'How could they not come? Besides, they were humiliated in front of Sebastian recently and would certainly find a way to take revenge.'Taylor proudly stepped aside, waiting for the people of the Riddle family to greet him.But after a long wait, and people were swarming around Nicole to talk to her, no one bothered to come talking to him.'They're all blind.'Since Sebastian had not come, Taylor walked out angrily. Daniel was receiving guests when he saw Taylor walk out angrily. He asked Taylor in a whisper, "Where are you going? The party venue is in the opposite direction.Taylor was pissed and pushed Daniel away. "The party has no class, and the host has a poor attitude; why should I stay any longer?"Hearing Taylor's unsparing criticism, Daniel was startled and could not immediately find a word to respond.Taylor thought Daniel was rendered speechless by what he said. He sneered, looking at him with disdain in his eyes. "Look at you; probably you haven't met people like us
'What else if not because of your lousy presentation?'But he did not say it out loud, and Luke ignored him. As Sebastian walked toward Nicole, he looked on, and his suspicion was finally confirmed.'I did not expect that the naïve-looking Riddle family could secretly build such a relationship with Sebastian to the point where even Sebastian's own son could do nothing about it.'Taylor was also stupefied as he saw Sebastian and Nicole standing together and talking so happily with each other. He did not know that Nicole knew Sebastian earlier.Mr. Riddle Sr. stood to the side, looking at the attitude of the people around him toward Nicole, and clearly felt something strange.'Why are these people looking for Nicole when they are supposed to come to meet me? Could it be that those people who came yesterday were actually because of Nicole?'Seeing Nicole chatting with a group of businessmen, Mr. Riddle Sr. had a complicated look in his eyes. Even Damien and Dexter looked at Nicole i
Chloe could not care less about this cousin of hers, who did not even know who Sebastian was. She looked coldly in Nicole's direction and stood in place.Since Nicole was getting all the attention now, she would not go over and make herself miserable. But when she casually looked around, she spotted someone she never expected to see here.Mr. Riddle Sr. was clinking glasses with the guests. Since he had just recovered from his illness, he could only drink tea in place of wine, but this did not affect his enjoyment.Now, he was no longer worried her granddaughter would be bullied as she could now stand on her own feet.While he was talking to someone from one of the major families in San Joto, he heard an insidious voice that he recognized coming from behind him."Hello, Benjamin. Congratulations on your good fortune."Damien and Dexter also heard the voice and recognized it at once. They frowned when they saw Christo walk on crutches toward them.Christo seemed to have aged ten
After years of burgeoning, Christo thought he could still put the Riddle family in its place even if he was not as powerful as before.Sebastian watched in silence and understood what was really going on. He looked at Christo, who still did not see him but talked to himself, as if he had been immersed in his own world.Sebastian frowned. Just as he was about to say something to Christo, the door of the Riddle Mansion suddenly opened and a cold and forceful voice came."Christo, you've never changed, have you?"Christo shivered subconsciously upon hearing the voice. He immediately turned around and almost fainted when he saw Maximillian walk toward him.Everyone else looked at the old man with surprise. They did not expect to see someone from the Johnston family at the Riddle family's party. Many of them were not worried because they had made no mistake. 'We've made the right decision to come here, especially with the presence of the patriarch of the Johnston family in the Riddle f
'Mr. Johnston Sr. had stayed a low profile all this while. I'm afraid he has come to the party to help the Riddle family and we have such an honor, all because of Nicole.'Mr. Riddle Sr. looked proud at the thought of this. They sat together and enjoyed talking with each other. Mr. Johnston Sr. was curious about Nicole and asked many questions, and Nicole answered all of them.She maintained a straight face, sitting with her back straight, looking extremely graceful in the face of such a powerful person.On the other hand, Damien found no opportunity to interject. Everyone else looked at Nicole, who was surrounded in the middle, with a complicated look in their eyes.At first, he looked down upon Nicole, but now her achievement was even higher than his. He figured he probably would not be able to do this if he were Nicole.Daniel and Gloria stood to the side, watching their daughter become the center of attention in front of those bigwigs and felt proud of her.Nicole looked at S
"Get out of the way. Didn't you see that I'm in a hurry?"'This little girl really doesn't know any better.'Chloe was embarrassed and quickly stepped aside after being reprimanded harshly. Behind her, Snow watched her being reprimanded and breathed a soft sigh of relief.'Fortunately, Chloe is ahead of me. Otherwise, I would have been the one facing this embarrassing situation.' She patted herself on the chest, glad that she was not the one being reprimanded. But the thought of Mr. Johnston Sr.'s attitude toward Nicole and Mr. Ellison's disregard for her frustrated her. 'There will always be a chance to fix Nicole,' She said in her mind.Thinking of this, she just remembered that, although Mr. Johnston Sr. was gone, Sebastian was still here. She hurried over to say hello to Sebastian. Her grandfather had ordered her father not to come out and enjoined her to build rapport with Sebastian.Snow walked toward Sebastian when she heard Sebastian say to Mr. Riddle Sr., "This time the R
Nicole returned to the room, put her bag down, turned around, and knocked on the door of the guest room next door."Carl?"There was no answer; probably he was not there. Nicole thought of Carl's restless personality and shook her head helplessly.The party downstairs did not seem to have ended. Probably some more guests had arrived as there was another uproar again. Nicole returned to her room, took out the silver-white shard again, and carefully studied it in the palm of her hand.At this level of damage, she could almost be sure that it had been hit by an extreme impact force. Ordinary weapons could not have shattered it; it had to be some heavy weapon, and to do this, the person needed to understand the weaknesses of this alloy. As the hardest metal in the world, it was impossible to break so easily.Nicole clutched the chrome-nickel alloy in her hand and squinted her eyes. She saw this rampant act as a direct challenge to her redline.Suddenly, there were light footsteps com
Mrs. Wallace Sr. nodded, not minding it. Instead, she looked at her granddaughter with puzzlement."Where are you going?"Nicole knew she could never hide things from her grandmother, nor did she intend to. "I am traveling with my parents, worried that you would miss me, so I first came to see you."Mrs. Wallace Sr. nodded. "Don't worry about me. I'm all right. Be careful when you're out there."Nicole listened patiently to her grandmother's nagging admonition without interrupting her. After a moment, she glanced at her watch. "Grandma, I have to go."Mrs. Wallace Sr. nodded downheartedly and sighed softly as she watched her granddaughter turn away.Nicole had always been sensible. Especially after she was lost and found, she became as steady and dependable as now; every time before going out, she would let her grandmother know lest her grandmother would be worried.Mrs. Wallace Sr. knew that her granddaughter had secrets, and that she probably was not going on a vacation. But 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