"Grandpa met with a car accident.""I will go with you.""Okay."Jared drove Nicole's Lamborghini and sped toward the hospital. In the emergency room, the doctors were struggling to save Mr. Johnston Sr. Jared and Nicole looked through the glass and saw Mr. Johnston Sr. lying on the bed with his eyes closed."How did this happen?" Jared asked the family butler with a sullen look on his face."Mr. Johnston Sr. said he was going to go outside for a walk, and I got a call from the hospital not long after he went out, and then..." The family butler could not figure out why until now.Just then, a nurse in the operating room ran out. "Who is the patient's family?""I am. How is my grandpa?" Jared asked."The patient is badly injured, and the doctor said the patient needs to undergo surgery. Please sign here." The nurse handed a consent form to Jared."Who is the chief surgeon?" Jared asked."It is Dr. Robertson.""Which Dr. Robertson?""The best surgeon in the hospital." The nur
Jared looked back at Nicole without a hint of surprise. "You don't have to comfort me. I just want to stay here with Grandpa for a little while longer."Nicole took his hand. "I mean it. Time is running out."Seeing Nicole's serious expression, Jared walked out of the operating room without a word."Martin, where are you?" Nicole's urgent voice came through the phone."I'm at the hospital.""Great. Come help me in the operating room on the thirteenth floor right away.""The operating room? You're hurt?" Martin asked nervously."It is not me. You will know when you come over.""Okay, I will be right there."Martin left what he was doing and ran to the elevator, and headed to the operating room as fast as he could."Mr. Johnston? What are you doing here?" Martin saw Jared sitting in a chair outside the operating room. Jared looked up at him without saying a word. Martin pushed the door open and walked in. "Nicole, I saw Mr. Johnston outside. Who is it that needs surgery?"The
"Jared, what are you doing?" Henry looked back at Jared."Uncle Henry, you better bring your men and leave before my patience runs out," Jared said in a morose voice.Henry could see that Jared meant it, and he did not dare to challenge him. He glanced at the operating room, thinking that a little girl like Nicole would only make things worse and cause Mr. Johnston Sr. to die even faster. He grunted in anger and then spun around and led his men to leave. The hallway became quiet again after Henry and his men left, and the light of the operating room was still on."Max, how long has Nicole been in there?" Jared looked at him."Miss Riddle has been in there for about an hour." Max looked at the time.Jared took a deep breath, stood up, and started pacing the hallway. As time passed, beads of sweat popped up on Nicole's forehead. A nurse saw that and wiped them off for her.Again, a long time had passed and Max's voice rang out. "Mr. Johnston, the light is out."Jared and the famil
Henry returned to his office with the thinking that Mr. Johnston Sr. could no longer speak for Jared."Castor, spread the news about your grandpa's accident right away. The sooner, the better." Henry wanted to teach Jared a lesson for being arrogant all this time. He then called all the directors of the company.The next day, Jared was on his way to the company when Max sent him the news of Mr. Johnston Sr.'s accident.[Johnston Group's chairman died in an accident.] Jared stared at the headline on his phone. Just then, a call came in, and it was Henry."How long before you arrive at the company? The board members have something to discuss with you." Henry sounded excited on the phone.Jared seemed to have guessed what was going on. "Max, drive faster.""Yes, Mr. Johnston."Max sped up the car at once and soon arrived and stopped in front of the Johnston Group building. Jared strode ahead toward the conference room. He came to the front of the conference table and sat down,
In Mr. Pearce's lead, many board members agreed with Mr. Holden's statement."Well, since everyone agrees with Mr. Holden, then let's raise our hands and vote for an acting chairman." Jared was alone and could only preside according to the majority opinion now."Max, you will preside over the election of the acting chairman," Jared said."Okay.""I will call out the names of the board members in order, and everyone will raise their hands to vote. We will elect the one with the most votes as the acting chairman." Max announced the voting rules."Starting with Jared, all those who vote for Jared as acting chairman raise their hands. –Jared has eight votes.""All those who vote for Mr. Holden as acting chairman raise their hands. –Mr. Holden, four votes.""Raise your hand for Mr. Pearce as acting chairman. –Three votes for Mr. Pearce."…"All those who vote for Henry to serve as acting chairman raise their hands. –Henry has twelve votes.""All those who voted for Mr. Campbell to
"Okay, I will contact Claus right away."After Henry was elected acting chairman, the first thing he did was to allocate funds to relieve the pressure on the branch, and Henry and Castor eased up."Dad, now that you are the chairman, the Johnston Group is finally in our hands, and we are no longer at Jared's mercy." Castor was jumping for joy."Yeah, after all these years, I finally made it to the top on my own," Henry said."Congratulations, Dad.""Castor, from now on, I will let you run this branch. Make good use of this opportunity, and we, father and son, join forces. When we have finally taken over the Johnston Group, we can do whatever we want." Henry was not content with being an acting chairman. He wanted control of the Johnston Group, the real chairman."Don't worry, Dad. I will definitely put the branch in order.""Keep an eye on the hospital side at all times. Don't let your grandfather wake up, do you understand?" Henry reminded him with a serious face."Got it. I w
