Always next to you

Chapter Twenty-Nine

MIA

The men left the room, and I rushed to Nicole's side. She was sitting up in bed, but she looked drained. I did not know she went back to her place yesterday because I didn't go home last night.

My subconscious ate away slowly with regret. I should have called her to ask how she was doing, but I went straight to work. This was the first time I was getting a call since she told me I was her emergency contact.

I have never been so scared in my entire life.

"Hay baby, are you ok?" I asked.

Nicole forced a smile on her face in response. My heart broke for her. She was fighting so hard to stay strong. There was no need for words. I understood everything.

My eyes softened and the tears I had been holding threatened to spill out. I fought them as hard as I could. It was already obvious who did this. The only person capable of hurting Nicole this much was her mother.

If I ever met her, I would curse her out for treating her daughter like this. It wasn't her fault to be born an only child. Nicole owed her nothing. How dare she come placing demands?

It surprised me to see Aiden and another guy here. How did they get inside? What really happened?

All her computers were destroyed. They were all company property. I knew she couldn't afford to replace them. This woman was the devil incarnate. Nicole worked hard to get to where she is now.

"Get some rest. I'll go out and deal with the chaos," I told her.

I tucked her in bed and went out to give her space to rest. After closing the fire, I stood by the door to cry for a good minute. No human should have to suffer this much from their parents. 

"Mia, are you ok?" Aiden asked.

"I'm fine," I lied.

I wiped my tears and looked up to see the gentlemen in front of me. One was Aiden and the other one looked like him. Although I was grateful to them for helping Nicole, it would have been better if fewer people got involved in her family drama.

Aiden glared at me, waiting for answers, and I did my best to glare back. Men like him were the worst. He probably knew how Nicole felt. They'd even slept together once. The second he didn't need her anymore, he discarded her in the worst way possible.

It took everything not to beat him up. For Nicole's sake, I was going to be the bigger person today. I turn to the man I believe to be Halo.

"Are you Halo?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's me," he replied, raising his hand.

The doorbell rang, and I ran to open it, knowing it was Jessi. We ran into each other during my work break, and we decided to grab something to eat when they called. 

Jessi rushed to cancel her meeting in person, promising to meet me here afterwards. She frowned when she saw the state of the apartment.

"What the hell happened here?" She asked.

"I'll explain later," I told her. "I need you to stay and watch her until I get-"

"Halo? What the fuck are you doing here?!" Jessi yelled.

Halo froze in his step. His cool demeanour was gone in an instant. My eyes caught him trying to take small steps backwards in shock. Did he know Jessi?

"Finally, someone on my side," Aiden groaned.

"Stay there. I'm still pissed at you,"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Halo? Explain yourself this very second or I swear to God-"