Kachi Okwesa
NIKOLAI
DAYS LATER
Today was the day…unfortunately.
Nikolai couldn’t wait to be officially married to Coral again—he loved her, and not only did he want all the world to know it…he wanted to know it himself.
Maybe it seemed silly to some and more than a little insecure, but Nikolai needed that piece of paper to remind him that she was his.
That said, the actual wedding itself? He’d have been much happier exchanging their new vows in a courthouse.
It was embarrassing, having all this attention on their second wedding, broadcasting to the whole world that he had fucked up before.
But it was precisely because of that fuckup that Nikolai felt that Coral deserved to have her big day exactly as she wanted it.
That was why he sent a car to pick up world-renowned wedding planner, Triste DuRose.
The man had planned no less than three royal weddings, and not once would the pompous little bastard ever let anyone forget it.
Of course, arrogance was good marketing in that case, since Nikolai had sought him out in the hopes of giving his queen the royal wedding experience.
Now, as Mr. DuRose stepped out of the car that had so kindly delivered him to the Giovanni home, the pompous sneer on his face immediately set Nikolai on edge.
He had the look of old money about him—the kind of person who would look down on him no matter how much he achieved, just because of his difficult upbringing.
Nikolai was not born into wealth, and it didn’t matter how far he’d come or how much work he put in, old money would never let him forget that.
“Monsieur Giovanni,” the wedding planner greeted him as he stepped away from the shiny new car, pointedly ignoring when Nikolai offered his hand to shake. “Where is the bride?”
“Excuse me?” A flash of irritation hit Nikolai, but he knew better than to act on it.
“You and I both know that you do not care at all about the pageantry of a luxury wedding,” he scoffed.
He spoke in a thick French accent—Nikolai wondered if he wasn’t exaggerating it intentionally. “Point me toward the one who does.”
“She isn’t in right now,” Nikolai explained, fighting every instinct that told him to throw this asshole out for disrespecting him in his own home. “Maybe you should check into your hotel—”
“You actually did it!” Landon scoffed as he marched up onto the property, looking fully offended. “You hired this shit for my Coral’s wedding!”
Nikolai had to fight the grin that threatened to tug at his lips. “Actually, Mr. Weird, it is ~my~ wedding.”
“Well, this is…” Mr. DuRose sneered as he looked Landon up and down, like he’d seen something unsavory. “…Delightful.”
“On second thought, Mr. DuRosier—” Nikolai side-eyed Landon to ensure he knew the insult was intentional. “Why don’t you go over the venue options with me?”
“Excellent idea, Monsieur Giovanni.”
“Call me Nikolai.”
“I think not.”
Nikolai could do without the pompous Frenchman’s attitude, but if he really pissed off Landon that much…Nikolai could endure it.
CORAL
Coral wasn’t sure how to feel as she walked around the penthouse, trailing her fingers along the interesting art pieces that had come with the place.
Looking down at little Nicholas though, strapped in his carrier against her chest, she knew she was making the right decision.
It still hurt, and that hurt must have shown on her face because Morris rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Morris asked, obvious concern on her face. “You fought so hard to get here…”
“I know,” Coral sighed, stroking Nicholas’s hair. “I have so many memories here. This is the first place Nicole and I lived, just us.”
She could still see Nicole toddling around these rooms, sitting in front of the massive TV and watching cartoons.
Coral remembered the time that Nicole had cut herself on a piece of glass from some stupid thing she dropped when Nikolai startled her.
She hadn’t known they’d get back together then—she tried desperately not to want him back…looking down at Nicholas, she’s glad they did.
Nicole was in school now—she’d begun a whole new life since they left this place.
“Coral…are you really going to quit your job for him? He took away all your independence once; do you really want it to happen again?”
“It’s different this time.” Coral swallowed harshly. “All I ever really wanted was for Nikolai to see me as a person, and he does now.”
“He sees you as a mother—that doesn’t always mean he’ll respect you.”
“If he doesn’t…then that’s on him.” Coral took a deep breath. “The last time I married Nikolai, I had nothing, no life of my own.”
Coral pressed her lips to Nicholas’s wispy baby hair. “Now, I have children, I have friends…I no longer need my job to keep me fulfilled.”
She truly believed that, but saying goodbye was still bittersweet.
She didn’t need the penthouse anymore, and she certainly didn’t need a job, but the penthouse had been one of the few homes in her life that really felt like hers.
At the end of the day though, home was her children, and she wanted to be around to raise them herself.
NIKOLAI
Nikolai sat at his desk, pretending to look over quarterly profits, so he could at least feel a little productive.
The truth was that he missed Coral and the kids.
Coral and Nicholas had gone over to her old penthouse with Morris to make sure she hadn’t left anything sentimental behind.
Coral may not have much that can’t be replaced, but children were totally different—Nikolai and Coral both knew that they couldn’t just buy Nicole new plushies, she had to have her plushies.
God help them if there was even one left behind.
Nikolai knew they’d be out all day; the women had planned to pick Nicole up after school and make a day of it.
He hated to admit how much it hurt him when making a day of it didn’t include him, but he’d never say it out loud.
If even so much as a day where they’d left him was so painful, he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if Coral ever left him.
He wouldn’t imagine it.
He practically jumped out of his chair when he heard a knock on his home office door, but he deflated when he found Mia on the other side.
It was embarrassing, getting this excited at the idea of Coral and the kids coming home early, only for it to be one of his staff…
He felt like a dog.
“Letter for you, sir.” Mia handed over the envelope. “It looks official.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t be bothering me if it didn’t.” Nikolai sighed. “Dismissed.”
Mia blinked for a second, no longer used to Nikolai’s impoliteness when Coral was away, but he didn’t give it much thought as he shut the door.
“What the hell is this?” Nikolai asked himself, his eyes raking over the envelope.
It looked official all right, but not a damn piece of information on the envelope actually added up to any real institutions.
He shook the letter, but it didn’t sound like there was any kind of powder in it—so probably no anthrax.
Shrugging, he opened it up, but to his surprise, there was only one word, printed in ink in the middle of the page.
Congratulations.