NIKOLAS

"It is not a threat. It is a promise." I say and walk out of the restaurant. I was not joking when I uttered those words.

My mind drifts back to reality as the pilot announces that it is time for departure to New York. I fasten my seatbelt and sit up as we begin our flight.

Touchdown New York. By 10:41am we are already at the airport in New York and I get into my car, dismissing the driver so I could go for a drive because I need a private moment of my own.

I turn on the ignition and keep driving till I arrive at the scene of the accident and just like a fresh incident, I recall everything that transpired that day.

My phone rings and it is a call from Lucas. Right now, I really don't want to speak to anyone, so I just ignore it. It seems like Lucas has something very urgent to say because his calls kept coming in, no matter how many times I rejected them.

PICK UP! If there is one thing I know about him, he only types a message in block letters when the information he wants to convey is very important. The phone rings again and I answer the call.

"Hello." I say.

"Nikolas, come to the house now. There is something you need to see." He rushes, I could hear him tapping his fingers on something.

"Alright." I get back into the car and head to the house. Let us see why he sounded the way he did in the call.

•••••

"You need to be calm to take all these in." He says when I see him.

"Okay. Tell me already." I hiss, running thin on patience.

"Calm down. Look at these." He slides a file to me. The cover page read 'ROSALIE/AMETHYST'. Okay, I was not expecting this.

Opening the file, I am met with some findings on her, all that he has relayed to me.

"What is new here?" I ask, still looking through.

"So I got more curious and decided to dig even deeper, turns out.." she trails off.

"She has a daughter!" I gasp, how many surprises could a man receive in a week. Could she be my daughter? Lucas gives me a pat on my back to comfort me.

"Turns out it was not actually an accident but a planned act. Someone wanted to murder your wife, Nikolas, and pass it off as an accident. And that person is still alive." I reach out for the seat closest to me and sit down to digest all the information I had just received from Lucas.

"Who?" I stutter, trying to gain my breath.

"That is what I am trying to figure out." He says, rubbing his hands through his hair and sighing continuously in frustration.

"All I know is, whoever it was is still roaming around freely without being caught." I could not bring myself to speak so I just nod my head in response.

"One more thing, the chances of Rosalie and Amethyst being the same person is actually very high. There is a woman who saved her years back." He says again and I nod to let him know that I am listening to what he is saying.

"Through matching with the camera footages obtained, I was able to deduce that her name to be Sadie Williams, the very influential Williams. Go to her; she might have something tangible for us." He suggests.

"Thank you, bro." I finally say, regaining my voice.

"I would get paranoid if I lost Marie and find out years later that she might be alive somehow in a place different from me. I am doing what a true brother would do." He pats my back.

"Thanks, man." I head back home to rest. The time is 2pm and the launch starts by 6:30pm which is a good 4 hours 30 minutes from now. Give or take, I have time to sleep for at least 3 hours before the event.

On arrival at my house, I walk to the room we both shared and it looks exactly how it was before she died. It is usually cleaned but I never touch or use anything in there.

I close my eyes and I see her smiling face, beaming with light from just looking at me. Oh Lord!

This sleep would be more difficult than I thought. I set an alarm for 5pm on my phone just incase it is the last resolve to waking up when I eventually fall asleep.

•••••

The program commences by 6:30pm but by 6pm I am already at the venue because I know my sister more than anyone, she will flip out on me if I arrive at the same time as the invited guests.

"Hey, bro." She lunges at me, hugging me with so much joy radiating off her.

"Maya, how are you?" I ask her.

"I am honestly exhausted but I am trying my best to not look it." She sighs.

"And you do a good job at not looking it, sis." Truly, I am amazed and super proud.

"Thanks for coming, Nikolas. It means alot to me." She says with a wide grin.

"You know I won't miss this for the world." I reassure.

"And here I was, worried that your trip to Canada would take you away."

"I promised. Look, Maya. I am super proud of you and the bold step you are taking. Know that whenever you need me, I will always be here to support you every step of the way." I say to her. That is the little I can do as an elder brother.

"You make a grown woman want to cry." Little tear drops pool at the edge of her eyes which she cleans up immediately, earning a chuckle from me. I pull her closer and ruffle her hair.

"Go make history, little one." I push her to go continue whatever thing she was pulling together before I came in. She giggles before leaving.

The program commences fully at 6:30pm. In attendance were alot of dignitaries. Well, the only daughter of the Christopher Galanis is starting a fashion brand, most of them would attend just to tap more into the elite cycle. So, I am not surprised.

"Hello, Nikolas." I hear a voice call out, a voice that belonged to one annoying person. Is this lady stalking me or what? What is she doing here for crying out loud?

"Hello, Yuhanis." I roll my eyes before turning to face her.

"Heyyyyy." She draws out, further annoying me.

"Why are you here alone? Where is your date?" She asks.

"Here. Hello, hun. Sorry I took alot of time at the ladies." Saved by the bell. Thank you, Bridget.

"So as you can see my date is back." I state. The shocked expression on her face was very funny to look at me.

"If you would please excuse us." I cock an eyebrow at her. She glares at the both of us and leaves in anger.

"Phew." I heave a deep sigh of relief before focusing my attention on Bridget.

"Thank you for saving me from that." She chuckles at my dramatic reply.

"You are welcome." She says, smilling. She turns to engage in a conversation with other people while I study her frame, unknown to her. Getting to know her a little more, she is actually a very amazing person and if I had not gone to Canada to discover that the past few years living in grief might have been a lie, I would have made things official with her upon my return.

A new start! One I needed but not with her anymore. Amethyst or not, Rosalie had a pull over me. She has taken my interest and I am willing to win her heart whether or not she is the same person as my wife.

The event comes to an end after Maya gives her speech / vote of thanks to everyone for making out time to grace her occassion.

"MG promises to be great amd provide you with beautiful service in form of clothes. You can check us out starting Monday, which happens to be tomorrow." Everyone chuckled at what she said.

"Thank you." She had ended her not so long speech and exited the podium, resulting in a round of applause from the attendees.

"That was awesome." I ruffle her hair in my hands as I speak. She slaps my hands off her hair and gives me a glare before chuckling.

"Thank you. I am glad it turned out a success." She smiles, looking around as guests exited the place.

"I will be returning to Canada within the week." I say to her.

"Why? I thought you just returned." She says.

"Well, I think I might have been living a lie all these years." I state, sadly.

"I don't understand." She says, worry evident in her tone.

"Don't worry, I will explain better when everything is resolved." As much as I wanted to tell her, I did not want to give her false hope. I know how the whole incident affected her. So, if I would be telling her anything, it has to be confirmed. I don't want to give her hope when it is not confirmed that she is the one.

I see her eyebrows crease in confusion as she looks at me.

"Okay. Whatever it is, I hope you open up about it someday. It seems huge."

"Hey, Louis." She calls out to a guy who earlier modelled her wears and left me to myself, alone in my thoughts.