Nicole's POV"Dad, did you tell Matthew my phone number?" I asked Edwin when we were already in the car.The old man looked at me with some surprise. "Oh, did you call Mr. Thompson's son by his name?"I didn't answer my father's question, which sounded like I was diverting my question to something else, but just looked at him straight. He sighed softly with a faint smile."Yes, I gave that young man your phone number, Nicole," my father confessed, adding another statement that made it look like he was adding a good reason for his unexpected actions. "You know that my father has been in business for quite some time, so there was an occasion when Benny and I met at an event."I heard my father's brief explanation of his twenty-year business relationship with Matthew's father. This wasn't the first time they'd agreed to work together, but they'd been doing it for so many years that they were like old friends.Although there were a few years where they didn't work together for a long time
Nicole's POVWhoosh!I applauded as Richard's golf ball hit produced an excellent result, a perfect tee shot confirmed by one of the staff waiting at the end. "Well done, Richard."I praised my son for being so talented. Although he had only started practicing golf a few months ago, he had already mastered various golf courses without a single failure.I smiled, looking at him, who was looking back at me. "At this rate, I'll have a hard time catching up to you." I said as I walked closer to him.My son smiled slightly. "Have you beaten me so far? I only remember my victories during our matches."I chuckled, acknowledging Richard's second-to-none ability, not even compared to me, who only played casually but practiced with him on several occasions."That is indeed true. You're better than Mom, Richard." I muttered under my breath, acknowledging his prowess, then reached for the golf club in my bag while smiling at him. "So, how about you teach Mom this time?"He nodded, accepting my of
Nicole's POVI wanted to ignore him as if nothing had happened, pretending that I didn't know him like I should because I currently had no relationship with him. Even our meeting before this could only happen because he came to me, not the other way around.I decided not to look at him anymore and tried to walk past him, but he was still blocking my way. I could hear his breath that sounded dismissive."Are you going to ignore me? Pretend not to know when you don't," he said, the man who had haunted my past without realizing it. Jayden.I didn't react much to the man's words and just replied flatly. "I really don't know you.""Now you won't look at me either?" He asked, looking at me, who refused to meet his gaze.I didn't answer. It wasn't that I was afraid of him. It was just that I didn't want to deal with a man who had already made me feel like I was being played several times. I didn't want that to happen at all."I know that you know me very well, Nicole. You don't need to talk
Nicole's POVI thought the matter was over when I was about to ask Matthew and Richard to leave, but Jayden was still talking and made me stop my steps."Were you going to keep acting like you didn't know me up until this point, Nicole? Really?" He asked, raising his voice so that I could hear him, as well as the two men I was holding in my arms.I felt my hands trembling, but I tried to hide it by grasping their hands tighter and refrained from replying to the man's words. There was no point in me responding to Jayden's words when they would turn out to be something he could use.I looked down, speaking softly so that only Richard and Matthew could hear me. "Come on, already, just ignore it."I started stepping on them, but the man still didn't give up. "Oh, he's the man who is the father of your child, right? The new guy by your side that I don't know at all."Matthew immediately turned around, provoked by Jayden's words that were clearly directed at him. "Sir, you should have kept
Chris' POV"My apologies, sir. Miss Nicole is not available at the moment." I sighed, accepting the statement that I did not want to hear from the receptionist of the office I was visiting.I searched for Nicole's whereabouts, which disappeared after our last meeting. She was nowhere to be seen, not even in the places she had visited several times and knew well.I was worried that something terrible had happened to her. Still, I also didn't want to think that she might have avoided me after our meeting at Selena's house and unintentionally angered her.I visited one of Edwin Duncan's subsidiaries, which Nicole visited regularly, far more often than the other places, even though the hours varied daily.I noticed her working hours now and then, but for once, I couldn't find her in the office for several days straight. Information regarding where she went, or her current whereabouts was kept secret as it was a matter of personal interest to the woman.I paused after taking a few steps fr
Chris' POVI was in front of Edwin Duncan who finally stopped walking, giving me a cold stare even though he obviously knew me. He backed away, giving his driver a look to open the car for him to get back in, with me following."What's wrong?" He asked, not mincing words once we were inside and looking much colder. "You said that it was about my daughter.""Correct, sir," I replied.I wasn't affected at all by his cold demeanor because I was still given a chance to speak, but then the man exhaled softly, looking back at me with a gaze that turned sharp."Do you want to have a relationship with my daughter?" Edwin asked, startling me with his direct question. "I won't allow it."I paused, undoing my intention that was just about to answer the question that the old man had already answered himself. He was clearly building a very high wall, as his demeanor had become very cold, unlike himself a few years ago when I met the old man at an important event that brought together various busi
