After a pause, Mr. Riddle Sr. continued, "Anyone who crosses my great-grandson or great-granddaughter in the future will have to deal with the Riddle family.""You're too serious, Mr. Riddle Sr. Why would we bother a small child?" everyone chimed in jokingly."Well, you won't. Go back and tell your kids to act accordingly and not to bully our Nolan or hit on Lana," Mr. Riddle Sr. informed them seriously.Maximillian was immediately united with Mr. Riddle Sr. at the idea and echoed, "Yes, no hitting on our Lana."Nicole could not help but feel bewildered at their instant unity, as they had just been secretly competing with each other."Grandpa, that's a little too far ahead," Nicole whispered. After all, Lana was just five years old. She was still at an age where she liked having fun. Nicole thought these two old men were thinking too far ahead."Why not? I had to protect Lana," Mr. Riddle Sr. rebuked.Maximillian lowered his voice and said, "Although Lana is young now, she's pre
Since Nolan was still not used to it, Jared did not want to force him and figured that all the child needed was some time.When everyone was about to give up waiting, Nolan softly called out, "Dad."The room instantly became quiet. Everyone was shocked.Jared's gaze showed a touch of satisfaction. He ruffled Nolan's head. "Good job."Nicole was also very pleased with Nolan and patted his shoulder. She knew her son was slowly accepting Jared.CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.A slow clap started, standing out in the quiet crowd. As the clapping sound became apparent, everyone looked up to find Lawrence approaching.Nolan and Lana exchanged glances and called out, "Hi, Godpa."Nolan did not pounce on Lawrence as usual, which had Lawrence taken aback. But he quickly regained his composure and smiled. "Of course, I'd definitely come to visit you on such an important occasion.""Thank you, Godpa."Lawrence arrived in front of the children and held out two boxes to them. "This is a little somethin
Lawrence took a seat in a corner as he waited for the banquet to end. On the other side of the hall, Jared sat with Maximillian as they watched the bride and groom happily chatting with their guests.Jared and Nicole led the twins to sit at their seats. Lawrence stared at them, not touching his drink or food. He sat there solemnly.Nicole could feel his gaze on them. She leaned over and whispered to Jared, "I'm gonna head over to the balcony for a breather.""Need me to accompany you?" asked Jared in a low voice.Nicole shook her head. "No need. If you come, he might not approach me."Jared nodded in agreement, understanding what Nicole is trying to do. He glanced at Patricia.The lady, who was sitting at another table, immediately locked eyes with Jared and understood. She stepped outside and stood where the balcony was in sight.Expectedly, Lawrence walked to the balcony and handed Nicole a glass of red wine. "Were you waiting for me to join you?"Nicole accepted the wine gla
Lawrence noticed that Nicole went silent for a while."Why? What's wrong?" Lawrence asked with a faint smile.Nicole mustered up a smile too. "Okay."A wave of relief flashed in Lawrence's expression. "That's good." He then looked at his watch. "It's getting late. I should head back now.""Where to?" Nicole asked. She got a feeling that he was leaving to somewhere else instead of his residence."Mecrounia."Nicole raised an eyebrow, stunned for a moment. "Oh, alright then.""There are some things that need to be sorted and it might take some time for me to come back here," Lawrence explained and added, "If there's anything you need while I'm not around, you can always go to Ian.""He isn't going with you?" she asked. 'Is Lawrence purposely leaving Ian behind so he could keep getting updates and news of what's happening here?'"We need someone to keep an eye on the company here, so I'd be glad if you don't disrupt him from work since you have Jared with you. I don't wish to cau
Everyone was already used to Jared's grim appearance, so no one dared to say much. Instead they turned to Nicole. "I didn't expect that you'd return and bring a pair of gems with you!"Nicole smiled happily. "Yeah, they're gems alright." She thought to herself, 'If it weren't for them, I don't know what I would've done for the past five years.'Nolan noticed that everyone's attention was fixed on their mother. He raised his eyebrow and looked at Jared, hoping to get an answer to things.Jared curtly ordered, "Focus on eating." He placed vegetables onto his son's plate."Dad, were these your competitors from before?" asked Nolan.Jared quickly scanned the table. "They're not worthy of your mother.""So they are," said Nolan.The sudden claim caused Jared to choke on his food.'One of these days, these smart brats will be the death of me,' Jared thought as he looked at the people standing around Nicole.His gaze was cold. A few people shuddered and immediately excused themselves
"Then all of our hard work was all in vain," said Ian, sounding dejected.Lawrence's eyes darkened. Then he said in a low voice, "So we have to think of other ways now."Things had reached a new point now with the Fire Crest being almost impossible to steal. Lawrence had no thoughts of giving up his plan, even if Nicole regained her identity and reinstated her ownership of the Fire Crest. Whether everyone around her had told her everything or she did not know anything, Lawrence was determined to fight for the chance to get the Fire Crest in his hands.Lawrence looked at Ian with determination. "Go and get ready, I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning.""Yes, sir." Ian quickly went to pack Lawrence's bags for his trip.Meanwhile, Lawrence laid on the sofa, staring out the window, consumed in his thoughts.The next day, the sun was shining, and Nicole had walked into the Riddle Corporation as usual. The things for DillCorp were running smoothly once more.As Nicole got out of the
Lulu: [It's very relaxing. You should try it.]June: [I think you're considering living on that island.]Lulu: [Yeah, don't you want to?]June sent a crying emoji. [It's too expensive to live here. I have to go back and earn money.]Nicole and Lulu: [Loser!]June: [Yeah, call me the loser. Don't come crying to me when you get back from your honeymoon.]Lulu: [I won't. Spencer paid for everything.]'Serves her right for going to a concrete jungle for her honeymoon,' Lulu thought to herself.June: [Samuel's money is my money. We're husband and wife now.]Lulu spammed several laughing emoji-s into the group chat.Lulu: [Why don't you come over to my place? The expenses for things are very low. On top of that, no one would come and bother you. It's paradise.]June: [I'll consider it.]Nicole: [This is a once in a lifetime thing. As long as you're happy, nothing else matters.]June: [Thanks Nicole! :)]The three of them chatted happily, and the smile on Nicole's face never dis
"That's a relief to hear. Have him take two days off to recover," Nicole instructed.After a moment of brief silence, Nicole spoke up once more. "The electronic component manufacturing company. Can you arrange a reliable person to manage it?"Patricia was taken aback by Nicole's sudden approach. "Ms. Riddle, are you really going to go through with this contract?""Yeah, what choice do we have? We've already signed it. Maybe it'll be a blessing in disguise," said Nicole. 'One thing for sure is that if I don't go ahead with this contract, Harvey would never let me go. I'd like to see for sure how capable this guy is. He needs to be taught a lesson.'"Okay, I'll make the necessary adjustments," Patricia replied, leaving.Nicole placed the contract into the drawer beside her desk before picking up the other documents on her desk while trying to maintain her composure.Soon, the sun was setting over the horizon. Nicole had just gotten out of work and walked out of Riddle Corporation.