Chapter 1

Klaus firmly believed that there was no happiness in life.

No long lasting happiness, anyway.

There was only wealth, power, authority and position in life. No emotions, nothing else really mattered.

The funeral he was attending, under the dark weeping sky, was just another example of that. It seemed that the weather agreed with the emotions of the crowd. Enzo's death, after all, had been unexpected and unwelcome. But instead of crying or feeling sad, Klaus kept his eyes firmly trained on the mahogany, dark wood casket as it lowered into the ground.

He could hear the sobs of the female members present. But among them the harshest cries came from Maggie, Enzo's sister and Liz, not a direct relative of Enzo but still very much affected by his death. After all, he was her son-in-law.

But that didn't matter to Klaus. He didn't care about how much Maggie was crying or anyone for that matter. He just felt as he should've been sadder. However, he couldn't force the emotions in himself.

Enzo was his best friend.

It was hate at first sight, to be honest. There was just too many similarities between the two.

British. Arrogant. Cocky. Good looking. In love with the same girl.

If he was totally honest with himself, though, the last one was obviously not unexpected. Caroline Forbes was such a majestic beauty that one couldn't help but be drawn to her. But the shocking part was that she hadn't chosen him but Enzo in the end.

To be fair, he hadn't ever owned up to ask her really. He had always chosen to remain smug and conceited because it was all part of his 'Klaus-persona'. Enzo, however, had always chosen to openly show his interest in Caroline.

Klaus had also in return shown his dislike for Enzo as he had to share his Caroline with him. The three of them had become unlikely friends during high school and then remained best friends even after going off to different colleges and then later on their jobs.

Caroline had only completed her education and started working as an assistant to an interior decorator when Enzo had proposed and she had said yes.

Enzo, himself, hadn't been very stable at the time but he knew Caroline didn't care for his money. She only cared for him. Loved him. After all, it was proved when the two of them moved together in a comfortable, respectable yet tiny apartment after getting married. Enzo was only a regular financial advisor in some firm.

Klaus, on the other hand, was a totally different story. After losing Caroline to his own best friend, he had put every bit of his energy into his work and pushed himself beyond his limits to achieve what he had achieved today.

His father's approval and the seat of CEO of Mikaelson Inc.

Mikael had been extremely proud and had happily handed the company off to his third but only son whom he felt would do something valuable with his life.

The reason behind his success was only one.

He never let emotions get in the way of his life.

The other reason that his mind kept yelling at him was Enzo's endless support and Caroline's rejection. Though, he chose to ignore that part.

Honestly, he always felt like it was Caroline who was the adhesive force between the three of them. But he never felt like Enzo and his friendship was forced. He liked Enzo and genuinely enjoyed his company. He was one of the only true friends he had. Except for Stefan and Marcel.

He felt some movement beside him and looked up to see his baby sister making her way to him and standing next to him, silently, as they both observed Maggie speaking into the microphone about Enzo.

"You don't look too sad" Rebekah never was one to beat around the bush. Klaus glanced at her, only to watch her wiping a black, silk handkerchief (matching her black hat fascinator with a birdcage veil) under her dry eyes, only for pretense.

"Straight to the point" Klaus murmured, his voice laced with dry amusement. "You don't look very sad either. Might I ask why, sister?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on the ceremony ahead of him. Even though, he knew the answer to that, he still wanted her to admit it.

Rebekah hated Enzo to point where she would be even willing to kill him. It was unknown to Klaus, Caroline and pretty much everyone why the blonde hated her favorite brother's best friend. But to the blonde it was simple really. She had seen the way her brother would light up at the mention of Caroline and how madly in love he was with her and she knew that Caroline had fancied her brother too for a time in their teens.

So it was basically Enzo who came between the two. It was Enzo who came between her brother's happiness. She also knew it was also Klaus' fault for neither pursuing Caroline nor letting her go. But Klaus had seen so much in life, he was allowed a mistake or two.

Rebekah shrugged. "Let's not talk ill of the dead" she remarked as she sighed loudly when the ceremony ended and people started walking away after paying their respects to both the Forbes' family and Augustine's. "You know, she's not going to be very pleased with this" Rebekah continued as they started moving towards Liz and Bill Forbes.

Klaus sighed inaudibly but kept composure.

"Given the current predicament, it was for the best" Elijah's voice came from behind them as he joined his siblings looking impeccable in his black suit, with his hands shoved into his pant pockets. "But generally, yes, I agree with Rebekah" he added, sincerely.

