Nicole's POVI walked away from Chris without looking back, trying to keep my steps upright as long as I was within his line of sight. I turned into a blind spot where he wouldn't be able to see me and then leaned against the nearest wall.I exhaled, feeling still shaky from my encounter with Chris, which made me have to maintain a calm and firm demeanor when speaking to him, even though it was tough.My feelings were chaotic, mixed with lingering anger from memories.He had treated me coldly on the day of our wedding, leaving me at the altar alone with many eyes watching us. But how dare he show a different attitude when we met again as if he missed the old me.I touched my chest, which felt tight. "If he can be like this now, why did he do something like that before? Did he not love me enough to leave me alone back then?"I clenched my fists, turned my anger to the wall I was leaning against, and exhaled again. I thought about it several times, but I couldn't find the right reason t
Nicole's POVI wasn't happy about having to see the man again in such a short time, and it was even worse when Chris pointed at Richard and seemed to recognize my son, who had followed me out of the car, standing next to me and holding my hand.Richard tightened our grip, answering the man's question with confidence. "Of course, we know each other. "She's my mom."Chris paused, looking at Richard intently before looking at me for a moment and then back at the boy, who didn't say anything more afterward. I paused, too, more worried that the man might find out that my son was a part of him, too.Edwin and I had done everything we could to hide Richard's identity all this time, but the man's presence and my son's confidence in the security of our identities were very high. It's a natural thing. I shouldn't be worried either, but I still felt terrible, like something was stuck inside me when I thought of the dire possibilities that could happen.I knew that the entirety of that feeling wa
Chris's POVTwo days have passed, and now it's late, and the rain can be heard pouring from my room. I've gotten a lot of work done over the past two days, but I can't sleep at all, given all the things I've been through.I looked up at the ceiling of the room, thinking of a woman who had been occupying my mind for a few days but had gotten worse after our last meeting, the shareholders' meeting. Nicole, who claimed to be someone I never knew.She was very stern and much colder than the woman I knew. That woman also never wanted to tell me her last name despite my several attempts to persuade her. Simply Nicole was all she wanted me to know as her name. However, no matter how much you think about it or how long you think about it, the faces of Nicole and Nicole Martinez, whom I have known for a long time, are very similar to each other.Only one thing stands out that distinguishes these two Nicoles from each other. Nicole, with no last name, had a genius child. The little boy was sti
Chris' POVI was in my office in the office when Evan entered my room. He walked over and bowed politely to me before saying something very abrupt."Mr. Chris, hasn't Miss Nicole's body been found yet?" He asked, seemingly asking a seemingly mundane question.I immediately stopped my work, looking at her with a severe look. "Yes, Nicole's body has never been found. From the results of the existing investigation, she may have been burned to death from the explosion of a huge car engine."I recalled the news footage of a blackened car frame that was barely intact. When I checked it out in person, the car frame wasn't even in one piece anymore; instead, it consisted of charred pieces that would leave blackened traces on my fingers.I still can't imagine how hot the fire was at the time of the explosion, which left nothing of Nicole. Everything that wasn't of a complex, solid material ended up as ashes that were indistinguishable from each other."Sir, what if Miss Nicole had survived the
Chris' POVI finally arrived at Nicole's grave, which I visited for the first time. Eight years ago, I wasn't present when her funeral was held, but I knew the location of her grave from the invitation that the Martinez Family had distributed to some influential families and my family as their son-in-law.I looked at the tomb in front of me and noticed its unworthy state. "The tomb is so unkempt."I could see that there were a lot of weeds around the grave, and the wooden carving for the head of the grave was already looking weathered and starting to crumble. The name Nicole Martinez that was written there was already starting to fade—not at all what it looked like in the first news report.Now, dried flower stalks are seen mixed with fallen leaves, never cleaned up since who knows when with so much organic waste piled up on the grave. The stones around the grave are also mossy and almost fused with the ground.After seeing this and thinking about the woman and her family while she wa
Chris's POVI didn't want to go with Adeline when I went to my mom's house, but I couldn't possibly let her go alone when she had shown up at the office and was with me all day without making any trouble.That woman just stayed in my room and looked at her cell phone while I worked, not saying a word when I asked her to be quiet and obediently waiting in the office while I was in a meeting. I didn't get any chaos reports from the guard staff, so that woman actually kept her promise not to make trouble."Shall we go?" The woman buckled her seat belt after we entered my car, smiling at me, but I didn't answer and just went straight for it.I didn't know what my mother was planning to do by taking us out to dinner without anything in particular that I could figure out. Today wasn't a birthday, wedding anniversary, or anything else that I wouldn't normally pay special attention to.It was Evan who told me indirectly about his suspicions by questioning me, but I didn't answer either becaus
Adeline's POVI stopped crying when I heard Chris's words about considering our divorce. I couldn't let that happen and pretended to be confused, not understanding his obvious words."What do you mean, Chris?" I asked, wiping my tears with the nearest cloth and looking up at him. "You know that divorce is out of the question in our long marriage."I didn't know what Nova would do to get her son to willingly follow her wishes, but I knew that the relationship between the two of them wasn't very good either. Not much different from me, the man who had been my husband for eight years had always been cold to his mother.Persuading Nova was not the way to go for this matter, but Chris had always been the main decision-maker in our marital relationship. He wouldn't do anything against his will.As a result of the marriage not being what I had imagined it to be, I came to know some of Chris's attitudes that became more obvious as we lived together. It was much better when I didn't know him a
Adeline's POVI've been feeling terrible for the past few days. I never got out of my room and just spent the day drinking to the limit of what I could handle. I didn't want to go out and look my best as usual, only to be ignored by Chris.You see, it's been more than two days since I've left my room, but he hasn't even bothered to find out how I'm feeling. I had already finished more than three bottles of wine by myself, and my stomach was filled with nothing but last night's dinner.I tried not to think about the worst possibilities that Nova talked about and how he looked at me when discussing the divorce, but they kept coming up unbidden. They seemed to be a nightmare that haunted me into this state of restlessness."I told you, leave me alone!" I cried out in anger when a servant attempted to take away the wine glass I was using, and it ended up shattering when I failed to hold it properly.The servant looked scared when she saw my angry gaze and accepted my slap. I vented my fru
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,
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