The middle-aged woman stared at Nigel's face. When she confirmed who it was, she sarcastically laughed. "Oh, just look at the coincidence. So it's you? How are you, Mr. Sarmiento? You're still alive?"Nigel's grip on the woman's arm tightened. "Of course, I'm still alive, and I won't die yet - not until you receive the punishment you deserve.""Ha?" Lorraine went puzzled. "What are you talking about? Do I owe you something I didn't know?"Nigel shook her violently out of rage; he didn't seem to care that she was a woman or that she was old enough to be his mother. "Stop denying it! You're only making your guilt worse. Just admit what you've done already!"Lorraine resisted. "Let me go, you're hurting me!" When she managed to break free, she immediately distanced herself. "Are you insane? What am I supposed to have done that you're talking about?" "However much you deny it, I won't let you get away with it. You're such a vile woman; you shouldn't be a doctor, you should be in jail."
"See, isn't he's so shameless? How thick his face was to blame others when it all started with him! If he hadn't secretly hooked up with your snake of a friend, would you guys end up in this state? I really wondered, what kind of mindset your ex-husband has. Good grief! The good thing is that you're finally free from him." Said the agitated Lorraine after she told everything to nathalie about what she went through because of Nigel. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Nathalie massaging her temples. "Nat, are you alright? What's wrong?" She checked on her heart monitor watch."I'm fine 'mie. I apologize for what Nigel had done to you." "Hump! Why are you apologizing on his behalf? He should be the one to apologize to me. And don't ever defend him, he's not even worthy of your concern.""Fine, can you just calm down now? You've been agitated since earlier. What's important is, the cops didn't take side with him and they didn't detain you illegally. But, I have a request for you.
The day of the company's anniversary arrived. Almost all of the female employees dressed grandiosely and competed with each other, as if they're attending a fashion show. But despite their efforts, they were still overshadowed when Nathalie arrived. Some of the women who didn't like her whispered among themselves:A woman who jelous of Nathalie rolled her eyes. "Ugh, here she comes again... Thinks she's queen bee just because she's close to the chairman's wife.""Hang on, what's the deal with her and Mrs. Chairman? They seem super close," Another woman asked."Yeah, look at how Mrs. Chairman is holding onto her, it's like they're mother and daughter or something." "Sheesh, for sure, she's getting too full of her self again! Just what did she do to get that close to Mrs. Andeza?""Maybe she's just really good at sucking up. Wish she could teach us a thing or two." One woman said sarcastically.These were the snide comments from the women who envied Nathalie, but she remained obliviou
After chatting with the guests, Armando was about to introduce Nathalie, but she was nowhere to be found. He approached his wife, Lucille, who was happily chatting with her friends, to ask if she knew where their daughter was.Lucille looked around and searched among the crowd. "Is she still not here? She told me she was going to the restroom a while ago.""She went to the restroom a while ago, but she's still not here?""I don't know either, maybe Nico knows where his sister is. Why don't you ask him?" Lucille suggested.Armando approached his eldest son, Nico, who was quietly drinking on the side. "Nico, have you seen your sister?"Nico didn't respond, as if he hadn't heard him."Nico," Armando called out again."Yes, Dad?""Have you seen Nathalie?"Nico scowled and slightly raised his voice. "Why are you looking for her with me? Am I her babysitter? Besides, she's already grown up, right?""What's wrong with you? I'm just asking if you've seen your sister. You can't behave like th
"Is what you're saying is true, Nigel? Where's Nathalie?""Uncle, don't worry, she's fine now. She's just resting in my suite."When Nathalie came downstairs, she heard this. "Dad, I'm here. I'm fine, don't worry.""Nat..." Armando looked his daughter up and down. "Is what Nigel said true, that those women did something to you?"Nathalie didn't deny it and quickly confirmed it.Armando turned to the four women, furious. "How dare you do something like that within my own company and on the day of the anniversary! Spill it, you're spies from the rival company, aren't you?"The women quickly denied it: "N-no! Mr. Andeza, we're not! We've worked here for a long time and we've never done anything like that.""Yeah, please believe us.""If that's true, then why did you do it? What made you do something like that?"The four women exchanged nervous glances."I-I..." Ria spoke up. She's been quiet until then. As the mastermind, she decided to explain why they did it, knowing they'd have
Nico quickly headed to the trash can to throw away the flowers, but his sister stopped him. "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Why are you throwing these?" Nathalie swiftly snatched the flowers from his brother. Nico tried to grab the flowers back, but Nathalie quickly moved away. "Brother, please..... These are mine, why are you throwing them without my consent?""Hey Nathalie, don't tell me you're okay with Nigel giving you all this stuff. Be honest, do you still like him? Are you planning on getting back with him?" Nico's tone mixed with irritation. He didn't even notice that they were already drawing attention from the employees."It's not like that, bro...." Nathalie replied. "My point is, it's not right for you to interfere with my decisions. I'll decide whether or not to accept what he's giving me, got it?""I don't know what to say to you. You want to decide for yourself? then go ahead!" Nico turned his back on Nathalie and left. As he stepped into the elevator, he called his a
