Alexandra stayed silent as Nikolei's face was distorted with rage. Her body was trembling as she forced herself to speak, only managed to project small quivers out of her throat rather than the words she had collected furiously in her mind before.

"Is that what you want?!" His voice raised to a few octaves. "You think you can come crawling back here after what you did to my family and I? If that's what you think, then you are totally wrong. Your presence disgusts me. Get out of my sight and don't show your face here again!" His loud voice echoed to all parts of the house.

Alexandra jolted from her sleep when she sat up straight before slumping her back as she sucked in heavy breaths rapidly into her lungs. A frown was etched on her forehead as she clutched onto her chest tightly, trying to calm herself down from the sudden weird dream she just had.

The dream was as if it was trying to tell her about something, but she couldn't quite put her mind on it. It had been about Nikolei who seemed to be furious at her about something she did. She could feel the emotions strongly running in her, like it was surreal. Alexandra felt like the dream had some kind of connection to her but she quickly shook her head vigorously, trying to get those crazy thoughts out of her mind.

She got up from her bed and put on the baby pink satin knee-length kimono over the similar coloured babydoll nightwear she had on. A faint sigh escaped her lips as she made her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water for herself. Just as she opened her tired eyes wider, she squealed excitedly as she ran into the arms of the man she loved and missed over the past few days.

"You're back early!" Alexandra squealed excitedly, with a hint of surprise laced in her voice.

Grant smiled and kissed his woman on the lips, deeply. "I thought I'd surprise you. I pushed my talks forward and switched some of them with the other speakers."

"Well, I miss you very much!" She pouted and puckered her lips as she pressed them on the side of his neck. "Gosh, I missed your manly scent."

"Okay, sweetheart." He chuckled and lifted Alexandra into his arm before landing himself onto the couch with Alexandra on his lap. "Sweetheart, you're sweating."

"Ugh, I know. I just had this weird dream and Mr. Machiavelli was in it. He was yelling angrily at me about something." She explained.

Grant cleared his throat and hid his uneasiness quickly as he grinned widely at the woman in his hold. He snuggled his nose into her hair before moving down to her neck as she giggled shyly, ruffling her hand into his hair at the same time.

He sighed and gently laid his head onto her shoulder, "I am hungry and I miss your cooking very much."

"Okay, big boy. What do you want for breakfast?" She asked, staring into her fiancé's eyes. "Waffles with sliced fruits and bacon?"

He giddily nodded his head and planted a deep kiss onto her lips before lifting her up into his arms in bridal style. They went into the kitchen when Grant set her down. He took a seat on the bar stool by the marble counter and watched the love of his life started to move around the kitchen to prepare his breakfast.

Alexandra glanced behind her shoulder and smiled as she whisked the batter in the mixing bowl swiftly. "Hey sweetie, would you agree if we host a dinner here tonight? We can invite Brent and your parents. It'd be nice since Brent has been asking for you lately."

"Sure." He gulped down the rest of the milk in his glass. "I don't see why not. It will be fun, I'm sure."

His eyes watched as Alexandra worked swiftly around the kitchen. Her kimono would ride up once in a while everytime she reached up for something above her height or when she extended her hand forward to grab something. Grant's heart was thumping loudly against his rib cage as he watched her silently from where he sat.

The feelings he had buried deep down a long time ago and when he left for States had appeared again and he was having a hard time controlling it. He'd missed her very much over the week he had been away from her, and that time was the most torturing and painful week for him to endure. Truth be told, he was afraid of her leaving him or that he would lost her again, but yet again, he was not a selfish man to begin with.

He wouldn't force her to be with him despite of the scare that was hunting him every single day and night when she occupied his mind. He would have make himself scarce from the situation to avoid another heartbreak if she ever did change her mind, but he would not. For Alexandra, he was willing to try and sacrifice his own sprouting feelings than having to be a coward and chickened out on that situation.

