Edwin's POVI was surprised by what the doctor said. Nicole had confessed from the beginning that she was the daughter of the Martinez family, and I had also checked her background after rescuing the young woman. Still, I had no idea about the results that would come out of the examination between the biological father and daughter."Is that right?" I asked, looking at the doctor representing the pre-surgery test result statement.He nodded. "That's right, sir. We've confirmed that all the tests went according to procedure, and there should be no errors regarding the results."I didn't say anything for a while, still shocked and wondering how a parent and child from the same family could have different DNA. It was an impossible and improbable thing.The young woman listening to the team of doctors on her bed also looked shocked. Her face looked like she had just been slapped by reality, and she was obviously new to this fact, just as I was not.There had never been any discussion abou
Nicole's POVMy body was still relatively weak from the tests, but Chris's words made me force myself to speak. He was looking at my father too boldly and always trying to get involved in my business and family."Stop interfering, Chris." I took a breath and licked my dry lips, my throat sore. "You were never invited to join this conversation."The man shook his head, turning to stare at me intently. "I had to intervene, Nicole. You always worry me so much that I have no other choice.""Nonsense."I was tired. I had kicked him out so many times and told him I didn't want him by my side, but he always had a way of coming back and finding me that it became suffocating.I'd never seen him actually worry about me at all. He just pushed himself, over and over again, at me. Even though I tried to put some distance between us, he completely ignored it because he hadn't reached his goal yet.He didn't respect me, but I had nothing else to do or say to get him out of my way."I've been looking
Nicole's POVI felt baffled about what was happening. Even though I never had a good relationship with Smith and he never cared about me, the fact that I wasn't his daughter broke me.I had long expected his affection, especially since my mother always paid attention to me and said that he was just too busy with his work, but he never did what she said every time I asked, and I felt terrible about what he did.He would gaze lovingly at my mom, give kisses and hugs, and then lose interest when his attention turned to me.After my mother passed away, what she did to me became even worse, coupled with the two women who also made me suffer even more, without anyone to defend me.I bit my lip, looking down while muttering to myself. "So, he already knew everything back then."He once said that he had something important to tell me when he admitted that he found out about me using a DNA test, but back then, I was so determined to get rid of him, and thanks to the help Matthew and my family
Nicole's POVMy newly arrived fiancée spoke again when she saw Chris. "Why is this man here? Isn't all the information covered up?"Although that man didn't visit the hospital often with all his work, he did keep up with all the developments. I looked at the man breathing heavily, looking like he had just run."True, but it looks like he managed to break through the defenses," Edwin answered the bespectacled man's question and looked at the man who hadn't said anything for a while.Matthew controlled his breathing, fixing his gaze on me again before going to my father. "That's not the case. Mr. Duncan, I heard this man say Smith Martinez is not my fiancée's biological father. Is that true?""It's true...." I answered in place of my father.The bespectacled man looked at me, seemed to be thinking about various things at a swift pace, and seemed to be coming to a conclusion. He walked closer to me and took my palm lightly.His gaze was fixed on me with a determined look. "I can give you
Edwin's POVI felt completely screwed. Smith wasn't Nicole's father, so the treatment that the young woman should have been able to go through soon had to be delayed, while I had absolutely no information about my daughter's real family.Now I was facing the man who had caused this problem. The man stood with both hands held back by each of the bodyguards who came with me.The ignorant man clucked. "Why are you doing something like this? Didn't I follow the procedure you wanted?""You are an imposter." I gritted my teeth, looking at him, who seemed frowning.He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. "Impostor? I don't have such luxurious opportunities. Don't you know everything about me, Mr. Duncan?"I clenched my fists, looking at the man who was still trying to be evasive even though the facts about him had been obtained from the tests he had undergone. There was no way he didn't know about their blood relationship since the man he had given the information to had admit