Andy was standing off to the side, casually glancing at his boss who'd been in front of the mirror for a while now. His gaze drifted to the bed, which was covered in high-end suits. He'd picked out some of them, while Nigel had chosen the others. Nigel had asked for his help, but always ended up rejecting his suggestions.Andy couldn't take it anymore, so he cleared his throat. "Uh, sir... You've been trying on suits for ages, and you still can't decide?" Nigel didn't respond, too busy with what he was doing."Sir, isn't it just a meeting with Andeza's enterprises? Do you really need to dress up that formally? It's not like you're going to attend some grand gala or anything." This time, Nigel looked at him, but Andy felt a surge of fear. "Uh, don't get me wrong, sir. I'm just worried that you might intimidate the people you're meeting with later because of how you're dressed.""What do I care?" Nigel replied nonchalantly without even turning to face his assistant. He was now
Nathalie immediately snapped back to normal, ignoring Andy's question. "Why did you ask about that?" Andy carefully looked at Nathalie, worried that he might offend her by his question. "Nothing ma'am, I'm just curious... But if you don't want to tell me, that's okay." "Have you asked your boss about it? What did he say?" "Uh, I haven't asked him yet. You know my boss, he's kinda scary. I don't want to get in trouble and have my salary deducted again.""I'm not gonna deny that our breakup wasn't good. I just won't say who was at fault between us, but I can say that I don't regret marrying him, even though..." Nathalie gave a faint, bitter smile. "Even though I knew we were impossible from the start."Nathalie walked ahead, while Andy slowed down his pace. As he thought about Nathalie's last statement, he finally realized who was to blame for their breakup.When they return to the meeting room, Andy's perception of his boss suddenly changed. 'Boss, you..... I had no idea that desp
"You're really quiet today, don't you have anything to say? You didn't even greet me or ask if I've had breakfast," Elaine said to Nigel, who was driving. Nigel didn't respond, like he hadn't heard her. If only Elaine knew how much he wanted to kick her out of the car, but he knew he had to play nice. "Where should I drop you off?" "You want to get rid of me already, huh?" Elaine moved closer and unexpectedly hugged Nigel. She almost jerked forward when Nigel suddenly slammed on the brakes.Nigel pulled over for a moment. "What the...?! Can't you see I'm driving?!" he snapped. Elaine fell silent, pouting like a scolded child. "Sorry, Nigel... why are you being so grumpy with me? I remember you never used to raise your voice at me before, you were always so gentle when we talked. But now, just a little mistake and you're already yelling?"Nigel continued driving. "Are you still holding on to the hope that we'll go back to the way we are before? Don't day dream. Don't you still get
Elaine happily chooses her outfit for the day. She chooses to wear her expensive branded dress, paired with heavy makeup, as if she's going on a date. She likely forgot what the meeting is all about.Her hips sway as she heads to the VIP suite she booked. She asks the person she's going to meet to wait there. Before entering, she takes out her expensive perfume from her pouch and gives herself a quick spritz.When she opened the door, she saw a man standing by the window. She knitted her brows when he didn't give her even a single glance, acting as if she wasn't there. "Nigel," she called out loudly to get his attention.When Nigel faced her, she swayed her hips as she approached him. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he was about to push her away when she warned him, "If you stop me, I won't cooperate with you."Nigel froze. He just endured the discomfort he felt. As the woman was almost hugging him, he asked, "Where's Nathalie's heart? Is it still at the hospital?" "I do
When Nathalie woke up, she jolted upright, disoriented. The events from earlier immediately flooded back to her. She had been heading to the restroom at a gas station when someone suddenly attacked her from behind. They grabbed her and dragged her somewhere, while one of them made her inhale something from a handkerchief, making her pass out.When she looked around, she realized she was in an abandoned place. Fear enveloped her as she wrapped her arms around herself. A question formed in her mind: was this a kidnapping for ransom? Thinking that might be the reason, her fear slightly diminished. If that was the case, they would definitely ask ransom money. As long as the kidnappers didn't think of doing anything inappropriate to her, she will be fine.She jolted as the creaky, rusty door swung open. Two men, both wearing hoods and face masks entered. "Oh, she's awake. Maybe we can start now and get this job done?" One of the men asked.Nathalie's fear returned. What did the man mean?