Nicole gave Mr. Johnston Sr. a quick check-up and found no problems anywhere, including the instruments. At last, her eyes landed on the IV."Let me see the infusion record for today." Nicole looked at the doctor.The doctor immediately handed it to her, and she found the problem at first glance. "How can you give this medication to the patient? His current condition isn't suitable for this medication. Pull out the needle immediately.""We have given this medication to many patients after surgery, and there have been no adverse reactions." The doctor questioned Nicole's judgment."You are right; many hospitals give this medication to post-operative patients, but this patient's case differs from others. If you use this medication, there will be significant side effects." Nicole pulled the needle when she saw no one dared to do it."You can't do that. This will put the patient's life in danger." The doctor did not believe what Nicole said and tried to stop her."Don't stop her. Jus
Henry heard Jared's voice and turned to him in his swivel chair, looking at him with pride. "Excellent. The feeling of sitting here is really different. Even the scenery is so breath-taking. Call me Mr. Chairman from now on, Jared. By the way, what are you busy with now?""Nothing. I have just recently taken on a new project." Jared would not tell him about his investment in Martin's Beacon."Oh, you don't seem to be doing anything worthwhile. I mean, how come the company is not doing well? But it doesn't matter. Now that I've taken over, there is a very popular project abroad that I think our company should compete for. Of all the people in the company, I think you are the only one who knows the company best. So I will appoint you to represent the company to compete and try to take the project." Henry was on his first day as the acting chairman and already started to flex his muscles. The first person he wanted to fix was Jared, and he was going to use this nice-to-have project as a
"Let's go, it's time to head down. The ceremony will start soon."The group laughed and talked as they left the bridal suite. Jared and his friends, Spencer and Preston, were also guided out by everyone.Now, only the family of four remained in the bridal suite, getting ready for their big entrance."Mommy, it's almost time. Let's get ready," Nolan said, pulling on Nicole's hand.Nicole gently patted Nolan and Lana's cheeks, whispering, "Okay."As she made to stand, Jared extended his hand toward her. Lifting her gaze, she caught Jared in a moment of elegance, his charm unmistakable. A smile bloomed on her face as she placed her hand in his.With a gentle tug, Jared drew her up, his touch tender against her palm.In a swift move, he pulled Nicole into his arms, his other hand circling her waist to pull her close.As Jared looked at Nicole, admiration shimmered in his eyes. "You look truly beautiful today," he remarked."Daddy, Mommy is beautiful every day," Lana chimed in, til
Nicole laughed off the debate between Lulu and June, saying, "Both are lovely. I'm happy with either."Both sets of jewelry were beautiful, and she felt that either would do."Exactly. Nicole will shine in anything," Cindy said, picking a set. "Let's go with this one."Lulu gave June a victorious look. "Told you this was the one."Cindy then suggested, "Why not wear this for the ceremony and switch for the reception? That way, we use both.""Great idea," June agreed, smiling at Cindy's suggestion.Nicole smiled. "Sounds perfect."With everyone agreeing, the stylist went ahead with preparing Nicole.Lulu watched Nicole, amazed by how calm she seemed. "Aren't you a bit nervous?" she asked. Lulu remembered her own wedding jitters.Nicole bit her lip, a hint of nerves showing. "I'm more excited than anything," she admitted.She had been looking forward to this day, ready to face the future with Jared with hope and joy."Just finished," the stylist announced, stepping back to adm
"Do you think I don't want to meet someone? I just haven't found the right person," Gary said somewhat resignedly. He had long regarded Nicole as just a friend."Why don't we just try the dates our families set up?" Ryder suggested, calm and collected. He figured since finding someone on his own wasn't working, maybe arranged dates could help. In their circles, it seemed like good matches were meant to be."Arranged dates don't sound great. You hardly know the person. Are we really okay with deciding to spend our lives together like that?" Preston wasn't too keen on the idea."Emery's doing pretty well with it, you know," Ryder said confidently. "I trust our families. They wouldn't set us up with someone terrible. They've probably made sure we'd be a good match."Gary thought it over. "You might be right. Our families aren't just trying to make deals; they want us to be happy."As Gary and Ryder seemed more into the idea, Preston was still unsure. "You guys are serious?""Why not
