Nicole was a little hesitant when she received the invitation to the Carter family’s banquet.Since Ian had feelings for her, Nicole subconsciously did not want to get too involved with the Carter family.However, on second thought, this might just be a polite way to thank her for the painting.It would be petty of her to overthink things.When Nicole arrived at the Carter mansion as promised, she unexpectedly saw Chloe Snyder there as well.Chloe came earlier than she did.She was laughing with Old Master Carter and Gillian.Nicole handed over the painting she had gotten, “The Blazing Sun”.Gillian thanked her and took a glance at it.Her face stiffened slightly, but it only lasted for a moment before she regained composure.Nicole did not notice this change.She went up to greet Old Master Carter.Ian had been hiding out upstairs until he heard Nicole’s voice. He hurriedly came downstairs and smiled in surprise.“Lil N, come on up! I just flipped through our yearbook and
Nicole was slightly surprised when she heard these words.This was the second time she had heard this warning.The first time, it was from Quinn before she got married to Eric Ferguson.Unexpectedly, this time, it was from Ian’s mother, Gillian...Nicole looked back at Gillian’s calm and expressionless face.It felt like all the warmth and familiarity from before were merely a disguise.Nicole’s heart turned cold. She had always treated Gillian as a respected elder.She did not expect this to happen.Nicole pulled the corners of her lips.“Mrs. Carter, are you warning me?”“It’s fine if you want to think of it that way, Nicole. Ian had a hard time taking over the company, but because of you, he threw away fifty billion just to buy that land. He not only got beaten up by his grandfather, but he was almost kicked out of the board too. Did you know that?”Nicole was stunned. She thought that she had made a timely save.She did not expect Ian to face so much trouble.Gillian f
Although Nicole did not want to receive Eric Ferguson, he was already here, so she had to maintain superficial politeness.Logan held open the door of her office.Nicole walked in with big strides.She exuded such a confident and elegant aura and carried such superiority that made her so unattainable that others could only look up to her and sigh in admiration.Eric watched her back as she pushed the door in and was slightly stunned.This scene suddenly felt so familiar.That image deep in his mind surfaced for a while. In the darkness, the woman in the red dress whose face could not be seen, and the light that pierced through the night.The light that broke through the dark sky was overwhelming.He frowned slightly. That was back when he was in Europe.‘Why did I suddenly remember this?’......“Mr. Ferguson, please come in…”Logan extended his arm and politely reminded him.Eric walked in and swept a glance.The furnishing of Nicole’s office was very minimalist.The
Eric’s face was taut. After a moment, he nodded his head in agreement. “Okay.”He unconditionally agreed with the compensation she asked for although dealing with it might be a bit troublesome.However, Eric finally felt relieved. ‘She’s willing to accept my compensation, so does that mean our relationship is still salvageable?’Nicole was not surprised by his agreement.At that moment, she stood up and walked behind her desk.“I’ll have someone work out the details with Ferguson Corporation. Let’s keep this cooperation private and confidential for now…”Eric had the same thoughts. After all, the project had just started, so it was not appropriate to be too high-profile.Looking at Nicole’s actions, she was probably about to send him out the next second.Since things between them had just started to ease up, it was better to avoid any unpleasant arguments.Eric stood up after some thought. “Then… I’ll head back…”Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes were affixed to a
Eric was curious why his lost ring would be in Nicole’s possession.Nicole’s eyes flickered slightly. She was obviously unwilling to answer this irritating question.However, she was even more unwilling to get entangled with Eric Ferguson.She simply told him.“I thought you knew…”‘You should know…’“This ring was returned to me one morning by Wendy Quade. She said that you had too much to drink the night before and slept at her place, then casually just threw it aside. So, she personally returned it to me.”Nicole would probably never forget that confrontation.That was the first time that Nicole felt such despair about their marriage.Nicole was lost in sadness, depression, and anger back then.Luckily, she managed to walk out of that darkness in time.Looking at the flicker of confusion and pain in his eyes, Nicole sneered with contempt.‘Perhaps I was mistaken. Eric Ferguson is a cold-blooded animal without feelings. How could he feel any pain because of me? Even if he
Ian Carter and Old Master Carter both felt a little strange about Nicole’s sudden departure.Nicole had never been so impolite before.Under Old Master Carter’s probing eyes, Gillian finally could not hold back and told him everything, that the painting was a fake and about Chloe’s fondness for Ian.When Old Master Carter heard this, he was fuming. His daughter-in-law, Gillian, had always been well-behaved and never caused trouble. Thus, he was satisfied with her.He did not expect that Gillian would make such a mess of things.How could he not be angry?Old Master Carter asked experts in the industry to find a photo of “The Blazing Sun” that was exhibited in the World Museum, then showed it to Gillian.This painting was Mr. Wilheim’s creation at the peak of his career.Every inch of this artwork meticulously brought out the beauty and grandeur of the full painting.Therefore, after some deliberation, Mr. Wilheim decided not to add his signature to this painting. Thus, “The