Klaus bristled at that. "Thank you both of you for your unnecessary yet very obvious input" he glowered at both of them.

"Not that anyone asked my opinion but I think Care bear has every right to be upset" came the voice of their annoying younger brother which made the three elders groan out loud. "Now now! Don't be nasty" he remarked as he slung his arm casually around Rebekah's shoulders who nudged him with a hiss.

"Stop calling her that" Klaus growled lowly. He absolutely detested any sort of nickname for Caroline. Except for his pet names for her. She had a beautiful name and no one had the right to ruin it. "She was in no condition to attend the funeral. Moreover, the doctor said that she needed complete rest which would've been impossible if I would've told her about Enzo's death" he reasoned sternly. The tone of his answer hard and cold enough to make his family shut up.

"Our most sincere and deepest condolences for your loss" Elijah said as he neared the Forbes' family and shook hands with Caroline's father.

Rebekah drew Liz into a comforting hug. "Enzo's death is most unfortunate" she commented, faking sympathy. "I do hope Caroline recovers, though. She is still so young after all" she added, not wasting a moment to drop the idea into Liz's mind.

Liz nodded and lightly blew into the tissue in her trembling fingers. "I don't know how we're even going to tell her" she cried out, shaking her head.

"Who is with her at the hospital right now?" Klaus asked suddenly as he looked around and saw everyone in attendance. If they were all here, who was with Caroline?

"Elena and Bonnie will be heading there right now. They just wanted to attend the funeral- Bill started but Klaus cut him off.

"No need! You can all attend this bloody funeral. I'll be going to the hospital myself" Klaus growled angrily as he loosened the tie around his neck. How he hated these bloody suits.

Bill sighed loudly. "There's no need to be so angry Klaus. We told the doctors to inform us if something happened. She hasn't even woken up yet" he tried to reassure him.

Klaus took a menacing step closer. "And what if she had woken up? Alone and confused with only some unknown doctors surrounding her?" he countered, clenching his fists at their irresponsibility.

"She's our daughter. We would only do what's best for her" Liz argued, feeling her own anger rising.

Klaus held his hand up, not wanting to hear their lame ass excuses. "Consider yourself free from Caroline's responsibilities. She's not a burden to me" he snarled before storming off because he was sure if he heard another word of their lying mouths, he was going to lose it.

Elijah sighed and turned to the girl's parents. "I apologize on Niklaus' behalf. The accident and now Enzo's death has him on edge" he explained, despondently, as he fell into the memory of maybe the most tragic event of their lives.

It had been a rainy day and the warning of a storm had been issued. Caroline and Enzo were making their way to her parents' house for dinner when their car had collided with a high speed, opposing truck, which had slipped towards their lane because of the wet road.

Thankfully for Caroline, Enzo had held her back with his arm across her keeping her somewhat protected but he had lost his own life in the process, after being thrown out of the windscreen. He had been declared dead within the first hour of reaching the hospital.

Caroline's condition though better than Enzo's hadn't been very good either. She had several scratches and bruises all over her body, had broken her right leg and fractured her wrist. Still hidden from Klaus, Caroline had woken up once for a short span of a few minutes only to ask if Enzo was alright. But Liz had lied and told her that he was fine because they didn't need Caroline to lose herself at that moment.

They needed her to stay strong and they needed her to fight this through.

But if Klaus had known that she had gained consciousness first, he would've forced them to tell her the truth. The truth about her husband's death.

"It's understandable" Bill said, nodding stiffly.

Liz sniffled and wiped her cheeks only for new tears to replace the old ones. "I don't know what Caroline will do now. She has her whole life ahead of her" she said, wistfully.

Bill lowly snorted at that. "She should've chosen a better partner then" he snidely commented, thankful that Klaus was gone. Truth was that no one had really encouraged Caroline's relationship with Enzo. They had always pushed her more towards Klaus. At least her parents had.

They had always wanted someone more stable for her. Coming from the type of lifestyle she did, they wanted reassurance that she would always have a bright future ahead of her. Klaus, coming from the financial background, would've been the perfect choice for Caroline. The two had grown up together, cared deeply for each other and both would have been perfect together.

But Caroline being her stubborn self, had chosen Enzo who didn't even have health insurance at a point.

"Bill!" Liz admonished, appalled by his behavior even though deep down she agreed with his thoughts.

"It's true and you know it" he argued back, stiffly.

Rebekah chose the moment to play her triumph card and laid her hand on Liz's shoulder. "You two have nothing to worry about. As long as Nik's here, as he said, you have nothing to worry about from Caroline's side" she reassured them cunningly. "Consider her his responsibility" she added with a mischievous glint in her eyes which went unnoticed by the rest except for Elijah.

