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
Chris' POV"Is everything okay?"I looked at my secretary, who spoke before returning to my work. "Yes.""Do you still want to provide assistance to Mr. Edwin Duncan? It seems like you've done enough favors already." He spoke again.I gave him a quick glance and then exhaled. "Of course, that's not a problem.""Are you hoping that what you're doing now will make Mr. Duncan voluntarily become your father-in-law?" The man spoke again, testing the limits of my already thin patience.I gave Evan a sharp look, no longer able to be mediocre when he crossed the line. "Shut your mouth.""Yes." He nodded a few times as if he understood the meaning of his words to me, who was his superior. "I know that you wish it that way, right?"I looked at her coldly. My desire to fire the secretary standing before me still hadn't completely disappeared every time he acted like this. Still, I also couldn't let go of the man who did every job perfectly every time.The man finally closed his mouth, allowing m
Chris' POVI've been working all day, going up and down the stairs every once in a while, so I have to stretch my shoulders and neck repeatedly. I felt tired, but I had a lot of things to do.It's been a few days since I've prioritized work, so there are some reports that I haven't touched. Right now, I am working on the most troublesome part while there is still time. Evan didn't accompany me because I threw him other responsibilities after what he said the other day.It didn't matter so far because this wasn't the first time that trouble-making man had been punished for his actions. After all, he had been working with me for more than ten years, so he should know what it takes to get some of the work done without me getting involved.Just halfway up the stairs of a building, I got a call from one of my subordinates, so I picked it up.The man on the other side of the call spoke first. "Sir, there's a problem at the hospital. There seems to be unusually busy activity in the patient's
Nicole's POVI don't know what I've done to be rewarded like this all this time.Did I unknowingly make a mistake in the past, or did it happen in a previous life? I have to experience this kind of miserable thing again. Too many times. Everything that hurt me from a few years ago was already excruciating, and so was this time.On the one hand, I didn't want to be in this place, amongst the pouring rain with the many black umbrellas used by the mourners, but on the other hand, I had to be there to say goodbye to him.The unconscious, bespectacled man eventually decided to really go. The doctor's attempts to save him were unsuccessful, and his own life eventually disappeared.My gaze fell on the grave a few steps ahead of me. A carved and new-looking coffin was nearby, ready to be inserted. A few songs rang out until the coffin, to be the man's final resting place, was entirely covered by dirt.I would never be able to see that man's sweet, warm smile, his gentle gaze or his voice agai
Nicole's POVI was with Benny. A glass was between us, and we were sitting face to face. He looked calm, while my gaze was cold when I talked to him."Are you satisfied now, Mr. Thompson? Matthew is dead, and you ended up in prison."I deliberately asked him that, thinking that the old man would at least feel sad about his son's death, but he didn't. I could see the smirk forming on his pale lips, and his voice sounded hoarse when he decided to respond to my words.He snorted quickly. "Aren't you the one who should be feeling sorry, Miss Nicole?"I paused, automatically squeezing the hands on my lap. I did feel that way before I decided to come here, not because of the bespectacled man's death but because of the relationship between us that could have ended better without his father.Many things could have connected us, like my dead twin brother. Matthew would have known much about him, and maybe we could have reminisced about him and become close friends. However, our relationship wo
Nicole's POVI walked with Chris and Richard as a family. Although, in the eyes of the law, we were not related at all, this walk together had been planned a few days ago. The man and I agreed, while my son seemed to take our answer well."Ah, we're finally here." He said with relief.I smiled slightly, watching my son, who was staring at the shop in front of us. "Yes, you want to check out the shop that sells your robots yourself, right?""Hmm." He nodded. "I want to check it out with Mom. Mom needs to see what I did to my robots, and so does that guy. He has to see how good the robots I sell are because that guy had protested about some things regarding the robot making I did, but there's never been a problem so far."I nodded, knowing that my son has a perfectionist side in his robot-making. He always makes sure that nothing goes wrong in the final result of his robot prototype and the robots that are produced afterward.There are several stages of quality control, and he oversees
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