Nicole's POV"Damn it, is something wrong with my phone?" The man asked himself, but it could be heard by everyone there, including me, Richard, and Key.She fiddled with her phone for some time with a deeply furrowed brow and then spoke again. "Did you really check it, Mila?"No answer could be heard from the phone because the call speaker was not activated. I could only watch the man's face for guesses, but it didn't take long for him to falter."Zedd! Honey! Are you okay?" His wife asked as she tried to hold back her husband's body, which seemed to collapse at any moment."Dad! You're going to fall like that!"One of their guards wanted to help, but the woman was stubbornly trying to bear the weight of her own husband's body along with their son, who was holding his father's other hand.Zedd touched his forehead, no longer unsteady but still holding on to his wife and son, who still looked worried when they saw him at this moment. The man hung up the phone in silence and then immed
Nicole's POVI didn't comment, leaving the responsibility to Key, who was already well-understood by the man. As long as I didn't have to get involved, then Key could handle a problem like this on his own.One of the higher-ups came forward, looked at me, and bowed. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Miss, but we have something to discuss with Mr. Key."I raised an eyebrow, looking at Key, who immediately turned around and looked sharply at the bigwig who had just spoken to me. "You're being very impolite.""Mr. Key, we just-"Key clucked. "If you continue like this, you should be expelled. I've already told you you can't go into this area because it's Miss' private residence, right?"The bigwigs fell silent, as did the bigwig who had just spoken, then was pulled back by his partner. I sighed softly, tired of attending to another troublesome matter even though Key was taking care of it."You're not allowed to be here, nor do you intend to come here again, understand?" Key asked the higher-ups.
Nicole's POVA few days passed. Richard and I were now having lunch in the dining room, enjoying a meal from a chef who had been summoned directly from a famous restaurant to save time, rather than us going to the restaurant where he worked.After that troublesome day, I decided to minimize our outdoor activities if they weren't too important. Although going out is important, it would be better to do it around our spacious house instead of doing it like yesterday.If I had to, I would have relied on the car and booked the place privately in advance so that no random people could enter.I returned my gaze to Richard. He seemed to enjoy his meal so much that I immediately noticed the smear of sauce at the corner of his chewing lips.I smiled, feeling quite happy to see his occasional childlike behavior like this, before telling him. "Richard, there's sauce on your face." I tapped the corner of my lips.My son's eyes widened before reaching for the cloth beside his hand. She quickly wipe
Chris' POVMy head felt heavy when I opened my eyes. My gaze fixated on the familiar ceiling of my room, and looked down at my work clothes that hadn't been changed last night."Shit!" I hissed, touching the front of my head as I looked down, accepting the consequences of my carelessness yesterday of drinking without control.The memories of what I did last night slowly returned as I woke up. Starting from my stumbling walk and that woman who approached me simultaneously. It was annoying to begin with.I sighed before finally turning to the small table beside my bed, seeing a glass of water and a hangover cure. I quickly drank both before another memory came to me."Chris, you can't be so stubborn! You can't even stand up properly." The woman woke up again after I pushed her to the ground.I looked at her, who looked blurry to my eyes, but could find her annoying face. "Go away." I tried to say with my numb mouth."No, I can't. "You'll fall if you go to your room alone, Chris." The wo
Chris's POVI changed back into my work clothes, preparing to leave. Although most of my schedule had already been completed, that didn't mean I had no things to do as the company's owner.I have to start now, starting by observing ongoing projects and planning other collaborations, so that everything can run smoothly.A servant was waiting for me in case I needed help getting ready, though that was rare. I needed his presence for other things, especially regarding that woman.I turned my head slightly, looking at the man, who was already alert and about to receive my words. "How is that woman? Did she leave?"I don't know what she's been doing all this time, but all I know for sure is that she's been traveling and shopping in several places these days. I'm not too curious, but I still need to monitor her so she doesn't make any unwanted messes.After all, she's still my wife and some media outlets are looking to make a profitable article out of whatever they can get out of our story,
Chris's POVMy head ached with all the work I had to do over the past few hours. I'd underestimated the work I had left to do to the point where I'd forgotten that this pile of work wasn't fun for me at all.I looked at my secretary, staring at her, who was standing up while doing something on the tab she was holding. "Is there still a lot of work?""Yes, sir." He touched the tab screen and pointed it at me, specifically at the two rows of the schedule he had created. "As you can see, we have a meeting with the company's business partner in an hour."I could see another lineup of schedules that I would be doing in a day. There was a lot, and I only had two chances to rest in between after this and three more meetings.I closed my eyes, massaging my forehead as I listened to the words of my secretary, who was explaining that the colleague we were meeting held an essential project for the company, so I couldn't throw this schedule to another day.I, of course, understood and clearly rem
Nicole's POVI got out of my car together with Key. We had just finished work and intended to have lunch at my longtime favorite café, a place associated with people I hated, but I loved one of the dishes that could only be made at this café too much."You should try my favorite dish here, Key," I said with a smile, already imagining the taste of that dish on the tip of my tongue.Key nodded. "Of course, Miss. I was quite curious about the taste after Miss had mentioned it a few times. It's a pity that Young Master can't come.""Richard can't eat my favorite dish. It's too spicy for him."I've brought my son here before. When it was first served, he wanted to try it right away because it smelled so good, but within the first bite, my son's eyes were already watering, and he finished his drink first."Is it very spicy?" Key asked, sounding worried after hearing what I said about Richard.I shook my head. "No, it's not. There's melted mozzarella cheese on top, so it shouldn't be a probl
