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
Adeline's POV"As you said, this woman's face resembles Nicole's. How could that be?" my mom said, still looking at the photo of the woman in the article she was reading.After being kicked out of Chris's house, I returned to Martinez's house as my only place to go home. I only have this house. Although I hated the current house, it was much better to be here with my mother, who also disliked Nicole and tell the woman I still suspected to be her directly rather than trying to prove her identity alone.I nodded. "I don't know either, Mom, but she insists she's part of the Duncan Family. If you met that woman, I'm sure that you'd recognise her as a bitch, too, from that annoying look in her eyes."Most of the time, her gaze looked frightened or resigned whenever I tortured that woman, but there were times when Nicole would suddenly become rather bold and unapologetic and look at both me and my mother with a challenging gaze.At that moment, my useless step-sister seemed to be getting m
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