The corner of his mouth quirked up playfully as he rose from his seat and approached Alexandra silently. Unbeknownst to her, Grant was standing still just right behind her with a small gap between them as he stared at the back of her head lovingly. A loud squeal escaped her lips when Grant encircled his arms around her small waist as he propped his chin carefully onto Alexandra's right shoulder.

He chuckled playfully, swaying from left to right slowly to the rhythm of the soft tune in his head. Alexandra giggled, but she never speak against it. She was more than happy to follow whatever her loving fiancé had in mind.

"Grant!" She whined teasingly, "I'm cooking."

He hummed appreciatively, "I know. I just miss you so, so much."

"The breakfast won't be ready if you keep on going like this." She laughed when Grant started to nibble on her ear lobe.

"You look so sexy and ravishing in your kimono but what really caught my interest is that lingerie you wore underneath your kimono." He whispered romantically into her ear. "You haunted my dreams every single night with that lingerie of yours when I'm away, Alexandra."

"Grant!" She squealed loudly and gasped when Grant lifted her in his arms as he made his way to the bedroom after turning off the stove. The fit of giggles filled the apartment as Grant rushed to the bedroom with giggling Alexandra in his arms. They both couldn't be more happy than before as the morning went by.

***

His arms were wrapped around his love as he watched her slept peacefully in his arms, snuggling into his side with one of her arms draped over his torso. The soft snores escaped her slightly parted lips as she slept her tiredness away for the day.

Grant was smiling gratefully, placing his kisses onto her mouth, nose and forehead carefully not to wake her up from her deep slumber. They both were tangled with each other and were securely wrapped in the huge comforter on the bed. Grant slowly rubbed soothing circles on her right arm as he inhaled and exhaled softly.

He held his breath when Alexandra started to move in her sleep, but soon relaxed when she continued to snuggle deeper into his side. Her arm slightly tightened around his torso as she did so. Grant let a sigh of relief and his chest rumbled as he chuckled after his ears caught the faint whisper that escaped from Alexandra's lips.

"Grant... I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." He whispered lovingly into her ear.

As he stared at the ceiling in their room, the door bell to the apartment rang. Grant carefully untangled Alexandra from his body and replaced himself with a pillow instead. He chuckled seeing Alexandra instantly crushed the pillow with her arms around it. Grant quickly made his way to the front door. As soon as he opened it, his forehead rose and his eyes widened slightly.

The man on the other side of the door mirrored his expression, as he too widened his eyes with a slight surprised expression masked on his face. He then smiled, "Mr. Machiavelli! What brings you here in the middle of the day?"

Nikolei worked his mind to find the right words as quickly as he could. His eyes carefully took in the shirtless man standing in front of him as he faked his smile at him. The grasp he had around the bouquet of Alexandra's favourite flowers - bouquet of calla lilies - tightened excruciatingly as he tried his best to swallow the jealousy and sudden anger in.

"Mr. Carson! What a pleasure meeting you here this morning. Alexandra did told me that you will be home in two more days from now." He said calmly.

"Ah, yes. I did informed her that too, but I planned to surprise her yesterday. So, I pushed all my talks forward and switched some with the other speakers." Grant replied, not once did his smile faltered.

Just before they could continue their conversation, a soft voice echoed throughout the apartment when Alexandra appeared from behind the hallway that led to their bedroom together in her kimono.

"Sweetie, where are you?" She queried sleepily, yawning slightly as she stood at the entrance of the hallway.

Once she realized the figure that stood by the door in front of her fiancé, Alexandra's cheeks turned slightly crimson as she quickly turned around covering her sexy front from the man who was staring at her with widened eyes.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry." She apologised and quickly excused herself to her bedroom to change.

Grant just chuckled and stood on his side as he extended his arm into the house. He smiled, "Why don't you come in? It's quite cold outside since we are approaching the end of the year. Alexandra will set you up with some warm tea."

"Oh, thank you. Here, I brought flowers as a thank you gift to Alexandra for spending her time with me yesterday." He handed Grant the bouquet of flower in his hand.

