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 POV"You're losing your balance again, Miss Nicole." Key could be heard reprimanding me while holding my shoulders when I almost fell over while just taking a step.Nothing was blocking my path, but somehow, I always ended up with a dizzy feeling that attacked me and made me unable to balance myself. I sighed softly, looking at my assistant, who looked worried.he had caught me for the second time today, not too far away, so I couldn't just calm him down and pretend that I was fine.I exhaled, shifting slightly so that he didn't have to hold on to me. "Maybe this happened because I stood up suddenly." I gave an excuse, half-true, because I had just finished working on something in my study for a few hours, just looking at the computer screen without taking a break.I was forced to work in my house with me not being fit enough to travel. I didn't like this at all, but it was better if I did everything I could under these limited circumstances than nothing at all."Shouldn't yo
Nicole's POV"Mom, isn't my robot amazing?" Richard said, displaying his robot prepared by some staff from his lab.We were now in the living room, having just finished breakfast, and before I knew it, he had prepared a surprise to show me, a robot I had not heard from in a long time. I could see some differences, but I knew this was the robot he had shown me the other day.I nodded, marveling at how perfect it still looked. "You're very good, Richard. Of course, your robot is also excellent. Can this robot be used?" I asked, looking at him, who shook his head."There is still one more test before I am sure it can be used, ma'am. I want to ensure there are no malfunctions while the robot works." He patted the robot lightly while also looking at it like me. "Once that stage is complete, I will give this robot to you so that it can take care of you while traveling unescorted."He looked at me, and I nodded in understanding. I smiled, and I walked over to him to give my son a hug. "Thank
Catherine's POVI looked at the man over my glasses, feeling mixed emotions inside me as I poured out all sorts of things I had wanted to say to him since last night but could only say today."Did you know that your family sent a marriage proposal to my family?" I began. "It wasn't that long ago that we entered college, Ben, but how could the proposal come at such an unexpected time and from your family."My gaze was fixed on his eyes, which were also looking at me. "Did you ask for the proposal to be sent to my family so that we can get married?"He didn't say a word in reply; he just squeezed his hands on each side of his body and turned his gaze away from me. I clamped my mouth shut for a moment."I'm furious." I took a deep breath, trying to control myself from overwhelming feelings."You already know I don't like this at all, Ben. Getting married. It's a new prison for me and indirectly proves to my father that I'll never escape the Varma family's female nature."I still remember
Catherine's POVWhen I woke up, my head hurt, as well as my eyes, which were quite difficult to open even though I was awake. I seemed to have cried too much and fallen asleep immediately afterwards to have this effect.I felt thirsty and looked for a drink on the small table not far from the bed and grabbed it. I drank the contents of the glass in four big gulps and put it back on the table. My gaze automatically went to the large mirror on the other side of the bed.There, the reflection of my face looked messy. I really looked like someone who had just woken up after crying for hours. My eyes were puffy with traces of tears that I could feel with my fingers, my nose was slightly reddened, and the area around my eyes was slightly reddened.I stared at my appearance with mixed feelings. It's really embarrassing even though I'm the only one who sees this right now, and maybe one of the waiters who refilled my water, but it doesn't really matter because I have to leave for college in a
Catherine's POVI was feeling tired.It's been one week since the end-of-semester exams, and I have to repeat the lessons of the whole semester on my own. I also have to read copies of the assignments I've done and notes from the lecturer on topics that might come up in the exam this time.I was so busy that I didn't have time to do anything other than study and get enough rest when night fell, that is, if I didn't have any assignments to complete for the practical exam.Arriving home, I already felt a piercing headache that made me want to lie down and sleep for a while. I still had to study for the theoretical exam and submit other practical assignments to the lecturer from other courses.I had envisioned a soft mattress on my bed, as well as blankets and pillows that would feel very soft on my body after I had exhausted my thoughts and abilities for today's exam, but it didn't work out.Someone knocked on my bedroom door and opened the door after I let myself in. It was one of the
