Chapter 9

When Nik heard the whole story of Gia’s accident, he felt an overwhelming source of guilt. Why was this business so important to him? He supposed it was his uncle’s respect and approval that kept him going. He and Gia had a very good talk the other day and he was feeling good about the way things were going.

~~Flashback~~

“Nik we have to talk.” Gia said, as he helped her upstairs the night she came home. Her foot was wrapped up and she needed to use crutches. The cut on her foot was not nearly as severe as the one on her arm but it was deeper and it would hurt for a while so she was instructed to try and stay off of it as much as she could. Gia made Kristina go home after getting tired of her fussing over her. Now that she was home it was Nik’s turn to fuss over her. “Come on Gia, you should lie down.” Nik said as he guided her to the bed. “We are going to talk about this Nikolas.” Gia said as she sat down. “I know just let me get you some water OK?” Nik said. “That would be good actually, thanks.” She said before he left the room. Gia looked around the bedroom that she had been in such pain in the day before. Nik had someone come in and clean up the mess, but she could still see the slight stain of blood on the floor where she fell.

“Here you go Sparky!” Nik said as he handed her the water. “Thank you baby” Gia said and then took a sip. She was becoming uncomfortable with the way Nik was watching her every move. “Sweetie I think we should talk.” Gia said as she put down her water. “OK”, Nik nodded. “Well, obviously we have some issues we need to discuss.” Gia said. “Yeah we do.” Nik said. “Why don’t I start?” Nik said. “Sure go ahead.” Gia said. “Gia, I…” Nik was trying to decide where to start. “First off, this room.” Nik said looking around. “I didn’t know you hated it so much, Gia honey you can redecorate if you want.” Nik said. “Nikolas, it’s not so much the room as much as it’s the fact that I felt locked up in it.” “Without the man I love.” “It’s cold and ugly and I didn’t want to be left alone in it.” Gia said. “I know baby and I’m sorry for leaving you like that.” Nik said as he lay down next to Gia, wrapping his arms around her. “I just felt like I had to prove to myself and everyone around me that I could do this.” “I was so afraid that I would disappoint my uncle by failing at this.” Nik said sadly. “Nikolas, I believe in you, I think that you can be a wonderful Prince.” “Your strong, powerful, passionate and hard working.” “But I also believe that you’re the warm, sensitive and loving man I fell in love with.” “And I have faith that you can handle both me and the business at the same time.” Gia said, tenderly stroking his hair. “Let me be a part of the other half of your world, Nikolas.” “You never confide in me about your business.” “I didn’t leave my job at deception so that I could sit here and do nothing.” “I’m a strong and powerful women, just like my mother.” “I can help you Nikolas, will you let me?” Gia asked looking into his eyes. “I love you Gia, I would love nothing more than to have you by my side at all times.” “I’m sorry I didn’t let you before, I was just afraid that you would get hurt.” “I have been trained all my life to deal with people like this, but you haven’t.” Nik said. “Nikolas, I just need you to have faith in me.” Gia said. “I do have faith in you Gia.” “Good!” “Now let me start thinking about what to do with this room, I have got to drag Lucky shopping.” Gia said looking around the room. Nik couldn’t help but laugh at his wife’s way of changing the subject. "I love you Sparky." Nik said as he leaned in for a kiss. "I love you too Nikolas." Gia said, excepting his mouth with her parted lips.

~~End of flashback~~

Nik felt so different about his wife after that talk. He realized that he wasn’t giving her enough credit, but things have changed and things are going so much better now. They had agreed that Nikolas would work all day but take nights and weekends off to spend with Gia. It was also agreed that he would spend any spare time with her and he was sharing more about his business with her. Gia actually started to take over some work for him.  She found that she was good at working with people regarding events and such. Much like the work she did in P.R. when she worked with AJ. But even with Gia’s help Nik was very busy and he was having a hard time balancing out his time.

“Hey!” Nik said when his brother entered his office. “Hi, have you seen Gia?” Lucky asked shortly. He was still mad at Nikolas for what he did to Gia. Lucky didn’t tell any one about this but he had recurring nightmares about what happened that night. It was always the same. Him running upstairs and finding Gia with her hands cut, dripping with blood. She would look up at him with pleading eyes and he would wake up in a cold sweat. He just couldn’t shake the dream and it was haunting him every night since it happened. He still blamed his brother for what happened.

“She’s getting ready, you guys are going shopping huh?” Nik asked. “Yeah.” Lucky nodded. Nik sighed. “Look Lucky we need to get past this.” “You’re my brother and it hurts that you won’t talk to me.” Nik said. “What am I supposed to say Nikolas?” Lucky asked. “Look you’re the one who pushed Gia and I together, now I love her as a friend.” “I’ll just never get over that day.” Lucky said, starting to tear up like he did whenever he thought about it. “Lucky I’ve already tolled you I’m sorry lots of times and you still aren’t happy.” “Gia was able to forgive me, why can’t you?” Nik asked. “Because Nikolas, I’m not blind with love for you like Gia is.” “Gia is completely capable of making her own choices and she chose to forgive me.” Nik said. “She’s not blind when it comes to me OK?” Nik said angrily. “Yeah well I disagree.” Lucky said. “But…I’m willing to try and change for Gia.” Lucky said. “She needs both of is right now.” “So, why don’t you stop by my dads today?” Lucky asked. “Gia and I are heading over there after we shop.” Lucky said. “She hasn’t gone to see my dad since she’s gotten out of the hospital and she’s been dieing to see him.” Lucky stated. Nik had so much to do today but he was determined to make things better. “Yeah maybe I’ll come by for a little while.” Nik agreed.

When Gia came downstairs she was surprised to see that the men were actually civil to one another. “So you ready to go?” She asked Lucky. “Yeah, you look great!” Lucky said. Gia was wearing a short black leather skirt, with a dark purple V-neck shirt and a pair of black shoes. Her hair was pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She no longer needed the crutches she once used and her arm only had a small bandage on it. She was able to cover up all the tiny little scratches on her face with makeup. She was happier than she’s been in a long time and has a bright smile on her face when she sees the two most important men in her life, getting along.

“Thanks!” Gia said. Walking over to Nikolas she gave him a sweet kiss on his lips. “You sure you don’t want to come pick out curtains with us?” She asked him. “Oh that’s OK, but have fun.” He said, grinning at Lucky. “But, I convinced him to stop by Luke’s today for lunch.” Lucky said. “Your coming to Luke’s?” Gia asked. She was shocked. She knew he hated going there. “Yeah, why are you so surprised?” Nik said. “I want to be with you.” Nik said with a smile. “Well last time I checked you couldn’t stand the place but hey I’m not complaining.” Gia said. “OK then I’ll see you guys later!” Nik said. Giving him a quick kiss before she left, Gia and Lucky left. Nik was panicked about getting all of the work he had to get done before lunch so he went strait to work as soon as the door closed.