Matthew's POV"You're going to get married soon, I'm thrilled, Matthew." My father spoke.We were in his study at home. My father's face looked genuinely happy, so I hardly found him profound whenever we were just talking about business or work.I also disliked his tone, as if he had won something big. In fact, his attitude when dealing with Nicole was not like this.The man exhaled. "Your marriage will be very good for our family. Our family's position will become stronger, and we will no longer be considered a money-granting institution.""Our family is strong even without the Duncan name, Father." I denied his words.My father shook his head with a smile. "Don't be naive, Matthew. Besides, you don't have to feel that way because I know what you think about this marriage."I paused, not sure what he was talking about at the moment, but I knew that the things he knew might harm me more than himself, so I shouldn't misbehave."Dad...." I sighed, not knowing what to start talking about
Nicoles's POV"Don't you have anywhere else to drink tea?" I asked the annoying figure who casually drank the tea and put it back down, looking at me without saying anything for a while.He finally shook his head. "No, there isn't. It's nice here, and I also have an appointment with Richard today."I sighed, looking the other way so as not to have to look at the face of the man who always annoyed me. Again, he came to our house and forced me to meet following a father-son meeting that shouldn't have involved me.We were in the garden inside the house with a circular table set up with three pairs of chairs. Two glasses of hot chocolate and a tea had been placed in front of each of us since earlier. The tantalizing aroma of the drinks helped me calm down.My father was away on business, while Richard was the reason I could be here with the man I hated."Mom, don't get too upset at that stupid man, " my son said between the cups of warm chocolate he held, drinking a little at a time. Jus
Nicole's POVI had just finished my business and was about to head home. I was left alone, so I had to head to the parking lot to get my car. As I was walking, I stopped my steps when I saw a woman who looked like she was about to approach me.She also stopped after we had stood facing each other. I remembered her as Julia Dorris, the woman who hated me even though we had met just a few days ago.She looked at me, giving me a smile that wasn't too sincere. "Hi, Miss Nicole. I heard you're getting married to Mr. Matthew soon.""Yes, that's right," I replied simply, not knowing why she would ask such a question when we had just met again.Her smile seemed a little more genuine, but the look in her eyes was still unconvincing. "Congratulations on your wedding, which will happen in a few days, Miss Nicole. I am happy for you.""Thank you-" I was just about to welcome her outstretched hand, but the woman deliberately lowered her hand again.She seemed a little threatening to me with a shar
Nicoles's POVJulia smiled, looking at the newly arrived man carefully. "Wow, you finally came.""You didn't answer my question," the man said coldly, but the woman didn't seem to care and just stared at Chris as if he were the most interesting thing she had ever seen.She gave a small nod. "This reinforces my suspicion that you're still interested in this woman, Chris. Why don't you tell me the truth?""That's my business." The man looked angry, like he didn't like that this conversation was more about Julia's desires than him being ignored. "I was interested in Nicole from the beginning, because I'm not going to be with you, Julia."The woman's eyebrow twitched, not liking the answer Chris gave. She snorted. "Well, you won't be able to be with her anymore, Chris. Soon she'll be married and you'll end up with me.""I have no intention of making that happen." The man replied.They seemed to stare at each other, but the woman clucked loudly and quickly walked away as if she had given u
Nicole's POVI had left Chris first. In the car, I couldn't stop myself from swearing at the man and his insistent behavior. I didn't understand why he had to be like that to me again when I had already given him permission to meet Richard.In the end, I had granted his wish again, but then he went back to acting like he hadn't tormented me enough in the past."This stupid flutter." I cursed at myself, clenching a fist near my heart which was no longer pounding as much as before.I knew that the closeness between us made me feel like I was back in the past. I did hate that guy but also still liked him even though several years had passed. It was upsetting. My mind and heart had completely different paths to mess with me.He wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, which was me, just like his usual self.I smacked the steering wheel of my car when I got to the red light, feeling too angry. I accidentally honked the horn, which ended up sounding for quite a while until I reminded myse
Nicole's Point of View"I was just talking to Miss Nicole, there's no need for that, son." She looked at me with a smile and then at her son again. "Do you two have an appointment?"Matthew nodded, still holding my hand tightly. "Yes. If you'll excuse us, Father."I saw Benny nod in our direction, not saying anything else when he saw his son had turned around and was carrying me behind him. I could sense that he was in a hurry, striding past his father's room into the spacious corridor of his house.My legs began to struggle to keep up, almost falling over, but he didn't notice. If it continued like this, I might actually fall and feel unwanted pain.I grabbed the man's hand, holding me with my other hand, squeezing it as hard as possible to get his attention. "Stop, Matthew.""What's wrong, Nicole?" He asked, finally stopping to walk and look at me. His breathing seemed ragged, just like mine, but I didn't really care for the moment.I looked at her a little sharply, annoyed and tire
Nicole's POVMatthew was a good man. He wasn't someone I knew recently, but a fantastic man who brought positive things into my life.His cheerfulness at the time made me happy, especially with all the care and concern he had for me. However, the longer our relationship continued, the harder it seemed to get.I looked at the man, who was breathing slowly. "I have no intention of being pushy, Nicole... I just want us to talk about this together."I shook my head. "You don't sound like you're talking to me. You're persuading me."If he really wanted to talk, he would have engaged me in a real conversation instead of talking about all his ideas to my face when I assumed that we were just dating and having fun, especially after my annoying conversation when I was already feeling tired.I felt an unpleasant feeling in my heart, especially when he suggested our move back to Aden City and the possibility that Richard would be left here because of his desire to be with only me. From his words
Nicole's POVWe stared at each other with our chests rising and falling together. Our conversation from earlier had really affected us in a very different way from the relationship between me and the bespectacled man so far.The atmosphere between us was still heated, and I was still angry. He also looked unreceptive.The man looked at me. "That can't happen. We've already arranged everything. Even the ring that was late in the planning is ready for us to check tomorrow."I knew that the worst thing would be to end our engagement and our marriage, which was almost on the horizon, but even his words were too much. I couldn't deny that I hadn't done anything to prepare for our wedding, but he had willingly prepared everything.I felt relieved and guilty at the time, but now I can let it go since there are no strings attached. It's just that he had this risky conversation first."Then you shouldn't have done something like this in the first place, Matthew." I took a breath, trying to cal