After receiving the bundle of roses, Tia wrapped her hand around Stanley's and helped him up.With his eyes still locked with Tia's, Stanley produced a velvet box from his pocket. After opening it, he took a diamond ring out and gently placed it on Tia's left ring finger."Oh my gosh, congratulations!""Finally, you've taken a load off everyone's mind."Everyone congratulated the couple with joy, though they did not forget to complain about how long they had waited for this day to arrive.Tia's cheeks reddened from the fanfare, while Stanley caressed her hair, smoothening them for her."I'm truly thankful we didn't slip past each other," he said.Stanley would often still cringe thinking about how foolish he was to put Tia at the sidelines. Fortunately, everything had played out the way they wanted now, and from this point onward, they were going to be together forever.With the proposal over with, the restaurant's ambient lights returned to normal, and Stanley led Tia back to
Spencer and Samuel pulled their respective wives over. "Don't worry about them. Let's go back and rest.""Hey, we were just talking," Lulu said, smiling at Spencer.They were concerned about Ellar and Patricia, but deep down, they knew that it was not their place to interfere with other people's business. All they could do was wait and see how it would unfold."Let's go," Cindy said, pulling Martin over as everyone began to go home.Martin, uncomfortable with being touched, broke free from Cindy's grasp. "Alright."Shrugging her shoulders, Cindy went on to bid her farewells to the Riddles. "We'll get going now. Please remember to call me over next time.""You can leave that to me," Lulu promised.She then flashed Cindy the good-luck sign, telling her not to give up on pursuing Martin.Cindy smiled and nodded in understanding, before turning around to catch up to Martin."Are they going to be a thing?" June asked, unfamiliar with Cindy and her situation."I'm not sure, but I d
Nicole could not help but smile at how ridiculous yet valid his concern was. "Come on, dude. That's just an excuse I came up with to comfort Nolan and Lana."In reality, her marriage would concern nobody but herself and Jared. No one else would be able to exert any sort of meaningful influence on the wedding."That's great." Preston issued a sigh of relief.Everything would be fine as long as he did not have a hand to play on whether the wedding ceremony happened or not.Taking on a more serious look now, Nicole looked at Preston and added, "But, you should really start thinking about your own love life.""Yeah, I will." Preston replied.He did not want to suffer the torture of being the only single person in the room every time he hung out with them. Being around these love birds while they harped on the idea that he needed to find someone soon was agonizing to say the least.Nicole then smirked and shook her head. She thought it would be a good idea to just remind him about it
If such was the case, Nicole doubted if she did not think it through from the very beginning.After hearing Nicole's thoughts on the matter, Preston cautiously replied, "You mean that instead of crossing the levels without any sort of help, it seems that someone has been guiding you through the stages from the shadows?""Yes." Nicole nodded. "It definitely feels like that."After giving it some consideration, Preston hazarded a guess. "This means that the application which they have sent Nolan consists of two separate entities. One is on the surface, which is the game Nolan is playing, and the other is a hidden software."Upon further analysis, Nicole deduced that the hidden software should be the one the developer was looking to crack."They're waiting for you to complete it so that they can swoop in and steal your final result." Jared's cold and calm voice blared out.Jared's theory made Preston's eyes widen at an instant. "That's right. It should be just like what you've predi
If Lawrence was truly the one behind all of this, her explanations about the puzzles thus far would make perfect sense.Lawrence had attained the Water Crest, but he had not been able to crack its failsafe and become its bearer, and due to him being unable to seek Nicole's help directly, he had turned to giving Nolan a modified version of the interface masked as a game as his last resort.After all, Lawrence knew Nicole and Nolan well enough to come up with a strategy that capitalized on their strengths. Lawrence had also probably thought that Nolan would forever keep his secrets, making it difficult, if not impossible for them to learn of his true intentions from the boy.If it was in the past, Lawrence would only have to ask a few simple questions to gain a full idea of their progress and the situation they were in, granting him relative ease with achieving his goals. But now that things did not go his way anymore, he had resorted to elaborate trickery.Little did Lawrence know t
"Are you guys serious about this decision? But..." Gloria hesitated for a moment.The rest of her children had their own houses, and it was tradition that they would all move out once they were married."Yes, we've set our mind on it." Stanley smiled and said. "We wish to stay here. That way, the house will still be as lively as ever. Besides, it'll be convenient for us to take care of you and grandma.""You don't have to worry about grandma and us. Once you and Tia get married, someone else will take care of grandma," Gloria argued, worried that Stanley and Tia had only decided not to move out because of Mrs. Wallace Sr."We've really thought it through," Stanley insisted, even though he understood what Gloria's concerns were.While they were on the subject, Tia chimed in, "Yes, I want to continue taking care of grandma."Although Nicole had hired her to be Mrs. Wallace Sr. 's caretaker, their relationship had evolved over the years. They had grown to be very tight-knit now, muc
