Nichole Richards is currently living her best life.
She's single and mingling, has an amazing group of friends, and business is booming for her bakery business. Things only take a turn for the worst after she discovers that someone from her past ha...
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13 | ROCK BOTTOM
Nichole hasn't had a decent night's sleep ever since Kade inserted himself back into her life.
She's been walking on eggshells and looking over her shoulder everywhere she goes out of fear of running into him again. Kade's abrupt return has Nichole distressed and exhausted. She hates how withdrawn she's become. She's even cut back on the hours she puts in at the bakery, leaving Danielle to take charge in her absence.
Part of Nichole feels that this is for the best, her lying low until she can get a better understanding on why Kade is really back and trying to act all friendly. She can't shake the feeling that he has an ulterior motive. Then there's the other part of Nichole; the part that's ashamed of herself for allowing Kade to have this much power over her, years after they've separated.
She's pissed the hell off. Annoyed. Frustrated. But above all, she's tired. She's tired of being harassed by the ghosts of her past. She wants them gone. She wants Kade gone.
Permanently.
"Maybe we can track down his parole officer and tell them what happened?" Taehyun suggests during the commercial break. "It sucks that your restraining order against him has expired."
"Yeah. I figured there wasn't much need to keep it going while he was in jail," Nichole says.
"Still, there must be something that his parole officer can do," Taehyun replies. "It's their job to make sure he isn't getting into trouble, right?"
Nichole sighs, staring blankly at the television screen. "Contacting his parole officer is pointless. Kade doesn't give a shit about the law. And even if I were to take out another restraining order, it won't stop him from coming after me. If he wants me, he'll find a way to get to me. He's annoyingly persistent... and batshit crazy."
"C'mon, sweetheart. You can't think like that. It's no good for you." Ademar kisses Nichole on the cheek, pulling her closer to him. "Taehyun and I are with you now. That cabrón will never get close to you again. Isn't that right, Tae-Tae?"
"Absolutely." Taehyun scoots over to their end of the couch, cuddling up to Nichole and Ademar. "You're not alone anymore, Nichole. You've got us to protect you now."
Nichole grabs Taehyun's hand and smiles at him, accepting his kisses. Ademar later does the same. She fights back the urge to cry, their words meaning more to her than they'll probably ever know.
"I'm so sorry for dragging you both into my mess," Nichole says. "I never intended for any of this to happen. I never thought he'd ever get released..."
From what she can remember, around the time that Kade had gotten caught by the police, he had managed to rack up a shit ton of serious charges during his descent into crime. Charges that should have kept him behind bars for a long, long time. It's perplexing for Nichole to even think about Kade's downfall because he once had it all—the looks, the money, the fame. Nichole. Kade had everything. But his desire to have more is ultimately what knocked him off his high horse.
