"Hold up." With a playful look, Nicole asked, "Are you avoiding Spencer?"'Just last night Spencer mentioned he was unable to reach Lulu and today he left right after work ended. It's obvious something happened between the two of them,' Nicole thought to herself."Not really." Lulu scratched her head in embarrassment."Is it a yes or a no?" Nicole countered. She noticed how distressed Spencer was when he was unable to contact Lulu out of the blue, so she wanted to know what happened."I'm avoiding him but it's not because we fought or anything. It's just that I need some space for myself to think straight," Lulu said truthfully.Nicole frowned at Lulu."Alright, since you want space, I'll leave you be." Then she smiled, respecting her friend's views."Thank you." Lulu gave a warm smile before waving and leaving the office.Nicole packed up her things and also left the office shortly after.When Nicole reached the entrance of the building, she saw Spencer was standing there.'
Nicole nodded her head in agreement. 'Thank goodness the case will finally come to a close.'Soon, she and Jared arrived at the Riddle family manor. When the pair entered, Mr. Riddle Sr. was already waiting for them in the living room."You're here! Come, sit down." Mr. Riddle Sr. ushered them to sit.After they sat down, a smile spread across Nicole's face. "Grandpa, you look better now!""I do feel more alive than before. Thank you for coming back to us. If not, I would've died." Mr. Riddle Sr. sighed."No, no. You'll definitely live a long life," Nicole comforted him with a smile.Mr. Riddle Sr. laughed. "I had dinner prepared, so please stay and eat before you leave.""Sure."They both chatted for a while before Mr. Riddle Sr. asked, "Regarding the mansion and the villas, have you made any arrangements?""Grandpa, don't you worry. Both Sean and I are keeping an eye on that." Nicole was confident that no one would be able to take advantage of it."I'm not worried about you
Jared pulled Nicole into his arms, planting a gentle kiss on her temple with utmost care.Nicole looked up at him and rolled her eyes.Jared smiled helplessly. 'She really knows how to press my buttons.'It was not long until they arrived home."Mommy!"Nolan and Lana came rushing over as they saw their parents arrive home.Jared swooped Lana off her feet and brought her into a hug."I missed you, daddy!" Lana cheered, laughing."I missed you too."Lana hugged her father's neck and smiled. Jared patted Lana's head and walked toward the sofa.Nicole looked at Nolan and asked, "Why are you guys still awake? Were you guys watching a movie?""I wanted to wait for mommy to come home so Grandma watched with us," explained Nolan.Nicole held Nolan's hand and they walked toward the living room."Mom.""You're back! Is your grandfather doing, ok?"Nicole nodded. "He's doing fine. We discussed some company matters and came straight back here after dinner."She left out the detail
Nicole waited for a while but there was no response, so she decided to check on the other tasks on the taskbar.Suddenly, an unusual account caught her attention. The Hunters account seemed to be newly created and at a beginner level. However, the techniques used by the user felt strangely familiar to her.She furrowed her eyebrows and traced the account but failed to find its IP address. Even the method used to hide the IP address seemed somewhat familiar.After some extensive thinking, she vaguely recalled that this method was quite similar to Lawrence's.Lawrence was not well-versed in hacking, but he was curious about it, so Nicole had taught him a few things. However, he later expressed that he had no talent for it and had given up on learning how to hack.That happened a long time ago, so her memory of the event was not very clear. 'Still, this technique does resemble Lawrence's. But if Lawrence wasn't interested, why would he log in to the Hunters' website?' she wondered.
At that very moment, the couple's radiance illuminated the entire place, making it even more dazzling."Mr. and Mrs. Johnston!"Some familiar people approached and started chatting with Jared.Gradually, others also gathered around, surrounding Jared and Nicole in the middle.After listening to their small talk, which was mostly about business matters, Nicole gestured to Jared and quietly excused herself from the crowd.She let out a sigh of relief once she stepped out. She looked around the venue. However, she did not see anyone she knew, so she found a quiet spot and sat down.The charity banquet was attended by celebrities from all walks of life in San Joto. But since it was still early, everyone was mingling freely. Nicole, on the other hand, did not feel like engaging in conversation with anyone and wanted to sit quietly by herself, waiting for Jared to join her later.Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her. Nicole's eyebrows furrowed as she raised her head to see who it was.
"Welcome back." Harvey politely extended his right hand with a smile. "I couldn't attend your welcome banquet last time because I wasn't in San Joto."Nicole glanced coldly at Harvey and said, "You don't have to explain yourself. Even if you were here, I wouldn't have sent you an invitation.""You're still the same after all these years." Harvey withdrew his hand, somewhat disgruntled."I've always treated people I dislike this way," Nicole replied as she glanced at Snow.Harvey knew that she was insulting him. Since he had broken up with Snow, it meant that he did not like her. But now, they were back together again, and she despised his actions.However, everything he did was for Nicole. He wanted to prove himself to her, so she would eventually see the actual powerful man that was worthy of her to entrust her life to.For five years, he thought she had vanished and would never see her again, so his feelings for her died along with that thought.That was until he heard that sh
Back there, it sounded like they had a history together. Although it did not sound pleasant, it was evident that they had a history.Ian respectfully replied, "Yes, sir."Looking over again, Lawrence saw that Jared had already sat down with Nicole. Lawrence narrowed his eyes and walked quickly to his own seat.Nicole saw Jared returning and asked softly, "They finally let you go, huh?""They're not as important as my wife," Jared whispered back.Nicole gave Jared a disdainful look and said, "Behave properly when we're in public.""I am behaving properly," Jared said confidently as he held Nicole's delicate hand.'Behaving properly? If others hear that, their jaws will probably drop,' she thought.Gently squeezing Nicole's soft hand, Jared whispered, "What did Harvey say?""Nothing, just reminiscing about the past," Nicole replied nonchalantly.Jared raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do you have a past to reminisce about?""Lulu has already told me about our past." Nicole's face d
Nicole then lowered her voice and said, "I'll visit Mr. Ellison another day.""It's better to invite him out." Jared's expression became slightly somber, and his tone carried a hint of seriousness.Nicole furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"She felt that something was off. The Ellison Group was a first-rate corporation in the city, and Mr. Ellison's status was not to be underestimated.So why did Jared sound so uneasy when he talked about Mr. Ellison?"For now, Mr. Ellison has stepped down from all positions in Ellison Group, except for the position of principal at the university. Also, all previous partnerships with me have been terminated. Now, Harvey is in full control of the Ellison family affairs," Jared explained in a low voice."Has something happened?" Nicole was sharp, and she immediately thought of a possibility."Probably due to past events," Jared said briefly, without giving detailed explanations.Back then, the Ellison Group always targeted the Johnston Corporation and