When she arrived at the White Grand mansion, Nathalie's eyes widened. The classic-style building in front of her eyes was even twice as big and grander than Nicholas' Grand mansion.Nicholas grabbed Nathalie's hand and put it on his arm. "Are you ready?"Nathalie took a few breaths, patted Nicholas' hand, then stomped her right foot and lifted her chin. "Let's go!" -- she said gallantly.Nicholas smiled because even though Nathalie was like that, her voice sounded shaky.The Grand family had gathered in the living room when Nicholas and Nathalie entered."Good evening everyone," said Nicholas. He nodded to everyone in front of him, as did Nathalie. "As requested by grandfather, I brought my lover, Nathalie Darren to formally introduce herself to you.""Good evening everyone," greeted Nathalie politely. "Although we have met twice before, I feel the need to formally introduce myself again. My name is Nathalie Darren Adams, but I rarely use my father's name. Thank you for the invitation
Nathalie wasn't afraid of anything. Let Grandpa Jerome live with her and Nicholas in the Grand Mansion and see how they interacted.So far, everything between Nathalie and Nicholas had been natural and straightforward. There was no awkwardness or fake behavior.Maybe, it was fortunate that Nathalie and Nicholas had known each other since they were in college and even though they weren't close at that time, their relationship wasn't bad either.After talking, Grandpa Jerome invited Nathalie back to the living room, where the others were still gathered.Andy and Lilian looked at Nathalie suspiciously, while Leon seemed to be thinking about something.The conversation that was taking place felt stiff, as if forced, but Nathalie didn't want to show that she was feeling tense.Nathalie and Nicholas had talked about this before, even anticipating what kind of atmosphere might occur. So, this wasn't a big problem to deal with.Nicholas mostly talked to Grandpa Jerome, occasionally with his f
The CCTV footage clearly showed what happened in the hallway.Leon's face was burning with shame. The pain in his groin was still throbbing, as was his shin that was kicked by Nathalie, and his face was also very sore after being beaten by Nicholas."Tomorrow morning, I will make sure you become the main topic in the mass media, Leon," Nicholas said sarcastically. "The CEO of Grand Enterprise tried to harass his brother's lover.""What do you mean, Nicholas?" Andy snapped. "Do you want to embarrass our family?"Nicholas stared at his father with a look full of hatred. He slammed the table, until everyone was shocked, except for Grandpa Jerome, who remained calm watching the interaction between his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.When shocked, Nathalie spontaneously put her hand on Nicholas' thigh and it did not escape Grandpa Jerome's gaze. He also saw how Nicholas' head fell back."Dad, what do you mean I want to embarrass this family?" Nicholas asked sharply. "Leon was the one
Andy paced back and forth angrily. He still wanted to scold Leon, but he couldn't bear to look at Lilian's eyes that were already very swollen from crying too much."Dad, please, listen to my explanation first," Leon said carefully. "I'm willing to give up my position to Nicholas, with certain considerations.""Tsk!" Andy snapped angrily. "Why did you do that stupid thing, Leon? You've never been too interested in women, why are you now trying to seduce Nicholas' girlfriend?""Honey, please, don't keep getting angry," Lilian said in a hoarse voice. "Can you listen to what your son has to say?"Andy exhaled loudly and sat down, slumping back against the sofa.Nicholas and Natalie had gone home and Grandpa Jerome went straight to his room, not saying anything to Andy or Leon at all.However, the look in the old man's eyes clearly implied great anger and the three of them felt afraid."I just wanted to test Nathalie," Leon said. "I'm suspicious of her. We know that Nicholas has been ask
"Welcome!"Grandpa Jerome entered the Grand mansion with his eyes alert, examining his surroundings.He had opposed Nicholas when his grandson said he wanted to buy his own house and live separately from him.Nicholas had lived with him after his mother passed away and because of the trouble Andy had caused, Nicholas had become very close to him.Grandpa Jerome was worried that Nicholas would have difficulty living alone.However, Nicholas insisted that he could take care of himself. Finally, Grandpa Jerome allowed him, on the condition that Madam Olla, Mr. Quentin, and Lyle must accompany him to the newly purchased mansion.Those three people were the ones Grandpa Jerome trusted the most to accompany Nicholas. His worries lessened when he knew they were with his grandson.At that time, there was a little problem because Leon had just been confirmed as the CEO of Grand Enterprise and Nicholas as the CEO of The Grand Care Hospital.
