"Everyone was present. I had Patricia with me, so it was all good," Nicole explained before flashing him a smile."I missed you," he softly said as he rested his head on her shoulder.Jared was not able to sleep or focus on work in Nicole's absence.Flustered, Nicole's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks reddened. "It's just been a day since we last saw each other."In response, he kissed her on the cheek and said, "I want to see you twenty-four seven.""What's with you today?" Nicole wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him, her eyes brimming with curiosity.Nicole felt Jared was especially affectionate and clingy with her today."I'm fine, I just missed you," Jared answered, and lowered his head to kiss Nicole on the lip.The gentle kiss progressed into a passionate smooch, making Nicole irresistible to him. In reciprocation, she surrendered to Jared and succumbed to the pleasure which they then shared.Concurrently, Patricia had just arrived at Ellar's house."W
Patricia had never approached Ellar for personal reasons; it was Ellar who had done so. Still, Charlie's words just so happened to resonate with Patricia's wish. She, too, wanted to stay away from and never meet Ellar ever again.After he saw that Patricia had entered her apartment, Charlie returned to his.The sun shone brightly the next morning, and the Riddle family manor was merrier than ever.Nolan and Lana woke up, took their showers, and knocked on Nicole's bedroom door, trying to get their parents to wake up. After waiting for Nicole and Jared to get themselves cleaned up and dressed, the family went downstairs to the living room."Mommy, was your team-building event fun yesterday?" Lana asked out of curiosity."Yep, and everyone had fun," Nicole answered, ruffling Lana's hair.Lana then continued with a mischievous grin and asked, "Can you bring us along next time?"Chuckling, Nicole reached out to pinch Lana's nose affectionately. "Kids are not encouraged to join these
'Tia doesn't look right either. It seems that she hasn't gotten any sleep last night. Did something happen after the both of them left yesterday? Something must have, or else the both of them wouldn't have been acting weird and all. But if something did happen, why aren't they talking to each other?' Nicole pondered.Stanley stole a quick glance at Tia as she was leaving with the kids, and as expected, his subtle movements did not escape Nicole, whose eyebrows were raised. It was at this point that Nicole confirmed that something had indeed happened to them when no one was around. Otherwise, the both of them would not have exhibited such unusual behavior.Meanwhile, Tia had just gotten into the car with Nolan and Lana."Tia, what's going on with you and Uncle Stanley?" Nolan asked, his head tilted in curiosity.Caught off guard, Tia panicked and defended herself. "No-no-nothing happened.""Are you sure? It seemed that the both of you were avoiding each other," Lana described.Lan
If that was not the situation, the kids could only wonder why Stanley would bring Tia home last night"Don't overthink it! I swear! Nothing happened yesterday," Tia insisted.The more they explained, the more complicated the situation became, and at this rate, the kids were proving to be quite a handful."Tia, I think you should keep your distance from Uncle Stanley. Why don't you try to make friends with the people Aunt June introduced?" Nolan advised.He had no choice but to say what he said because he did not want the people he cared about to get hurt."Actually, we really hoped that you would give Uncle Stanley a chance. We've even helped him in secret many times, but sadly. Ugh! Sadly, things just aren't working out," Lana sighed, her speech and mannerism mirroring that of an adult.They had initially thought that Stanley and Tia would be a good match. Unfortunately, fate had other plans, and there was nothing they could do to force it.Tia's lips twitched. She was in compl
"Hehe. It can't be helped as Harvey is always so anxious," Lulu gloated. "He is impatient, so he's prone to acting blindly and falling into traps."Lulu was able to gain some leverage over him precisely because of his impatience. As such, she could act boldly without worrying that she would spook Harvey and put him on guard. At this moment, Harvey might even still think that Nicole had taken his bait."You have to be careful. If at any point in time Harvey realizes he's been deceived, he won't let you go," Nicole reminded."Don't worry. I'm not only engaging him in a game of 4D chess behind the scenes. I've also collected a bunch of evidence against him. If things go south, we'll at least be able to defend ourselves with the evidence in hand. He can't do anything to us. Besides, we'll be returning everything to Thomas after we're done with him anyway," Lulu said confidently.Even if Harvey were to make a fuss, he would not stand to gain anything out of it.Pleasantly surprised by
The carer understood Thomas' perspective, so she quietly walked off to pack his luggage. Meanwhile, Thomas was looking out of his window, his face creased and wrinkled in deep contemplation. His body had significantly improved after the treatment he had received. He knew that Nicole was the one who had provided such support to him. Besides, he also understood that she had no bad blood with Harvey and just wanted to help him.Thomas had, through the hard way, learned that Harvey had indeed morphed into a wicked person over the years. He had always felt guilty for Harvey's unfortunate upbringing, which had led him to enable Harvey. But then, he realized that his indulgence of him had resulted in Harvey becoming what he was.Harvey's life should have been peaceful, happy and comfortable, not filled with darkness and uncontrolled madness. If Harvey continued to latch onto his past, he would be forever stuck in his past with no hope of ever finding peace."Forget it," Thomas sighed, his
Ellar thought that as long as Nicole was there, Patricia should be too. With that, Ellar came up with an idea and decided to call Jared."Hello," Jared's cold voice blared out through the speakers.With a chill running down his spine now, Ellar began to regret making the call in the first place.Then, he gritted his teeth in determination, and with Patricia in his mind, he continued, "H-Hey brother-in-law. It's me, Ellar."After pausing for a moment, Jared's voice softened a little. "Speak."Using the word, "brother-in-law" to address Jared clearly pleased him, and so, Ellar became more comfortable talking to him."Jared, I'm treating Nicole and the others to dinner tonight. You should come too," Ellar sincerely invited.Although Jared's presence might affect the atmosphere, he was also the only person who could bring Nicole home without Patricia following her back. This was the best idea Ellar could think of to isolate Patricia and get her to be alone."Yeah, sure," Jared agre
"Oh, you can just rest. Don't mind me," Ellar compromised.Then, he placed the glass of water down and took five steps back away from her.Having had it up to here with him, Patricia rolled her eyes and stared at Ellar with a look of helplessness. "Please get out.""Come on. I swear I'll stay quiet and not bother you," Ellar protested, and took another five steps back.Patricia glared at him, frustrated by his actions. To her, his mere presence was a disturbance in itself. Usually, there was nothing in the office that would constitute a challenge for her. However, she could barely focus on her work today, and it was all because of Ellar being an annoyance, much like a fly buzzing around her ear.After drawing a deep breath, Patricia suppressed her urge to lash out, and with a measure of calm, she said, "Get...out.""Wait, I promise not to come near you again," Ellar pleaded.As long as Patricia did not make him leave, Ellar was content to do nothing but see her work.Patricia,