A rip off

Ari clenched her jaw, and it took everything in her to suppress the urge to punch Nicolai. First, he pretended as if he did not know her, and then he went ahead and started giving her advice as if he knew better than her.

It irritated her. 

The way he looked down at her as if she were a child who did not know better, but somewhere in her heart, Ari felt another surge of emotion, which Ari ignored. 

It was nausea, it had to be it. 

However, the sensation spread from her heart to her limbs, warming the tips of her cold fingers. This was the first time someone had spoken to her as if they were watching out for her, what was funny was these words came from a mafia prince rather than her parents or siblings. 

If it were her parents, they would have told her to suck it up, as Ari was the one who insisted on marrying Noah. That it was normal for married couples to have strife and quarrel, and there was no need for her to react so harshly. 

Stop! 

Ari shook her head, she must be losing her head if she thought that a mafia prince was looking out for her. 

She raised her head and then said stiffly, "I know what I am doing." 

"You do?" He questioned with the same mocking tone which made Ari's teeth itch. Just as she expected him to taunt her more, Noah fell back. His hands were still in the pockets of his pants as he said, "Then I hope the next time I see you, you will look a bit more like yourself…rather than someone's rip-off." 

"You!" Ari shouted at Nicolai, but the man did not even stay where he was, instead he turned on his heels and then got inside his car. He didn't even look at her as he slid inside the car and closed the door behind him, not giving her any chance to question him. 

Ari knew that in the past three years, for the sake of getting Noah's attention, she had overturned herself and made herself something she was not—— now she was more of Ariel's shadow than Ariana. But there was no need to rub it in her face! 

The anger that she felt after Nicolai's comment fell with a swoop and was replaced with annoyance and frustration. Did she really let go of herself to the point that even a stranger could taunt her?

But Ari soon threw his words in the back of her head. Who was she even letting in her head? Nicolai did not even know what loving someone meant, love was all about sacrifices! And she regretted nothing. 

She muttered angrily as she watched the car leave while throwing a cloud of exhaust behind, "Heh, a man who doesn't even know the worth of human lives is now teaching me about self-respect and love. How funny!" 

Inside the car, Nicolai looked at Ari, whose face had turned red with anger and chortled gruffly. It was really fun to see her fume like this, it reminded him of the little rabbit that he once raised as a child, when it used to get angry it would stomp like Ariana.

"Why did you let her off so easily, Nico?" His bodyguard questioned him while looking at the road in front. "She caused damage to more than two hundred thousand dollars. You should have asked her to pay for it." 

The bodyguard could not understand why his boss let go of Ariana Nelson. That woman was the wife of their business rival and enemy, God knew how many times that bastard Noah Nelson tried to poke into their business dealings and tried to collect evidence against them. 

He was set to get their family behind bars, and Patrick did not like how bold and arrogant Noah acted in front of them.

It was a good chance to make that man bleed, yet they let it slip like that. 

Nicolai's red eyes as he leaned back on his seat, "I like stray cats with a bad temper like that. She almost punched me in the face if not for the fact that her prude little attitude did not stop her. Gotta love the motherf*cking feisty ones. It's so much more fun to break them into pieces slowly, rather swiftly." 

Only then did Patrick understand that Nicolai's ambitions were way bigger than he thought, his lips curled into a smirk as he asked, "You looking for some fun eh, Nico?" 

Nicolai did not respond, he simply smiled as he interlocked his fingers and then stretched his hands in front. After sending that traitor on his way to hell, Nicolai felt his muscles getting stiff. 

He knew that Patrick was waiting for an answer when he saw his bodyguard looking at him through the rearview mirror. Thus he hummed and said, "Well Mister Nelson gotta pay for all that prodding he did." 

After hearing his response, Patrick guffawed. He knew that his boss was better at scheming than all of them put together. 

Noah Nelson could only blame himself for what was coming to him. 

****

On the other hand, Ari had no idea what went behind her back. When she arrived at the mansion, her brows were still set in a frown and her gait was filled with a fury that she herself did not know about. 

It was done.

Everything was over. 

She was back to her world where she belonged, and she would not have to cross paths with that waste of human space ever again. 

Ari told herself again and again while trying to calm herself down. She would rather not waste any more energy or emotions on someone like Nicolai, he did not matter to her, and she was not going to let him take away her peace. 

"Who does he think he is? How dare he say that I am a rip-off, ugh, I am so mad!" Ari exclaimed as she strode inside her room. She threw the purse that she was carrying on her shoulders onto her bed and strode to the wardrobe before pulling it open. "He doesn't even know me." 

She pulled a few clothes out of the upper shelf as if she were ripping the hair strands of a certain someone.

"I don't regret anything and never will——"

Her words came to a halt as her doctor's degree dropped from the shelf of the wardrobe, exposing the lies that she spoke to herself.

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