Love the Second Time Around

Chapter 99

Chapter 99 A Perfect Man

Nicholas then continued before I could say anything, “You have to eat something even if you don’t have the appetite. It tastes so good, I promise you’re going to love it anyway!”

Seeing as he was so enthusiastic about it, I decided to not refuse his offer. After all, we had originally agreed that I would treat him to a meal.

However, he drove straight up South Hill instead of heading to another restaurant.

There was a famous observation deck located at the top of South Hill which provided a stunningly beautiful view of the city, especially after the lights came on at night.

The winding mountain road was illuminated by street lights lined up on both sides. I had expected to see the entrance to the observation deck shortly after, but I was greeted by a bunch of luxurious villas instead.

“Did we take a wrong turn?” I asked in confusion while glancing about.

“Nope, this is where I live,” Nicholas said as he drove toward one of the villas and parked his car in the front yard. “All right, we’re here.”

What’s going on here? Didn’t he say he was taking me to dinner? I thought to myself as I got out of the car.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go on in!” Nicholas began tugging at my hand when he saw me standing there, seemingly in a daze.

Still rooted to the spot, I stammered awkwardly, “I…I’m not so sure about this…”

Nicholas raised an eyebrow at me after a brief pause and asked, “What? Are you scared that I’ll do something nasty to you?”

I shook my head profusely. “No, I just… I just think it’s a little inappropriate for me to come to your house like this.”

“I’m the only one living here, so there’s nothing to worry about! Come on, let’s go!” he said with a chuckle.

Having no other excuse to refuse him, I simply kept quiet and followed him inside.

Nicholas handed me a brand new pair of men’s slippers after going through the front door, but I spotted a pair of pink women’s slippers inside the shoe cabinet.

That sparked a flame of curiosity in my heart, but I chose not to ask him about it out of respect for his privacy.

Nicholas’ villa was huge, and the light from the chandelier revealed its unique decor.

“Make yourself at home,” he said as he sat me down on the couch and turned on the television before walking off.

After sitting there for a good few minutes, I couldn’t stand the boredom and walked toward the kitchen. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Nicholas was cutting up some vegetables when I entered the kitchen.

“Why’d you come over? Did you get bored sitting there by yourself? I was going to whip up a couple more dishes, but there isn’t anything else left in the refrigerator, so I made you some pasta instead. Will you be okay with that?”

He was so skilled at it that he said all that while looking at me instead of the chopping board.

“Yeah, sure.”

Of course, I’d be okay with it! I’d eat anything Nicholas cooks!

As I took a few steps closer, I realized he was actually multitasking by boiling the noodles with one hand while cooking the sauce with the other.

I felt my appetite building up again when I smelled the fragrant aroma.

“Wow… You really are talented, Nicholas! I bet whoever is lucky enough to marry you in the future would be the happiest wife on earth!”

“How sweet of you! I’ll give you an extra spoonful of Bolognese sauce for your kind words!”

I let out a chuckle when I heard that, and whatever negative emotions I had from earlier slowly vanished.

After eating a huge plate of spaghetti, my tummy was so full that it got a little bloated.

“You know what, Nicholas? You could start up a restaurant with pasta dishes being your specialty after retiring from the entertainment industry! I bet you’d have a long queue of customers lining up every day!”

Nicholas gave it some thought and played along by saying, “Sure, that could work! If I start up a restaurant, I’ll make you my special VIP customer and give you a 10% discount on every visit!”

“If that’s the case, I’ll have all three meals of the day at your restaurant!”

We both burst into laughter after I said that.

To be honest, Nicholas had truly surprised me that night. Without having to worry about his image as a superstar, he seemed a lot friendlier and playful than usual.

As we continued chatting, I noticed the bruise on the corner of his mouth and felt my guilt creeping up on me once again.

“Thank you for helping me out so much today, Nicholas. I’m sorry you got hit because of me… I…I don’t know what to say…”

“Stop thanking me all the time. You’ve always thanked me at least once on every single one of our encounters. If you really see me as a friend, then you should stop thanking me so much. I mean, you wouldn’t do the same with Shannon, would you?”

“Of course, I see you as a friend! But you did help me out a lot, so I didn’t know what else to say except…”

“Don’t say those words!” Nicholas cut me off with a stern look on his face.

“Okay, I won’t. Can I at least treat your wound, then? Do you have a first-aid kit?”

“It’s in the cabinet under the TV.”

I quickly scurried off and retrieved the first-aid kit from the cabinet.

I then sprayed some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and said, “This is going to hurt a little, so try your best to hold still. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can.”

Nicholas let out a helpless chuckle. “I’m not a kid, okay?”

Obviously, I knew he was an adult and could definitely put up with the pain, but seeing that wound on his face still made me incredibly nervous.

This better not leave a scar or his family members, his manager, and his fans would hunt me down for sure!

Although he didn’t make a sound, I saw him frown the moment the cotton swab touched his wound and quickly moved it out of the way.

“See? I told you it would hurt! Why didn’t you move out of the way when you saw him coming?” I asked while gently blowing on his wound.

As I was about to continue treating his wound, he moved his face away and took the cotton swab out of my hand.

“What’s wrong?” I asked when I saw the strange look in his eyes. Is the pain too much for him?

“Nothing, it’s just a tiny wound anyway.”

Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was mostly treated and decided to not insist on it any further.

Regardless, I still handed him two anti-inflammatory pills and said, “Here, take these. It’ll help speed up the recovery.”

Instead of taking the pills immediately, Nicholas simply held them in his hand and stared at me for a while before asking, “Liliana, do you mind telling me what’s going on between you and Dominic?”

I was packing the stuff back into the first-aid kit and froze when I heard that.

“It’s fine if you don’t feel like talking about it.”

I closed the lid on the box and said slowly, “It’s a very old story, but I don’t mind telling you if you want to hear it.”

I then took a moment to reorganize my thoughts and was about to start when the doorbell rang all of a sudden.

We both looked toward the door at the same time.