Neither of them uttered a word on their way to the Cooper hotel. Niklaus felt so guilty and ashamed of himself for assigning Beau to take care of Lili. He hit his forehead for believing in his friend, despite knowing that he hates Liliya.
As soon as the car halted, Niklaus rushed to the lift. And along with him raced Beau.
Kia's back straightened to see Mr. Cooper and Mr. Stewart. His heart galloped to see them panting and huffing. 'Is everything okay? Did Mrs. Cooper do anything inside?' His head was framing unnecessary questions.
"Is Mrs. Cooper inside?" Beau calmed down and asked.
"Yes?" Kia said, which sounded more like a question.
While Beau was wasting time talking to a bodyguard, Nik knocked on the door. He wanted to see if she was fine. Though he was aware of her free soul and stress-free nature, he didn't want her to take tension because of the stupid drama his friend was playing.
"Yes!" Lili opened the door. As soon as her eyes met Nik, she hid her hand and dragged down her folded sleeve. "What are you doing here?"
Nik took aback with that question, "What do you mean?"
"I thought you would go to your house."
"House? Which house?" Nik inquired as he got inside.
"Your home in the city!"
Nik comfortably sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. "I don't have a house here. I live in hotels."
Lili blinked to hear that. She wanted to ask the reason, but as usual, she didn't want to know more and get involved with him. After the morning's incident, she was more frightened of Nik's rumored partner, Beau. She understood that the less she talked with Nik, the better it was for her.
"Did you finish shopping?" Nik asked, while glaring at Beau, who was standing with Kai beside the sofa.
Liliya gave a nod.
"Why don't I see any bags?"
"Well! I bought only three pairs. I was planning to ask you to assign someone to bring my clothes and mobile, since you don't want me to go." She took the bag from the cupboard and showed him.
"What's that brand?" Nik roared, which made poor Kai's and Lili's heart skip a beat. He ran to her, caught her wrist, and walked towards the door.
"Mrs. Cooper!" Kai shouted, which made the furious Nik stop and turn back to see Liliya in tears.
"What happened?" His voice shirked. There was no answer from her, and that was making him go crazy. "Tell me!" His eyes were gathering water and his heart was becoming restless.
"You!" He looked at Kai. "You were there with her the full day. You must know the reason. Why did she suddenly start crying?" His words ran and his voice shivered.
Kai's legs lost strength as he became the spotlight. 'Should I tell or not?' He didn't want to be the reason for the fight between Mr. Cooper and Mr. Stewart. But at the same time, don't want to leave Mrs. Cooper in pain. He was confused, but a look at Lili's face gave him the answer. Liliya was already staring at him and waiting for the chance to shake her head. She didn't want Nik to know about Beau.
"I don't know!" Kai lied.
"Fine!" Nik hissed. "You all know the reason, but you don't want to tell me." He groaned as he noticed how Beau and Liliya's faces relaxed when Kai answered. "Kai, what is the duty of a bodyguard?"
"To protect!"
"Right! You failed in it! So, I am firing you." Since asking them patiently wasn't working, blackmail was the only choice left and, of course, it has the highest success rate.
"No!" Kai and Lili shouted at once.
"I will tell you!" Lili muttered and rolled her sleeves. "I hurt myself and I don't want you to know!" She lied with eyes focused on the floor.
Beau's forehead creased, surprised at why she didn't tell the truth. While Kai rolled his eyes away, tightening his jaw. Nik's lip curled at one corner. He was sure that Liliya was lying as if he studied every emotion and gesture of hers. Now he was more interested in what she was working hard to hide.
"Is it? Let me check!" Niklaus arched his brow and started removing the dressing.
"Why would I lie? I didn't want to live with you, so I…" Before she could complete the story that she framed a second ago, Niklaus unfastened the bandage and revealed the black finger marks. "Who did this to you?" Nik's pupils enlarged and voice echoed, scaring everyone in the room.
"You both knew about this. But you didn't tell me!" His eyes widened and reddened at Kai and Beau. "Who did this to her?" Nik once again yelled, staring at Kai.
The newly joined bodyguard's legs trembled with the mishap and scolding he was getting on the first day itself. Nik's wide eyes made his poor heart shiver and the piercing look felt as if his boss was diving into his brain for answers. "Mr. Stewart," he blurted out in fear and the next second, he collapsed down as his legs no longer had strength.
"Beau Stewart! Again! Again!" Nik growled and caught Beau's collar. "How could you do that? I believed you and put her safety in your hands. And this is what you do?"
"Sorry! I still suspect her. How is she able to buy those clothes and get into this room?" Beau was sticking on to his point and there was not even the slightest guilt or sorry for what he had done.
Nik's fingers loosened, and that brought a smile on Beau's face. But that cunning and mocking grin disappeared as Nik landed a punch in his face. "I don't care even if I die because of her. But you, how could you do that to my wife? Leave about her being my wife. How could you treat a girl like that?"
"You might not care about your life, but I do!" Beau screamed. "She is a suspect, and this is how I treat irrespective of gender."
Nik crushed on the sofa. He wished he could clear the cold war between his best friend and wife. But he didn't want to degrade her by questioning. 'Does he think Liliya can't enter a room and buy some clothes?' He exhaled on how he should set the situation right.
"Kai gave me the money." Lili shouted. "Now, all of you, get out!" She appeared pissed off with the never-ending discussion and Nik struggling to scold his lover.