Just because Caroline and Klaus had made a mistake the first time, didn't mean that they didn't deserve a second chance.

Klaus quietly entered into the hospital room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to her bedside and carefully sat down on the chair placed there. He gently ran his finger down her cheek and sighed.

Caroline was still asleep but after his brief yet enlightening talk with the doctor, he had gotten to know that her vitals were stable and she would make a full recovery. But what he found frustratingly amusing was the fact that Caroline's and his own family thought that they could hide from him that she had already woken up.

For a short duration but she had.

Did they honestly think of him as a fool? That he wouldn't find out? He knew everything about Caroline five minutes after he was informed about the accident.

Still he agreed with their decision to keep her in the dark about Enzo's death. It had been a harsh enough blow for him, alone. He wasn't sure what she would've done.

With a loud sigh, he took a pencil and looked around to find a newspaper, lying on the bedside. He picked it up, leaned back in his chair and started sketching her. She was beautiful, truly and had always made a magnificent subject for his sketching and painting.

Not that he would ever admit it out loud to her. Just like he would never admit that he was in love with her.

He could still remember the first day, she had truly broken his heart and that day, he had shut off any emotions he ever felt.

Klaus felt really nervous. He didn't know why but Caroline had called him over to her place. Her and Enzo's place, his subconscious ground out bitterly. But he ignored that part.

After tonight, hopefully she would move out of their and move in with him maybe. Honestly, he hated Caroline for one thing and one thing only and that was not choosing him but choosing their best friend. But whatever she had to say today, would have to wait because he was tired of keeping everything to himself. He wanted to let it out.

He was going to tell her how he actually felt about her tonight.

He entered her apartment which was unlocked as usual. Which annoyed him to no extent. The place was hardly worthy of her and it wasn't such a secure neighborhood either that she kept her door unlocked like that.

Did Enzo have no regard for her safety?

"Caroline" he called out as he placed the flowers in his hands in the vase by the kitchen. "Sweetheart, this better be important. I was working when you all but threatened my secretary to put your call through" he called out teasingly even though they both knew that he never would've sent her call away any way.

Even his secretary knew better than to turn away any call or visit from Caroline.

Worried that he hadn't heard anything from her, he exited her kitchenette to look for her towards her bedroom and as expected he found her at the edge of room. He caught her as she came barreling at him at full speed.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly as she gripped him in a bear hug, almost painfully. "Is everything alright, love?" he asked, worriedly yet enjoying the warmth her embrace gave him. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her scent of lavender and honey which he loved so much.

It was a brief moment of true and utter bliss for him before she pulled away and gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen. He almost smiled himself that she was directing her most radiant smile at him before she lifted her hand and all but shoved it at his face.

As he focused on her hand, his face paled and he felt a dreadful feeling forming in his stomach.

A diamond ring.

Which could only mean one thing.

"I'm engaged!" she yelled at him, excitedly as she hugged him again only this time, she kept blabbering and spouting out 'omg', 'I'm so happy' and what not.

But he could feel his heart slowing down and this ringing noise in his ears. Suddenly, he felt faint but kept himself upright, somehow. He felt tears stinging his eyes but he blinked them away and gave her a tight smile and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Congratulations, sweetheart" he said, swallowing the lump in his throat as tears clogged his eyes. His voice was thick but he forced it not to sound like he was on the verge of breaking down. Coughing, he looked down and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Where's Enzo?" he asked, trying very hard not to look into his eyes.

"He's gone out to get some wine" she told him, distractedly before turning back to him. "I wanted you to be the first one to know" she said, as if he was supposed to be happy by that news. Suddenly, all the anguish he felt transformed into anger and betrayal. How dare she choose Enzo when she clearly had him as an option? Didn't she ever realize how much he loved her? How much he cared for her?

In that moment, though he hugged her and smiled at her, his heart broke little by little but before it could shatter completely, he steeled it and forced all of the emotions he felt into one thing and one thing only.

Rage.

It was that day that he had built the walls around his heart so hard and tight that he wouldn't let any emotion slip through. And not even Enzo's death had shook those walls but one news had. Caroline's accident.

He had been devastated and so very anxious at first. The only thing he'd been informed off in the beginning was that Caroline had been shifted to the hospital because her car crashed in a fatal accident.

Momentarily, his heart had stopped beating before he was reassured that Caroline was only severely injured but generally fine.