Edwin's POGIn my father's study, I was reading a book he recommended. He was also reading for a while, but then he put the book on the desk and looked at me."What do you think about our new project?" he asked, slightly serious but also relaxed.I moved the book out of sight to look at him. "The things they're doing are right. I can't find any flaws."He nodded. The report he had shown me this morning followed the book he had put down. It was about the business collaboration between the Duncan Family and the Thompson Family, with Benny and I as the chief executives, while our father was the funder and in charge.Although the two of us had not completely taken over the family business, our fathers had agreed to involve their family successors in this newly started business. Aside from the family interest, both of them said it was important for our future.I had no problem with that. After all, my father had taught me everything about our family business since I was a child and other i
Catherine's POVAfter receiving the gift from Edwin, I was now only with Benny and his personal driver driving. The man sat down with me and then noticed something was different about my attitude.He rested his chin on one of my hands, which was still clasped tightly. "What are you holding on to? You didn't let go at all....""This." I showed him the bracelet.His eyes look wide. "Isn't that the jewelry you saw earlier? I thought you didn't buy it.""I didn't buy it."Considering Benny was also aware of what I was doing while looking at the jewelry, perhaps my liking for this bracelet was too obvious.My gaze was fixed on the bracelet, and I thought about how the man who had left the festival first had unhesitatingly bought me this jewelry and given it to me without anyone knowing. I don't know what that man was thinking when he bought me this, but the pounding of my heart was starting to feel too clear in my chest.The car stopped. I blinked, realizing that I had arrived in front of
Catherine's POV"Thank you for buying me a drink, Duncan." I smiled, accepting the glass with a lid made of solid cardboard from his hand, and I immediately held the glass with both hands.He just nodded and passed the other glass to Benny.I took a sip of the relatively warm drink. It turned out to be a delicious chocolate drink. I felt relieved and happy. My legs even wiggled without me fully realizing it.Night had almost fallen, so it was starting to get cold. I remembered the embarrassing incident a few days ago when my skirt got caught, but in the end, the man came back to help me by giving me a warm drink after we had walked quite a distance.A loud snort was heard from Benny. "Why are you buying me a fruity and cold drink? I also want a warm chocolate drink like you guys." He protested.I looked at the two men who stood facing each other with glasses in their hands. Still, a noticeable smoke could be seen from Benny's slightly open mouth, probably the effect of the drink he ha
Catherine's POVI was mesmerized by the festival atmosphere surrounding me. I've always liked things like this: simple and fun stuff without having to always care about manners or conversations that are always serious and filled with business or politics.Many booths were arranged according to their types, ranging from games, shops selling various things, and other equally entertaining booths. My gaze stopped at one of the nearby stands for jewelry of sale.My steps halted when I arrived in front of it. I looked at the various kinds of jewelry displayed and touched a few that I wanted to take a closer look at. They all looked pretty, but I didn't really want to buy them either; I just wanted to look around.I didn't have much jewelry, but my mother added to it according to my needs, so I didn't feel the need to do the same.A person who seemed to be the salesgirl watched me without saying much but then said to me after a while."Don't you intend to buy the jewelry, Miss? I think the b
Catherine's POVI was always with Benny and Edwin. I felt happy because I was finally able to make a new friend again, and it was a guy I initially thought was quiet and cold.At first, Benny and Edwin always argued for whatever reason, but in the end, they always accompanied me wherever I went. We were like a unique combination, from three different majors and different personalities.I heard rumors about us hanging out, going to our respective classes or the cafeteria."Look, she can get two handsome guys simultaneously," whispered one of the students.His friend replied. "She's so lucky. I never even managed to get close to Edwin Duncan....""She's luckier because she's close to Benny Thompson. That guy is really nice and friendly."They said that and then talked about one of the guys I was with, who was probably my boyfriend.One of them spoke up again. "Isn't that obvious? His girlfriend must be Benny. They've been in a relationship for a long time.""Hm, I agree."There were som
Catherine's POVI still felt uncomfortable walking on campus. Aside from my aching feet, my father's words before I was allowed to leave for the campus with our family's private driver also bothered me.I was happy with my friendship with Edwin and my friendship with Benny, which lasted longer than that. Both of them were friends to me, but my father always made our relationship seem like a transaction, trying to talk to them for the benefit of our family.He said that each of them would greatly help me prove myself in the Varma Family. Our relationship would make me valuable and not the only useless woman in our family, while all the things I had done before were meaningless in my father's eyes.I felt annoyed that my father shouldn't be behaving like that towards me, but also unable to do anything to stop it. As Edwin said, I was still not strong and had to extricate myself with the help of the allies that had just started from the man himself.My sigh escaped on its own, but after