Chris' POVToday, I was going to meet with Richard. He'd planned to have our meeting at his house, so I left there immediately. Now we were in the garden outside his home, relaxing while enjoying the sunlight shining behind the clouds.Earlier, we were in the boy's laboratory, one of the unique rooms inside the house, a smaller version of his original laboratory. He had brought me there because he was still working on his project and wanted to show me his robots.I felt proud to see some of the robots displayed in the room, showing his hard work so far. The boy was very focused, working on something he wanted and loved simultaneously, namely robots."How about this? This is only a small part of my collection of robots, while the others are in my grandfather's lab." He said, looking proud of himself."Good," I replied briefly.He seemed to be trying not to show me any expression, but his eyes were sparkling. "Of course, I made this with my own idea."I nodded, still looking around the
Chris POVI was genuinely shocked by what Edwin said. I had no idea their wedding would happen so soon, especially since their engagement only took place a few weeks ago. I had at least a few more months before something like this would happen. I looked at the old man, who had become the head of the family for my son and Nicole. He must have told me this on purpose, but I held myself back from reacting. After all, I had already expected that the woman I still love and that cursed man with glasses would eventually marry. However, my dreams sometimes gave me hope that the opposite might happen. Of course, deep inside, I still hoped that Richard, Nicole, and I could form a family. But besides the sweet dreams I had about the two of them, I also had nightmares that haunted me often. It was always the same in those dreams—I stood at the altar with her, only to leave her. It kept happening as if to remind me of my initial mistake. If only I had stayed by her side back then, maybe the
Nicole's POV“That man gave you this and then left?” I asked, glancing at the chocolate cake visible through the top of the box and then at Key, who was still holding it. My assistant nodded. “He wanted to give this to you and the young master, Miss.” “I don’t want it. Throw it away,” I said without a second thought. I didn’t know what that selfish man was thinking by buying such a large chocolate cake for me and my son. Yes, I liked the flavor, and so did Richard, but there was no way I could accept his gift, especially not at this time. Key was about to leave, but suddenly, my son came in, walking through my open door and approaching us curiously. His eyes were fixated on the box Key was holding. “What’s that, Key?” “Ah, Young Master—” I tried to stop Richard, already knowing what he was about to do, but he had already grabbed the cake box and placed it on the nearest table. He opened the box, revealing a whole chocolate cake that looked delicious and smelled amazing.
Nicole's POVI had just returned from the office. After undergoing intensive care a month ago, my father adjusted my workload to be lighter than before. He claimed it was necessary to prevent a similar incident from happening again.Though I felt somewhat reluctant, I also felt guilty toward the old man. He continued to do things for me despite not being fully recovered from his own condition. He still needed to use a walking aid, and one or two servants would accompany him to avoid any unwanted accidents.When he sat down or stood up, I could see my father’s effort not to appear weak, even when it was just Richard and me around. My son noticed this, too, as he often spent time with his grandfather during his free moments, while I could only watch without saying a word.What I’m going through right now is nothing compared to what my father is dealing with. He, who has lived much longer than me, continues pushing himself as much as possible, so it would feel wrong for me to complain an
Julia's POV"That woman... she's so annoying," I muttered, leaning back in the seat of my car and staring out the window.I excused myself from the party early, unable to stand the small talk any longer, especially with that woman’s presence. Besides, I had already found something interesting about the woman Madam Selena had been praising. The woman, Nicole, might have been hospitalized some time ago. This caused the Duncan family to become quite busy, and at the same time, Chris—the man who had captured my heart for a long time—was constantly trying to visit her. The security staff of that pretentious woman's family had turned him away several times, but eventually, my beloved managed to find a way in. Of course, being the only woman who truly knows about Chris’s life, I know we share something in common. He has tried every possible way to get close to that ungrateful woman. Still, from the tone and expressions I’ve overheard firsthand, I know his efforts haven't fully paid off y
Nicole's POVI was thinking about the woman I accidentally met. Although her words were sweet and polite, I could sense something different in her demeanour, even though it was our first time meeting.Just like I felt toward her, she seemed not to like me either. She only agreed with whatever Madam Selena, who accompanied me during the conversation, said. If it weren’t for the middle-aged woman, I might have been cornered because I didn’t know her, unlike her, who seemed to know more about me."...perhaps Miss Nicole is receiving medical care." The woman said, with a meaningful glance at me, before turning to feign ignorance to the middle-aged woman acting as our mediator.From her words, it seemed she knew that I had recently undergone surgery. But how could that be? My father had always kept everything about our family well hidden, so it was impossible for information about my hospital treatment to leak out.Unless... I paused momentarily, pursing my lips and frowning slightly as a
Nicole's POVThis morning I am meeting with an important person from a foreign company. I am already prepared in a room located in the same building as our meeting, along with Key, who will accompany me during this meeting.I spoke to my assistant. “Is everything ready?”“Yes, Miss Nicole. Mr. Martin Kayle from Country Northam has already arrived.”I nodded, exhaling to calm my slightly nervous self. “Alright, we need to conduct this meeting well. This collaboration will be very important for the development of our company in the international market.”“You can feel at ease, Miss. You are excellent at handling matters like this,” the young man spoke confidently, especially towards me. “If Mr. Martin refuses the collaboration between his represented company and one of the Duncan family companies, he will be the one to suffer the loss.”I glanced at Key, watching him as he seemed to speak sincerely yet remained respectfully bowed towards me. His words were exaggerated, but I couldn’t de
Nicole's POVI stared back at the man even with the things I felt, not wanting to show it in the slightest, as I said. "Do you want to steal what I have again?""Steal? Again?" The man asked in astonishment, touching my cheek until I couldn't move away from him. "The only thing I want to steal from you is your heart."I paused, feeling my heartwarming beyond my control. "Stop talking like that. I'm not in the mood to play games with you, Chris.""I never play games. What I'm doing to you is real." He said, making me hold my breath for a moment. The daylight slid down my cheeks slowly, making stroking motions. "What are you doing here?"I backed away, trying to remove his hand, but he stubbornly kept it. I gave him a sharp glare. "You heard earlier. I'm here because Mr. Martin contacted me for cooperation.""Our cooperation, right?" He reminded, walking closer while I stepped back until I was cornered to the only door in this room. "You can't not include me in your company deal."I gla
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,