Nicole's POV"I refuse." I answered the man with a cold stare, disliking the fact that he was getting in my way.We had never even met, let alone known each other, but he was too bold to familiarize himself with me whom he had just met. My mood that had initially improved after inhaling the floral scent for a while seemed to vanish, replaced by a sense of discomfort at the man's appearance before me.I stepped past him, intending to go to my car which was still near the restaurant, but my hand was suddenly held and pulled by someone closer. That man. He seemed to dislike my reaction, but still tried to smile, coaxing."Come on, Miss. I just wanted to get to know you, is that okay?" The man said in an artificially soft tone. "You won't regret it once you know who I am."I frowned, increasingly displeased by the words of the man who was still trying to tease me. No matter how many times he persuades, my answer will still be the same because I have absolutely no intention of making conne
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,
Nicole's POVI knew what he meant when he dropped me off after our accidental lunch. My gaze was drawn to the scene in front of me, inside my house, which should have consisted of my father, Richard, Key, and the servants, but this time it was different.The man and my two and only family were in the living room. My son looked relaxed while my father chatted smoothly with the man. The three seemed familiar, even to the point of not noticing my presence, and had already been welcomed by the servants in our house.Perhaps I stared too long. My father turned to me, as did the other two. They had quite similar happy expressions, which made me frown."Nicole, you just arrived?" My father asked by way of greeting. "I thought you'd be home a little later because of the work you've been piling up. Key told me."I ignored my father's words, paying more attention to the calm-looking man mingling among them. He noticed my gaze and smiled politely, but I could feel slightly annoyed by his natural
Nicole's POVI paused to look at the man's face, especially his smile, which made me feel like I was about to lose focus. I didn't let that go on for too long and pushed the bouquet of flowers at him, waking him up to something.His eyes widened slightly. He put a little distance between us, letting me stand evenly, though his hands were still on my waist, and said casually. "Oh yes, I wanted to give you this bouquet of flowers."I gazed at the bouquet of flowers she handed to me. The arrangement was pretty, consisting of only three flowers, but the colors of the flowers were well integrated and complemented each other. The skill of the bouquet arranger could be recognized. I could also smell the fragrance of the bouquet he gave me.At this point, my focus completely disappeared, especially as I tried to deal with the predicament right in front of me.It's been too long since I've experienced this, and it felt so different when I was with Matthew. After all, this man in front of me di
Nicole's POVI exhaled after they left, then turned my gaze to her. "Why are you talking like that? Do you wish for me to be your lover?""A lover is not a wish-"I cut him off. "Don't you know any shame? I've rejected you many times, but you keep acting like that."We stared at each other. I didn't know what she planned to do to take this path again. I felt quite relieved when he only focused on my son, familiarizing himself so that their relationship became much better than before.But that day, as well as her behavior today, was like a repeat of what he had done a few months ago, even worse with him latest act that I didn't expect her to do.He had gone so far that I could have sued him had Richard not liked him like he was. I clenched my fists, looking at the man's gaze, which seemed to soften but still spoke insolently."I am indeed shameless. No matter how much time passes, I will still want you, Nicole. Having you as my life companion has become my way of life." He said, making
Nicole's POVI didn't know we could end up like this. I was having lunch with Chris, just the two of us, without Richard, who would usually mediate between us and familiarize himself with each of us to fill the silence.A while ago, he called me while I was still in the office and working. He only spoke briefly, as if telling me, without waiting for my reply."Mom, let's have lunch together. I'll send you the restaurant's address; don't be late." My son hung up immediately.I stared at my phone for a while but immediately prepared to leave after receiving the message that the address was already from him. I sent a reply message to inquire about his whereabouts. Still, he has yet to read or reply immediately, as usual.I left it at that, feeling that Richard must also be on his way to the restaurant we were heading to for lunch.Within moments, I arrived at the restaurant, which was quite crowded. There were a few office workers and students who were also having lunch, but among them a
Nicole's POVWe had already returned to our seats, while the man had moved away and chosen another place to follow the charity event that was still going on.Madam Selena leaned towards me, whispering. "What exactly happened between you?" she asked curiously.I turned around and looked at her in surprise."When we came up to you, I could see that the atmosphere between you wasn't very good." She added when she saw the expression on my face and watched it for a few moments, pointing at my finger which I had unknowingly placed on my own lips.Her gaze returned to me, seeming to have some suspicion despite still wanting to ask me first. "Since earlier, I also saw you touching your own lips."I lowered my hand, grasped it tightly with my other hand, and tried to smile. Although I knew that the smile I was giving right now wasn't helping at all, I was also still thinking of things to say to her.Madam Selena is very sensitive to something that shouldn't make her interfere. Still, in the en