Adira's heart stopped as she caught sight of Nikolai, standing before her in his impeccably tailored suit. He looked every bit as cold as he used to be, his chiseled features betraying no hint of emotion. His sharp gaze locked onto hers, holding her in a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. With winded breath, Adira watched as his eyes slowly lowered dropped to the floor, taking in a sharp shard of glass that was right there. Her legs wobbled. Oh, no! Yvonne must've missed it while clearing up the glasses! Her skin prickled with fear. Was he going to have any hint of it? "Good evening," she greeted quickly, lowering her head afterwards. Then, she turned around to leave. "Adira." His deep cold voice made her freeze. It was deep, almost guttural, and the coldness that emanated from it made her shiver. Her body went rigid as she heard her name being called out in that voice. For the first time since they got married, he had addressed her by her name. The weight of his words hit her like a ton of bricks, and her heart skipped a beat. Gulping heavily, she turned around to face him, struggling to fight the tension between them. Fear crept in on her and wrapped itself around her heart like an icy hand. With slow steps, he approached her, making her fear increased. Did he notice the mark on her face? He stopped just a few feet away, his piercing gaze locked onto her face. His eyes flicked over the mark on her cheek, noticing the telltale sign of a slap. Adira was trying to avoid his gaze by training her eyes on the ground, but she could feel the weight of his scrutiny on her. The air around them grew colder, as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. Without a word, Nikolai walked away, his footsteps echoing in the quiet of the room. Adira turned quickly and watched as he disappeared from view. The cold aura that he had brought with him lingered in the air, a reminder of the emotions that he had stirred within her. He definitely saw the mark - she thought. But why did he say nothing? What was running through his mind? Just like she had thought, he didn't care. That was obviously the reason he didn't say a word about it. On the other hand, she tried to be happy about it. At least, it wouldn't cause a fight between him and his brother. With a sad expression, she climbed up the stairs and returned to her room. *** The moment Nikolai got to his room, he dropped his briefcase on the bed and reached for his phone where he dialed Bonnie's line. There was so much anger in him, but he tried his best to tame it. He sat in front of his desk and listened to the phone ring. Shortly, the call was answered. "S...S...Sir?" Bonnie stuttered on the phone. She was surprised that Nikolai was calling her at such odd hour. He rarely even called at all. "Good evening, sir" She added quickly. "Did something happen at the office, Bonnie?" He asked with a hardened lilt. Bonnie was confused. "I... I don't think I understand, sir." "I am talking about Adira. Did she get into a fight with someone?" "What? No! Not at all, sir. No one would even dare. I was with her the whole time and even saw her off to the car. She was totally fine, sir. Sir, did something happen?" Nikolai said nothing and dropped the call. A cold expression etched on his face as he brushed his fingers into his hair. Someone touched Adira. Someone definitely did! He turned on his computer and logged into the footages of his CCTV camera. There was a camera at the entrance of the house, and he hoped to get something out of it. He rewinded the footage to the moment Adira returned home. She looked fine from the car. He kept watching and noticed when Yvonne left the house. Then, after a while, he noticed his brother driving in. Vesper? What was he doing there? The vein on his forehead creased as he thought of it. He watched him go into the house and spend a long time there. But the moment Yvonne returned, he left. His head spun with the information. Vesper was there? And all of a sudden, there was an imprint on Adira's face? Also, the piece of glass on the floor, was it just a coincidence? He took up his phone and called Yvonne, ordering her to come over to his room. ...Yvonne was a little scared when Nikolai called for her. She went up to his room and kept her gaze lowered as she stood in front of him. "Good evening, sir," she genuflected, but Nikolai showed no interest. "What happened at home today?" He inquired, his eyes holding so much iciness. This made Yvonne unsettled. "I... I don't..." "My brother was here. Did he do something to Adira?" He cut her off. Yvonne's lips parted slightly in surprise. How did he have an idea? She danced her eyes around fretfully, recalling how Adira had instructed her not to tell him about it. But she knew Nikolai was not a man she could lie to. That would definitely cost her job. Still, she found it difficult telling the truth. It was kind of embarrassing to even narrate what his brother had done. "Yvonne." Nikolai called, his chilly voice reminding her that he was still waiting. He didn't need to say much, the cold aura around him hinted how much he didn't want to be kept waiting. "I'm... I'm sorry, sir, but she didn't want me to tell you." she faltered. Nikolai said nothing, and when Yvonne looked at him, she was startled by the look on his face. It spoke of danger and what would happen if she didn't start spilling the truth already. "I went out to the mall," she began. "And... when I returned, I um... I found your brother on Ma'am Adira. He had ripped her shirt apart and was... trying to undress her completely before I stepped in. He...he had hurt her face and..." she stopped herself, not wanting to go any further.