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,
With that thought in mind, Ellar stopped his search for Patricia and headed off to stay in Nicole's office.Soon, dusk arrived, announcing the end of the workday. Ellar would finally get to see Patricia, as he had planned.After exiting the elevator, the group arrived in the lobby on the first floor."Nicole? Spencer will be here to pick me up. I won't be walking with you. See you at the restaurant later." Lulu smiled and waved goodbye to Nicole."Sure, see you later," Nicole smirked.Once Lulu had split from the group, Ellar announced, "Let's go!""I'll drive," Patricia said, and went off to the parking lot to get the car.By the time Nicole and Ellar reached the entrance, Patricia was already there waiting in the car. After they had all gotten in, Patricia drove them to the restaurant Ellar had booked.Upon arrival, a bunch of people entered the private room Ellar had booked. He was rendered speechless the instant he saw the room filled to the brim with guests.'Patricia rea
'Ellar often looks like a sad, miserable kid. He looks like he's gullible and easy to trick, but he's actually really sly. He is getting Mr. Johnston to take Ms. Riddle home, so I don't have to. But just because I'm not the one taking Ms. Riddle home, doesn't mean I'll give him the chance to hang out with me alone.' Patricia took a deep breath and sat down calmly, acting like everything was normal as she waited for the dishes to be served.Ellar stole a quick glance at her. Seeing that she was not acting weirdly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Patricia was too clever to not have seen through his plan, but there would be nothing for him to worry about as long as Patricia was not mad or anything.After everyone had been seated, the waiter proceeded to bring the food in, whereupon they began eating. The air in the room had gotten a little tense the moment Jared showed up, but everyone tried to keep their discomfort under wraps.After a bit, Jared took Nicole with him and left
Nicole, in a frosty tone of voice, snapped back at Harvey. "We're indeed not as meddlesome as you."'Why does he have to butt in on how people raise their kids?' she thought.Harvey, who was feeling the sting from her words, replied, "I was just showing my concern.""We don't need your concern. You should rather pay attention to your own affairs," she said. 'He really should stop poking his nose where he doesn't belong.'Trying to suppress his anger, Harvey changed the subject and mellowed his tone. "Are you done eating?"'Nicole is getting ruder by the day. Am I really that bothersome to her?' he wondered.Instantly, Nicole got up with Jared. "Yes, we've finished. We'll leave you to eat your meal."Although Nicole's words were polite, her message to Harvey was clear; she was telling him to stay out of her and Jared's way.Harvey was seething as he watched them disappear from view, and so, he silently made a promise to himself, 'Just wait until my plan works out, Nicole. Everyt
"You're not going either, Patricia?" Lulu asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.She knew that if Patricia did not come along, Ellar would most likely not either. That would leave just four of them, making it somewhat less exciting for all of them.Patricia caught onto Lulu's hint, and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Okay, I'll come.""Really? Count me in too!" Ellar's face lit up, as he was previously certain that Patricia would just say no to Lulu's idea.But before he could get too excited, Patricia shot him a frosty glare. "No, you can't join us.""Why not?" he asked, his momentary sense of joy dissipating. 'Where's the fun in that?'Lulu, whose brows were furrowed in confusion, turned to Patricia. "Come on, Patricia. Let him come. It'll always be more fun with more people, don't you think?""Yeah, exactly!" Ellar pleaded with Patricia, hoping she would change her mind.However, Patricia stood firm, going as far as giving him an ultimatum. "If you go, Ell
"Let's head inside," Patricia said, not giving away much about Charlie.She had not brought Charlie here to drink, and she was not here for that either.As the group went in, Lulu hung back and looked across the street.She could not spot Ellar's car, which made her worry. 'Will Ellar show up? Can he even find this place?'"Lulu, hurry up!" June called out."I'm on my way," Lulu replied and headed inside, completely oblivious to the van that had just pulled up at the curb.As the night progressed, Nicole and Jared were getting ready for bed when the phone suddenly rang. Such an unexpected call during such a late hour made Nicole frown as she picked it up."Ms. Riddle? Ellar has been injured." Patricia's voice came through, sounding grave."What's going on?" Nicole asked, her voice low and her gaze sharp."We were attacked at the bar. Ellar got hurt while he was trying to protect me." Patricia explained, her voice filled with worry and guilt.Upon hearing that, Nicole tensed u