BXBX NOVEL Chapter 99 - Who Is There?
Tiana dressed up in the bathroom again, but this time she was in trouble. The gown she had chosen to wear to the birthday, a knee length blue body fitting gown, had straps that should be tied behind and she needed Nicklaus help.
She had been standing in the bathroom for minutes now, wondering how she would step out and ask for his help. Summoning up courage, she pulled the door handle and stepped out.
Nicklaus, who was standing in front of the mirror, doing his cufflinks, turned to her; he wanted to speak but when he saw how she was holding her gown with her both hand on her chest his words stopped on his tongue.
''Hey… ''
She called with a forced smile; Nicklaus blinked;
''Hey…'' He replied, watching her confusedly;
''Uhm, can you please help me with these straps, I can't reach them with my hands'' She spoke with a smile, and Nicklaus nodded;
''Okay; '' He walked over to where she was standing, and Tiana turned around, holding her hair with one hand, she pushed it to the side, making Nicklaus see her back properly;
Nicklaus throat clenched as his eyes fell on her pale back, he hesitated a little before taking the straps and doing it for her, as he tied it, his fingers brushed against her skin and Tiana shook lightly, her eyes shutting reflexively.
''Done. '' Nicklaus spoke when he was through and she turned around.
''Thank you ''
Nicklaus eyes fell on her dress and he smiled; ''you are beautiful. ''
Okay, that was supposed to be a comment on her dress, but why was she feeling he meant something else?
Tiana cleared her throat as she felt her face burn at his words;
''Thank you, and you look amazing too. '' She commented. He was wearing a royal blue shirt with a red design on the chest front, and matching black pants which highlighted his handsome features.
He looked literally good in everything he wore.
Tiana thought as she admired his outfit with a small pout. After a moment, her eyes raised up only to catch Nicklaus gazing at her with desire in his eyes.
Tiana gulped; instantly she turned around and started walking towards the vanity;
''I'll pack my hair now; you can go downstairs. ''
She said, sitting on the chair and gazing at her flushed cheeks on the mirror.
''I can wait for you, let's go down together. ''
''No, I'll take a lot of time, and you'll need to meet the guests, you should head downstairs. ''
Tiana cut in quickly and Nicklaus head sunk;
''Okay, ''
Remembering that the relationship was still a pretense and she might not want to be introduced as something she was not, Nicklaus let her be.
Tiana heaved a sigh of relief when he left the room. Their relationship was complicated already; she didn't want him to have to say something wrong when she wasn't ready and when they hadn't defined their relationship yet.
After combing her hair, she applied a little makeup and put on her heels, she didn't like them but she didn't have a choice, this was an important occasion.
Tiana walked down the steps slowly, her thoughts wandering.
What if grandpa wanted to introduce her to his guests, what would she do?
Tiana thought as she approached the first floor, she could already hear the soft music in the background, as she neared the scene, she could see the exquisitely dressed people in the parlor, some were outside drinking and chatting with one another, she did not see grandpa but she knew he must be somewhere.
Just when she came down, her eyes fell on Nicklaus, and her feet stopped moving, he was speaking with an elderly couple, and they were smiling at him, although he wasn't smiling, his face wasn't frosty.
She forced her eyes away and turned to walk the other way, when she heard a voice call her;
'' Tiana? ''
Her legs stopped moving and her eyes widened,
Grandma?
Tiana's heart slammed against her chest and she turned around slowly, forcing a smile to her cheeks.
''Grandma, I didn't see you just now. '' Tiana smiled and walked to her,
''Where is grandpa? I can't find him anywhere. '' Tiana asked, trying to make Grandma forget that she was supposed to be with Nicklaus at that moment.
''oh, grandpa is outside, he's greeting his friends, he'll come in soon. Tiana, I was looking for a waiter, but since I've seen you, can you go up to the fourth floor, there are special bottles of wine in the first room by the right, can you get one for me? ''
Tiana's joy knew no bounds;
''Right away grandma! ''
Now she had a reason not to be there in the party, turning around, she immediately walked upstairs.
Grandma watched her climb up the stairs and her lips straightened, as she remembered what Grandpa had told her the night before.
She really wanted to believe that they were both in a real relationship, but she was really disappointed when Grandpa told her that Nicklaus had forced her to be his mistress and she shouldn't be the first to introduce her to the guests, she should let Nicklaus do it first, if he really wanted something with her, but when she saw Nicklaus alone earlier, her fears were confirmed.
They really looked good together; it was a pity that everything was a pretense, but then, she wanted to see how far Nicklaus would take it.
Tiana walked up the stairs excitedly; she had never been this happy going an errand before.
When she reached the fourth floor, she walked to her right and entered the first room, her brows creased when she realized it was a completely furnished room and there was no dust on any furniture, as though someone had just used it recently.
The rest of the family stayed on the third floor downwards, who was staying up there?
Tiana wondered as she stepped into the room. She looked around but she did not see any wine,
Walking to a connected room, she stepped in, and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the bottles of wine.
She wondered why Grandma had to keep the wine so hidden; raising a bottle up, her lips fell when she realized it was over a 100 year old.
She awed as she gazed at the bottle, turning around, her hand reached for the door knob but her hand stopped just when she reached it,
Who is there?