Nigel suddenly grabbed Elaine's neck. "Do you really want me to be a criminal, Elaine? Do you really want me to be forced to kill someone?" Elaine struggled and angrily broke free from his grip. "Can't you just accept me, Nigel? Why is it so hard for you to do what I'm asking? Didn't you love me once–" "Yes, but I was blind back then!" Nigel snapped, silencing Elaine. "I made a mistake! I chose the wrong person. If you hadn't lied to me and pretended to save me from the fire, do you think I would've even noticed you?" Elaine froze, feeling like she'd been slapped as she was reminded of her deception and lies."Actually, it's also my fault for being deceived. I didn't even think you were fake. You know, you're one of the mistakes in my life. I wish I never met you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have hurt the person I love." "Enough!" Elaine interrupted, somewhat hurt by his words. "You don't truly love Nathalie, it's me..." She pointed to herself. "I'm the one you truly love, N
When Elaine finally unleashed her pent-up frustrations, she suddenly realized that she became the center of attention. She fished out some money from her clutch bag and slapped it on the counter, then she walked out without looking back. She leaned against a wall, feeling the effects of the alcohol kicking in, and now she felt dizzy.She grabbed her cellphone and dialed Nigel's number. She tried ten times, but it kept going straight to voicemail. "Why can't I reach him? Did he block me, or did he change his number?"Then she called someone abroad. "Hello, dear? I just want to confirm if I'll be okay if I expose myself - won't I be throw in jail?"The man on the other end replied, "You're good, they can't touch you. Besides, isn't your boyfriend some big-shot international lawyer?"Elaine felt a wave of relief. "Really? Thanks, dear. I feel so much better now.""No worries, babe. Anything for you.""Alright, see you." Elaine replied."Bye, I love you.""I love you too."When the call
"Nat, are you happy?" Nigel asked, squeezing Nathalie's hand as they walked holding hands through the park. They'd ditched their work to spend some time together."Of course, I am. But you know, I'm not sure if I'm going to regret this or what. I admit, at first, it was tough for me to accept Lyka and her pregnancy. But then I thought, it's my brother's child after all and he's innocent. But... it turns out that's not the case anymore. I don't know, it's just that... when I finally accepted everything, we then found out...""Nat..." Nigel interrupted, stopping in his tracks and smiling at Nathalie. "Are you regretting that the wedding won't push through? You know, we could still go through with it.""What–"Just as Nathalie was about to ask a question, Nigel dropped to his knee. He pulled out a ring box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a beautiful ring. "I know this might catch you off guard, but I just can't help how I feel. My heart is telling me not to let you go. Nathalie.
Nico didn't answer his mother, instead, he turned to the pale Lyka. "Where's your aunt?" Lucille was getting confused. "Wait, what's really going on, Nico?" Nico pulled up a chair and sat down. "I'll answer your question later, Mom. Please wake up Dad and call her aunt. I'm going to expose something." Lyka seemed to have figured out what was about to happen, and she started crying out of worry and fear. It was over for them; this was what she was talking about. There were no secrets or lies that wouldn't be exposed, but she never thought it would happen this fast. Lyka tearfully called her aunt, and since Rina could sense that something was wrong, she immediately excused herself from her friends at the Mahjong game. She arrived, panting, and as soon as she entered the villa, she loudly called out to her niece, forgetting that they were just guests in someone else's home. "Lyka! Lyka! What happened? Why did you call me?" Lyka had already mentioned that she was in the living ro
"Uh, hello... Brother Nigel? It's Lyka." Nigel's brow furrowed as he realized who was calling him. He was about to hang up, but Lyka stopped him: "Wait! Don't hang up yet. Sorry for calling you at this hour, but I'm too embarrassed to admit this to the people here." Nigel's response was curt: "Speak. What do you need?""Um, it's just..." Lyka was about to confess to Nigel when Rina suddenly appeared, causing her to jump in surprise and drop her cellphone. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you sleeping yet? Don't tell me you're trying to cool off when you have air conditioning in your room." Rina pulled Lyka by the hand. "Come on, it's not good for a PREGNANT women to stay up late." Before being dragged away by her aunt, Lyka quickly picked up her cellphone from the lawn. Meanwhile, Nigel was left wondering on the other end of the line when Lyka suddenly went silent. He turned off his cellphone to avoid any further distractions and drifted off to sleep...........A month l
"Mom, why are you calling me? Is everything okay?" Nathalie wondered, since her mom rarely called her when she was at the office. Her mom only called when there was a problem. On the other end of the line, Lucille was supporting her forehead. "Nat, we have a problem..."After Lucille explained the issue:"What?!! They're going to live in the house?" "Yes, dear. Don't tell your Dad yet, okay? He has an important meeting today and I don't want it to affect him." "Wait... did you agree to it, Mom?""I don't know what to decide. Rina told me they're out of money to rent even a small unit, and on top of that, Lyka is pregnant with your brother's child. How can I turn them down?" Nathalie sighed. As instructed by her mother, Nathalie didn't mention the two to her father or brother. But by lunchtime, she couldn't keep it in anymore. She didn't want to drop the news on them when they were about to head home to avoid catching them off guard. So, after they finished lunch, she told them