Except for that weak moment, he had kept himself completely under control.

And now he was going to keep everything under his control again. Caroline wouldn't ever get the chance to be so irresponsible again. She wouldn't ever be in danger again. He wouldn't even let her out of his sight now to make sure that she would always remain safe and sound. He didn't care if he had to keep her locked and bound, he would do it if it meant keeping her safe.

She could scream at him, yell at him, curse him but he wasn't letting her out of his sight again.

As the nurse came to check Caroline's vitals, she smiled sympathetically at him. "She's in good hands here, Mr. Mikaelson. You can go back home and rest for a few hours if you'd like" she offered, knowing how tired he must be considering he had been there from morning.

She also knew that it must be impossible for him to move away from the patient now because she could see it in his eyes how much he cared about her. It was almost like he loved her. And she was sure in her mind that he did.

But obviously, no one else knew or no one else cared because she was told that the girl's husband had just died after being brought into the hospital.

Judging from Klaus' black suit and tie, she guessed he had come directly from the funeral.

"No need" he said through gritted teeth. "I'm here till she is. Which is not supposed to be a minute more than when the drip finishes" he said, glancing at the Rolex on his wrist. "I'm sure the doctor has told you all about the shift" he said, mentally thinking if he should hire another nurse. He'd already hired three of them to take care of Caroline when she would be shifted to his penthouse. The doctors had advised strictly against it, arguing that she would be better in the hospital.

But he had remained firm and had all kind of equipment and necessities shifted into the guestroom next to his bedroom in his house to make sure that nothing would be insufficient and this way, he could keep a closer eye on Caroline, as well.

"Yes. Will you be needing the ambulance for transportation?" the nurse asked, trying to hide her disapproval of the young man's rash decisions. But then again, she could also see how much he loved the girl so it was justified to some extent.

"No. I'll be taking her with me" Klaus said as he stood up and answered his cellphone. When would his assistant learn? "Make sure she's ready when the medicine finishes" he directed the nurse who glared him at his bossy tone. But he paid no mind to her and went outside to answer his phone.

"Whatever it is, tell Elijah to deal with it. I'm busy right now" he snapped at his assistant. "And call me only in case of emergencies" he added as an afterthought before hanging up the call in the middle of the poor woman's apologies.

He was about to head inside when he caught sight of Bill Forbes coming straight his way with Elijah and Kol in tow.

"Who do you think you are to get Caroline shifted to your house without our consent?" Bill sneered as he tried (and failed) to intimidate Klaus who stood there with an uninterested expression on his face.

"Niklaus" Elijah said in warning which had Kol and Klaus rolling their eyes.

"One call to Mikael will set you straight" Bill said, making an action of taking out his phone and pretending to call his father but by that time Klaus' playful expression was long gone.

He narrowed his eyes on the man in front of him before opening his arms wide. "Go ahead. Call him. Bring him here. Do whatever the bloody hell you want to do because I honestly don't give a lick what you or father do" he hissed at him, shrugging. "I will take Caroline to the only place where I'll be hundred percent sure that she is well taken care off" he replied sternly before heading back towards the room with Kol following him.

Elijah placed a hand on Bill's shoulder. "I'll make sure she's well taken care of" That was all he could do now. Klaus's decision was firm and final. Caroline was going to Klaus' place whether Bill liked it or not. "Come. Let's see if there's any progress" he said but before he could complete the sentence completely he saw Rebekah and Liz coming from behind towards them.

"Rebekah, I thought you were going home" Elijah said, confused to see the two rushing to them.

Liz had tears running down her cheeks while Rebekah seemed a little less annoyed than usual. "She got a message from the doctor- before she could complete her sentence, Kol came to them.

"She's awake" he sung in a melodic voice and gave way to everyone who went through and winced dramatically when Rebekah knocked her shoulder with his forcefully. "Ouch" he muttered before following them but he stood outside the room, to give them all some space.

They all wandered inside the room to see the nurse helping Caroline sit up straight, putting a pillow behind her back. Klaus, not very far behind, watching every move of the nurse like a hawk. It prompted Rebekah to roll her eyes.

"Caroline" Liz cried out and hugged her daughter, who winced a little. "Sorry" the older blonde muttered, pulling back only a little to let her daughter feel comfortable.

"My arm hurts" Caroline complained, groggily as she craned her neck. "Everything's sore" she almost whined out, like a child.

The nurse smiled. "I'll get the doctor. But the worst is over" she said, smiling at the family before exiting the room, quietly.

