Nikkie's POV"Showering... together?" I said as I looked around the room. I think I saw something like a shower earlier. Wait, why did I see a shower when I hadn't entered the bathroom?Sure enough, I wasn't mistaken. In one corner of the room, there was a transparent bathroom stall that I had only seen on TV.I glanced at Richard behind me, forgetting that the distance between us was thin. The result was predictable; my lips crashed into Richard's thick lips.I froze briefly, my brain failing to process what had just happened. When I finally regained consciousness, I quickly broke free from Richard's embrace and ran to the bed."Since when have you been behind me? Since when have you been hugging me? Why, why ...." my sentences were garbled. I didn't dare to look at Richard. I held my hot face with both hands. Stupidly, does that count as a kiss?Wait, wasn't that an accident? Then it doesn't count as a kiss! So why am I panicking like this? I took a deep breath, trying to calm myse
Nikkie's POV"Why do you seem so curious about my parents? Is there something going on that I don't know about? Did someone come to see you and claim to be my parents?" Richard asked repeatedly. He even got up from lying down and sat on the bed.Gosh, where did that thought come from? It seems accurate; Richard's family condition is not as simple as I imagined.I shook my head softly, got up, and sat on the headboard. Richard continued to look at me with a wary gaze."Calm down, Richard. Can't I ask about this? I also want to know what happens to the baby after I hand him over to you.I want to know what kind of person the baby's grandmother and grandfather are. After all, you know the baby is our child," I lied.To be more convincing, I even stroked my slightly distended stomach. Act like a sensitive pregnant woman. "You took me by surprise, Nikkie," Richard complained as he stroked my belly."It seems like your family background is not simple. Why would you think that your parents w
Richard's POV"Good night, Nikkie." That was all I could say in return. I kissed Nikkie's head while hugging her to my chest. Nikkie nodded, then started to close her eyes.I let out a long breath. Nikkie had succeeded in destroying the little happiness she had previously given me.For some reason, I wouldn't say I liked Nikkie's hope that my relationship with Krystal would be as good as before. It wasn't easy. When I found out that Krystal had cheated on me, it felt like my world was shattered.I could forgive Krystal's many shortcomings, even if one day I found out that Krystal had killed someone. I can forgive her. I can forgive anything as long as it's not infidelity. The wound I thought had healed reopened when I learned about Krystal's affair.It was all because I grew up feeling abandoned. Amid my unhealed wounds, I saw how my father cheated on my mother in front of my eyes.My conversation with Nikkie couldn't help but remind me of that traumatic incident. When I almost drown
Richard's POV"What the heck! Where did that thought come from? Who told you that bullshit?" Grandma exclaimed in surprise. I couldn't say anything; I just fell silent as I became more and more aware of the fact that my parents hadn't made any effort to save me."Tell me, who told you that?" she repeated. I shook my head vigorously, then burst into tears. It was the first time I felt myself crushed by preconceived notions."Never mind, ma'am. Mr. Richard has just come to his senses; don't stress him out," I heard James coax my grandmother. She shook her head, her expression confused."Tell me, why do you say that?" she asked, this time in a much softer tone. I was still crying, my throat choking even to say a word. Grandma hugged me again, stroking my back to calm me down."Didn't you say that parents would do anything for their children? They're willing to sacrifice anything, even their life, just for the sake of their child?" I said after calming down. Grandma looked at me with a
Richard's POV"Don't look! Go to your room, Richie!" suddenly, my eyes were covered by a hand. That voice was Aunt Karina's.I still felt confused. In the darkness of having my eyes covered by Aunt Karina, I could still distinguish people's voices."Get Richie out of here! Hurry!" Aunt Karina called out again, who knows who.Even though I rarely saw my mother and even more rarely talked to her. But I recognized my mother's voice. Just now, it wasn't my mother's voice.A moment later, I felt someone carrying me away from my parent's room. There were sounds of arguing and screaming from a strange woman who wasn't wearing any clothes. When I came out of my shock, I realized that I wasn't in my room. This room was smaller than mine, and I had never seen it before.I was sitting on a relatively small single bed. Someone was in front of me, one of the maids in our house. Her face looked a bit unfamiliar like she was a recently hired maid."Are you all right, Mr. Richard?" asked the
Richard's POV"How dare you fight me!" my father's booming exclamation filled the dining room.Dad and his disgusting temper. I roll my eyes, then stare at my father intently. "Was I wrong? Do you think covering up your scandal doesn't require money? While I'm busy looking for ways to defend the company, you're busy looking for ways to sink it!" I retorted sternly without raising my voice. "Richard!" my father exclaimed angrily. His eyes bulged, veins bulging around his temples. I was still staring at him calmly. "Why? Did I say the wrong thing? Just because Moonstone Corp. was founded by a combination of your and Grandma's companies, do you think you own everything?" From the data I learned from Grandma, my Dad's company merged with my Grandma's after my Mom and Dad married. Dad was good at business.But somehow, all that changed after marrying Mom. His womanizing nature became more and more intense. It seemed to be a form of protest against his arranged marriage. But he dro
