Jared slowly lowered his head, their eyes meeting one another before he leaned in closer, allowing their lips to meet. As the kiss became even more passionate, it grew sloppy.Alarmed by the sudden shift in tone, Nicole struggled, attempting to break free, but to no avail. She succumbed to Jared's arms that night.The next day, the sun shone warm and bright, and everyone gathered in the dining room for breakfast."Nicole, I heard you went to your grandpa's place last night. Is he alright?" Daniel asked."He's doing well. I paid him a visit to keep him posted about the latest plans of the company," Nicole explained."It was about NandoCorp, wasn't it? As long as your grandpa agrees to it," Daniel softly said, fully respecting Nicole's decision to reacquire NandoCorp and make it a part of Riddle Corporation once more.Nicole nodded. "Yeah, I've talked it out with him and he's fully onboard on it.""That's good to hear," Daniel agreed, warm with relief."Did he say anything else?"
"Of course, you can! It just sort of caught us off guard.""Yeah, it's great that you're going to hold your wedding."Spencer and Samuel were grinning widely, while Stanley issued a loud and deep sigh. "I can already imagine how miserable my future days will be."'Now, I'll be the only one left that has yet to settle down. The pressure really is going to be mounting,' Stanley thought."You can relax. Just go on the blind dates Mom is going to set up for you. When you have a girlfriend, life will be much easier for you," Samuel teased.'Of course, I guess I won't have to worry about dying alone anymore the day I get married,' Stanley grumbled to himself.Then, he rolled his eyes at Samuel in disgust. "You should take care of your own business."In turn, Samuel shrugged at Stanley. "I'm fine. The next thing you ought to watch out for is being the center of our family's attention.""Shut your mouth and eat." Stanley threw a piece of bread at Samuel to shut him up, fuming and frust
"Yes, ma'am," Alfred replied, and proceeded to walk off to do what he was told.Gloria stood up humming, apparently in a good mood. Then, she walked over to the garden to check if Mrs. Wallace Sr. was around.Meanwhile, Nicole had just arrived at another one of Riddle Corporation's branches, NandoCorp. As expected, Lulu was already there waiting for Nicole, who went on to receive the stack of applications from the former."Everything you need is here," Lulu said."I'm impressed. You're pretty quick." Nicole smiled as she went through each individual document in her hands."It's all about speed now. I heard that Harvey has made some moves and I don't want him to beat us to it." Lulu shrugged.'If anything goes wrong, NandoCorp will fall into the hands of Harvey Ellison and it would be a terrible loss for Riddle Corporation,' Lulu thought to herself.Nicole looked at the time, "It's almost time, let's go and submit our application."Both stood up and left the company to deliver t
With two boxes in hand, Lulu asked, "Are we just going to visit Mr. Ellison with these?""It's more than enough. He's sick now. These will suit him better," Nicole replied, entering the Royal Creek Institute campus grounds before making a beeline for the small courtyard in the northwest corner."How did Mr. Ellison suddenly fall sick?" Lulu asked, concerned. "There's no one watching over him either. He must be feeling worse than sick. No wonder he's recovering so slowly.""So here we are, paying him a much needed visit," Nicole said, bringing Lulu into the courtyard.Then, while entering the living room, Nicole called out, "Mr. Ellison!?""Oh my, is this Nicole here?" Mr. Ellison asked, recognizing Nicole through her voice.He then greeted, "Come on in."Taking Lulu into the room, Nicole asked, "How are you feeling these days?""The same old. Don't you worry about me. I'm just relapsing. I'll be fine after some time," Mr. Ellison explained, putting on a smile."Mr. Ellison, th
Harvey leaned against his chair, pondering the possibility of his grandfather possessing an ace in his deck. After all, his grandfather had managed to survive for all these years.'Hmm, what a good plan you had in mind, Nicole. Too bad I'm not giving you the chance to use it,' he thought.As the sun set on the hills, the crowd hurried home from work. Nicole's phone rang right as she and Lulu had sauntered out of the office.Seeing that it was Daniel, Nicole got taken aback: her dad would rarely call at this hour."Yes, Dad?" Nicole asked after answering the call. "What's up?""Nicole, could you come to the Riddle family manor?" Daniel pleaded with hesitation."Is Grandpa alright?" Nicole asked, hearing Daniel's tone.Sighing, Daniel replied, "It's not your grandfather. You should just come over first.""Alright," Nicole agreed and hung up.She then looked at Lulu and informed, "You go ahead and wait for Spencer. I'm heading to the Riddle family manor.""Sure thing. Should I t
"Nicole, why do you keep on causing me trouble?" Chloe bawled loudly before Mr. Riddle Sr. could answer Nicole."When did I cause you trouble?" Nicole frowned.Thinking back on Jared's words, she could understand Chloe's attitude towards her, but how as to how she had repeatedly caused Chloe trouble, she did not know."Oh, so you're playing pretend now?" Chloe gritted her teeth. "Because of you, my leg turned out like this. And now, you're severing my only source of income? Without money for treatment, I'll be a cripple forever."As Chloe lashed out, her emotions grew more intense, and she became even louder. She was leaning forward in her wheelchair, almost to the point of falling over."Come on, take it easy. We're here to let Grandpa do us justice," Miley softly comforted her."How could I not get anxious?!" Chloe choked. "I've waited all these years, and yet my leg is still not treated. I'm trying my best to maintain them while waiting for treatment. But now, I can't even aff
"W-Why? No. Not at all," Damien reluctantly denied upon catching a glimpse of Nicole's threatening gaze.With that out of the way, Mr. Riddle Sr stated, "If that's the case, I'll have Alfred deliver Chloe's treatment fee to you every month in the future."After a slight pause, he added, "If there's nothing else, you may all leave."With a weary look on his face, Mr. Riddle Sr. waved his hands, gesturing for the crowd to leave, whereupon the house butler took charge and directed them out. "Mr. Riddle Sr. is tired and needs some rest. Please go home, everyone."Damien shot Nicole one last glare before leaving, while Miley pushed Chloe's wheelchair out the door from behind him."Dad, let's go too," Nicole indicated.She knew Mr. Riddle Sr. was mentally exhausted now, and above anything, she wanted to give him some space."Yeah, come on." Daniel sighed."Get some rest, Grandpa. I'll settle it," Nicole said whilst giving him a meaningful glance.Mr. Riddle Sr. looked at Nicole, per
Damien darted a glance at Miley and Chloe, and in an icy tone of voice, he said, "This is father's decision."After all, if Mr. Riddle Sr. really wanted to help them, Nicole would have no choice but to follow the old man's wishes.Hearing those words uttered made Miley's face blanch. "What about our future? I don't want to end up in such a miserable situation as Dillion."If Mr. Riddle Sr. refused to help them, their family would really have no way out.Enraged, Damien glared at Miley and said, "Hold your tongue, woman! I'm not as stupid as he is!""My apologies." Miley timidly backed down.Then, Chloe frowned and asked Damien, "Dad, what are your plans?""Give me a damn minute," Damien said in frustration. "Now of all times, Everett is unreachable.""I'm afraid he can't expose himself to the public eye right now. He'll contact you when it's convenient and safe to do so," Chloe gritted her teeth. "I guess we truly are on our own right now.""We're on our own?" Damien stared Ch