Nicole's POV"What did you say?" I snorted loudly to stifle my sarcastic laughter at her words. "Richard is my son!"The man stared at me, completely unfazed by my glare or sharp words. "I want to be involved in raising our son, Nicole. You do know that the role of a father is vital for a young child's development, right? He's only eight years old."He began to explain, sharing some of the research he had gathered on his own and from his men on the subject he was talking about. He said that if only one parent accompanies a child's growth and development, then the child could lack things that the responsible parent cannot provide.Whether the father or mother is absent will affect the child's life when he grows up. I don't know where she got the information from, but she also mentioned my son's arguably unnatural genius and felt that I must have had trouble handling him alone all this time.I clenched my fists tightly, unable to say anything. The man could see my reaction and replied i
Nicole's POVI felt furious at the two men who seemed to be arguing in front of me. It wasn't enough to have that annoying guy around, but my fiancé, who I had thought could hold his temper well, was still provoked by the nonsense the other guy was saying.Both of them knew that I had recently been allowed to return to work, but they still did the same thing they had done several times before, arguing and exchanging words that absolutely shouldn't be spoken so immaturely.I didn't feel sick or dizzy, but they were really making me feel claustrophobic with the commotion they both caused, as well as depressed with the pile of negative emotions that were in the conversation of the two men before me."Stop it! Both of you!" I said in a slightly raised tone to overpower their voices that were louder than mine, but my fiancé just happened to grip his opponent's shirt collar tightly.The brownish-green-eyed man's gaze was only fixed on Matthew, who seemed to be gritting his teeth. They obvio
Nicole's POVI was home in a few minutes, quickly stepping out of the car and walking through my open fence. They've already interrupted my precious work time and caused a mess in my office space that I can't even name. Until I'm calmer, I won't let any of them see me, not even my own fiancé.I was just thinking that, but someone suddenly grabbed my wrist so tightly that I couldn't immediately break free. I turned around, about to warn whoever touched me for no apparent reason, but just then, I came face to face with the bespectacled man who still looked bruised with his bruises.His face looked panicked, and he looked at me, who was already staring at him with a cold gaze. I was a little surprised that this man in front of me could chase after me, but I covered that up nicely. After all, he clearly realized he had done me wrong when I saw his gaze."Nicole, I'm sorry. I've ruined your day at the office, but please don't leave me." The man slightly tightened his grip on my hand, look
Nicole's POV"You still don't want to see Matthew, Nicole?" my father asked, looking at me as he was about to walk past me. "He didn't say he was looking for you, but I've seen him watching your room from outside a few times."I looked at my father, already knowing what he was discussing first but not wanting to. "I still need my rest, Father.""Hm, is that so?" the man muttered under his breath. "I already know what happened between you. I think it would be best if you talked about this further, Nicole."I didn't immediately respond to my father, who had suggested something for my relationship with Matthew for the umpteenth time. I didn't really want my father to know about our problems because I knew it would eventually come out, but my fiancé wasn't fully following our verbal agreement.It had been two days since he came to my house under the pretense of a casual visit. Perhaps my father was surprised that we hadn't met at all at such a time. Either I welcomed him first, or my fian
Nicole's POVI watched the red wine in the glass, moving my wrist slowly until the alcoholic beverage swirled from within. The dark red color enticed me to keep staring at the liquid, and the fragrance was quite intoxicating.Someone suddenly approached me and knocked on the table near my vantage point, but my gaze was still fixed on the wine glass I held. He sounded unconcerned when he spoke to me. "Ah, I am so glad to see you here, Miss Nicole. You have been absent for so long that I wondered if something had happened to you."I finally turned my head, hearing her familiar voice. She looked next to me with a smile. Madam Selena, who still looked elegant from the way she carried herself and the dress she wore, winked while returning my smile."I'm sorry I couldn't come, Madam Selena, but since you kept sending me invitations all this time, I also tried to come to this party," I said, taking her hand after putting down my glass. "Unfortunately, I can only drop by briefly at your party
Chris’ POVI was actually getting lazy about attending meetings with other business leaders. At this stage, I could say that I almost knew everyone who would be attending the event. The event was meant to bring together company pioneers and heirs from other cities and countries to get to know each other.I had attended before, but in the end, as I said before, I just heard all kinds of nonsense that I didn't want to listen to a second time. I was bored.It would have been nice if this meeting had been official and discussed essential and valuable things. Still, this event, which is said to be a cross-country gathering of business people, is more like a socialite event that is more about showing off the glitz and flaunting the wealth of each person who attends.A frivolous event like this should not have been held for so long. I would have preferred it if my time had been spent working or making deals with other, more profitable companies, but in the end, it wouldn't have worked out
Chris' POVI looked at the woman sharply. "Julia, you're still as insolent as ever.""Why?" She looked at me quizzically, pretending not to know what she was doing was wrong, and smiled slightly. "I can tell because you're still my target, Chris. Moreover, you still don't have a girlfriend even though you've been eyeing that woman for the past few months."I was still staring at her, not liking how her words hit the nail on the head. She shouldn't be spying on me like this at all."Ah, I talked to your mother about our marriage, and she seems to agree. She was the one who said, compared to Nicole Duncan, who looks like your girlfriend, it would be better if I were to be your maid of honor."I stepped closer to her, intending to boldly warn this woman who was still standing in front of me so that she would not talk to me like this again. I did not care at all if she spoke to my mother because the final decision on that matter, this time, would be in my own hands.I've had enough of Nic
Nicole's POVI was facing Matthew at my house. We were having a private lunch, just the two of us, in a room specially prepared by the servants. He opened the conversation first."I'm glad to see you again, Nicole."He began to tell me about the days he did not see me. He missed me so much, wishing we could talk as usual, do activities together, or meet at the office or home when we had free time.I could see the somber look on his face when he talked about how we hadn't been able to do any of that the past few days. He looked both distressed and pitiable when he looked at me again, like a puppy lacking attention from its owner since I was the one who said not to see him for a while.I looked at her flatly, not understanding why she could say such a thing yet do the opposite by coming to my house repeatedly, even before this meeting between us happened."You already know what I'm saying, but you're not listening to me, Matthew." I held back my words so as not to seem too accusatory. "
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,