Hearing this, Nicole raised her eyes and absently smiled. “I admit to the first one. As for the latter, you’ve really wronged me…”Nicole smiled devilishly with a hint of gloating in her eyes.Sure enough, Gillian probably knew that she was duped. ‘Gillian did not even answer Chloe’s calls? How ruthless…’Chloe Snyder’s eyes were cold and stern. She kept pressing on. “Who are you to get Eric Ferguson to kick me out of that cooperation? Do you know how much effort I had to put in just to get into the market in Atlanta and form that connection?”She did not bother to work with small companies and went straight to Ferguson Corporation.It took some effort to obtain Eric Ferguson’s good impression and trust.Surprisingly, Nicole swept all her efforts away with just a few words.How could Chloe not be angry?Nicole let out a light laugh with a disdainful expression.“Your effort is telling Eric Ferguson that you can make Ian completely give up on me?”Chloe’s face stiffened as a
Nicole thought, ‘Chloe had a crush on Ian for ten years? No wonder she’s so aggressive and resentful towards me…’She looked at Chloe’s stiff and collapsed face and felt a little sorry for her.Nicole sympathized with this woman, but she did not regret anything.She looked at Chloe seriously. “Ms. Snyder, please don’t impose your emotional failure on me. Your fruitless crush and Ian’s dislike for you aren’t caused by me. I am also not a third party who destroyed your relationship, so I’m not obligated to accept your condemnation.”It was not like whoever was most pitiful had the advantage.Nicole and Chloe were not the same.Although they both had unrequited love for someone, at least Nicole had tried to fight for it. She had anticipated to gain Eric’s love openly before. On the other hand, Chloe had never fought for Ian’s love in the past ten years.“But he likes you…” Chloe glared at Nicole.Nicole shook her head. “Ms. Snyder, can you please be more reasonable? So what if h
Chatty and Fischer had been apart for so long, so they cried when they finally hugged.Fischer could not bear to see her cry.When her sobbing eased a little, Fischer lowered his head to wipe her tears and gently coaxed her not to cry.Chatty took a deep breath and calmed herself down as soon as possible.She had so many questions for him.Seeing that her eyes were swollen from crying, Fischer pinched her cheek and said with a smile, “Do you still want to drink coffee? If you don’t want this, we can go to my place, and I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”Chatty nodded.Fischer let down his hand and naturally held Chatty’s hand. He turned around to pick up her bag and pushed the door open.The waiter at the back was envious that they were such a perfect match.Chatty saw that he was holding her hand and felt as if an electric current passed through her heart.When they were young, Fischer often held her hand. They were inseparable, and he liked her the most.Was he still the same
After Chatty left, Clayton sighed miserably for several days, and Nicole was speechless when she saw this.Life in school was not so boring.Although Chatty had been spoiled since childhood, she was not arrogant or insufferable.Chatty was bubbly, outgoing, and clever, so she was very popular.From time to time, she invited everyone to party in her big villa. Thus, everyone loved her even more.Chatty also enjoyed her time alone.She would go for a walk along the Seine and feed the pigeons in the sunset...However, she always felt that someone was watching her whenever she was alone.Even so, she did not think much about it. After all, her father arranged so many security personnel for her.Maybe that stare was from a bodyguard.Chatty walked alone in the sunset with an ice cream in hand and a limited-edition bag that her mom bought for her. Chatty was planning to send this bag back to Mediania.She was a young and beautiful lady with stunning features, so she was a sight to
Clayton talked to Chatty about studying abroad.Chatty agreed without hesitation.He asked her where she wanted to go, to which she replied that she was fine with anywhere except France.Clayton pondered for a while before asking, “Are you reluctant about France because of Fischer?”Chatty’s eyes turned red.“I don’t remember him at all. Daddy, don’t mention him!”She felt aggrieved.Chatty grew up with him, and he suddenly disappeared one day.It felt like a dream.That person was no longer behind her. Fischer was no longer around.Chatty missed him very much, but Fischer did not even say goodbye.Clayton touched her head and looked at his daughter in distress.“Chatty, now that you’ve grown up, you should know that Fischer had no choice but to leave. He also couldn’t contact you, so if you see him in the future, don’t blame him.”Chatty stubbornly turned her head away, pretending not to care.She was the apple of Clayton’s eye, so when had she ever suffered any grievanc