Edwin's POVAt home, I met Richard, who stood up to greet me. He only smiled faintly and called out to me in a voice that wasn't as excited as usual, even tending to be weak to make me a little worried. "Grandpa, you're home.""Yes, Richard." I returned my grandson's smile and hugged him.He felt tiny at the moment, with his hands holding my coat back tightly for a few moments. It had been a few days since we had eaten together, and the boy had gone to bed several times before I arrived home.I realized the effect of not having Mom by his side was worse than I thought, so I hugged him tighter, trying to give him what little peace he could take from me.It was Richard who loosened our embrace first. I saw his slightly contorted face and teary eyes as we stared at each other, leaving me speechless and only able to stare at him."Grandpa.... Actually, I want to meet Mom...." The child said in a low voice. "But I'm scared, Grandpa. If I meet Mom later, I might cry and make her worry about
Nicole's POVI sighed, looking at the two men standing before my bed and staring intently at each other. They hadn't been at my place long, but already looked like they would make a scene in my room.There would be no stopping them with my room not being in a public ward and only us being here. My father had difficulty going to work, while Key had to take my place with Richard.I already knew that it would be like this when they met, but I couldn't do anything to stop them other than sighing again."You'd better get out of here, Mr. Grant. You're interrupting my time and my fiancée's." Matthew said first.The green-brown-eyed man didn't look affected and gave the man who was my fiancé a flat look. "No, I'm not. Don't you already know what happened between us? You are the one who should leave here.""I am Nicole's fiancé. Are you not listening to what I am saying?" My fiancé asked in a tone that sounded emotional. "You shouldn't kick me out with your nobody status."Chris shrugged his
Nicole's POVAfter they left, another person came to my hospital room. Looking at the figure I missed, I could feel my smile slowly brighten, and my mood brightened.My son walked in with Key, walking after him and holding a small robot in his palm. The robot was quite eye-catching as it looked similar to a miniature human.He smiled as he showed me the robot closer. "Look, Mom. Doesn't this robot look so cute?""Yes." I nodded as I watched the robot more closely, feeling curious. "How did you make it?"I deliberately asked that because I was genuinely interested, and after seeing my son's expression, who seemed to have refrained from saying anything right away, I realized that if I didn't look interested, I didn't look interested. He was adorable, but I refrained from ruffling his hair.The boy's eyes seemed to sparkle, though his voice still sounded quieter as he began to explain. "It's easy, ma'am. I just need to do it like I made the insect robot, but a little more complicated."H
Nicole's POVI have received the gift given by the man's secretary. Evan. I wanted to refuse, but the man, whose age was not far from Key's, looked really pitiable and almost pleading as he spoke to me."Miss Nicole, I'm sorry, but if you don't accept this gift then I will get in trouble from Mr. Chris," he said.I stared at the man without saying much. I obviously had my reservations, staring at the two gifts that seemed unremarkable at first glance. Still, considering Chris's proposal and the answer I gave him temporarily, the situation was clearly different.He told me to take as much time as possible to come up with a final answer to his proposal. Still, in the end, he acted arbitrarily, like he was pressuring me to give him the answer immediately by giving me something like this.The secretary seemed to see my intentions and quickly returned to pleading before me. "Miss Nicole, please do me a favor just this once. Mr. Chris has already sought several opportunities to remove me fr
Chris' POVArriving in the car, I sighed.All my strength seemed to be drained, and I allowed myself to just lean back on the seat, loosening the tie that suddenly felt like it was strangling my neck. My gaze was only fixed in front of me, on the road that began to pass by faster after the car sped up.My secretary finally spoke. "Were you rejected?"I looked at the man. He had helped me prepare for today's proposal, including decorations, rings, and various other things that were supposed to be done after the proposal, but that didn't happen with me leaving first.She was crying, and I didn't really have the guts to look at Mr. Duncan and my son. Aside from my mixed feelings, I just followed in my footsteps, which led me out of the place and away from the miserable feeling."You seem to really like the fact that Nicole rejected me," I finally said, sounding as cold as I felt toward the man who was still driving.She didn't say anything.I exhaled, feeling a tightness in my chest that
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,