Chapter 487: Forget-Me-Not
Nikolai rubbed his eyes, awoken by the warm morning sun shining through the open blinds. He rolled on his side, feeling a comfortable ache in his thighs and abdomen, the heat and softness he felt the night before still vivid.
"Nn, where am I?"
He reached out to the other side of the bed, only to find it empty and a little cold.
The woman’s heat long since vanished from his side. He turned to the nightstand and saw a small covered breakfast still steaming hot and a letter leaning against the lamp. "I guess she left after that, but who was it?"
A painful throbbing stabbed at his head the moment he tried to remember her face, all that lingered was her smooth black hair, squishy flesh and sharp blue eyes watching him throughout the act.
"I guess the girls will be angry, I broke their rule." Nikolai mumbled, pulling off the lid covering his breakfast, sausages cooked to perfection, juicy with the hint of apple and black pepper, two pieces of thick bacon with juicy fat dripping onto the spring onion and cheese omelette. "A heavy breakfast, but... man I am starving."
Clang!
He ate the delicious meal, leaving the letter, his eyes peeking around the room, a modern and chic style, but one thing bothered him. There were far too many mirrors, above the bed, to the side and at the bottom.
Was it so she could watch herself being fucked?
However, then he remembered she was a virgin, at least... he thought she bled, and the feeling of resistance lingered.
So it couldn’t be that.
Maybe there was a reason, but I don’t have time to find out.
After cleaning the breakfast cutlery, he lifted the letter, which carried a faint scent of lavender and honey lingering from the seal.
***
Thanks for the unforgettable night, it was a special first time for me... I hope that you aren’t too angry that I’ve left you alone. Enjoy the breakfast, but don’t wait for me. I’m not coming back, I’ve finished my business in Britannia.
See you in S-City, Nikolai.
xxx M xxx
***
It wasn’t a romantic or detailed note, but Nikolai closed his eyes while taking deep breathing, hoping he could filter through the information to remember her face, her name.
A small bundle of flowers dropped from the open letter, small blue clusters of petals with a bright yellow centre.
"Forget-me-nots? I this her postcript?"
He leaned back with a low huff, letting the stress and air leave his lungs, the sensation rather soothing. "An amusing woman."
Nikolai slipped out his phone, noticing a new number and message on the notifications. When he saw the name used, he shrugged and left it. After that, he went through and spoke to Nikita, Selene and the girls before calling Leona.
The contact’s name was: [M]
"Where were you last night!? Do you have any idea how worried I was, Nikolai?"
Leona’s upset voice shouted down the phone the moment it connected. He could hear the anger in her tone, along with the slight sniffle as she fought back her tears.
"Mm... after the match, I wasn’t in good shape."
He didn’t know how to explain because it felt like a blur. At the time, the pain from the energy he absorbed from Killian drove him past his limits.
"So, then what happened?"
Leona didn’t let up, her voice still upset but closer to anger and curiosity as he slowly explained about the strange woman and how he woke up in her apartment. Nikolai didn’t hide the truth, that he slept with her and that it was amazing.
Because sometimes he didn’t know when to stop or hide his feelings.
"...You really—" Leona’s voice cracked, her words trembling before snapping back sharp. "You really thought telling me so casually would make it better? ’Oh, I fucked some stranger, Leo, and it was amazing.’ Do you even hear yourself!?"
Nikolai rubbed his temples, realising his hubris as the ache behind his eyes throbbed harder. "Would you rather me lie to you?"
"Yes!" she screamed, then choked on her breath. "No—damn it, Nikolai!"
He could picture her from the sound of her feet: pacing through the apartment barefoot, lashing her tail against the wall, ears drooping. Her jealousy wasn’t simple; it was a mixture of fear and insecurity. Fear that she wasn’t enough, that no matter how strong she grew, there would always be another woman, another to pull him away.
His silence gave her a moment to continue.
"You promised me to be honest, but does honesty have to be so cruel. I can live with you having others, Anya, Clara, Selene, Nikita, Kumiko, Selene... and the others. But this? You ran off with some random bitch you can’t even remember, some nameless whore enjoyed your cock after you nearly died!? Do you have any idea how much this hurts me...?"
Although his chest ached with a dull thump, Nikolai couldn’t shrink. He was stubborn and prideful. "Leona, I told you because I refuse to hide what I’ve done, but I do not feel shame or guilt for this. If that means I endure your anger and fury, so be it. You’re my wife, so you get the good and the bad."
A long pause.
On the other end, her breath wavered. "You don’t make it easy to love you."
"I can’t say the same, you’re too easy to love."
"Don’t try to flirt with me right now. Just don’t."
Another silent moment.
He could almost hear her heart racing across the line. When she spoke again, her voice had lost its venom, leaving behind only weariness.
"...Was she beautiful?"
The question caught him off guard as her voice switched from angry to sickly sweet. For a moment, the memory of her black hair and face twisted in pleasure flickered in his mind, sharp blue eyes staring at him through the mirrors.
A phantom ache in his thighs, her tight warmth clenching around him. But the harder he tried to focus, the more it blurred into pain.
"I don’;t remember her face," he admitted. "Just fragments, like someone stole inforation related to her from my mind."
Leona sharply inhaled, then cursed under her breath.
"...That makes it worse."
"I know, I know."
"Just say it once!"
Their breaths echoed over the phone, a moment of silence passing as the two just listened.
When she finally spoke up, her words came through in a whisper, not angry anymore, closer to a plea. "Nikolai. Promise me one thing. No matter how many women come and go... promise me I’ll never be one of them, someone you’ll forget."
Nikolai leaned back against the bedframe, the flowers still clutched in his other hand. The forget-me-nots stared up at him, fragile yet defiant.
"Leona, you’ll never be like that." He spoke with a rough tone, closing his eyes as the forget-me-nots helped him focus. "You’re special to me, even if a million women came to me, I’d leave with you, you’re mind and until death. NO. Even after we die, I won’t let you go."
On the other end, she let out a shaky breath. "...Idiot."
He could tell he answered well, but also the fact that she snorted meant that Leona also felt less upset, that’s what mattered most.
Her, not him.
"Leo, I’m coming home."
"Mm, come back to me, I’ll be waiting for you."
Nikolai let the phone go quiet against his ear. The apartment hummed with soft, ordinary noises that felt almost obscene after the violence and excess of the last forty-eight hours. He blinked down at the forget-me-nots in his palm, small and stubborn against the callused scrape of his knuckles.
"Well..."
He should have felt lighter for telling the truth, but he felt exposed, like a wound left untreated. Leona’s anger caused more damage to him than he expected, her soft voice and tearful begging.
With one last look around the room, he decided to leave.
When the line clicked dead, a lonely silence returned to the strange apartment.
Nikolai dressed slowly, as if each movement might dislodge some memory of the odd woman. He checked the bathroom mirror. A gaunt face, with damp hair from the shower, his neck covered in the mysterious woman’s marks.
"Time to head back."
Outside, rain had quieted to a fine mist. Nikolai locked the door, the keys cold in his hand. After he came to the front door, there was another letter with instructions on what to do with the keys and how to leave.
The lift took him down with an upbeat tune.
Hssss!
Finally, at the foyer, he could feel the icy chill from outside, while his Supra GTX awaited him in one of the VIP parking spaces.
"She’s quite rich to have rented or bought a place like this." He mumbled while climbing inside his beloved car, the scent of her body still oozing from the driver’s seat. With a flick of the ignition, he leaned back, grabbing the wheel.
It was time to return to Leona and the girls.