Nicholas had only arrived in town that morning, his sole reason being to see his fiancée and maybe talk about the wedding preparations with her. He had gone to her uncle's home first, but he found only the old man trimming the bushes around their small compound.
Old Tony had stood frozen when he saw Nicholas in his home. His eyes widened, like they were about to pop out of their sockets, and the pruning shears fell to the cemented ground with a loud clang. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and for a moment, he forgot to breathe.
Nicholas was going to approach him, but when he saw the old man as pale as a ghost, he felt it wise to keep his distance. He understood the old man very well. He would have done the same if their roles were reversed.
"Ahem…" He cleared his throat softly, as if to get the old man's attention, but in truth, he felt very uncomfortable under that stare. He was just a man, not a demon. Maybe he had been called a demon a few times, but that was that. He was still just a man.
"Marie… I want to see her." There was no use beating around the bush since it would be meaningless to both of them.
Old Tony jolted when he heard his niece's name. He wanted to speak, but he kept opening and closing his mouth with no words coming out, and when he finally found his voice, he could barely form a coherent sentence. But then again, it would be unwise to keep Nicholas Thorne waiting for his answer.
"...work… Marie… work… retirement home…"
Nicholas felt a headache coming on as he listened to the old man speak. But he got the message. His fiancée works in a retirement home, so he was going to go there.
He turned around to leave, but he was immediately stopped by Old Tony.
"I'll go with you… I know the way," the old man stammered. He might be scared of Nicholas, but his worry for his niece was greater than whatever fear he had. He wanted to look after his niece, even if it meant sitting down in the small space of Nicholas' car for a while.
In a few minutes, both of them were on the road. Nicholas admired the old man throughout the ride. For someone so old and little, his heart was very strong and efficient. The old man held his breath the whole ride to the retirement home.
When the old man announced that they had reached their destination, Nicholas parked his car securely in front of the small building and stepped out.
It was a low-rise building that almost looked like the home of a small family. It seemed to have been standing for a while now, but it was well taken care of.
Nicholas had no idea that his fiancée worked here. All he knew about her was her name, and her face — which he had seen only through a photo he had gotten through unspeakable means.
He entered the building with the old man walking behind him. The receptionist had asked them to sit while she placed a call, and in five minutes, Marie was out with an older woman whom Nicholas knew nothing of.
He would have approached Marie first, but Old Tony had jumped out of his seat the second Marie came in and had begun to cry like he was being bullied on the way to the retirement home.
Nicholas was appalled, and he watched them console the old man, confused and irritated. Was it so depressing to be around him? Just what was happening?
Unable to bear it anymore, he got up and approached Marie. He couldn't care less about the other two; they could keep embracing for all he cared. He stood in front of Marie and stretched out his hand for a handshake.
"Nicholas Thorne," he said.
He watched Marie's eyes widen, and for a moment, he thought it would be a repetition of what had happened with her uncle — but thankfully, it was not.
Marie recovered quickly and shook his hand tentatively.
"Marie Bridge," she said.
Both of them stared silently at each other for a while, with neither of them knowing what to say next.
For Marie, it was understandable — she had no idea she was going to meet her mysterious fiancée today. But for Nicholas, who had everything he was going to say to her planned out, it was quite questionable.
Marie took one glance at her crying uncle, and her face twisted in a frown. She might not know Nicholas, but she knew that her uncle was scared of him. Her first thought was that Nicholas had done something bad to her uncle, and she was quick to act on that thought.
"What did you do to him?"
Nicholas's frown matched her own when the question was thrown at him. He had done nothing — but who would believe him, when the old man was wailing like that?