He forgot for a moment that Nicole had just prevented the dealer from rolling the dice. Instead, he looked at Nicole with a sneer and said, "Okay, but what if you lose? Since you're so hot," he looked up and down at Nicole with lustful eyes, "why don't you be my woman?"'Her character and background are so-so, but she has got a really hot body.'Seeing Nathan leer at Nicole, Sammey and others knew his dirty thoughts. Sammey rushed to stand in front of Nicole, blocking Nathan's view of her, and said angrily, "Please respect her and yourself, Nathan."Nathan sneered upon seeing Sammey get so furious. He was curious why these boys were so protective of Nicole. The Holmes family did not want to offend these families at once, so he said lackadaisically, "I am not short of money but a woman. Think about the consequences if you want to play with me."After saying that, he leaned back in his chair and continued to sweep his lecherous eyes at Nicole.Jared's face had darkened so much that
Nathan had obviously thought of this, too. He looked at Nicole, the lustful look in his eyes so obvious.'She is rich and beautiful; this is the girl I want.'Nathan let out a dirty smile with the dirty thought in mind. "I didn't expect you to be so rich. I really underestimated you!"Nicole was keeping a straight face and gently fiddled with one of the tokens that piled up in front of her. "Cut the crap. Let's get started." She did not have that much time to waste on minions like him.'So what if she has double the number of tokens? She is just a yokel who has never seen the world. No way she is going to beat me, no matter what game it is.' Nathan stopped talking. He looked at Nicole with contempt, not believing that she would win.But after the dealer learned of Nicole's Super VIP membership, he sweated profusely, frantically winking at Nathan, signaling him not to agree to a duel with such a VIP, as he would lose eight out of ten.Overwhelmed with lustful desire for Nicole, Na
She was confident of winning and did not need that many tokens at all.Sammey looked at Nicole and wanted to warn her not to take the opponent too lightly. But then he saw Nicole's calm face and thought better of it. He guessed Nicole was probably confident of winning, and he should not worry about her.The initial bet of fifty million made Nathan look at her in surprise. He did not expect that she still had backbone and did not use her Super VIP privilege.But that might work to his advantage, as he might probably win even faster. So he followed suit.The dealer walked over to the two and opened Nathan's dice first. "Five steps for your piece."Nathan's eyes widen with delight, clearly even luck on his side. The square that he was going to land was a key land. He could buy it to collect rent as long as Nicole landed on it.The dealer walked over to Nicole again and opened her dice. It was a three, which was just too small.Nathan's eyes lit up, and he gawked at the tokens in fr
After saying that, she moved her piece to the square before Sammey could stop her.He felt miserable at seeing that Nicole was going to be at a disadvantage. But he knew he could not blame her; she just wanted to help him. Besides, he thought she was still a little girl, and it was normal that she had not played Monopoly before.'It's all Nathan's fault.'Sammey and others looked at Nathan with hatred in their eyes.Nathan did not care what they thought. He looked at Nicole's move and smiled like a Cheshire cat.'What a fool she is,' he thought.Claus was stupefied, even though he had known Nicole better during this time. Nicole was still young, but she had shown that she knew what she was doing all this while. So he did not expect that she would be so naïve and rose to the bait when provoked.'She is too reckless without thinking about the consequences. She is hopelessly stupid.'He could not bear to look at her further. Claus felt even more depressed when he saw Jared was not
Nicole looked at the table expressionlessly and reached out to move her piece.There was no apparent emotion on her face, but her gaze at Nathan was surprisingly cold, which was the complete opposite of her impulsive behavior when she agreed to the bet earlier.The dealer retrieved the dice. Nathan thought that he had occupied two vantage points, and there was no need to worry too much, so he confidently drew two chance cards at random.After checking that the chance cards of the two had not been revealed, the dealer first walked to Nathan's side and held out his hand with a white glove to open the cards.All eyes were on the two cards as they were slowly revealed. One was a rent hike card, the other a card that slashed the opponent's asset values by twenty percent, which was simply godsent.Nathan almost jumped for joy. He looked at his chance cards and guffawed. "My two properties appreciated by thirty percent. Let’s see how you're going to beat me."Sammey's face turned pale u
Everyone was stunned at hearing that.The dealer almost trembled to see the two cards. He took a deep breath and looked at Nicole's cards again.'There's nothing wrong with that, one bad card, one swap card, and there is only one such card. I can't be wrong. But I didn't give Nicole that card; it's still in my sleeve and will only be given to Nathan if necessary.'But when he checked his sleeve, there was nothing there.'Could it be that she swapped the card out when I dealt the cards? But could this even be possible? I'm professionally trained and could leave no trace at all. But the girl could do it so stealthily without me knowing; her skill is apparently above me.'The dealer was completely dumbfounded. He looked at Nicole in fright.The thought of the girl grasping him at the beginning sent a chill up his spine. The dealer calmed down after a moment and said softly, "There is no need to continue with this round of Monopoly; this lady won."Nathan looked at the dealer, dumbf
"Where do you think you're going?" Nathan wanted to grab the dealer.The supervisor frowned, stopped Nathan, and then said something into the walkie-talkie. After getting a reply, he took the dealer away."Bastard, come back. Give me my money back."But no one gave a damn about him. Everyone who had witnessed the entire episode looked at Nicole in amazement, as if they did not expect things to turn out this way.Nathan realized he had really lost at the hands of a yokel he despised.Jared motioned for Max to clean up the scene. Max immediately stepped forward. "You lost, and you said before that if you lost, you would leave San Joto. Now it's time to keep your promise."Sammey and the others were all triumphant as they watched Max instruct the bodyguards to take Nathan away."It's just a game! Who would take a game seriously? Let go of me!" Nathan sensed something was wrong and tried to run.Nicole looked on and frowned as Nathan fled. Just when she was about to get up, Claus,
Nicole glanced at a few of them, stood up, and walked over to Jared, then turned back to them and said, "Since you call me boss, I can't watch you being bullied."With that, he said to Jared, "Thank you."'The VIP membership here should be very expensive, right? Not to mention Super VIP.'Jared looked at her glass-like pupils and said dotingly, "Go home?"Nicole did not refute it again. She glanced back at Sammey and others and said in a tone that had a rare gentleness in her voice, "It's getting late. Sammey, take them back. Nathan shouldn't have a chance to come looking for trouble with you all again."Sammey and a few others watched her standing with Jared. It seemed that it was this man who came with their boss today, and he really felt that this guy was more than just a café owner.He looked at Jared and could not help but respect him, and then he thanked Nicole and Jared.Nicole said no more. She turned and walked toward the outside of the club.Jared threw the car keys i
"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