In the blink of an eye, Chatty grew up.As soon as she graduated from high school, she found a boyfriend.She was also happy to go home and share the good news with Nicole.Nicole did not think much of it. She thought that her daughter should enjoy the feeling of sweet and youthful love.Thus, Nicole asked Chatty about her feelings and did not think she was too serious in a relationship.Nicole felt that she could turn a blind eye to it.However, when Clayton found out, he could not sleep all night.Clayton intended to have a good talk with his daughter.Chatty did not think much of it.“Everyone in my class has a boyfriend. If I didn’t have one, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the trend! Of course, I have to date while I’m young. Otherwise, it won’t be considered puppy love anymore! Life without a first love isn’t perfect!”Clayton tried to persuade her. “You’re still young. If you see the world, you’ll know that men aren’t great.”“Then is Mommy blind since she’s with y
Another surveillance footage showed that the waiter almost dropped the tray because of the instability of the wine glasses, so the waiter moved the position of the wine glass. However, Jade was unaware of this.The autopsy results came out overnight.Jade was found to be poisoned by potassium cyanide.The ingredients were the same as the small bottle that Jade was carrying.Jade intentionally wanted to kill someone, but she accidentally killed herself.She would never understand which part of her scheme went wrong and why she ended up dead.The police checked the surveillance footage and found that the small bottle was initially dropped by Selena’s aunt.They followed the lead and arrested her.The aunt confessed everything without omission and told the police that she was threatened, so she had to go to the event.However, the aunt did not want to harm anyone, so she took the opportunity of her fall to throw away the bottle of medicine.Unexpectedly, Jade did not give up and
Jade was silent for a moment. Then, she pursed her lips.“I don’t care what method you use. You must get your parents to see Selena. Otherwise, I will make your parents drink this bottle of potassium cyanide.”Jennifer raised her head abruptly. Her face was extremely pale.“Okay.”She spoke in a low voice.The uneasiness and fear in her eyes could not be concealed.......A few days later, the opportunity came.Eric specially brought Selena to attend a charity auction to relax her mind.Moreover, he also bought a lot of jewelry and antiques. Soon, he became the focus of the crowd.After the auction, there was a charity dinner.Jennifer’s parents managed to get an invitation through various channels.Jade was already in the center of the venue. She wanted to watch this good show, but Jennifer’s parents came late, and the crowd dispersed when they arrived.Jade was furious.If they missed this opportunity, how long would they have to wait for the next opportunity?The Stan
When Selena talked about Nicole and Eric, she had a smile on her face, and there was no concern or disgust in her eyes.It was probably because Selena felt that Eric had left his past behind.Eric would never approach Nicole again, and they each had their own lives.Nicole smiled. The gemstone bracelet in the box was shiny and beautiful. It was extravagant with each carefully crafted gemstone. There was a kind of wild and exquisite beauty to it.Nicole shook her head and could not help but laugh.“I liked collecting these a few years ago, but I’ve restrained myself now. Thank you, I really like it!”Selena took the initiative to give her a gift, which showed that she did not mind Nicole’s past with Eric. They just laughed it off.Nicole wore the bracelet on her wrist. It was indeed very beautiful.Selena smiled and was very happy to see that Nicole liked it.“The past is in the past. Let’s forgive each other, okay?”Nicole nodded with sore eyes.“It’s a pity I didn’t prepare
Jade’s rudeness made Floyd’s face darken.Nicole twitched the corner of her mouth indifferently.“The shares of Stanton Corporation belong to the Stanton family. Back then, Uncle Noah signed his shares over to the company so that he would only enjoy the dividends. Now that he has left the company, he will not be able to enjoy the dividends. Aunt Jade, your plan has failed. These shares aren’t part of your property division. Even if they are to be divided, the interests of the company come first.”Jade’s complexion was dull.“Then what should I do? If he goes to jail, how will I survive? I don’t care! Those shares must be given to me! Otherwise, I won’t rest!”Jade sat there looking like a rogue, as if she was determined to get the shares.Floyd’s face was gloomy, and he glanced at Jade with a complicated look.“You should go back and wait for the police and the company’s notice. Noah stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the company. The company is nice enough not to chase
Jade’s face turned pale.“You should try both, or at least find a reliable lawyer to get him less jail time.”Nicole could not help but chuckle.She interrupted their conversation.“Aunt Jade, in fact, you came at the right time. We’re here to discuss how to rescue Uncle Noah!”Jade glanced at her in surprise and disbelief.“Then… What did you discuss?”Clayton smiled inexplicably. His warm gaze fell on Nicole, and he looked like he was watching a good show.Nicole sighed.“Actually, we have consulted a lawyer. The worst-case scenario is the death penalty. After all, he killed two people. But there is a way. Uncle Noah was married to you back then, right? As long as you come forward to testify that Uncle Noah has been with you all the time, so he didn’t have a chance to commit those crimes, there may be a glimmer of hope!”Jade’s face turned pale instantly, and she stood up in shock.“You… You want me to give a false statement? How could I? This is illegal!”Nicole sneered