Nick spent the entire night in Xena’s room.
Mia hadn’t gone out of her way to notice this but Mrs. Zimmer, the housekeeper, had eagerly pulled her into the backyard early that morning to share this “important information” in hushed tones.
“Ma’am, you’ve got to start paying attention!” Mrs. Zimmer said anxiously. “That shameless little vixen, Miss Quinn, is clearly here to seduce Mr. Ford! You wouldn’t believe what she was wearing last night. I couldn’t even look!”
Mia smiled faintly. “You’re overthinking it. Miss Quinn and Nick grew up together, and he holds her in high regard. Please don’t speak badly of her again. Nick wouldn’t be happy if he heard you.”
Mrs. Zimmer froze, her expression bewildered. She looked Mia up and down before hesitantly asking, “Ma’am, what’s going on with you?”
“I’m fine,” Mia replied with a smile. “I’m doing great.”
But that smile looked like a mask welded onto her face.
She would keep smiling. She wouldn’t cry anymore.
“No, something’s definitely off with you today!” Mrs. Zimmer said with certainty. “You used to call Mr. Ford affectionately as ‘Nicky,’ but now you’re using his name—Nick!”
Mia lowered her long, dark lashes and stayed silent.
In truth, when she first got together with Nick, she didn’t call him “Nicky” either. Like his friends, she used to call him “Nick.”
It wasn’t until their first night together that he made her call him “Nicky.”
That night, he had pinned her to the bed, blindfolded her with a strip of black cloth, and, while roughly pulling her hair, demanded she call him “Nicky” over and over.
For the longest time, Mia thought “Nicky” was a special name just for her to use, a sign of their intimacy. The thought had secretly made her happy for quite a while.
It wasn’t until yesterday, when she heard Xena call him “Nicky,” that she realized the truth.
No wonder he had blindfolded her that night.
Her eyes didn’t look like Xena’s.
But her voice sounded similar, so he made her call him “Nicky,” over and over again, as if that was all that mattered.
“Mrs. Zimmer,” Mia said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder, “in a place like this, the most important thing is to focus on your work and keep your thoughts to yourself. Please don’t say anything bad about Miss Quinn anymore.”
She would be leaving soon, and Xena would take her place as the lady of the house.
If Mrs. Zimmer offended Xena, she would certainly pay the price later.
After advising Mrs. Zimmer, Mia went upstairs to grab the divorce papers and then headed to Nick’s study.
Nick was busy working but scoffed when he saw her walk in. “Finally realized you were wrong?”
“Yes,” Mia said flatly. If he said she was wrong, then she would let it be. She was too tired to argue, especially since it would all be over in a few days.