Chris' POVI looked at my smiling mom and walked over. "Go home," I said when I was near them.My mom still maintained her smile, refusing to leave right away and instead said something. "Mom just arrived.” She smile again. “Look, I came with that beautiful woman from the Green Family, Luciana Green. She admires you a lot despite your age gap. She's only 23 years old."I shifted my gaze to the woman brought by my mother. She was indeed a young, fair-skinned beauty with a fashionable appearance. Many men would probably like her or fall in love with her at first sight, but that man was not me.I simply didn't believe the term admiration that mom had pinned on that woman. If that woman had come to me on her own, perhaps I could have trusted her words more, but when she came with my mother, it became something very different from the old woman's behavior these days.I'm sure that my mother is still trying to set me up with all the women she feels are suitable to be my life partner. but so
Chris' POV "What do you think?" I asked my butler, who was with me at the moment, handing him the tab so he could hold it himself. Michael approached, looking at the photo I was showing in full screen. "Wow, is this your childhood photo being retouched? You already look amazing here, Mr. Chris." He complimented me. I stared at the photo in silence. My butler clearly misunderstood the photo I was showing but conveniently mentioned that this photo looked a lot like me when I didn't keep a single photo of myself as a child, let alone keep it on a tab that I only used for my work. The old man seemed to notice that I was silent long enough to look at me with concern. "What's wrong, sir? Are you sick?" "No," I replied, taking the tab back from Michael's hand and expanding the photo on the screen until only the face of the boy who was staring in the other direction was visible. I pointed it at the man still standing next to me. "Don't you know that the boy in this photo is not me?"
Nicole's POVChris was silent. I could see that he seemed to be processing my words, but I wasn't done talking. There was still something I wanted to tell him."Until now, I've been confused by the feelings I have for you, Mr. Grant."I clasped my hands together tightly. "If I were to accept your proposal without thinking, it would not only make me look like I'm playing you, but also betray my own uncertain feelings."As I said, I felt very mixed after hearing and seeing his attitude during his proposal.There were feelings of joy, sadness, hatred, and hope, all in equal measure, that confused me.On the one hand, I liked this proposal in the deepest part, which I buried deeply. Still, I also couldn't let go of the thing that had kept me alive all these years after his betrayal by leaving me and the evil deeds of my old family.I didn't want revenge, but the residual feelings were still there, as were my feelings for the man in front of me.Both had the same deep impression on me duri
Nicole's POVAs I walked in, I could see the restaurant's decor, which looked like a very romantic place. Like I saw outside, no one was inside except me and my assistant.We walked in together, he walking behind me, but I was busy with my thoughts. My brain seemed to be spinning rapidly, and I was thinking about this strange thing as best I could.My father had deliberately directed me to this restaurant for dinner. Still, that man was nowhere to be seen, nor was Richard and whoever was supposed to be in this restaurant to serve us. The deserted atmosphere added to the aggravation of my thoughts and the additional fear of the unusual situation.I swallowed, wondering, even as I followed the lit candles still guiding our path. Why is the restaurant in this state? Shouldn't we have gathered and enjoyed dinner by now?I already felt that my father, my son, and everything that happened today were acting strangely. I have absolutely no idea what's going on. It really felt like I was walki
Nicole's POVI looked at my father, who had been watching me since earlier. I ignored it at first, but after a while, I got curious and finally asked him. "Is there something you want to talk to me about, Father?"He shook his head, smiling slightly with eyes that seemed to sparkle. "No, no. I'm just happy to see that you've been in good spirits lately."I smiled back at him, although I also thought that my father's attitude was quite strange. I didn't feel as excited as he said, just as usual. The things my father said were even more applicable to him, who somehow looked radiant.Of course, I felt happy about whatever my father went through because I knew he could behave like that now. After the betrayal of his old friend, I felt that my father became much more reserved and only focused on his work, but now he's become better than that.I finally changed the subject. "Is Richard with that man, Father?"He nodded.Lately, my son has been spending a lot of time with Chris. It was usual
