Her heart was pounding as she saw Nicholai approach her, his smile even made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. Despite the uneasiness and the need to scream at the man, Isabella tried her best to act normal, to pretend that she had no idea about his involvement in the plot against the duke.
"How's it going, Ms. Isabella?" Nicholai asked, a smug smile on his face. It was vividly filtered into his expression how he enjoyed talking to her, perhaps observing how tensed her body was.
Forcing a smile, Isabella smiled and replied, "I'm doing well, thanks. How about you? I hadn’t seen you around,"
Nicholai chuckled. "I'm doing great. I see you're still with my brother, and I must admit I admire your loyalty and strong will to stay with him despite the crisis.“
Isabella clenched her fists, tr
