Chris' POVWaiting for the answer from the DNA test made me feel uneasy, especially when Evan told me that there was a possibility that the man would receive news from there today about Nicole's true identity.I tried to remain patient during the wait, especially when I had to leave for the party organized by the STAR Association today. The party was on a dock far from the city center and would be held on a yacht explicitly settled for the party.I got ready, put on some official clothes much better than the ones I wore to the office, and headed downstairs. At that moment, I saw Adeline, who was also ready with a festive dress and makeup on her face, as if waiting for my arrival, and then looked back at me, who was staring at her silently."I know a party being held today by the STAR Association, Chris. I want to come there too." She said without hesitation.I frowned, not remembering if I had ever told her about this party, except for one thing she might have done without my knowledg
Chris's POVSeveral people were busy meeting me to discuss business for a long time. The guests at the party held by the STAR Association were also getting increasingly numerous, so I could no longer find Nicole.Only the woman's son was visible from my sight at this point. He was accompanied by the assistant whose name I never learned, but I remembered him well because he had taken Nicole away when we met again after a long time.I had no intention of approaching them but instead tried to look for the woman who the guests around me might just block. Nicole shouldn't have been far away since the party was held in one part of this vast and magnificent ship unless she had reserved a place to rest.I paused, suddenly thinking of a possibility that I did not want to happen. I clamped my mouth shut. "Did she meet her husband?" I whispered, not wanting to be heard by anyone.A private individual or a small family like them would naturally book a room on a cruise ship like this if they wante
Chris' POVI looked at Edwin, who looked at all the guests present before speaking and smiling. "I'm glad to see that so many people, including all of you here tonight, are so concerned about the welfare of children that they decided to join the STAR Association.""The children in the STAR Association were previously children who had lost hope and could not survive on their own, especially since the association's current focus is on children who have chronic illnesses that are difficult to cure without your help." He said, looking more serious.The LCD screen displayed a building and then switched to several figures of researchers obscured by glass, looking serious in a laboratory full of equipment and wearing special clothes to ensure the cleanliness of the place and the research they seemed to be doing."With the addition of the grants raised so far, the STAR Association was finally able to establish a research center to create medicines that can cure children's illnesses, as well a
Nicole's POVI breathed in silently, calming my nerves at having more people before me than at my first socialite party or shareholder meeting."Thank you for the welcome." I began my speech, looking at all the people present and seemingly welcoming me. "I'm happy to be able to meet everyone who is already a part of the STAR Association in person and introduce myself here as the leader of the association as well as my father's daughter."I exchanged a smile with my foster father, who returned my smile and nodded. "Just like my father, as his daughter, I'm very proud to be able to tread the same path as him. As a businessman who helps children needing assistance from the STAR Association guided by his teachings over the years."Most of the people applauded. I could see everyone's faces clearly, especially those of Chris and Adeline, who were not far from the stage. I was still giving speeches but could tell how angry that woman was when she saw me standing at the podium.She clenched h
Nicole's POVI looked at Adeline calmly. "There's no need to act like this. Didn't you hear when I was introduced earlier? I am Nicole Duncan."I looked at Adeline, who was getting angrier after hearing my words. Her hands were clenched, and her lips were tightly pursed, but I could listen to the gnashing of her teeth, which told me that she was very upset by my blunt words.After my Edwin introduced me as part of the Duncan Family, in front of the many people attending the association party, Adeline already looked unaccepting of the reality she saw firsthand and was filled with emotion.I already knew she never liked me and only pretended to be nice at the beginning of our meeting. In the end, she turned into a person who always wanted to take what I had, even if it was just a compliment.If someone were to do that to me, she would go to any lengths to get more praise from me. It was the same with other things. That woman had always wanted attention from many people and didn't want m
Chris's POVI didn't know what to feel like at a time like this. Too many things were spinning in my head after hearing Evan's statement about Nicole's DNA test results and Edwin's statement that was complemented by Nicole's presence with him.All this time, I had always felt certain that the Nicole I saw at the association party at this moment and also when we met for the first time in a long time was the woman I had known for a long time, Nicole Martinez. Their resemblance was so uncanny that I could have mistaken them for the same woman, but reality didn't match my beliefs.DNA test results are very difficult to fabricate, especially since Evan was the one who supervised the examination in person, so there was no possibility that the answer would be a mistake. The same goes for Edwin's statement.There was no way I could deny the words of a powerful man like him, especially when he was one of the most influential leaders of a conglomerate family and had already achieved this status