Richard's POV"Yes, Mr. Richard. I apologize once again." Jeremy apologized before passing out of my sight.I ignored the apology and kept glaring at Jeremy until he disappeared.After Jeremy's departure, I breathed a sigh of relief. "For God's sake, it's even morning, and you're already causing trouble? Why don't you ever grow up, Krystal?" I asked, venting my frustration at the sleeping Krystal.Krystal didn't answer. She slept soundly with her hair scattered around her head. I rubbed my face roughly, feeling unhappy.The situation this morning was enough to send me into a state of confusion. Did Shawn miss out? Why hadn't he said anything about Krystal coming to my office? I left Krystal in the room and checked my cell phone. There were no message notifications from Shawn. My forehead scrunched up in surprise. What on earth was going on here?I need to call Shawn to find out the situation, but there's no way I can do that in this room.Who knows, Krystal is pretending to be asleep
Nikkie's POV"So you want me to sleep right away? Why don't you tell me honestly that you want to sleep while being hugged by me?" Richard said after he finished laughing. The sound of Richard's rather loud laughter made me wake up completely from sleepiness. I rubbed my eyes and found Richard's face very close to mine. Why is Richard laughing? What did I say? Did I seem to be skipping?"What did I say?" I asked in surprise. Richard laughed loudly again. I noticed that the tension that had been on Richard's face since he came home was now much improved. "You were saying that you wanted to sleep in my arms," Richard replied mischievously. I frowned, the sleepiness having disappeared completely."I wouldn't say such things!" I argued unacceptably. This was so embarrassing! Did I slip up and say those things?Richard was still smiling happily. "Just wait a little longer, okay? It'll only take 5 minutes, and I'll hug you immediately like you asked.""I didn't ask for a hug!" I faithful
Nikkie's POV"Sick? What's wrong with Krystal?" I asked in surprise. The TV didn't mention any details about Krystal's illness. I remained pensive until the news ended and changed to a sports program.Richard turned off the TV to realize that I looked unfocused. I started to realize something was wrong when I saw that Richard didn't look surprised at all or even concerned at all."You must know something, right?" I urged Richard. Richard let out a long sigh, then stroked my hair with a helpless look."What's the point of caring for a bad guy like that?" asked Richard, looking less than pleased. I shook my head stubbornly, waiting for him to speak."Be honest with me. You weren't involved in Krystal's death, were you?" I urged frantically.Richard sighed. "From my reports, Krystal has been sick since before she entered the prison. The TV report was real. She suffered from a malignant disease in her reproductive organs due to her habit of changing partners."I frowned, a conjecture popp
Nikkie's POV"The bride enters the altar!" the MC exclaimed. This time, Calvin was assigned to be the MC in our wedding procession.As the name implies, it was an intimate wedding only attended by those closest to us. There were 4 of Richard's family members, including Richard's biological mother, Shawn, Calvin, Sharon, Blake, and the household assistants. The wedding preparation went quite fast because there were only a few people. The blessing and the party were held in the hall of Moonstone mansion. I stepped with Uncle Denise towards Richard at the end of the altar. This day was full of happiness, with smiles never fading from everyone's faces. I haven't seen Richard since last night, and I'm feeling nervous. How will Richard see me in my wedding dress?When Richard turned around and accepted my hand from Uncle Denise's, Richard's eyes were suddenly wet. He smiled, and the tears just fell.I'm sure that they weren't tears of sadness. We then said our wedding vows in front of the
Nikkie's POV"I don't know either. My coming to this place wasn't planned. I didn't know where to go after my mom died. I also didn't have a home anymore and only had my suitcase and the money from the sale of the house that my mom gave me before she passed away. I boarded a bus randomly, letting it take me wherever it wanted. Throughout the ride, I cried alone by the window. Then, when I was tired of crying, and my tears dried up without realizing it, I arrived in this city. I took it as a sign from my mother that I should stay here. I then spent two days in a cheap hotel and looked for affordable apartments and part-time jobs. I was lucky to find both right away.From the first day of work, I never stopped working. My days off were spent sleeping or doing laundry. Because, you know. I have to work to support myself," I laughed.Shawn looked at me with interest. "You know, you can stop working and be provided by Mr. Richard completely," he said with a serious face.I laughed amuse