"Can't we put an extra bed in that room?" Nathalie asked hesitantly. "The room is very spacious."Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "No need. Grandpa will get suspicious. I'll just sleep on the couch, it's not a problem.""No!" Nathalie denied quickly. "I'll sleep on the couch. I'm a guest in this house and I should--""You must be kidding me," Nicholas interrupted, flicking Nathalie's forehead lightly."Ouch!" Nathalie complained, rubbing her forehead. It didn't hurt, but she was surprised. "Why did you flick my forehead?""Because you're being unreasonable," Nicholas said, rubbing Nathalie's forehead. "How could I let you sleep on the couch? Besides, you're not a guest! You're part of this house!"Nathalie smiled shyly and pinched the tip of Nicholas' nose. "You're so cute. But, we still can't sleep in the same room," she said with a serious expression."Why?" Nicholas asked with a frown. "We're getting married soon, according to th
"Nate, don't talk back to me!" Nicholas said angrily. "Get in bed now!"Nathalie pulled the covers higher up her chest and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.Nicholas shook his head and sighed. He and Nathalie couldn't agree on sleeping and there was no way they were going to add a mattress to the room.Finally, after dinner, Nicholas went to take a shower and when he finished, Nathalie had already put the covers on the couch and was ready to go to bed."I'll sleep here," Nathalie said. "You'll be in bed.""No," Nicholas said. "That's not right. Get in bed, I'll be here.""No," Nathalie said stubbornly. "The couch is too small for you. You'll be hunched over here. But I'm smaller and this is enough for me."Really, Nicholas didn't understand how a woman as small as Nathalie could be so stubborn.He remembered when he was in college, Nathalie was not at all afraid of the fact that he refused to work in a group with her an
"Try them on!"Nicholas stared at the two shirts that were still intact in the box. Grandpa Jerome had bought them for him."Grandpa, why did you buy me these shirts?" Nicholas asked. "I have a lot of shirts that I've never worn.""Tsk! I've always bought you shirts since you were little," Grandpa Jerome said. He waved his hand. "Come on, try them on. I want to see if the color and size fit you. You're getting bigger now, so I might have gotten the wrong size."Nicholas almost choked on the emotion in his heart. The two shirts in his hands were small things, but they meant a lot to him, because his grandfather had bought them for him."Okay, I'll try them on and show them off to you," Nicholas said, getting up from the sofa to go to the bedroom."Nathalie?" Grandpa Jerome called.Nathalie, who had been silent and just smiled watching the two men in front of her, turned her head in surprise when she heard Grandpa Jerome's call.
Harriet and Nathalie faced each other.Harriet lowered her hand from Nicholas' chest and moved her chair away from Nicholas, but did not move.Nathalie sat back in her chair, acting calm and reaching for Nicholas' hand on the table, holding it tightly as if to show ownership.Harriet's eyebrows rose slightly at that and she felt her heart upset."Honey, aren't you going to introduce me to YOUR FRIEND?" Nathalie said with a sweet smile to Nicholas, emphasizing the word your friend as she glanced at Harriet.Nicholas knew Nathalie's upset mood because of seeing Harriet. It must have been the same as when he received the call from Charles.To Nicholas now, this felt funny. He smiled and leaned toward Nathalie."This is Harriet Abby, babe," Nicholas said. "The woman my father arranged for me. I told you about it.""Ah," Nathalie said, looking at Harriet. "Harriet Abby. Hi, nice to meet you."Harriet didn't know how to
"Bastard, what's the point of calling you while drunk like that," Nicholas grumbled as he stabbed his fork hard into the meat.Nathalie took a deep breath, put her spoon and fork on the plate, then stood up from her chair.Nicholas looked at Nathalie in surprise. "Where are you going?"Nathalie approached Nicholas, shifted his chair heavily to face him, then climbed up and sat on Nicholas's thigh."Nate?""Listen, mister jealous," Nathalie said firmly, lifting Nicholas' chin with her index finger. She brought her face closer. "That jerk will always be like that. Who cares? I don't! And you shouldn't think about him until you abuse your food."Nicholas looked into Nathalie's eyes and saw anger in those beautiful eyes."When will your divorce certificate be finished?" Nicholas asked."The day after tomorrow. They'll send it here," Nathalie said. "Can you ignore that person? Don't be jealous. He doesn't deserve to be jealous
Gina PoVEver since the night I threw the party, Charles has been ignoring me. He refuses to talk to me and acts like I don't exist.I've apologized and he's bruised my arms because he held me so tight, but after that it just got worse.He moved to the guest room and slept there alone. I once tried to go into the room to coax him, wearing the lingerie I just bought, a very sexy and seductive piece of cloth, but he just looked at me like I was a contagious disease, then pushed me out of the room and locked the door.Damn it!It's been a week and my condition hasn't improved. I'm starting to get annoyed. What is he doing, like a little kid. If he's mad, he should just say so. I don't mind being yelled at for a while, then it's over.Instead of being like this, it just makes me feel awkward. What makes me even more confused about dealing with him is that he doesn't ask at all who the people I invited are, whether they are my friends or anything
