The Arranged Bride novel Chapter 34

Sophia's POV

I slightly groaned as the sun rays hit my eyes. I changed side and shut my eyes to get some more sleep . I reached out my arm to hug Nick only for my hand to fall on an empty bed. Opening just one eye I saw that he wasn't there, his side of the bed cold. As if just on cue the door creaked open.

" Wakeup baby , I have brought you breakfast." I heard Nick's melodious voice. Though I'll never admit but I love it when he calls me baby. It makes me feel giddy.

" Not now , it's too early." I heard him chuckle at that. Why ? What's so funny? Waking up is always a difficult job for me.

" It's ten already, sleepy-head." I immediately sprang up on the bed and looked at the clock to verify the time.

" Shit . We're late !" I looked at him with wide eyes . I hated being late to my job. Nick on the other hand smirked at me, making me guess that some arrogant comment was about to slip out of his mouth.

" You know I am the boss so ..." He trailed off to which I rolled my eyes.

" Shut up. Why didn't you wake me up?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

" I thought you needed some rest ." Just as he said those words , yesterday's events came crashing down in my mind. Everything played in my mind. I shivered at the thought of what could have happened if he had been a little late.

He obviously had noticed the change in my expression and the sudden discomfort. I heard him sigh after which he came close and pulled me to his lap. I put my hands around him, my head in the crook of his neck and hugged him. I was feeling so safe in his arms and no matter how childish it sounds, I didn't want to leave. We sat like that for a few minutes before he spoke.

" Now about being late , we are not going to office today." I kept hugging him. He was doing this for me and I felt guilty knowing that he had a lot of work at office. The work pressure at the moment was huge.

" Don't you think you are being absent frequently these days. On top of that , we both are absent together. What will everyone think?" I mumbled into his neck.

" That their boss needs some time with his wife , alone...." He trailed of in a seductive voice. I slapped his back and he laughed.

I pulled away to see his face. The laughter had ceased to a lazy smile . I dragged a finger along his face as if feeling and memorising every detail . Even with his messy hair , he managed to look so handsome. We both were staring into each other's eyes. He started leaning in and when I realised that he was going to kiss me, I sprinted off his lap. He furrowed his eyebrows, asking for an explanation.

" Morning breath." I climbed down the bed to do my morning routine. Stinky kiss isn't something I was up for. I heard him whine behind. He can sometimes be such a baby! I shook my head at that.

When I returned , I saw him leaning on the head board with one hand behind his head , while he was scrolling through his phone. As he saw me , he sat up smiling. After I climbed up the bed he placed a tray of food on my lap. It had some croissants , scrambled eggs , bacons and some fruits. My mouth was instantly watering at the sight of these.

" You made these ?" I nearly squealed.

He chuckled and nodded.

I quickly dug in . If I say they looked delicious then I must say their taste was heavenly. It tasted almost professional.

" Mmm , I didn't know you could cook this good! " I exclaimed to which he passed a grin. While treating myself with those delicacies I thought of messing with him.

" So you have been fake complimenting my cooking when all the time you're laughing behind my back." I came up with a fake serious and hurt look which seemingly worked. I could understand how could he fall for something like this.

" No , you didn't cook good .. I mean I don't cook bad ... I mean ..... I didn't fake compliment you . I - " When I couldn't keep in any more, I bursted out laughing , cutting him off in the process. Seeing him so confused and rumbling was the last of my expectations. I saw him looking at me with a pissed expression but I couldn't bring myself to stop. Suddenly, a glint of mischief was there in his eyes. Before I could realise anything, I started laughing louder. He had put the food aside and was tickling me without mercy.

" Stop - stop it." I requested through my laughter but it fell into deaf ears. Suddenly I felt a smaller set of fingers joining in the assault. I heard Ethan's giggle. I laughed so hard that tears slipped from my eyes. Finally when they stopped , I was breathing in pants.

" I hate you guys." I said.

" No you don't." They said in unison, sounding too confident for my liking.