Grant grinned and took the flowers from his hand, "How thoughtful of you. I'm sure she'll love it, I mean white calla lilies are her favourite." With that, he closed the door behind them and made their way to the living room.

A few seconds later, Alexandra appeared from the hallway clad in her white sweatpants and beige wool sweater with a shy smile on her face. The slight blush on her cheeks were still visible as she strutted into the living room where Grant and Nikolei were seated.

Grant approached her and kissed Alexandra on the cheek, "Do we have any black tea in the cabinet?"

"We do actually. Fortunately, I baked some cookies two days ago." She smiled before entering the kitchen nearby.

Grant followed behind her, leaving Nikolei all alone in the living room. Nikolei sighed roughly as he clasped his hands together after taking his leather gloves off of his hand. After seeing Grant shirtless and the way Alexandra had dressed earlier on, he didn't need to paint the picture to figure out what was going on before he arrived.

The voices in his head wouldn't shut up, taunting and mocking him as he sat in their living room. He sighed, bringing his hand up as he pinched the bridge of his nose painfully. Maybe he should have declined Grant's invite the moment he invited him into their apartment the first time. This morning, he was planning on spending an hour of his free time with Alexandra before he left for his office but after knowing about Grant's early return, that happy mood of his was no longer there. Only great jealousy and sadness filled his mind and heart right now.

Nikolei sighed as he slowly rose from the couch and made his way to the kitchen that was just a few steps away from the living room. As he neared the kitchen, he stopped midway and hid behind the wall as he listened to the conversation Grant and Alexandra were having. He sneaked a look by the wall and saw Grant hugging Alexandra from behind, placing kisses on her exposed neck as they talked.

"Grant! I have tea to prepare." She whined softly.

Grant chuckled playfully, "Give me just a few seconds. Are you feeling well enough?"

"I'm fine!"

"Okay, okay. You sure you're not sore?" A hint of concern laced in his voice. "I can run you a hot bath later before dinner."

"I'm fine and yes, later before dinner. Now, go and accompany Mr. Machiavelli in the living room." She replied and giggled shyly.

"Okay, sweetheart. I love you." He said faintly and kissed Alexandra on the lips before heading towards the living room.

Nikolei quickly hid the strong jealousy overwhelmed him as he dashed to the living room. His eyes followed Grant as Grant approached him with a big friendly smile on his face. As he stopped just a few inches away from him, a slight frown appeared on his face as he blinked repeatedly.

"Mr. Machiavelli, leaving already? I assure you the tea will just take a few seconds to prepare."

Nikolei shook his head and smiled faintly, "It's fine, thank you. I really have to get going. My secretary just texted me about an early meeting will be held this morning."

"Very well then."

Grant quickly showed him to the door. Just before he closed the door, Grant quickly called for Nikolei. "Oh, Mr. Machiavelli! If you are free tonight, why don't you come and have dinner with us here? A bit after six o'clock. We will be expecting your presence tonight." With that, he smiled warmly and closed the door to the apartment.

When he arrived at his office that day, everyone stayed out of his way due to the strong angry aura surround him that day. The look on his face gave away everything, and not a single person dared to enter his office that day. They knew better than to mess with an angry lion in the middle of the day. A few hours later, everyone cast their head downwards as he dashed out of his office and made his way to the chief financial officer's office.

The workers in their cubicles were nervous and petrified when loud grunts and yelling could be heard from the office he just entered a few seconds ago. Not even an hour and there had been loud voices and some shouting came from the poor CFO's office. They all knew the cause of his fit of anger did not concern the company's performance over the whole year but something personal that happened in his private life instead. Yet, no one dared to stand up against him because everyone knew he has never acted this way before and had been a good employer over the past years they've worked there.

"Wait until marriage! We waited until marriage, for fuck's sake!" Nikolei yelled as he exited the CFO's office and scoffed loudly before entering his own office, slamming the door with a loud bang.

