Chapter 165: The repulsion
Nicholas’s lips twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. It was a grimace, a barely concealed snarl. His father’s plan wasn’t just manipulative—it was repulsive. Elijah was asking him to trade Ava’s trust, her friendship, for his own survival.
For a long moment, Nicholas didn’t speak. He simply stared at Elijah, the tension radiating from him almost palpable. The man in front of him was so vile that he hated himself for being his son. He knew nothing but his own benefit. He didn’t care about anyone.
Nicholas’s insides filled with bitterness as he recalled the past. This was the man who had abandoned his mother without a shred of guilt, chasing wealth and power by marrying a rich woman, despite knowing she carried his child.
To him, his success was more important than anyone else. His ambition had always trumped any semblance of humanity. And it was the same as before. Elijah hadn’t changed—not one bit.
"First of all, nothing is going on between me and Ava," Nicholas hissed condescendingly. "She is just a friend. And I’ll not exploit that friendship for your twisted ambitions."
"Don’t lie to me!" Elijah barked. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a stack of photographs, tossing them onto the table. "If you don’t like each other, then explain this."
Nicholas’s eyes instinctively dropped to the scattered images, his stomach sinking as he saw himself with Ava at the beach—walking together.
"You’ve been spying on me!" Nicholas shot back with disbelief and anger, his restraint hanging by a thread.
"Uh, don’t give me that look." Elijah shrugged nonchalantly, waving a dismissive hand as though Nicholas’s retort was a trivial matter.