" Oh I do." I huffed. They both looked at each other before raising their hands in a tickling gesture. Them just wiggling their fingers in air had me laughing. I attempted covering my body with my hands.

" Don't." I warned.

" So you hate us?" Nick asked smirking.

" Uhh -" I hesitated but when they lowered their hands, I gave up.

" No, I don't." I blurted. Their face had an expression of victory. They high-fived and moved away .

Both of them laid down on either side of mine. We were lying on our back , staring at the ceiling, without speaking, just enjoying each other's company. Suddenly I felt Ethan hugging my waist. I looked at him but he was hiding his face from me.

" What happened baby ?" I thought he will protest at the name I used . He looked up at me and smiled, completely overlooking that I called him baby.

" I had always dreamt of mornings like this. All of my friends have their Mom and Dad and I used to be so sad that my mom isn't with me. But then you came. Now I have my own happy family. " He grinned showing all his teeth. I was at a loss of words after what he said. He expressed it so easily in simple words but I didn't know what to say. So I just kissed his forehead and smiled at him. I felt Nick interlinking our fingers . I looked at him to see him staring at me with a strange look in his eyes... I don't know maybe adoration or something more. Squeezing his hand gently , I smiled at him. What I felt was pure bliss.

Ethan propped himself up on his elbows and looked at me to say something but stopped. His excited expression morphed into one of pure concern. He brought his hand to gently touch my cheek.

" What happened?" I froze realising that he was referring to the bruise. I gulped , unable to come up with a lie but Nick covered up pretty fast.

" She wasn't looking and hit against the door." Ethan looked convinced and very gently brushed my cheek as if he was wiping away the pain. I remembered when yesterday Nick was doing something similar. I smiled at the thought of how lucky I was to have these boys in my life.

My boys!

.....

As we were getting down, the door bell rang. Nick and I came down to the living room to see Clara sitting on one the sofa with her legs crossed, as if she owned the place. She was looking beautiful in the olive coloured dress .

I looked at Nick whose jaw was clenched. He looked pretty angry to see her. After learning what she had done , I could surely hate this lady with every cell in my being.

" What are you doing here ?" Nick gritted through his teeth which confirmed my thoughts.

" Nick , now that is not how you welcome your son's mother. " She crossed her arms and smirked at him. Although that was intended towards Nick , I felt hurt realising that I wasn't Ethan's mother but I quickly pushed away those thoughts. I couldn't be so stupid to let the words of this pathetic excuse of a woman affect me.

Nick chuckled darkly , one that can send shivers down someone's spine.

" Mother you say ? To make things clear, Ethan is now five years old. So where was this mother all these years?" His jaw was ticking.

" Nick , let's not go there. We all make mistakes. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have left him and you back then but now I am back for you guys." She said like it was so simple and Nick was dumb to complicate it.

" Leave my house." Nick was looking mad with rage, like he could set everything on fire.

" Think about Ethan , he needs his mother . " She looked concerned but I knew looks can be really deceiving and in her case , it really was.

" Really Clara ? Do you even hear yourself? Legally you don't have any claim on him and this emotional pleading isn't taking you anywhere-" I cut him off.

" You're right Clara, Ethan needs his mother with him. " I calmly spoke, look straight into her eyes.

" Sophia-" I silenced Nick by raising my hand.

" And he has his mother with him." I completed pointing to myself. There was no way in hell that I was going to have this lady claim Ethan as her son.

" I ain't talking to you bitch." She snarled at me.

" Watch how you speak to my wife. "

Nick's voice boomed. Clenching his eyes shut, he took a deep calming breath.

" Listen Clara , just leave. We don't need you in our lives. So just leave." He was almost yelling by the end of it. It was clear that he couldn't stand her presence, and I was asking him if he still loved her. I put a hand on his clenching fist in an attempt to calm him down.

" Our son may say otherwise. " She turned to look somewhere behind us and I prayed that my thoughts wouldn't prove to be correct.

" Ethan , come here baby , you're mumma is here." She cooed . I froze at my point. Looking at Nick , I found him mirroring my expression.

Ethan was there, all along, listening to us!

Shit!