Chapter 61: #SIXTY-ONE

NICHOLAS’S POV

Someone knocked on my door, and I opened my eyes slowly, completely disoriented for a few seconds. The room was dark except for the faint light coming through the curtains, and when I reached for my phone on the bedside table, I realized it was already nighttime. I had intended to lie down for a short while after spending the afternoon trying to organize everything I knew about the stalker, but apparently exhaustion had caught up with me. I had fallen asleep without even realizing it.

Another knock came, followed by a familiar voice, and I immediately sat up. "Nicholas? Are you awake?"

I recognized my mother’s voice and hurried toward the door, expecting to see one of the maids or perhaps one of the brothers. I pulled it open, and the surprise on my face must have been obvious because my mother immediately frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Mum." I rubbed my eyes and stepped aside to let her see inside. "I thought it was someone else."

"One of the boys?"

I didn’t answer quickly enough and she studied my face, then looked past me into the room. "Is something going on?"

"No."

"Nicholas." She frowned. "I was worried when you called the other time."

"Nothing is going on, Mum. I just woke up, so I probably look terrible."

"You do look tired." She stepped closer, examining me with the same concerned expression she usually had. "You’ve been sleeping since evening?"

I nodded. "I didn’t realize I was that tired."

"That’s not what I’m asking. You sounded strange when we spoke earlier, and now you’ve slept for hours. If something happened at school, you can tell me."

I shook my head immediately. "School is fine. I’m just exhausted. I’ve had a lot of classes lately, and everything has been stressful. That’s all."

She clearly wasn’t convinced. "You know you don’t have to hide things from me because I’m busy."

"Mum, you don’t have to remind me. I know that."

"Then why do I feel like you’re trying to convince me of something?" She crossed her arms, concern evident in her tone.

"Because you’re asking a lot of questions."

She gave me a small look of disapproval. "I’m your mother. I’m allowed to ask questions."

I shrugged. "I know. And I’m telling you nothing is wrong."

She continued looking at me for several seconds before finally sighing. "Fine. I’m going to believe you for now, but if something is bothering you, you tell me. Don’t wait until it becomes too much."

"I will." I nodded.

She smiled slightly. "Good. Now come downstairs. Dinner is ready, and I don’t want you staying in here all night."

"I’ll come down." I assured her.

"You’d better."

"I just want to take a shower first." I nodded towards the bathroom.

She followed my gaze. "Alright. Don’t take forever."

"I won’t."

She gave me one final suspicious look before walking away. I waited until she reached the staircase before closing my door.

The conversation had left me feeling strangely anxious. My mother had always been good at noticing when something was wrong with me, and I wasn’t sure how long I could keep convincing her that everything was fine. I didn’t want to tell her about the stalker yet. I didn’t even know what I would tell her. If I told her someone had been following me, sending me messages and somehow getting photographs of me, she’d probably panic and immediately act on impulse. Worse, she might insist that I leave the mansion or involve people who would make everything much more complicated.

I went into the bathroom and took a long shower, trying to clear my head. When I came back into my room, I dried myself, changed into clean clothes and reached for my phone before leaving. The moment the screen lit up, I saw several new notifications.

My stomach tightened.

The stalker.

I opened the messages carefully. There were several of them, and beneath the messages was another photograph. This time it was a picture of me from earlier, after I’d come out of the bathroom. I was still wearing a towel, and the fact that the photograph had been taken without my knowledge immediately made my anger rise.

"Pervert." I typed the word quickly and added a couple of angry emojis before sending it. I stared at the screen afterward, almost expecting the stalker to disappear or stop responding, but instead I found myself waiting.

A message appeared. "You finally answered."

I frowned and typed back furiously. "Stop taking pictures of me."

The reply came almost immediately. "Why?"

I stared at the question and huffed.

Because it was creepy. Because I didn’t know who they were. And because I hated the feeling of being watched.

I typed the first thing that came to mind. "Because you’re a pervert."

The response made my expression change into irritation again. "You still answered me."

I didn’t reply immediately.

Part of me wanted to block the number and turn the phone off, but another part of me was beginning to understand that keeping the conversation going might give me something useful. If the stalker was willing to talk, then perhaps I could learn something about them. I had already decided that I was going to investigate discreetly, and this could be one of the few opportunities I had to gather information directly from the person behind the messages.

I didn’t want them to know that was what I was doing.

So I locked the phone and slipped it into my pocket. I would deal with it later.

For now, my mother was waiting downstairs.

When I entered the dining room, everyone was already there. My mother was seated beside Mr. Blackthorne, while the brothers were spread around the table. Cassian glanced up when I walked in, and Adrian looked at me briefly before returning his attention to the food. Roman barely acknowledged me but Elijah did.

Our eyes met for a second and I immediately looked away and my mother noticed.

She smiled and gestured toward the empty chair. "Come and sit. I was beginning to think you had decided to sleep through dinner as well."

I forced a smile. "I was just taking a shower."

"Well, you’re here now."

I sat down.

The first few minutes were quiet except for the sounds of plates and the forks. My mother eventually started talking about her day at the company, complaining about how many meetings had been pushed into the same afternoon and how she had barely managed to finish half of what she intended to do. Mr. Blackthorne listened while occasionally adding something to the conversation, and eventually the discussion shifted toward the company itself.

"I’ve been thinking about taking Nicholas there," Mr. Blackthorne said.

I looked up.

What?

My mother smiled. "That’s actually a good idea. He hasn’t seen much of the company yet."

Gareth nodded. "If you’re interested, you can come by over the weekend. I’ll have someone show you around properly rather than just letting you wander through the building without knowing where you’re going."

"I’d like that." I forced a stiff smile.

"You’ll get to see how everything operates. The departments, the offices, some of the work being done there. It might also give you an idea of how the business works." He nodded.

"That sounds interesting."

My mother looked pleased that I’d agreed. "Then it’s settled. We’ll arrange it before the weekend."

I nodded and continued eating.

Adrian eventually asked about school, and I gave him the same answer I’d given my mother, but my tone was clipped. "It’s fine."

My mother looked between us. "Are you boys having some disagreement?"

"No," I answered quickly.

Cassian continued eating. "Nothing serious."

She looked unconvinced but didn’t push the matter. Nobody mentioned the argument from earlier, nobody mentioned Roman confronting me and nobody mentioned Jayden.

That was probably for the best.

When dinner finally ended, everyone began leaving the table. I stood up and followed Cassian toward the staircase. He walked a few steps ahead of me, carrying his laptop under one arm, and neither of us said anything.

I was halfway up the stairs when my foot landed awkwardly and my balance shifted.

"Oh shit!" Before I could catch myself, Cassian turned around and grabbed my arm.

"Careful." He grunted under his breath.

I steadied myself against the railing. "I’m fine."

"I can see that." He released my arm once he was sure I was standing properly. I expected him to say something else, perhaps ask whether I was tired or whether I’d eaten enough, but he simply adjusted the laptop under his arm and continued upstairs.

I remained there for a moment, watching him disappear down the hallway. Then I heard my stepfather’s voice from behind me. "Nicholas."

I turned around to see that Mr. Blackthorne was standing near the entrance to the dining room. "Come to my room for a quick talk before you go to bed."

I stared at him for a moment, my heart suddenly racing in my chest. "Now?"

"It won’t take long." He gave me a quick smile that lacked any warmth.

I hesitated before nodding. "Alright."

He turned and began walking upstairs and I remained on the staircase for about five minutes, trying to relax, before following him.

What did he want this time?