Jared held Nicole close and looked at her. "After we get married, we'll move to the estate," he said.Their future home would be just theirs.He thought it was good for Nicole to spend more time with her family since she hadn't been with them for five years. But they knew they would move to the estate later."Okay," Nicole said, nodding. She was happy Jared made the estate close to her family, so she was okay with moving.Jared gently touched her hair and kissed her...****Time flew, and soon it was Nicole and Jared's wedding day.From the morning, San Joto was alive with excitement. Everyone was talking about Jared and Nicole's wedding.Politicians, business leaders, close friends, and business partners all came to wish the couple well.The Riddles were busy welcoming the guests, making everything look amazing."Patricia, hurry up, Charlie's here," Ellar called out as he spotted Charlie. He quickly got Patricia to come and greet him. Max, hearing the fuss, came over too.C
"You really need to rest. You shouldn't work for the next few days. Stay home and rest. A bride has to look her best," Gloria said, looking at Nicole and making the decision for her."Bride!" Nicole was surprised because she hadn't talked about any wedding yet."Yes, now that everything is settled, it's time for your wedding with Jared," Gloria said, deciding firmly. She used to think it was best for the kids to decide for themselves, but after several delays, she felt waiting longer made no sense. The wedding should happen soon."I was thinking that too," Jared said. They had planned the wedding after solving the Everett problem, but then they found out Lawrence had hurt Nicole in the past, causing more delays. Now, with everything sorted out, they saw no reason to wait. The wedding was the next big step.Nicole looked at Jared and, with a smile, agreed, "Okay." Their wedding had been waiting for five years; it was time, with no need to wait any longer."That's so cool, I'm the f
Patricia felt a mix of reluctance and happiness as she prepared to part ways with Charlie.Jared glanced at Charlie and said, "It's about time for us to board." He tenderly held Nicole's hand and led her toward the boarding gate."I need to go through the boarding procedures too," Patricia said, biting her lip. "You must find happiness as well.""I will," Charlie assured her with a gentle smile, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You've grown up, too. You don't need to cling to me anymore. I believe Ellar will take great care of you."Patricia nodded, then, leaning closer to Charlie, she whispered, 'When Mr. Johnston and Ms. Riddle get married, make sure you bring my future sister-in-law back with you.' Caught off guard, Charlie playfully scolded her, "You little rascal."Doretta, standing not too far away, overheard Patricia's whispered words. Her cheeks turned even redder."Let's go," Patricia announced, then turned to Doretta, adding, "We'll meet again.""Goodbye,
Lying in bed with Nicole cradled in his arms, Jared whispered gently, "Sleep for a bit.""Mhm." Finally feeling at peace, Nicole smiled slightly, and she quickly fell asleep.As Jared listened to her soft breathing, his eyes softened with affection, and he too closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.The next morning, as the group got ready to head back to San Joto, Zane and Doretta came to say goodbye."I still have things to finish here, but I promise to be at your wedding," Zane said with a big smile."And I'll be there to wish you well, Nicole," Doretta added.Saying goodbye is always hard, but everyone knew they had their own journeys to continue."Great, we'll see you in San Joto," Nicole said with a bright smile."It's time to go," Zane said, knowing they couldn't wait any longer without risking missing their plane."I've got the paperwork," Patricia said, ready to help with the travel documents for Jared and Nicole. Then, looking at Charlie, she asked, "Need help with
Nicole was quiet, thinking about everything. 'If I hadn't remembered everything, maybe Lawrence and I could have stayed friends. But after finding out about the airport, it's impossible...'Not only had she regained her memory, but she had also learned about the airport incident. Lawrence had gone to great lengths to prevent her from returning to San Joto."Thanks for saving me before, but you also hurt me. We're even now," Nicole said calmly, looking at Lawrence like he was someone she didn't know anymore.Jared squeezed Nicole's hand gently. "Let's go."They decided to leave the rest to Zane and head back."Wait." Lawrence's voice stopped Nicole. He sounded almost like he was begging. "Please, don't tell Nolan about this."Nicole paused, then said, "I won't tell him. Not for you, but because I don't want Nolan to see how bad people can be."With that, Nicole walked away with Jared.Lawrence sat down, watching her leave, with mixed feelings."Let's go too," Patricia said to C
"Your robots don't work anymore," a voice said, sounding very pleased. Then, a person came out from behind the crowd, looking pretty proud of himself."Carl!" Nicole was shocked to see him. 'It's Carl!'"It's been a while." Carl smiled and waved at Nicole.Carl had come as soon as Zane told him about the problem. He couldn't just do nothing when Nicole needed help.He didn't expect them to act so soon, which is why he was a little late. But he was still in time to help. Carl was surprised by Lawrence's robots at first, but luckily, the weapons he brought, which he had been working on for years, stopped the robots. This was a big help to everyone."We really need to thank Carl; we would have been in big trouble without him," Zane said, feeling relieved.Zane had asked Carl for help, hoping it would make them more likely to win, but Carl ended up being very important."Thank you," Nicole said with a warm smile. It was nice to see an old friend again."No need to thank me. I'm jus