*Nicole's POV*The surgery had been ongoing for three hours. The father of the man with glasses was here too, sitting alone, but I paid him no mind, only noticing his shameless presence a while ago.My father had also arrived. He sat beside me, calming me down. His warm hands clasped one of mine, making me feel like I could finally breathe. I leaned my head on his shoulder for a moment."Wouldn't you rather rest, Nicole? I can wait here in your place," he said gently a while ago, noticing how my hands trembled and my breathing unsteady.I still felt shaken, and my hand hadn't returned to normal. My worry lingered, especially after seeing Matthew taken into the operating room in such a grave condition.If anything happened to him, I'd feel a heavy sense of guilt and have no idea what to do—especially if I hadn't waited for him as I was doing now.I shook my head in response to my father's question, attempting a faltering smile. "No, Dad. I want to wait until his surgery is over."He re
Nicole's POVI came to my senses. My eyes felt blurry for a few moments, adjusting to the light of the lamp shining above me. When I turned my head, I saw the man I didn't want to see was there, looking at me with a relieved look."Why are you... here?" I asked, but the man just rubbed my hand between his two hands, whichever than mine, and rubbed it lightly.I looked at the man and then at our hands, realizing that I felt too weak to even attempt to remove my hands from him at this point. I should have pushed him away earlier but was too tired to fight with him.He looked at me, obviously knowing me too well to speak. "Nicole, rest."I closed my eyes, feeling the man lower our hands back onto the bed, right on the side of my body, still wrapped in the blanket. I must have been registered as a patient immediately after I fainted suddenly, in front of my father and the old man who kept blaming me when I was also involved in the accident that happened in an instant."Mr. Edwin Duncan is
Nicole's POVMy mouth immediately felt like it was quivering. "You mean, with that old man, is.... Benny Thompson?"The man nodded, seeing what was happening to me as if he had expected it. I had a panic attack. The man held my hand tightly, helping me to calm down what was happening to my body.After the past events, there were many things I had to go through, and this panic attack was one of them. Aside from being traumatized by loud noises and car crashes, it was very difficult for me to deal with this kind of shock that was also almost similar to the things I had gone through in the past.I wasn't badly hurt, but the scars from that incident still remained."Calm down, Nicole. You're still here, as are Richard and me." he took my hand and rubbed it gently. "Your father is fine, too. You just have to face this reality so you don't falter. You need to breathe."I breathed in with difficulty, feeling claustrophobic with the pressure my body was making due to the panic I was feeling.
Nicole's POVA week had passed. My father moved to arrest Benny, and the old man, who still had a thick face, was finally detained by the authorities and had to go through all the processes necessary to sentence him.During the interrogation, he admitted that it was his wish to make me injured, or at least end up disabled, so that I would have no choice but to live as his son's wife. He would fulfill his wish to lock me up.The man still assumed that neither my helplessness nor my father's would lead us to him.My father was furious, his gaze fiery, and his hands clenched tightly on the table. "That man's mind is turning more and more extreme. He has become so obsessed with Catherine that he has turned on you, Nicole, and involved his own son in his selfishness.""Father had no idea that he would come to this. Intending to disfigure you and then marry you off to his son? Hah! He doesn't even care about his son, who is in a coma because of his own actions." She shook her head.We were
Nicole's POVI was currently looking into the glass that mediated between me and the bespectacled man who was lying on his intensive care unit bed. He was still unconscious but was still being helped with some support equipment so that his health would not decline.I exhaled at the sight of his condition, as well as the figure who had been following me since we met in the basement of the hospital and was now standing next to me."You followed me."I didn't ask, but the man nodded. "I originally wanted to go to your house, but then I thought that you would definitely visit it, so I switched to here."That man was Chris. He was still acting on his own, doing whatever he wanted, even though nothing was forcing him to get involved in this situation. He could have stayed home to see my son, like their usual routine meeting, but he preferred to meddle in my affairs.I couldn't hate her for what she did this time. With all the things that had happened lately and the grudge I had been holding
