Chapter 28: Mysterious Woman

Why does he have to come today? Erick found it infuriating that this man was interfering with his time with Thea.

In an unpleasant tone, Erick exclaimed, "YOU!"

Because he was used to doing so, the man scratched his head. "Hey bro! Why are you cranky early in the morning? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" he joked.

"And why are you here, Nick, when it's still dark outside?"

When asked why he needed to get to his apartment, Nick grinned boyishly and pretended to cough as he debated whether to tell Erick.

"Can you allow me in first, and I'll tell you everything?"

Knowing that Thea was still inside, he cannot simply allow Nick to enter his apartment. Although he doesn't understand why he felt possessive about Thea, he has made the decision to keep it in mind and realize that his friend doesn't like his fiancée. He doesn't want to share his time with Thea with anybody else, not even his best friend.

"Why should I invite you in when you can just say whatever you'd like here and leave?" Erick replied.

After working a late shift at the barracks, he hurriedly came here to visit him only to be chased away. "How cruel... you call yourself my friend..!" he complained. "And what do you mean Bro let's get inside it's much more pleasant to discuss inside, than here and I haven't had breakfast."

But Erick maintained his stand and spoke clearly.

"No, tell me straight away, then go; I'm busy."

Curiosity struck Nick as he saw Erick's face.

He asked his friend with a grin, "Are you hiding someone, bro?

Nick can hear a slight sound of movement coming from Erick's apartment, which causes him to smile broadly and look at his friend with a sly glint in his eye. At first, he ignored the sound, thinking it might have been from his neighbor, but Erick's peculiar behavior proves otherwise; he puts his finger under his chin like a lieutenant questioning a suspect.

"So, my friend, are you keeping someone here? Allow me to meet her,"

Nick sharply remarked, showing his interest as he moved forward and Erick stopped in his way.

"You don't need to see her?"

Nick's eyes widened, and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor in disbelief as he joked that he was concealing her—or a lady who would have believed—that there was a woman at his captain's apartment early in the morning.

Nick stammered his words in shock, "S-so there's truly a w-woman inside?"

"Nick, just tell me what brought you here, and don't forget that I'm still on vacation, did the Chief ask you to come here?"

Nick was only interested in the person inside the apartment, as evidenced by his gaping mouth and enlarged eye socket.

"I didn't realize you had this side of you, Erick. You didn't even dispute that you brought a woman into your apartment and spent the entire night by yourself with her. A WOMAN... at NIGHT."

Nick's statements sounded improper in a number of ways, causing Erick to raise an eyebrow.

Thea was finished cooking and just setting the food on the table when Erick took longer than expected, making her feel uneasy. Curiosity striking, she followed him at the door only to be shocked that the person who Erick was attending is his best friend. While Nick was staying rooted at the door, the woman Erick was hiding inside appeared behind his back.

In disbelief, Thea murmured, 'So, it was Nick.' As she stood in front of the man at the door, a twinge of remorse crawled up her spine.

It was during the time of the bombing incident in the La Roche Headquarters that she was destroyed in her first life. She still remembered the man's lifeless corpse and how he died as a result of her. She was surprised by this loss of life because Erick was scheduled to drop by her office but was replaced by Nick due to an emergency at the Base. Erick suffered greatly at the loss of his best friend and began to believe that he was to blame for Nick's passing rather than Thea.

She swallowed and turned her head away, forcing a smile onto her face and making a greeting gesture with her nod as she stared at the man in front of her.

She sighed and thought, 'This lifetime I shall make amends for all the sin I made' but Erick's gaze remained fixed on her dejected look.

"Thea, are you okay?" he asked, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

She smiles briefly and adds, "I'm fine, Erick," but her voice was still disturbed by Nick's abrupt entrance, so she chose to shift the subject as Erick was looking at her sternly and seemed not to believe what she was saying.

She tilted her head, erasing the gloom off her face, "But why are you standing here Erick with your guest outside?"

Thea's face seemed paler than it had been before, and Erick gently stroked her cheek while furrowing his brows. He couldn't help but be concerned when he saw how she was looking at Nick; her voice had become a little shaking, and he wondered if Thea was aware of Nick's disparaging remarks about her.

Ignoring her words Erick place his hand on Thea's forehead.

"Are you sure, do you feel body aches or fever?"

Thea chuckled; Erick's expression of worry was clear. The stoic man is capable of producing this kind of endearing expression.

"Erick, don't worry about me; I'm fine. I'm simply surprised that we have a guest this early. Other than that, the discomfort in my hand is only somewhat light."

Erick tapped Thea's head and nodded. ignoring the man who was staring at them and having a sweet early-morning moment.

Gazing intently at his close friend. This is the first time Nick has seen Erick with such a soft expression; he has seen many occasions when his best friend ignores women who crowd around him in an effort to catch his attention, but now seeing Erick who is deeply infatuated with the mysterious woman in front of him is something new to Nick's eyes.

Nick observes the loving pair outside the apartment as they invite their longtime buddy over for breakfast. The duo appears to be newlyweds, who appeared to have forgotten about Nick standing outside.

"Ahem!... Hello, I'm still here, Erick. Could you please stop giving a single man your PDA and introduce me to your woman?"

Erick put his hand on Thea's waist and laughed.

"You are unworthy of her name" When Erick responded, Thea chuckled.

Erick's comments as though he was proud to have a stunning woman by his side caught Nick off guard. He also acknowledges that the mysterious woman in front of her is stunning, comparable to a supermodel from a magazine and that a regular man like him could never possess such beauty. As he swallows his nonexistent saliva, Nick's eyes drift from Thea's stunning face to her magnificent chest and sculptured physique.

Nick suddenly had a shiver down his spine as he stared at Erick's now-dangerous-looking expression.

Erick glared at Nick after noticing that he was mesmerized by Thea's beauty, which annoyed him. "Do it again Nick and I pull out those dirty eyes of yours," he said.

"YOU," Nick said while stumbling, pointing at Erick.

The two men appeared like teenage boys whose crush was at their parent's place, so Thea laughed at their argument.

As he extended his hand to Thea, Nick cleared his throat and looked at her.

Okay, my lady. My name is Lieutenant Nickolas Tan, and I'm the closest buddy of the cranky man standing next to you.

Thea giggled and extended her hand in greeting Nick.

"Hi, I'm Lethea La Roche, this cranky man's fiancée."

Before Nick can say, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Lethea La-ro-ro," a realization dawns on him.

The shock was evident on Nick's face as he blurted out the words he usually used to criticize Erick's fiancée, as he glared at his friend with the accusation of something Erick cannot fathom, "LA ROCHE!... you're the Evil Heiress."

"..."

Nick started talking rubbish in front of his fiancée, and Erick shot him an angry look. The two men's expressions, who had been arguing earlier, were now glaring at one another, and Thea noticed the mood become gloomy at the same time.

While ignoring Nick's remarks she asked with her soft eyes.

"Erick, why won't you invite your friend inside for breakfast."

In response to Thea's bright face, Erick nodded before glaring angrily at his buddy and motioning for him to enter.

"You!, get inside"

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Author's Note

To my lovely readers, if you love the story please don't forget to add it to your library and be updated with new chapters. Plus your genuine vote encourages me to update weekly.

Thank you....

Stella_brit