With a smile on her face, Nicole replied, "Don't worry, we'll just go along with Stanley and Tia's arrangements."Hearing this, Gloria calmed down. "Alright, I just want to make sure that Tia doesn't feel as if she is lesser than us or anything. That's my only concern."Indeed, this was Gloria's only concern. Nothing else would be a problem for her."You should just relax and prepare for their wedding, I'm sure they won't be able to wait for too long." Nicole smiled and advised.Then, she held Jared's hand and walked out of the house with him.Though Gloria was stunned at first, she quickly came to her senses and beamed. "The wedding is happening really soon, right?""I guess so." Daniel returned her smile."Well, since Stanley and Tia will be staying with us, I think we should clean the house up, especially Stanley's room. We must renovate the couple's room and refurbish everything. Let's give them a new set of furniture and decorations." Gloria began to plan."If you're going
"That's a good idea." Preston and Gary nodded right away.After they had conducted a few more rounds of discussion, Preston left the headquarters of Finley Group and made his way to Riddle Corporation. Upon arrival, he knocked on Nicole's door and entered her office.Seeing that it was Preston, Nicole widened her eyes in surprise. "Why are you here? You can't be here to ask for a free lunch, right?"After all, it was almost lunch hour."There are some issues, so I thought of coming over to inform you about them." Preston began, and proceeded to explain the outcome of his discussion with Ryder and Gary.Nicole nodded. "Initially, I had this idea too, but it's above my paygrade. I was worried we'd alert them, so I decided to forgo the idea.""Since we're the ones doing it, they won't realize a thing." Preston explained.At the end of the day, their adversaries had their eyes on nobody but Nicole. They would not discover anything if they did not look hard enough.After giving it s
"Let's go, it's time to head down. The ceremony will start soon."The group laughed and talked as they left the bridal suite. Jared and his friends, Spencer and Preston, were also guided out by everyone.Now, only the family of four remained in the bridal suite, getting ready for their big entrance."Mommy, it's almost time. Let's get ready," Nolan said, pulling on Nicole's hand.Nicole gently patted Nolan and Lana's cheeks, whispering, "Okay."As she made to stand, Jared extended his hand toward her. Lifting her gaze, she caught Jared in a moment of elegance, his charm unmistakable. A smile bloomed on her face as she placed her hand in his.With a gentle tug, Jared drew her up, his touch tender against her palm.In a swift move, he pulled Nicole into his arms, his other hand circling her waist to pull her close.As Jared looked at Nicole, admiration shimmered in his eyes. "You look truly beautiful today," he remarked."Daddy, Mommy is beautiful every day," Lana chimed in, til
Nicole laughed off the debate between Lulu and June, saying, "Both are lovely. I'm happy with either."Both sets of jewelry were beautiful, and she felt that either would do."Exactly. Nicole will shine in anything," Cindy said, picking a set. "Let's go with this one."Lulu gave June a victorious look. "Told you this was the one."Cindy then suggested, "Why not wear this for the ceremony and switch for the reception? That way, we use both.""Great idea," June agreed, smiling at Cindy's suggestion.Nicole smiled. "Sounds perfect."With everyone agreeing, the stylist went ahead with preparing Nicole.Lulu watched Nicole, amazed by how calm she seemed. "Aren't you a bit nervous?" she asked. Lulu remembered her own wedding jitters.Nicole bit her lip, a hint of nerves showing. "I'm more excited than anything," she admitted.She had been looking forward to this day, ready to face the future with Jared with hope and joy."Just finished," the stylist announced, stepping back to adm
"Do you think I don't want to meet someone? I just haven't found the right person," Gary said somewhat resignedly. He had long regarded Nicole as just a friend."Why don't we just try the dates our families set up?" Ryder suggested, calm and collected. He figured since finding someone on his own wasn't working, maybe arranged dates could help. In their circles, it seemed like good matches were meant to be."Arranged dates don't sound great. You hardly know the person. Are we really okay with deciding to spend our lives together like that?" Preston wasn't too keen on the idea."Emery's doing pretty well with it, you know," Ryder said confidently. "I trust our families. They wouldn't set us up with someone terrible. They've probably made sure we'd be a good match."Gary thought it over. "You might be right. Our families aren't just trying to make deals; they want us to be happy."As Gary and Ryder seemed more into the idea, Preston was still unsure. "You guys are serious?""Why not