Nikkie's POV"Besides, you might think that way. Mr. Richard is a forgiving person. Shouldn't he forgive Mrs. Krystal based on that trait? Even if they can't get back together, Mr. Richard should never think of cutting off the core pleasure of his ex-wife's life: the money. Their company."Shawn stopped talking when the waiter arrived with our order. The thin, flavorful smoke of the food that would typically instantly whet my appetite now meant nothing. My mind was filled with questions."Are you saying that Richard was the mastermind behind exposing the rottenness of Krystal's company?" I asked after the waiter came back downstairs.Shawn nodded. "I did it all. But I was carrying out the orders given by Mr. Richard. The message was obvious, which was to destroy Goldman Inc. until it could not rise again."I was stunned by Shawn's words. "But why? Doesn't Richard love Krystal? I honestly didn't even think Richard would follow through on his words to divorce Krystal," I said, astonish
Nikkie's POV"Miss Nikkie! Hold on!" a man exclaimed in an absolute tone. Goosebumps ran down my spine, recalling the time I was almost kidnapped when I was going to buy flour when I was still living in Krystal's apartment."Miss Nikkie! Have you forgotten me?" this time, the man even dared to pull my arm. Gosh, did he forget that we were in a supermarket full of people? Even now, there were already several pairs of eyes looking at us with suspicious glances.When I remembered that I wasn't alone this time, I glanced at the man who dared to pull my arm. He was a tall man with big eyes that reminded me of a CCTV camera."Shawn?" I asked incredulously. Shawn nodded with a smile. There was a trace of relief on his face that made me wonder why he looked relieved.Until I remembered that Shawn was usually not far from Richard, I glanced around, then out the window. But I didn't see Richard or his car parked in the self-service parking lot. "I'm alone, came here by car. No, Mr. Richard her
Richard's POV"Since you mentioned it, I've been thinking about it. You're right; Krystal's male mistresses all have something in common with me!" I exclaimed in disbelief. My eyebrows knitted together, an oddity crossing my mind. "But I don't understand; what do you mean by Krystal loving me so much? Just because I have some things in common with those men?"Calvin explained again. "From a study I read, it was explained that love is complicated. The way each person loves another person and expresses their feelings is unique and different from one another.Some of them cannot distinguish love from obsession to the point that they commit deviant acts.But I won't talk about deviant acts here."Calvin paused momentarily as he overtook a car in front of us."There seems to be an emptiness in Mrs. Krystal's soul that makes her look for an outlet outside the home. It could be loneliness or an unhealed childhood wound.Or it could be that Mrs. Krystal is wrong for thinking that she doesn't
Richard's POV"Did you try to find out from the real estate agent? Shouldn't it be traceable to the person who bought the house?" I suggested to Shawn an idea that came to my mind this morning."I've already done this method first. But this house was sold about a month ago by Miss Nikkie's mother. The payment was made in cash, making it even more difficult to check through the bank," Shawn said on the other end of the line.My eyebrows furrowed at this oddity. "Why is Nikkie's mom selling the house all of a sudden? Is she in dire economic straits?" "I found out through the nurse you assigned to look after Miss Nikkie's mother. The answer is they are not experiencing economic hardship.The nurse mentioned that Miss Nikkie's mother had mentioned that she wanted to move to the countryside, which is why she is selling her house now," Shawn explained.I let out a long breath. Who would have thought that Nikkie's mother would move to heaven? "Why can they still live there when the house h
Krystal's POV"What are you going to do now, Krystal? You can't run a company, and now you're officially a widow!" Grandpa exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.Why does everyone always ask me the same thing? Do they think I have 1001 solutions to every problem?I nibbled on my thumbnail, feeling depressed at seeing the divorce papers lying on the table. Grandpa wasn't helping at all, just pacing around, making me even more dizzy! I held my nose, which had been bleeding a lot lately. Ever since I hit Richard's car that time, I'd been feeling unwell.Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go to the hospital to get my health checked. Why? Of course, because of my current status as a police fugitive!Grandpa suddenly stopped pacing when he got a call from who knows who. Shortly after, he turned his body to face me. The look of anger he had shown me lately no longer frightened me.Usually, he would immediately spout out curse words. But now, Grandpa seemed to have run out of words and could
Richard's POV "Let's head back," Shawn commanded Calvin. The three of us quickly entered the car and drove away from Nikkie's hometown.It was already late when Calvin dropped me off at home. I felt like my energy had been sapped, and I didn't have the power to do anything else."Tomorrow, take a day off. I'm not going to the office either," I told Calvin as I was about to get off.Calvin had been with me all day and even late into the night. These days, he didn't even have a day off as he was busy assisting me with various matters."Yes, Mr. Richard. Good night," Calvin said before walking away with Shawn. I staggered towards the front door. I don't know why it felt like the front door was so far away to reach.Halfway there, the front door suddenly opened. The figures of Grandma and Aunt Karina, wearing quilts on their shoulders, immediately came into my view."Oh, Richie. What's going on? Why do you look so messy?" the two women immediately ran to meet me. My tears fell again when