Nicole's POVI was already in my study, realizing that the thing that happened a moment ago was really happening.The things I felt and the attitude I showed the man... I touched my chest, feeling the pounding of my heart that always became unusual whenever I couldn't control myself, especially when it came to that man. Chris.I didn't know what was wrong with me anymore, feeling messed up and not knowing what to do to fix what had happened."No," I said, with a complementary slap to snap myself out of my current situation. "I need to focus."It wasn't time for me to dwell on whatever feelings were surrounding me and dwell on them. Work was waiting for me, and I couldn't put it off any longer for any reason.I slapped my cheeks repeatedly. Only then could I take my work seriously.I spent most of my days staying out of that man's reach. Sometimes, Chris was at my house for some business, but I still avoided him and didn't show myself to him as much as I could. When I came home, I aske
Chris' POV"Chris!"A shouting voice rang in my ears. I turned my head and saw a woman running towards me. She immediately hugged me tightly. Smelling the fragrance of her body so close to me and catching a glimpse of her face, I felt certain that the woman in this embrace was Nicole.I looked in the direction the woman had previously run and found several people scattered around the streets, shouting and moving away from each other. This was paving the way for a tree snake that seemed to have escaped from one of the shops in this row of streets.Not far from the snake, two staff members who seemed to be from the shop could be seen chasing the escaping animal with nets and ropes. They looked tense, following the slithering animal's movements on the hot street.The atmosphere was definitely noisy, but I could only feel the fear of the woman who was in my arms and was giving me a tight hug without any warning as if I was her life preserver and didn't want to be let go by her anytime soo
Chris' POVI felt that my relationship with Nicole was fine, even better than a few weeks ago, even though she sometimes tried to ignore my presence around her.She was becoming more talkative with me about some mundane things that I didn't know would happen so soon. She didn't kick me out anymore, even if I went over her limit, which would usually make her upset and follow her emotions.I still remember when she acted shy when receiving my cheek kiss and her anger at the charity event when I kissed her on the lips. My reactions to those two things were quite different. One was closer to negative because I was in a hurry, while the other was closer to positive, even though they were close in time.Perhaps my thoughts on our current situation were correct.She probably doesn't hate me as much as she used to, and I can also do things that I could never do even if I wanted to. For now, I won't do anything more than the usual touching of a young couple, but even that already makes me happ
Chris' POVI returned Nicole's widened gaze, feeling a little pleased and proud of myself. "I know, you must be admiring me, right, Nicole?""Are you showing yourself off?" She snorted, changing her previously unseen gaze to what it was now, slightly sharp. "Why would I admire you sitting down?"I noticed the woman who looked a little sullen. I still don't know the reason, but she seemed to be annoyed that I accidentally made her emotional with my out-of-context words.Anyway, I was happy with her attention and unconsciously said whatever came to my mind.I cleared my throat softly, returning the conversation. "If you try, you can do it too, Nicole. Cooperation with Mr. Divo." The woman was still looking sulky. "You might be able to get this deal done first.""I can't." The woman's father suddenly spoke up, looking serious. "If Nicole does that, it will be dangerous for her."The woman seemed to turn her attention to her father, frowning as she asked. "What makes it dangerous for me,
Nicole's POVI knew what he meant when he dropped me off after our accidental lunch. My gaze was drawn to the scene in front of me, inside my house, which should have consisted of my father, Richard, Key, and the servants, but this time it was different.The man and my two and only family were in the living room. My son looked relaxed while my father chatted smoothly with the man. The three seemed familiar, even to the point of not noticing my presence, and had already been welcomed by the servants in our house.Perhaps I stared too long. My father turned to me, as did the other two. They had quite similar happy expressions, which made me frown."Nicole, you just arrived?" My father asked by way of greeting. "I thought you'd be home a little later because of the work you've been piling up. Key told me."I ignored my father's words, paying more attention to the calm-looking man mingling among them. He noticed my gaze and smiled politely, but I could feel slightly annoyed by his natural
Nicole's POVI paused to look at the man's face, especially his smile, which made me feel like I was about to lose focus. I didn't let that go on for too long and pushed the bouquet of flowers at him, waking him up to something.His eyes widened slightly. He put a little distance between us, letting me stand evenly, though his hands were still on my waist, and said casually. "Oh yes, I wanted to give you this bouquet of flowers."I gazed at the bouquet of flowers she handed to me. The arrangement was pretty, consisting of only three flowers, but the colors of the flowers were well integrated and complemented each other. The skill of the bouquet arranger could be recognized. I could also smell the fragrance of the bouquet he gave me.At this point, my focus completely disappeared, especially as I tried to deal with the predicament right in front of me.It's been too long since I've experienced this, and it felt so different when I was with Matthew. After all, this man in front of me di