Jared held Nicole close and looked at her. "After we get married, we'll move to the estate," he said.Their future home would be just theirs.He thought it was good for Nicole to spend more time with her family since she hadn't been with them for five years. But they knew they would move to the estate later."Okay," Nicole said, nodding. She was happy Jared made the estate close to her family, so she was okay with moving.Jared gently touched her hair and kissed her...****Time flew, and soon it was Nicole and Jared's wedding day.From the morning, San Joto was alive with excitement. Everyone was talking about Jared and Nicole's wedding.Politicians, business leaders, close friends, and business partners all came to wish the couple well.The Riddles were busy welcoming the guests, making everything look amazing."Patricia, hurry up, Charlie's here," Ellar called out as he spotted Charlie. He quickly got Patricia to come and greet him. Max, hearing the fuss, came over too.C
"You really need to rest. You shouldn't work for the next few days. Stay home and rest. A bride has to look her best," Gloria said, looking at Nicole and making the decision for her."Bride!" Nicole was surprised because she hadn't talked about any wedding yet."Yes, now that everything is settled, it's time for your wedding with Jared," Gloria said, deciding firmly. She used to think it was best for the kids to decide for themselves, but after several delays, she felt waiting longer made no sense. The wedding should happen soon."I was thinking that too," Jared said. They had planned the wedding after solving the Everett problem, but then they found out Lawrence had hurt Nicole in the past, causing more delays. Now, with everything sorted out, they saw no reason to wait. The wedding was the next big step.Nicole looked at Jared and, with a smile, agreed, "Okay." Their wedding had been waiting for five years; it was time, with no need to wait any longer."That's so cool, I'm the f
Patricia felt a mix of reluctance and happiness as she prepared to part ways with Charlie.Jared glanced at Charlie and said, "It's about time for us to board." He tenderly held Nicole's hand and led her toward the boarding gate."I need to go through the boarding procedures too," Patricia said, biting her lip. "You must find happiness as well.""I will," Charlie assured her with a gentle smile, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You've grown up, too. You don't need to cling to me anymore. I believe Ellar will take great care of you."Patricia nodded, then, leaning closer to Charlie, she whispered, 'When Mr. Johnston and Ms. Riddle get married, make sure you bring my future sister-in-law back with you.' Caught off guard, Charlie playfully scolded her, "You little rascal."Doretta, standing not too far away, overheard Patricia's whispered words. Her cheeks turned even redder."Let's go," Patricia announced, then turned to Doretta, adding, "We'll meet again.""Goodbye,
Lying in bed with Nicole cradled in his arms, Jared whispered gently, "Sleep for a bit.""Mhm." Finally feeling at peace, Nicole smiled slightly, and she quickly fell asleep.As Jared listened to her soft breathing, his eyes softened with affection, and he too closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.The next morning, as the group got ready to head back to San Joto, Zane and Doretta came to say goodbye."I still have things to finish here, but I promise to be at your wedding," Zane said with a big smile."And I'll be there to wish you well, Nicole," Doretta added.Saying goodbye is always hard, but everyone knew they had their own journeys to continue."Great, we'll see you in San Joto," Nicole said with a bright smile."It's time to go," Zane said, knowing they couldn't wait any longer without risking missing their plane."I've got the paperwork," Patricia said, ready to help with the travel documents for Jared and Nicole. Then, looking at Charlie, she asked, "Need help with
Nicole was quiet, thinking about everything. 'If I hadn't remembered everything, maybe Lawrence and I could have stayed friends. But after finding out about the airport, it's impossible...'Not only had she regained her memory, but she had also learned about the airport incident. Lawrence had gone to great lengths to prevent her from returning to San Joto."Thanks for saving me before, but you also hurt me. We're even now," Nicole said calmly, looking at Lawrence like he was someone she didn't know anymore.Jared squeezed Nicole's hand gently. "Let's go."They decided to leave the rest to Zane and head back."Wait." Lawrence's voice stopped Nicole. He sounded almost like he was begging. "Please, don't tell Nolan about this."Nicole paused, then said, "I won't tell him. Not for you, but because I don't want Nolan to see how bad people can be."With that, Nicole walked away with Jared.Lawrence sat down, watching her leave, with mixed feelings."Let's go too," Patricia said to C
"Your robots don't work anymore," a voice said, sounding very pleased. Then, a person came out from behind the crowd, looking pretty proud of himself."Carl!" Nicole was shocked to see him. 'It's Carl!'"It's been a while." Carl smiled and waved at Nicole.Carl had come as soon as Zane told him about the problem. He couldn't just do nothing when Nicole needed help.He didn't expect them to act so soon, which is why he was a little late. But he was still in time to help. Carl was surprised by Lawrence's robots at first, but luckily, the weapons he brought, which he had been working on for years, stopped the robots. This was a big help to everyone."We really need to thank Carl; we would have been in big trouble without him," Zane said, feeling relieved.Zane had asked Carl for help, hoping it would make them more likely to win, but Carl ended up being very important."Thank you," Nicole said with a warm smile. It was nice to see an old friend again."No need to thank me. I'm jus