Petra who just got out of the elevator had heard a few words of the sentences. She had heard about the whole ruckus her brother had inflicted on his office level from her own secretary and a few of the workers on her level. She was doubting it at first, but now that she heard and witnessed it, she was sure that this has got to do with something involving Alexandra.

She slowly approached one of the cubicles when the worker looked up at her. "How can I assist you, Ms. Machiavelli?"

"I heard about my brother causing an uproar up here. What was the ruckus all about a few moments ago?" She queried.

"The boss shouted and cursed about him and someone for waiting until marriage." The man answered.

"Did he now?" She raised her brows, "Okay, thank you."

Petra slowly made her way to her brother's office, barging in and shut the door quietly as she entered his space. Nikolei didn't look up as she approached his desk, as if she was invisible in his own world. The angry grunts would escaped his lips once in a while, scrunching up each of the papers frustratingly after he'd written some things onto each of them.

"What?!" He shouted angrily, never once did he looked away from the files and papers on his desk.

The brunette rolled her eyes irritatingly before slamming her hand down on the desk loudly. The loud sound stopped Nikolei from his work as he looked up startled, with that anger frown forming on his face. She crossed her arms together against her chest, scrutinizing Nikolei under her heated gaze as they stared at each other for a few good seconds.

"What is with you this morning?" She questioned him, the sound of her voice was more stern than before. "Don't mix up your personal life with business. It's a good thing the employees don't know that you were married to Alexandra, otherwise the office would have been a chaos with all the newfound gossips."

Nikolei remained silent in his seat, his gaze became stoic as he refused to look up meeting Petra's stare. His breath turned ragged, with his chest rising up and down aggressively behind the suit he's wearing. The paper in his hand scrunched up roughly as his hands were fisted tightly without him noticing it.

Petra sighed for the second time as she watched the condition her brother was in. Something that had happened this morning must have hit him hard, and she was curious about what had occur the first thing in the morning that had made her brother turned into a hulk to everyone he encountered today in the office.

"You need to tell me, Nikolei. If you keep on going like this, I wouldn't know how long will you be able to keep this up without breaking yourself." She said in concern.

Nikolei palmed his face with his hands as he groaned frustratingly into them. He sighed painfully, "My chances of winning her heart back is getting thinner and thinner, Petra."

"What do you mean?"

"They looked very much in love this morning when I stopped by her apartment. When Alexandra showed up in her nightwear with his fiancé being shirtless when he answered the door, I almost, almost punch him in the face but I realized that by doing so, it would make me lose my chances in winning her heart back." Nikolei muttered quietly, a few cracks in his voice could be heard. "No one needs to paint the picture for me to know what exactly had occur before I reached her apartment this morning."

"Nik, you need to understand that now she's with Grant Carson and winning her back won't be that easy since her feelings had resided with Grant and that she has no recollection of the memories both of you shared together."

"I know but-"

Petra cut him off quickly, "Listen to me for once! I know it's not entirely your fault, but you need to realize things have change now. You are no longer the love of her life now, and Grant has taken that part of yours in her life. I know this sounded harsh and maybe this is not what you wanted to hear from me, but this is certainly what you needed to hear."

His gaze hardened by each seconds as he stared deadly into his sister's eyes. The stare held the determination she had seen long time ago that had disappeared as the years went by, and never once did the look in his eyes flickered with uncertainty. They were dark, as if they were promising something to her that no matter what happened, he won't back down until Alexandra herself had said or shown it to him that she no longer has feelings or wanted anything to do with him.

Until that happened, Nikolei had no intention of backing up from his plans and hopes of winning the love of his life back into his life.

"Petra," He said sternly. "It's either you are with me or you are not. I won't let you stand in my way. It doesn't matter if you are my sister, I still won't back down even if you tell me to."

She smiled faintly and sighed for the last time, "Whatever you do, brother, you know I will always have your back no matter what. Just be careful this time. Your actions are bound to induce heartbreaks in either you, Alexandra or Grant and we all know they both really don't deserve that kind of things... again."

With that, Petra rose from her seat and