got back, her fear increased because the mansion was so bright. He was waiting for her.

She parked her car and took in deep breaths to reduce her nerves. When she felt better, she got out and headed towards the front door. She hesitated for a while and when she finally decided to open the door, it flung open so fast she felt a rush down her spine.

She gasped when Nicolas suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her in with unexpected force. Then he kicked the door shut before grabbing her by the arms to make her back the door in one swift movement.

She swallowed a bit and reluctantly looked up at him but she was surprised to see a look of… worry on his face. He looked at her from head to toe like he was checking if anything was different or missing.

For a moment she thought he looked like he cared but she almost laughed out loud for thinking that way. She knew better by now. He just liked his properties in good condition.

He removed one of his hands from her arm and touched her neck, then he hesitated a bit before he held her face. Emily tensed from the unexpected contact but she relaxed after a few seconds because his touch remained gentle.

She gasped slightly when he leaned closer, he was so close she could feel his warm minty breath on her face which sent heat round her body. He was still caressing her face gently, still gazing at her with that foreign look of warmth in his eyes.

She wanted to close the small gap between them, their lips were so close she felt like she couldn't hold herself back anymore. The need to kiss him increased when she felt him get hard, his dick now poking her stomach.

He tilted his head then leaned in closer and she thought he'd give in to their desires but he stopped when their lips brushed against each others and spoke to her in a low, dangerous tone.

“Don't you ever try this shit again, Princess. Don't make me do things to you that will make you hate me for good!”

She gasped as he forcefully let her go and she sank to her knees as the reality of her situation came back to her. She was blinded by the warm look in his eyes and her desperation to kiss him…it made her feel so stupid.

He looked at her with his normal cold stare returned. Then after a while sighed then asked gently. “Where did you even go, princess? Where have you been all day?”

She stood up quickly, fighting back the tears that were trying to spill out because she still felt stupid. Then she opened her mouth to answer him but stopped midway. She looked away and decided not to answer him. She was a grown woman and she could do whatever she liked, she wasn't going to let him keep treating her like a dog on a leash.

“Emiliana. I asked you a question and I expect an answer right now.”

“I don't have to answer to you anymore like I'm a little kid,” she said, her voice raised slightly. “I told you I wanted a divorce but you don't want to give me that. Since you want us to stay married so bad, you have to get ready to treat me better and respect my decisions.”

“I have to treat you better and respect your decisions?” He said mockingly. “Emiliana, that's the biggest bullshit that's ever come out of your mouth.” She gasped and he laughed at the hurt expression on her face.

“There’s nothing funny about what I said, Nicolas. I mean it. I deserve to be treated with more love or at least respect. You don’t get to—”

“Oh, for fucks sake can you just shut up already? You're talking about love, respect and better treatment when you're basically a useless good for nothing bitch. You have no self worth too because you practically threw yourself at me and forced me to marry you and I consoled myself after a while by telling myself I'd finally get to be a father but unfortunately for me you can't even carry a child. You disgusting, worthless, possibly barren slut. Treat you better, my foot.”

Before Emily could think straight, she rushed at him and gave him a hard slap on the face. As her chest heaved and her vision blurred, she continued slapping and hitting him. She bit him when she got the chance and she scratched him all over his chest top.

She insulted him with so much rage she could barely make out what she was saying to him but she knew she must've started with how much she hated him and wished he would die somewhere far away from her.

When she got tired and sunk to her knees in tears, Nicolas knelt beside her and held her close… he tried to comfort her. He pet her hair silently and held her tighter when she tried to move away.

She cleaned her tears away and sighed in his arms.

“Emily… I'm sorry, princess. I shouldn’t have said that no matter how annoyed I was. I didn’t mean to cause you this much pain.”

Emily scoffed. Didn’t mean it, her foot. She shrugged him off and stood up, moving away from him slowly. She looked up at him and her eyes widened in shock at the state of him. He had a few bruises and bite marks, and some of the scratches were bleeding. She didn’t think she'd cause this much harm to him.

“You're tough for a woman your size, princess,” he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes and made her way past him to go upstairs.

“Please listen….” She stopped in her tracks. “I swear I didn't mean to hurt you so much, I didn't mean what I said, I just lost control of myself for a moment…I'm truly sorry.”

She didn't believe him one bit. She knew he meant every word of what he said, he'd just been keeping his real feelings locked away till today. Why he was apologising and claiming he didn't mean what he said, she didn’t understand. But she knew for a fact that he blamed her for always having miscarriages.

She sighed and said softly without turning around to face him, “I don't care at this point. I just need to rest so goodnight.”

“Okay…I understand but—-”

She didn’t wait for him to talk, instead she rushed up to avoid having to listen to him.