Maya's POV

It was quite a huge work getting Annabelle to calm down and I couldn't have been more grateful when her people came to take her home cause no matter of cajoling nor appeasing seem to work on her.

I didn't know Annabelle sincerely held me in high esteem till now to the extent of wanting me as a mother. Perhaps that dream of her's would've been achievable if I had met Eden first but unfortunately, I'm stuck with Niklaus and his daughter Isabella till God knows when.

Thankfully Izzy behaved while entertaining Pedro - amidst her punishment - for the rest of the evening till Cecil returned and took him home.

Without bothering to tuck myself in , I collapsed on my bed exhausted.I was so tired that I couldn't even lift a finger, the fatigue was already having its effect on me.

Thanks to Nik I didn't have a good rest last night and would've gotten one during the day if not for the dramas and everything. At lest I didn't have to put any effort and slept off right away.

I did not know how long I slept but my eyes snapped open the moment I felt myself being lifted in the air. My hands instinctively wrapped around his neck for safety when I realized Niklaus was carrying me in his arms.

"Shit, you're awake " he cursed and his expression softened " Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.I was just trying to tuck you into the bed and didn't realize you'll be awoken that easily " he explained and I smiled softly in response.

Though I wasn't a light sleeper who would wake up easily but I'm definitely not someone who could sleep through noise and other disruptions - I'm in between both.

The moment Nik placed me in the bed I knew it was game over for sleep at the moment. I had quite an erratic sleeping pattern so it would take a long time for me to fall asleep again unless under some special conditions.

Left with no choice, I left for my bathroom and did some brushing and face wash before returning to my room and honestly wasn't surprised to see Niklaus lying on my bed with his arms folded behind his head and leg crossed over the other.

"When did you return? " I asked, climbing into bed and placed a kiss on his cheek while he sat up.

His mouth curled up " Hasn't being that long " he replied and I could tell he was speaking the truth judging from the scent of his shampoo and aftershave wafting into my nostrils.

He was wearing a loose v-neck t-shirt that exposed his chest and coupled with a plaid pajama pants with pockets. I couldn't tell if it was intentional but he still had water dripping from his hair and had to fight the urge to run my hands through his hair and brush those water droplets away.

"Umm" I cleared my throat to distract myself from the X-rated thoughts running through my head right now " Where did you go to? "

"I had some business to attend to " he answered without further details and I knew unless he wanted to, I wasn't going to get any more information from him.

Suddenly, he pulled me closer to his side " So tell me " he began " what happened today, the house is oddly quiet "

"Oh that " I sighed " Isabella and I had a fight "

"Oh , that's new " he turned and laughed at my misery "I thought you both were the best of buddies? "

I glowered at him " Well, we used to be... " I corrected " We still are but she needs to be taught some manners, Isabella is too rude and arrogant "

"Then go get her tigress! " Nik exclaimed and even went ahead to make a clawing gesture.

I cocked a brow " Seriously Niklaus ?"

" What?" He acted ignorant and before I could retort, he leaned in and stole a short kiss.

"Y-you ! " Infuriated, I pulled out a pillow from behind and hit him with it as he went into a laughing fit.

I guess it wasn't painful cause he kept laughing, so I kept hitting him with it until he held up his hands in surrender.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I give up " he said, holding his stomach from laughing too much but I knew he never expected my question.

"You had a hand in Andrew's case right? "

His expression shifted and he put on his guarded look at once " You saw the news? "

I nodded, noticing his poker face was back "I saw the news, it was all over the internet "

He lifted a brow " And? "

I bite the inside of my mouth " Why did you do it? "

"He hurt you " came his blunt reply.

I shifted uncomfortably in the bed " Niklaus, that was eons ago.You shouldn't have bothered yourself, I've forgotten about him already " I pointed out but I'm sure he would see things differently.

He stared me straight in the eyes " But I haven't forgotten how he treated you and he played with your feelings "

"Isn't that what you do to .... " I faltered at once when I realized what I just blurted out. I gulped nervously, I really didn't mean to say that ; it was a slip of the tongue.

"Ouch " was all he said before a wry smile twisted his lips "All the women I've ever dated knew what they were getting themselves into from the very beginning , neither did I berate nor air their dirty laundry in public. It was strictly give and take " He said to me in a gentle yet cold voice that sent chills down my spine while trapping me with his body.

I understood perfectly what he was insinuating, moreover he was there on the day Andrew not only broke up but humiliated me in front of the public ; it was one of the worst day in my life.

"I'm sorry " I apologized while putting on a sad expression.

"No need to apologize cause I expected it anyway , besides I had done it without your consent amidst my promise " he reminded me and went back to his sitting position while I breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, the crisis was averted.

"I'm bored " Niklaus said out of nowhere

"What? "

"Let's chat online " came his suggestion and I have him a funny look.

"Why do we need to chat online when you're right beside me? " I asked flabbergasted.

"Just do it alright " He pleaded, tugging on my hand the way a child would pull his mom's arm while demanding for something.

My instincts told me something was wrong and Nik was definitely up-to no good as usual but I ignored it and started the chat.

The chat record was clean considering this was the first time we both were chatting each other up.

Nik : " Well, hello there "

Maya : " Hello "

Nik : "How are you doing? "

I turned to give him a dirty look " Seriously this is stupid " I said and threw my hands up but Niklaus didn't say anything to me, instead my phone vibrated with a notification, he had sent another message.

Nik: " let's play a game "

My eyes narrowed in suspicion yet intrigued as I wondered what game he had in mind; it was definitely better than this dumb chat.

Maya : " Fine then " I agreed and Niklaus sent me a meme almost immediately as if he couldn't wait for me to see it.

"What do I owe you according to your birth month?

Jan : Deep kiss 💋❤

Feb: lunch date 🍜🥘

Mar: A drink together 🥃🍷

Apr : Four rounds 🍆🍑

May: A baby🤰🤱

Jun : Have a walk together 👫💏

Jul : Ice cream 🍨🍧

Aug: Massage all over the body 🧘‍♂🛀

Sep: Kiss biting 👄🦷

Oct: Ass grabbing 😻🍑

Nov: love bite 🧛‍♂🧛‍♀

Dec: sex 🙈🍆 "

I turned slowly to face Niklaus with a shocked expression while this sly smile tugged his lips and he said,

"Now make your choice and I'm guessing you know my birth month "