Matthew's POV"Hi, Nicole." I greeted the woman who was silently staring at her phone screen alone.Nicole raised her gaze slowly, surprised at my sudden appearance. I smiled, moving closer to her as I took off my glasses. She returned my smile faintly when I was already sitting next to her, looking at me."You really came." She said with a hint of amazement.I shook my head, finding her words even a little strange. "Of course, I came. I wanted to meet you too, Nicole."The woman paused and reached for my hand first, slipping her hand into mine while muttering something under her breath that I couldn't hear. "What?"I'm glad you came here, Matthew." She finally said.I felt my heart beating a little harder, accepting her honest words and feeling the woman's head resting on my upper arm. When I glanced at her, the woman who had spoken earlier had closed her eyes, seemingly comfortable with what she was doing to me, who was a little confused.Before coming here, she sent a message imply
Matthew's POV"What do you mean, Matthew?" She finally spoke, still staring at me until I hesitated for a while.If it was like this, the information gathered so far might not have been entirely correct. I spoke anyway, deciding to bring it up first so that nothing was hidden between us, and it actually bothered me a little.I took a breath. "I know, Nicole. It seems you are Nicole Martinez, Christian Grant's ex-girlfriend, someone who should have died nine years ago."There was a long silence between us. She stared at me for a moment before turning her gaze away from me. Our handshake loosened so that my hand just rested on top of her slightly clenched hand. I swallowed, looking down at her."You.... What did you do that for, Matthew? Don't you trust me?" She asked, sounding overwhelmed with emotions I couldn't explain.I knew that my words would upset her, but I didn't know that I could see the impact directly. I felt guilty, able to feel the pain visible in her shaking shoulders. I
Nicole's POVI don't know how this happened, that Matthew and I could start a relationship from friendship, with no clear status, to now. At first, I only thought of revenge, thinking that my life would be meaningless without that goal.If anything, I only intended to focus on Richard, who was also why I could face things until now. Without my son, I couldn't have gone through all these things with everything that had happened to me before."Hmm...."After yesterday's meeting, the man with glasses and I talked for a long time. We discussed everything from my past identity as Nicole Martinez to the continuation of our relationship, which had always held some of my fears. I couldn't help but admit that the man's existence had taken away some of the meaning of my life in the present.He obviously knew it, and at the end of our meeting, he expressed his love for me, so today was the second day we had a relationship as lovers.Several times, I had to stare and hold my phone as he sent me n
Nicole's POVI stood up, looking at Richard, who had also stopped walking and was looking at me, and then the man still sitting on the sofa one after another, for a few moments, without saying anything to make me feel nervous.He looked back at me. "What's wrong, mom? Were you guys doing something before I came into this room?""Ah, yes, we were just talking, Richard." I hurriedly said because I was still feeling panicked.My son didn't miss my tone, looking at me more seriously. "You have nothing to hide from me?"I nodded, looking at my son, who finally seemed to accept my answer and continued his steps closer. At that moment, I locked eyes with Key, who had also entered the room with Richard. I saw the man's lips slightly twitching at the ends as if he was holding something in, and his eyebrows raised only one way.Turning to his gaze, I immediately knew that the man who had been my assistant and son for several months in this city clearly knew that I was doing something more than
Nicole's POVI felt so surprised by what the man who was staring at me was doing. He was really... I had no words to describe his impulsive actions. We were obviously in a public place, with many other people and my distracted son.I didn't know if Key was doing anything to Richard when my lips felt stiff between the man's lips as he closed his eyes, trying to open my mouth but then biting my lips teasingly and quickly thwarting my attempts to stop him.Matthew withdrew himself after sweeping the inside of my mouth, smiling at me, who was still stunned. "It turns out that your gelato tastes really good, too, Nicole. I love it."I swallowed as I watched him lick his lips, making my face heat up a few notches, remembering how his lips lingered on mine for quite some time. My chest was pounding, but the figure that was still smiling faintly was still looking at me warmly as if the previous incident hadn't messed with my heart like I was experiencing."Mom?" I turned my head, seeing my so
Nicole's POVThat morning, I was enjoying breakfast with my father without Richard. The boy who usually got ready before me was now still asleep. When I asked Key, the boy had apparently told my assistant from the night before that he would be up later, exhausted from his robot project.I respected the boy's wishes and decided not to wake him up, letting him enjoy breakfast once he was feeling better.My father and I ate quietly for a while until the man suddenly said something without looking at me. "It turns out you're already dating Matthew, Nicole."I coughed, choking as the drink I had just swallowed was trapped by the air from my throat. A waiter immediately came forward to help me, taking my place holding the glass while patting my back a few times before finally retreating to his position. I was grateful that none of the drink had spilled onto my shirt."Father.... How did you find out?" I finally asked, looking at the old man who was waiting for me to continue, but I had noth
Nicole's POVI was so angry when I walked into my room, still thinking about the man who had crossed the line again by coming up to me and forcing me to talk to him. I should have been able to reject that man from the start, leaving without the need to engage him when I was more alert, but again, I lost to his power.Now, I couldn't even concentrate on my work when that resentful feeling was still struggling inside me. I gripped the pen I was using tightly, gritting my teeth as I remembered his face, which could still play the victim when we no longer had any relationship."Damn it, Chris!" I cursed with a hiss, unable to contain myself anymore.Such harsh words were not enough with all the things I had experienced when it came to him, but I was also speechless with the existence of that insolent man who was still affecting my life at this point. I was already tired.The door to the room opened while I was still trying to calm my emotions. Lona, the company secretary, walked into my r
Smith's POVI staggered over, holding the bottle of alcohol that contained only the last few drops. After the hundreds of bottles of alcohol I had managed to retain from my precious collection, this was one of the previous bottles I had at the moment, while at home, there was only one other bottle left.My once happy life was now going from bad to worse. It wasn't enough that my family's business had gone bankrupt, all the wealth I had accumulated over the years seemed to have vanished and the house that housed me had gone from being luxurious and grand to being small and too modest.No one helped me from my fate that had suddenly changed like this. From people I had worked with to people I had known for a long time, especially my former son-in-law, who seemed to prevent me from coming after our last meeting."Damn, man," I muttered, recalling the incident a few days ago that still felt fresh in my memory, intending to ask him for a bit of money.Without any consideration, that man re