The change within

Chapter 4

Nikolas parked his car in the dark shadow of the theatre parking lot and waited for Emily and Julius to come out, taking a brief nap, waking just as most the movies finished and people started piling out to their cars.

Nikolas sighted Emily in a red halter and black skirt and was blown away at how happy she looked. Was she ever that happy with him? Maybe at one point, he had to assume.

He heard her laughter from across the parking lot as her and Julius walked toward his care and watched as Julius opened up the passenger door for Emily and then went to the drivers side. This Julius was a real gentleman, wasn't he?

Nikolas started up his car and pulled out as Julius left the movie theatre. The top was down so he could very well see two heads making jovial conversation. He stopped as they pulled into an Italian restaurant parking lot. So it was dinner AND a movie, this guy was going for the full works, wasn't he?

Luckily for him, Emily wasn't impressed by money or power; she just looked for the personality. Nikolas decided against leaving them be. He needed to observe a little longer how good this guy actually was.

Emily and Julius entered and was seated by the time Nikolas got to the host who was seating the customers.

"Nikolas!" A woman screamed from behind and Nikolas spun around to see Courtney, in a flashy pink dress. Nikolas winced inside as he saw pink clashed with her coloring but kept that thought hidden.

"Courtney." Nikolas greeted her stiffly, still a bit betrayed about how fast she looked away from him.

"What are you doing here?" Courtney implied.

Nikolas shrugged. "Oh, you know, just needed to get out for a while." He told her and she bought it, but then again she'd buy anything if there was a benefit for her in it.

"Yeah, do know the feeling. My date cancelled, want to be my substitute?" She inclined.

Nikolas thought about it. It would be a good way to get the goods on Emily and Julius's date. The company could have been better, but maybe she could be used to see if Emily would be jealous. He smiled and they were seated a few rows from Emily, luckily enough.

Emily was enjoying Julius's company immensely…at least until Nikolas walked in on, a blonde ornament on his arm. She frowned and glanced down at her salad.

She tried not being jealous, not taking it personally, knew she had to let it go, but the wound was still too open to really take it in. She sighed and frowned.

Julius noted the prince's and the flashy blonde's entrance. He reached over and took her hand. "It's hard, isn't it?" He offered her a small smile as the looked at him.

She glance again as the couple was being sat, and then looked back at her. "Yeah, it is. I know I should leave it be, that's the reason why I agreed to the divorce, so Nikolas could be happy, but its still so hard to see him with another woman." Emily confessed with another deep sigh.

Julius smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "I know, believe me I know, it takes time. That's the only remedy for such a feeling. I saw Lydia everywhere with other guys and it was hard to understand, but I'm getting there. The pain lessens with time, you just have to be patient." He explained to her.

Emily took the change of topic he provided quickly. She wasn't going to be feeling sorry for herself. "Lydia? Is that your ex-fiancee's name?" Emily asked him.

He nodded and swallowed the slight pain that still stuck with the name. "Yeah, it was. I thought we were meant to be, fated to be together…until I found her with another man in our bedroom at least." He sighed but was happy he admitted it. He admitted what he found and he was proud of that, he had never been able to do that before.

Emily frowned and looked down. "Yeah, I know the feeling. You know that blonde Nikolas is with?" She motioned toward the couple a few tables across from them.

"Yeah?" Julius implied.

"That is Courtney Matthews Quartermaine Morgan Jacks, how I found out Nikolas wasn't happy with me. We were at a party together; Courtney was there with her husband as well." Emily frowned and continued with her story after a brief pause. "The story there is that it was the alcohol, but the damage is done. I wanted to forgive Nikolas for that transgression, but Nikolas didn't want the same thing. So that's why I'm here, single and hurting." A sole tear slipped down her cheek.

He squeezed her hand again. "It's alright to be hurting. It's only natural, you tried, Nikolas didn't, and that isn't your fault. It takes a very forgiving and strong woman to be ready to forgive such a sin." He told her.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm just doing my Christian duty." But that didn't help the betrayal she felt any.

Julius laughed, scaring away some of the tension that fell between them. "Yeah, Christian duty, maybe I'll do that with Lydia when I get over it. One day, just not today and tomorrow isn't looking good either." Emily laughed as she use to love that statement. She'd use it against her family; it was a great comeback for a while.

From then on the evening went fine, that out of the way. Julius filled the conversation with jokes and funny stories; it was just what she needed to get out of her depression.

Nikolas noted this and didn't listen to a work Courtney said as they ate, just observed the couple. He honestly thought seeing Courtney with him would make her jealous and he was sure it had worked, for a while at least, Emily didn't even know he was there anymore.

Soon they left together after paying the bill but Nikolas stayed with Courtney who was as interesting as a piece of driftwood that had washed up on the beach a few days ago.