Nathalie chuckled as Nicholas bit her lower lip. She responded by sucking Nicholas' tongue hard until he groaned."I'm optimistic, you two will have a child soon if the atmosphere continues like this."Nathalie and Nicholas separated in surprise, hearing Grandpa Jerome's voice behind them.Like a pair of teenagers who had just started dating, their faces were bright red and they glanced at each other shyly.Nathalie wished the floor beneath her would split and she would be sucked in, while Nicholas felt more awkward because he usually didn't act silly in front of his family.Grandpa Jerome laughed at them. "Why are you embarrassed? You're not teenagers and you're also getting married. Just go ahead, pretend I'm not here."Nicholas grabbed Nathalie's hand and held it tightly. "Don't be nosy, grandpa. Do you expect to see us making love in front of you?"Nathalie elbowed Nicholas' waist while glancing fiercely. She released her hand fro
"Did you do it on purpose?" Andy asked, without preamble at all, as Nicholas sat down on the sofa in his office."Did you do what on purpose?" Nicholas asked calmly."That defense ministry project," Andy said again, in a louder tone. He was annoyed to see Nicholas so calm."Hm? I don't understand," Nicholas said. "What does that project have to do with something I did on purpose?""You have a friend in the defense ministry who helped you get the project, right?" Andy asked, banging the table in front of him. "Why didn't you contact your friend to help, when Leon was still working on the project?"Nicholas laughed inwardly. He had guessed that Andy's purpose in asking him to meet was to talk about this.Nicholas knew that Leon had been working on this very difficult project for almost four months. He was almost desperate and had recently been considering resigning.As soon as Nicholas took over Leon's position as interim CEO, he immedi
Charles was upset. Several clients complained that the design they ordered did not match what they had conveyed to the design team.According to Charles, several of their complaints that came to the customer service team were too contrived and seemed far-fetched."I don't like sharp corners in all the rooms in my playground. There are many children here. But, the design you made uses a lot of iron frames as a base.""Can't you find a color pantone that matches the other rooms that have been completed first. My work space looks too bright.""I don't like the placement of the cupboard and sink too close together. It makes my room feel cramped."He was tired. This was getting worse. The new designers he recruited were useless. They were just loudmouths but none of their work was done properly.There was one designer who was quite good. He had won awards for best interior designer in several competitions several times, but the designs he made ha
"Try them on!"Nicholas stared at the two shirts that were still intact in the box. Grandpa Jerome had bought them for him."Grandpa, why did you buy me these shirts?" Nicholas asked. "I have a lot of shirts that I've never worn.""Tsk! I've always bought you shirts since you were little," Grandpa Jerome said. He waved his hand. "Come on, try them on. I want to see if the color and size fit you. You're getting bigger now, so I might have gotten the wrong size."Nicholas almost choked on the emotion in his heart. The two shirts in his hands were small things, but they meant a lot to him, because his grandfather had bought them for him."Okay, I'll try them on and show them off to you," Nicholas said, getting up from the sofa to go to the bedroom."Nathalie?" Grandpa Jerome called.Nathalie, who had been silent and just smiled watching the two men in front of her, turned her head in surprise when she heard Grandpa Jerome's call.
"Nate, don't talk back to me!" Nicholas said angrily. "Get in bed now!"Nathalie pulled the covers higher up her chest and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.Nicholas shook his head and sighed. He and Nathalie couldn't agree on sleeping and there was no way they were going to add a mattress to the room.Finally, after dinner, Nicholas went to take a shower and when he finished, Nathalie had already put the covers on the couch and was ready to go to bed."I'll sleep here," Nathalie said. "You'll be in bed.""No," Nicholas said. "That's not right. Get in bed, I'll be here.""No," Nathalie said stubbornly. "The couch is too small for you. You'll be hunched over here. But I'm smaller and this is enough for me."Really, Nicholas didn't understand how a woman as small as Nathalie could be so stubborn.He remembered when he was in college, Nathalie was not at all afraid of the fact that he refused to work in a group with her an
"Can't we put an extra bed in that room?" Nathalie asked hesitantly. "The room is very spacious."Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "No need. Grandpa will get suspicious. I'll just sleep on the couch, it's not a problem.""No!" Nathalie denied quickly. "I'll sleep on the couch. I'm a guest in this house and I should--""You must be kidding me," Nicholas interrupted, flicking Nathalie's forehead lightly."Ouch!" Nathalie complained, rubbing her forehead. It didn't hurt, but she was surprised. "Why did you flick my forehead?""Because you're being unreasonable," Nicholas said, rubbing Nathalie's forehead. "How could I let you sleep on the couch? Besides, you're not a guest! You're part of this house!"Nathalie smiled shyly and pinched the tip of Nicholas' nose. "You're so cute. But, we still can't sleep in the same room," she said with a serious expression."Why?" Nicholas asked with a frown. "We're getting married soon, according to th