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
Nicole nodded. "That's very much possible."Damien had been refusing to spill the beans on what he had been up to for a few days now. If anything, he seemed to be stalling, buying himself more time along the way.This had led them to wonder what he was actually hoping to accomplish by stalling. Was he expecting someone to come to his rescue?With the very same school of thought crossing Nicole's mind, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Where is he?""I don't know, and Patricia didn't say anything either," Lulu carefully replied. "What are you worried about?""I need you to caution Patricia and tell her to be on guard. It's possible that Damien is waiting for someone to rescue him," Nicole ordered.Initially, Damien had made a few attempts at fleeing, only for Patricia to thwart all of them. Since then, he had remained silent, and such silence from him was a dead giveaway that he planned his exit.Having realized it herself, Lulu frowned and nodded. "Alright, I will inform Patrici
"What am I guilty of? Don't test me! If you don't release me, I will make you regret everything you've done to me." Damien threatened through gritted teeth."Alright, I'd like to see you try," Patricia said and sauntered out of the house, calm as she had been when she got in.The person in charge of watching Damien followed suit, and in a low voice, he asked, "Captain? He is still refusing to spill.""It doesn't matter. I don't need him to say anything now." Patricia snorted, her voice tinged with cold indifference."Captain, is there a new plan?" the man in black asked in a hushed voice."Tonight, you're going to release him. Let him go..."After devising her new plan of action and giving the man a complete rundown of it, Patricia darted the house one last glance, her eyes dark and cold. Then, she whirled around, got into her car, and sped off.The two men in black exchanged a mutual glance, both showing great determination and resolve. Although the plan Patricia had crafted wa
Seeing that Ellar had piped down, Nicole slowly explained, "Damien's escape was a part of Charlie's plan. I suspect that Patricia's sudden disappearance might also be part of the plan.""But Charlie doesn't know about it, does he?" Lulu frowned, thinking that it was something Charlie should be privy to."Perhaps something unexpected occurred while they were on the scene, leaving Patricia with no time to discuss it with Charlie. Therefore, I think we should wait a little longer. If she had indeed decided that her disappearance was essential for the plan to succeed, our actions might only sabotage her," Nicole explained."But...but for how long do we have to wait?" Ellar anxiously asked, for every minute he spent waiting for her would feel like an eternity.After glancing over at Ellar, Nicole replied, "Eight hours. We'll wait until tonight."If there was still no news about Patricia by duskfall, they would have to act."In that case, I won't be returning to my office. I'm staying
With that, Lulu and Ellar anxiously watched as Nicole's figure receded from view."Hey! Stop that! You can't go," Lulu said and grabbed Ellar when she saw him trying to follow Nicole out of the building."Don't worry. I'll just tail her quietly," Ellar replied in an attempt to persuade Lulu to let him go.Adamant on not letting him slip from her grasp, Lulu shook her head. "You heard what Nicole said. She explicitly told you that you aren't allowed to follow her, so you won't be."She had to keep Ellar there because she knew it was the only thing she could do to help Nicole. She also understood that Nicole did not want Ellar to put himself in danger through his reckless behavior, as well intentioned as he might be. As he did not understand the circumstances surrounding the situation, he might jeopardize Patricia's safety if he exposed himself. After all, stealth and subtlety were not his strong suits.With that in mind, Lulu was determined to do what Nicole had asked of her while
"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