Chris' POVOn the way home, I checked my phone and saw that various articles about Nicole had been spread across several media portals.I saw that some of them made the news about her in the headline on the first page, and various photos of her smiling or talking were displayed as supplements. Not forgetting Edwin, as well as the woman's son with a disguised face.As a newly announced member of the Duncan family after a long time, many people were very interested in Nicole, especially with all the achievements that she had managed to accomplish without using the Duncan name so far.Nicole was the top search on the website, while the Duncan Family and the STAR Association came in second and third. That woman's appearance really had an impact that could make cyberspace into this much of an uproar.I looked at a few other articles about Nicole before putting my phone down, exhaling with all the things I had to go through today. The only thing that made me feel a little more relieved was
Chris' POVI was with Nicole. I saw her laughing, and we held hands, walking near the café we had visited. I laughed when I saw how happy she looked as she listened to my words, and then, a moment later, she stopped walking.I looked at her confused but smiled when I saw her bright smile. "What's wrong?""I love you, Chris." She said.Before I could say anything to her, I woke up from what felt like an authentic event. I felt my breath catch, still processing the dream that had deceived me.I shifted my position to sitting to take in my surroundings, which were just a room instead of the streets around the café and the absence of Nicole next to me.Cold sweat poured down my face. I felt uneasy and rubbed my face roughly so that I wouldn't think about the dream that felt real again, as well as the happy feeling when I was with that woman.I groaned softly, cursing the strange dream silently and muttering under my breath. "What was I thinking?" Dreaming of something like that so vividly
Catherine's POVAfter receiving the gift from Edwin, I was now only with Benny and his personal driver driving. The man sat down with me and then noticed something was different about my attitude.He rested his chin on one of my hands, which was still clasped tightly. "What are you holding on to? You didn't let go at all....""This." I showed him the bracelet.His eyes look wide. "Isn't that the jewelry you saw earlier? I thought you didn't buy it.""I didn't buy it."Considering Benny was also aware of what I was doing while looking at the jewelry, perhaps my liking for this bracelet was too obvious.My gaze was fixed on the bracelet, and I thought about how the man who had left the festival first had unhesitatingly bought me this jewelry and given it to me without anyone knowing. I don't know what that man was thinking when he bought me this, but the pounding of my heart was starting to feel too clear in my chest.The car stopped. I blinked, realizing that I had arrived in front of
Catherine's POV"Thank you for buying me a drink, Duncan." I smiled, accepting the glass with a lid made of solid cardboard from his hand, and I immediately held the glass with both hands.He just nodded and passed the other glass to Benny.I took a sip of the relatively warm drink. It turned out to be a delicious chocolate drink. I felt relieved and happy. My legs even wiggled without me fully realizing it.Night had almost fallen, so it was starting to get cold. I remembered the embarrassing incident a few days ago when my skirt got caught, but in the end, the man came back to help me by giving me a warm drink after we had walked quite a distance.A loud snort was heard from Benny. "Why are you buying me a fruity and cold drink? I also want a warm chocolate drink like you guys." He protested.I looked at the two men who stood facing each other with glasses in their hands. Still, a noticeable smoke could be seen from Benny's slightly open mouth, probably the effect of the drink he ha
Catherine's POVI was mesmerized by the festival atmosphere surrounding me. I've always liked things like this: simple and fun stuff without having to always care about manners or conversations that are always serious and filled with business or politics.Many booths were arranged according to their types, ranging from games, shops selling various things, and other equally entertaining booths. My gaze stopped at one of the nearby stands for jewelry of sale.My steps halted when I arrived in front of it. I looked at the various kinds of jewelry displayed and touched a few that I wanted to take a closer look at. They all looked pretty, but I didn't really want to buy them either; I just wanted to look around.I didn't have much jewelry, but my mother added to it according to my needs, so I didn't feel the need to do the same.A person who seemed to be the salesgirl watched me without saying much but then said to me after a while."Don't you intend to buy the jewelry, Miss? I think the b