"It's supposed to hurt sweetheart" Klaus spoke up from his corner, arms crossed over his chest as he gazed at her with an unreadable expression but the anger clear in his tone. "Considering you fractured your arm, broke a rib or two, twisted your ankle, I'm sure it's supposed to be sore" he added, more firmly, his jaw setting.

"Give it a rest Nik. At least she'll all well now" Rebekah said, smiling to ease the blonde a little.

Liz let out a small laugh at the siblings' quarrelling and everyone let small smiles appear on their faces before Caroline's next words froze them.

"How's Enzo?"

Everyone stayed silent for far too long and it was enough for Caroline to frown. She turned to her left side to face her father who looked down almost guiltily but she didn't catch the expression on his face because her eyes caught sight of the vase of beautiful, pink tiger lilies on her bedside.

"Did he ask you guys you send these?" Caroline questioned with a slight smile tugging her lips. "He always did know that I loved the pink ones more than the orange ones" she continued on but her words were like a strike to Klaus' heart who clenched his fists.

He knew her favorite flowers even before Enzo.

Rebekah pressed her lips together and glanced at her brother sympathetically. She knew that Klaus didn't do emotions or gifts. But for Caroline, he had gone out of his way every day to make sure that there were always fresh flowers by her bedside. And only her favorite ones.

"He's gone" Klaus spoke out in a cold tone, making everyone's head snap to him.

Rebekah wanted to chastise her brother for his careless and thoughtless announcement but refrained herself from doing so and quietly crept out of the room with Elijah in tow who left to give the family some much needed space.

"Klaus…" Liz warned him angrily but deep down in her heart, she knew better than to delay the inevitable.

"It's okay, Liz. We have to tell her sooner or later" Bill said, moving to stand next to Liz who was sitting on the chair by Caroline's side.

Caroline's frown deepened and she tried not to let her mind wander to all the terrible thoughts. "Tell me what?" she choked out in a panicked voice. "Tell me what mom?!" she asked, angrily, as she felt tears pricking her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Caroline"

Shaking her head, Caroline tried to block out the meaning behind her mother's words. "No. no. NO!" she refused to believe this. It couldn't be. It had to be a sick joke. "Where's Enzo?" she asked again, her voice trembling as tears slipped her eyes onto her cheeks. "WHERE IS HE?" she screamed at them, in agony.

"He's gone. His funeral was held in the morning. I'm so sorry baby- Bill tried but he was stopped when he looked at Caroline who was shaking uncontrollably and screaming at him with tears running down her –now- pink cheeks.

"What? How? Why didn't you tell me?" she let out everything all at once. She couldn't stop the words from flowing out of her mouth. The accusations kept running out of her mouth as the memories of her and Enzo started replaying in her mind. From their first smile, to their first date, to their first kiss to their wedding day.

Everything passed by her eyes like a movie.

Except it wasn't a movie. It was her life and it was now over. Her husband was dead. Enzo was dead.

"Oh my God! No! Please no. No, no, no!" she choked out, through her tears. "Please. Tell me this is a sick joke or something" she cried out, begging them to say that they had done this on Enzo's demands so she could yell at him, curse him and be angry with him but this couldn't be true. Enzo couldn't just be gone!

How could he be so cruel to leave her alone like this?

No. It had to be a lie. He would never leave her. He loved her. Just as she loved him. He couldn't leave her like that.

When she received no answer from her parents, she turned her sadness and the creeping loneliness she felt into anger and frustration. How dare they keep this news from her?

"Get out" she said quietly, as sobs racked her body.

"Care- her mother tried but Caroline only lifted her head to scream at her.

"GET OUT!" she shouted as loudly as she could and her voice cracked at the second word. "I hate you. I hate all of you! You took him from me and I will never forgive you for that" she kept repeating and let the miserable tears run down her face as her father sighed loudly and took her sobbing mother outside.

Once her parents were almost out of the room, Caroline picked up the vase by her side and threw it with as much force as possible, ignoring the pain in her arm. She only screamed in agony at the loneliness and despair she felt creeping inside of her.

Within a second, Klaus was by her side and pulling her in his arms. He ignored the way she tried to push her way and punched his chest with her fists and only held her tighter until she yielded to him and sobbed into his chest. "Nik, he's gone!" she wailed, still crying, as her tears stained his shirt but he ignored it and pressed a kiss into her hair, not knowing what to say. "He can't be gone. Please" she begged him, wretchedly.

There was only one thing, he knew, though.

Caroline was never going to experience such pain, ever again. Ever.