Nicole's POVI exhaled, looking at the phone screen that showed a search for my name. In the end, the reporters finally heard what happened to us.It started with the marriage between Matthew and me failing to take place, causing a lot of questions about why, and now, they found out that Benny Thompson intended to kill me.The case about the bespectacled man's father should have only reached the police. Still, somehow, the reporters were able to get their hands on the information and release it to the media immediately. I had already seen a few articles, and my father, who was next to my hospital bed, was shaking with annoyance.He glared at the screen of his own phone. "I told them to shut up! Why? Huh...." The man tried to catch his breath to feel calmer.I understand my father's desire not to have such an internal and long-standing problem spread, but of course, some irresponsible people feel they can take advantage of our bad situation, especially since the two conglomerate famili
Nicole's POVBefore heading out, I changed my clothes and put on my glasses and hat. I wanted to avoid attracting any attention, especially with my name still on the top of the search list and me only going alone to blend in more with others.My purpose in going out was to refresh my brain, which has been having to think about many things lately.Starting from Matthew, who had yet to wake up from his coma to his father, who was still in the process of being transferred to the prison that would be his final destination. My father was taking care of that, so only one of the servants from my house, in the hospitalization room, knew of my departure.I'm sure she had already conveyed that to Key so she could pass it on to my father. I was okay with it as long as I had time to be alone and enjoy it."Here." I checked the maps I'd used to take me to a nearby café that served delicious chocolate drinks, then to the small building in front of me.The place looked cosy, but I just bought the ch
Chris' POVI looked at the woman, who seemed stunned to see me, coupled with the blush on her cheeks, which seemed a little pale. I swallowed unconsciously, trying not to get my hopes up with what I was seeing at the moment, feeling that Nicole was being mesmerized by the simple things I was doing for her.I had already delivered her to the Duncan Family residence by this time. The woman exited the car and lowered her head slightly to speak to me, who was still inside. "Thank you for driving me."There was no smile on her lips, but I could hear her words were sincere and did not sound rude like usual. I was silent momentarily, feeling that what happened today shouldn't stop there, so I stepped out of the car.The woman had already reached the gates of her residence, strolling as if I was no longer the man who made her feel threatened. I smiled slightly, Nicole had probably accepted me by now without realizing it, and we were getting closer even though the man with the glasses was stil
Nicole's POVA few days passed, and we were about to prepare to leave and arrive at the airport, which was quite far from the residence.The Duncan family had a separate airstrip at the airport, so only a private plane and some crew would oversee our departure. Still, before that, I saw someone I didn't expect waiting near the plane and looking at us, specifically at me, intently.He'd obviously arrived before us.His gaze felt like I had done something wrong to him, which shouldn't have been possible since my son had already told him the necessary things so that he wouldn't misunderstand. Still, there seemed to be something that made him look that way.I tried to remain calm while Chris walked closer to us. He stopped in front of me, just staring at me which made me involuntarily swallow by seeing the feelings that appeared on his face."I had heard from Richard that you were going to leave this place, go back to your hometown to calm down, but...."The man looked at me with a furrow
Nicole's POV"So, Mom... did you leave me here?" Richard asked slightly tearfully. "Do you not love me anymore?"I shook my head. "Of course not, Richard. I love you and would take you with me, not leave you. You know how much I love spending time with you, don't you?""I know...." He nodded. "But, Mom...."My son looked silent. He was sitting opposite me, but I felt his presence far enough away from me that I wanted to reach out to him. I refrained from doing that. I wanted Richard to make a decision based on him, not just on my persuasion.I sighed very slowly, looking at my son who had his head bowed with both hands clenched on each knee."I know that what you're doing here is because you're interested in robots, creating a company in the same field and developing it. You've done it, Richard."I saw it for myself. Although we rarely met to talk about the business, I was always aware of my son's business progress through Key and the company's official website, which I visited from t
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