Catherine's POVI was always with Benny and Edwin. I felt happy because I was finally able to make a new friend again, and it was a guy I initially thought was quiet and cold.At first, Benny and Edwin always argued for whatever reason, but in the end, they always accompanied me wherever I went. We were like a unique combination, from three different majors and different personalities.I heard rumors about us hanging out, going to our respective classes or the cafeteria."Look, she can get two handsome guys simultaneously," whispered one of the students.His friend replied. "She's so lucky. I never even managed to get close to Edwin Duncan....""She's luckier because she's close to Benny Thompson. That guy is really nice and friendly."They said that and then talked about one of the guys I was with, who was probably my boyfriend.One of them spoke up again. "Isn't that obvious? His girlfriend must be Benny. They've been in a relationship for a long time.""Hm, I agree."There were som
Catherine's POVI still felt uncomfortable walking on campus. Aside from my aching feet, my father's words before I was allowed to leave for the campus with our family's private driver also bothered me.I was happy with my friendship with Edwin and my friendship with Benny, which lasted longer than that. Both of them were friends to me, but my father always made our relationship seem like a transaction, trying to talk to them for the benefit of our family.He said that each of them would greatly help me prove myself in the Varma Family. Our relationship would make me valuable and not the only useless woman in our family, while all the things I had done before were meaningless in my father's eyes.I felt annoyed that my father shouldn't be behaving like that towards me, but also unable to do anything to stop it. As Edwin said, I was still not strong and had to extricate myself with the help of the allies that had just started from the man himself.My sigh escaped on its own, but after
Catherine's POVI had come out of the toilet and looked around the party room for Edwin and Benny, but they were nowhere to be seen.I could find my father easily, still chatting with some important people intimately, but the two men were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had disappeared or were hiding very well so as not to be found by me.I recalled Benny's face, which didn't look too good before they left together, curling my lip and mumbling, "What is that guy going to do? That's not what I'm thinking about, is it?"Before going to the restroom, I heard the man wanted to talk to Edwin, but I wasn't sure. I'm currently feeling uncomfortable as I'm still searching for them among the crowd. That man might have misunderstood my relationship with Edwin.He was a very close friend, a really good friend who had been with me for so long that we were like brothers, but he didn't feel that way. He liked me, and I always pushed him away so our friendship wouldn't end.He always helped an
Benny's POVI faced Edwin. We were now on the veranda where I had previously seen him and Catherine take turns appearing.I don't know when they got this close. Still, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw them enter the party room from the same veranda and then talk to the woman's father as usual.The man spoke to me first, bringing me back to reality. "What's wrong? Is there a business matter you want to talk about?"I looked at the man, knowing that he was asking me about our conversation when we first met. I also remembered that my father knew about it first, about Edwin attending the same university I was going to with Catherine.My father and that man's family had an inter-company partnership. I don't know when exactly such a thing happened, but it seemed quite a while ago from what my father said about the man I knew even by name."You must respect Edwin Duncan, Benny, " my father said. You're the same age, but his achievements are countless over the past few years, not to
Catherine's POVEdwin was still next to me. He exhaled while his face looked unfriendly and cold as usual. Still, even with all that, the man did not immediately deny my words aloud or dismiss them with ridicule.He didn't look at me but clearly spoke to me when he finally opened his mouth and spoke with his friend. "So you consider me an ally."I nodded.All this time, I had only thought of him as an annoying guy. He knows his position well and sometimes puts obvious boundaries on others. I didn't think he could make himself any friendlier than the people at the party or the students on campus, but he wasn't as cold as I thought.He had done me a favour, and I also felt quite comfortable when talking to the man who was always straightforward. Nothing felt fake in our friendship, which he had yet to fully acknowledge, so I felt he could be my ally."I feel that we are getting closer. So, Duncan, if there's anything I need, you should do me a favour." I smiled. "Whatever it is."The ma
Catherine's POVI was at the party. This party was tedious, like the official high society events I'd been attending. I felt uncomfortable among many people I didn't know well. Still, everyone who greeted me acted as if we had known each other for a long time.I knew they were just acting politely, following every action everyone in high society should follow. Still, I also felt that their actions were fake. I never knew what they talked about other than greeting me because I belonged to something other than the inner circle of the supposed upper class.My father might know, but I also had no interest and chose to remain in the outer circle that could only see whatever could be seen.I held my wrist as I exhaled. No one else had any intention of greeting me again, and neither did I. I already felt bloated from drinking wine in between events, so I didn't know what else to do while waiting for the event to end.My gaze shifted, spotting one of the empty verandas and finally heading the