"Well, of course you can," Nicole promised.Hearing Nicole's promise, Nolan added, "What about some ice cream?""You can have that too," Nicole agreed.Then, she turned to Max and ordered, "Let's go to a hamburger restaurant.""Sure thing," Max replied, and drove them to the nearest highway. As soon as he spotted a hamburger joint, he pulled up in front of it.The family got out of the car, entered the restaurant, and ordered two sets of hamburger and ice cream, which the kids enjoyed. As for the couple, they had only bought some fresh fruit juice for themselves.While sipping on her glass of apple juice, Nicole caught sight of two peculiar figures near their car. 'Wait, what's up with that?'Nicole was perplexed at the sight of Cherry locking hands with a man, both of whom were smiling from ear to ear. As the news from this morning was still fresh in her mind, she could not help but wonder what was going on."What are you looking at?" Jared asked, noticing Nicole's fixation on
With a plop, the pasta fell back onto the plate as Nicole snapped back to reality."Don't get nervous. You'll get to decide the time," Jared teased with a smile.Nicole blushed in embarrassment. "I'm not nervous. It's just that it felt so sudden."Jared had never mentioned the wedding preparations to Nicole, who thought it was still in the process. Thus, she was rather shocked to be informed that everything was ready."Everything has been ready for a while now," Jared said softly.Nicole lightly bit her lip, realizing that Jared had indeed waited on her for quite a while. Due to their current circumstances, it would not be wise for them to carry the wedding ceremony out. They had yet to neutralize Lawrence and Everett, and now, the sudden emergence of the Eastern Falcon had only added to their laundry list of threats to be dealt with.All of these groups and individuals had their eyes on the couple, so Nicole thought it was best for her to wait a little longer.Even then, she co
"Oh, you're at home," Gloria was surprised when she saw Jared and Nicole walking down the flight of stairs with the kids.She waved to the kids and said, "Come to Grandma!""Grandma!" Nolan and Lana responded, and sprinted toward Gloria.Nicole and Jared soon caught up and sat down on the couch next to Gloria. "Dad? Mom? Did you guys visit Grandpa?""Yes, we just came back from his place. Your grandfather wanted to have dinner with us, but we've declined his invitation. We wanted to come back and have dinner with you," Daniel explained."Is Grandpa alright?" Nicole asked with concern."He's fine. But it's taking quite some time for him to let go of things," Daniel sighed.This was inevitable. Fortunately for them, Benjamin's current condition was relatively stable, which was a relief to them."It will get better with time," Nicole reassured, knowing her parents were worried for Benjamin.Fortunately, the old man had done his best to remain composed and rational. Although he wa
"What's she up to?" Nicole frowned. 'Is Cherry using Stanley as a shield?'"It's just a deal between us. She's getting her visa. But there are some problems causing the delay," Stanley admitted, relieved after sharing his dirt with Nicole.Nodding, Nicole instantly understood Cherry's plan, as well as Stanley's. "You're using her to stop the inflow of dates Mom's setting up for you?""You can say that, but you're not entirely correct," Stanley replied."What do you mean by not entirely?" Nicole asked, becoming even more confused.It was obvious that Cherry was using Stanley as a smokescreen to lull her family into a false sense of security until her visa was approved. After that, she would leave the country with her real boyfriend.However, Nicole could still not figure out Stanley's motive in this deal. Once Cherry had left, his family would still pressure him into getting married. This much would be true."She's helping me," Stanley murmured. "It's between Tia and I.""You an
Nicole then wondered, 'I guess only Stanley with his thick skull would think Tia has feelings for someone. How could he not notice that Tia has no men around her?'"What are you thinking about?" Jared's voice blared out from behind her.Looking up, Nicole asked, "Are the kids asleep?""Yeah," Jared replied, and sat down next to Nicole.He held her hand, and went on to ask, "You look like you've got something on your mind. What's going on?""Ugh." Nicole sighed, and she proceeded to tell Jared about Stanley and Cherry's situation.After hearing her out, he calmly replied, "They didn't look like a couple at all.""How did you notice?" Nicole frowned, puzzled that the situation had gone unnoticed by her."They look like friends, or even siblings. Compare them to Samuel and Spencer. You'll see what I'm talking about," Jared explained, shrugging his shoulders.And indeed, he knew full well how couples interacted in contrast with how siblings and friends did.After thinking about i
If Harvey was not so obsessed with ruining Nicole's life and flexing, they would not have gotten a chance to make a move."But it's best for you to be more careful. Harvey is still capable of pulling tricks." Nicole advised."Don't worry. I got it." Lulu replied solemnly."Yeah." Nicole nodded.She would always have faith in Lulu, but she figured that she should still offer her some advice.After a slight pause, Lulu lowered her voice, "Oh right, there's another thing. Harvey seems to be in contact with Thomas recently. I'm not sure what he is up to now again.""Thomas?" Nicole frowned.Thomas had been undergoing treatment abroad, and he seemed to be doing well, so it was strange that Harvey would contact him out of the blue."That's right. Do you think he's planning something? I mean, he had never seemed to care about Thomas in the past." Lulu said."It's possible." Nicole agreed.Indeed, Harvey's sudden attention for Thomas had made it obvious that he had a motive.The onl
Harvey was brimming with happiness as he whispered to Lewis, "You may start preparing...""Understood," Lewis whirled around and walked out of the office.Harvey then grinned as if he was anticipating something grand and sinister.On the other end, Thomas was staring at his phone with a heavy heart.He did turn down Harvey's suggestion, but for some reason, he was still riddled with feelings of unease. Based on his understanding of his grandson, Harvey was not the kind who would give up until he had gotten what he wanted. Therefore, Thomas was genuinely worried about him.Previously, he had gone toe-to-toe with Jared over Nicole, which ended up with Harvey losing.In a way, Nicole's disappearance was a blessing in disguise in that it had gotten Harvey to quit messing with the Riddles. Had that not been the case, there would be no telling if Ellison Group would still exist today. At this point, Thomas could not help but wonder what had given Harvey the balls and the confidence to
"I promise I won't keep you for too long. I just thought that I could ask to meet you since it's lunch hour. If you can't make it, we'll just meet some other time." Cindy quickly added, as she must have noticed Nicole's hesitation.Hearing this, Nicole smiled. "Now that you've put it like this, it wouldn't be right for me to decline.""Well, shall we meet at Regina Diner?" Cindy asked.She was excited that Nicole had agreed to meet up with her."Alright, see you later." Nicole hung up.As Nicole looked up, she suddenly saw Lulu, at whom she rolled her eyes. "When did you come in?""I knocked but you did not respond. Then, I opened the door and saw you talking on the phone, so I came in. Anyway, who's that?" Lulu asked, curious about the invitation Nicole seemed to have received."Martin's friend. She wants to meet me." Nicole replied."His friend? Why does she want to meet you?" Lulu asked in surprise.In response, Nicole shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'll find out when I'm t