Tia sat there in a daze as Cherry left the room.'This is a dream, isn't it? Everything just came rushing out all of a sudden. I can't believe he doesn't have a crush or a girlfriend all these whiles. But what did she mean when she said Stanley thinks that I have feelings for someone else? Who else does he think I like?' Tia pondered.Tia felt lightheaded as she dragged her feet back to her room. 'I think I need some time to process all of this information. I can't think properly anymore. Seems to me that a lot of things have happened under my nose...'Meanwhile, Cherry had just made her way to the living room.And when Stanley saw her coming in, he quickly stood up, "I'll send you home.""Sure!" Cherry chirped and followed him out."Stanley, the only person Tia has feelings for is you. You better go ahead and win her heart," Cherry teased and smiled.Stanley could not believe what he had just heard, so he gave her a blank stare.In turn, she simply looked at him and shrugged,
Nicole then theorized, 'If Stanley and Tia had gotten together earlier on, perhaps Mom might have a milder reaction as compared to what she's dealing with now.'Jared, who remained uninterested, gently caressed Nicole on the shoulder. "It's getting late. Let's head to bed."Nicole still had a lot on her mind, as she had been worried sick about Stanley. 'I guess I'll leave the rest to him.'After a slight pause, she looked up at Jared and smiled. "You can take a shower first. I have a call to make."Jared immediately understood Nicole's intent and made his way to the bathroom. "Okay, but don't take too long."Nicole took her phone out and dialed a number that was all too familiar to her now.Then, Zane's voice blared out from the speaker. "Nicole?"There was a tone of surprise as he greeted her.Suddenly, Nicole felt an overwhelming surge of emotions. "Zane?"Zane issued a massive sigh of relief at once. "Since you're calling me right now, this must mean that you remember every
Nicole was dead serious. "Yeah, I can't back out now."Zane pondered for a moment, whereupon he agreed, "Since we can't avoid this, we might as well work together once more. However, you don't need to come over to HQ to do any field work. You can stay where you are now and provide us with intel. Don't hesitate to let us know what you need help with."'As long as she doesn't put herself in danger, there shouldn't be a problem,' he thought.Nicole nodded. "Sure, no problem. I'll handle the side of things here at San Joto and leave the rest to you."To that, Zane sternly replied, "Okay."'If the Eastern Falcon is thinking of making a return, we won't hold ourselves back this time around,' Zane thought, determined to bring his adversaries down.Nicole sighed as she hung up and she reminisced about the days when she was still an active member of the organization. Near-death encounters were commonplace back in those days.Then, Jared came up to Nicole and whispered in her ear, "Have y
Since Harvey had given them the chance to bring him down, they would just seize it. It would be stupid not to.After careful consideration, Nicole smirked and said, "Well, that works.""I'll get on it then!" Lulu beamed excitedly, ready to do something big.And to that, Nicole chuckled and nodded in agreement, "Right. I'll leave it to you."Since Lulu had taken charge of any dealings with the Ellison Group, Nicole had faith that she would be able handle it well."I'll be on my way, then," Lulu responded, and began humming a cheerful tune as she left.After giving Lulu's figure a smile, Nicole got busy and flipped through the documents on the desk to peruse them.About an hour later, she heard a knock on a door."Come in," Nicole said without looking up, as she was focused on her work.It was Patricia, who then opened the door and walked up to Nicole's desk. "Ms. Riddle? There are updates pertaining to Damien."Upon hearing that, Nicole immediately looked up. 'Has he finally d
Nicole, expecting some sort of news from him, was surprised when Jared maintained his silence. "Did you really just come over to have a meal with me?"She thought something significant had happened, but upon noticing that he had not said a word along the way, she concluded that she had simply misunderstood.The smile from Jared proved exactly that. "Just a meal, yeah.""Oh, I thought something occurred, and you came over to tell me about it." Nicole took a sip of water.Teasing her, Jared said, "You seem quite disappointed."Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and placed her glass down. "Of course I'm not."As Jared's sudden appearances usually indicated that there was something he needed her to know, it was natural for her to assume that he had brought some kind of word with him. Still, she was happy that he had simply brought her out for a regular meal.With a gentle smile on his face, he explained, "I just signed a project, and I thought I'd come to see you after I'm done with it."
"Hehe." Ellar awkwardly smiled. "She got injured while saving me, so I just wanted to know more about her.""Is that all?" Nicole squinted at Ellar, unable to shake the feeling that he was up to something.There was something obviously unnatural and forced about the expression on his face, and yet he stuck to his guns and insisted, "Yes, that's all.""Oh." Nicole uttered, trying to stop herself from exposing him.After shooting him another glance, she said, "Patricia didn't come.""Is she okay?" Ellar asked, seemingly a little disappointed."The injury has already healed. You don't need to worry about it," Nicole replied with a slight smile as she looked at him.Ellar looked away in discomfort, and after coming up with an excuse to skedaddle, he said, "I'm running out of time. I'll go meet my business partner now.""Sure, go ahead." Nicole grinned.Ellar was beginning to feel a little uneasy. Something told him that Nicole had seen through him, and that was good enough of a re
Nicole and Jared returned home, and Nolan and Lana followed suit soon after.Due to the fact that it was a busy day today, Samuel, Spencer, Lulu, and June had all shown up as well, bringing the living room to life.After Tia had dropped Nolan and Lana off, she was about to leave when Lulu stopped her. "Stay and have dinner together. The more the merrier.""Yeah, please stick around," June echoed.Tia, who looked a little hesitant, darted her eyes at Nicole. Though she had no issues with anyone present, she really did not want to stay, simply because she did not know how to face Stanley.Although Cherry had explained everything to her, she was still flustered and confused, for she had not sorted any of her emotions out."Why don't you go and ask Mrs. Wallace Sr. first? It's up to you to decide whether you want to stay or go home," Nicole suggested, understanding Tia's dilemma."Okay, I'll ask her first." Tia breathed a sigh of relief, bade farewell to everyone, and returned to he
Nicole, however, had an inexplicable feeling of unease in her heart. She could not put a finger on what was wrong, but she just could not shake the feeling of disquiet within her."Let's eat first, and then we'll go upstairs to check." Jared comforted her, as he saw that she looked somewhat worried.He thought there was nothing particularly unusual about Nolan's behavior but considering that she had been taking care of the kid for the past five years, and because she knew the boy better than he did, it would be in their best interest to give it a look later on."Okay." Nicole nodded in agreement, still feeling that it was necessary for them to go up later and see what was going on."Tia, our company has a minor team-building exercise tomorrow. Would you like to join?" June asked."Ah? I-I'd rather not." Tia instinctively refused.Refusing to give up, June continued to persuade Tia. "Most of them are from the previous group of bridesmaids, whom you've met. There are only a few you