"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
"What's wrong, Dad?" Asked the blonde girl, who looked like in her 20's as she noticed her father's bad mood when he arrived home. The man had come with his daughter to the country, and since they were foreigners and had just arrived, they were renting a place. He waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he didn't want her to bother him.The girl just shrugged off her father's temper and continued with what she was doing. She headed to the living room and resumed watching a yoga instructor on TV, following along with the moves. The old man sat down on the sofa, feeling a bit worn out. "This country's hot climate is crazy, I feel like being roasted!" He turned to his daughter, intending to ask her to get him a cold drink, but his gaze landed on her fit physique instead. His eyes narrowed as a sudden thought struck him, he quickly concocted a plan.Just a while ago in the meeting room at Andeza Enterprises, he was seething with anger as Armando humiliated him in front of everyone
The room went quiet. Rebecca was the first to break the silence and asked, "S-sister, what did you just say?" Rina repeated what she said, and this time, everyone reacted. They turned to look at Lyka almost in unison.Lyka looked down in embarrassment, uneasy under the scrutiny of everyone's gaze. She felt like a specimen under observation.It hadn't sunk in yet for Nigel what his aunt had said, not until he noticed everyone staring at him with doubt. He seemed irritated by the questioning looks, and his irritation was evident in his tone. His face darkened as he turned to his aunt. "I have no idea what you're talking about, where did you even get that?" He then turned to Lyka. "Is that how desperate you are to cause trouble for us?""W-wait a minute... You're saying... Nigel got this girl pregnant?" Lucille asked, pointing to Lyka. "How did that happen?" She looked puzzled, unable to understand how it was possible, given that she knew Nigel had feelings for Nathalie. So, how did h
"Your brother Nigel is already home with his girlfriend," Rina pointed out."What's the point, anyway? Our plan won't push through since the result is negative," Lyka replied. She looked somewhat disappointed."I know we didn't get what we wanted, but are we just going to give up like that? It would be a waste to come all the way to the city for nothing.""What else can we do?... Aunt, why don't we just go back to the countryside? I'll just continue my studies there.""What? No way! I'm not going back there to be a farmer and get my skin burned again by the intense heat of the sun. Why would I struggle there when my sister and her son have such a great life here?""But Aunt...""Just don't give up yet, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can find a way, you never know." Lyka fell silent and didn't say another word.Rina headed to the hospital where Lyka had taken a pregnancy test. When the result came out negative, she almost got into a fight with the doctor.She went there because it w
"Nathalie, listen carefully...." Nigel 's expression was utterly serious. "You must hate her because she's the one who started it all...." And then he told her about Elaine's fake heart condition.Nathalie clenched her fists. "So, she wants me dead? What did I ever do to her to make her want my life? I already gave you up to her back then and I even decided to donate my heart to her just to prolong her life.""Well, she's not worth it. She's evil, and if she really needs a heart donor, it would be a mistake for anyone to donate to someone like her." "Never mind, it's over now. What's important is that she didn't succeed completely. She may have separated us for three years, but we're still together. For everything she's done, let's just leave it to God to punish her."Nigel smiled slightly. "Um, from now on, no one can ever separate us again... not even her... Nathalie..." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "We haven't done this yet, but can I...?" Nathalie smiled sweetly, she le
Things have been back to normal for the past two weeks. The newly reunited pair is happy, although their current relationship feels a bit weird since they used to be married. They actually prefer this setup, where it's like they're starting all over again, getting to know each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Travelling together or wherever they decide to go is also part of their plans."Wow, you two seem like you're on your honeymoon already! Where do you plan on making our future grandkids?" Lucille asked when Nigel and Nathalie told them about their vacation plans. "M-mom!" Nathalie exclaimed, her face quickly turning red from her mother's teasing. Lucille and Rebecca burst out laughing, while Armando just listened quietly as he sipped his coffee. "Just kidding, why are you blushing so quickly?" ."Um.... I-it's just..."Nigel gently rubbed Nathalie's back to calm her down, although he couldn't help but feel a thrilled. "Alright Aunt, Nathalie might change her mind and we won't
Nathalie didn't see that coming from Nigel, she found herself glancing around at the people teasing them, egging her on to respond. Her eyes then landed on her parents. Her mom, Lucille, gave her a reassuring smile and a nod, as if to say, 'The decision is yours.'Nathalie couldn't help but think of all the times Nigel had helped her and her family, and how patient he had been with her. She didn't want to respond to him just out of gratitude, so she took a moment to search her heart. She leaned forward slightly, her hand on her chest. In those few moments, she confirmed to herself what she truly felt, and so..."Nigel..." She called out to the man standing before her, who had been waiting for her response. Though he didn't show it, he was clearly anxious. His embarrassment was the least of his concern, but that she might not give him another chance. "I'm grateful for all the help you've given my family, but I don't want that to be the reason I give you what you're asking for–""Nathal
When Rebecca told her son about his sister's apology, Nigel just shrugged it off. But when she mentioned that Rina would be attending his birthday party, he scowled. "No!" Rebecca frowned. "Nigel, can't you just forgive your Aunt Rina? Give her a chance to make things right, she really regrets everything she's done.""Regrets? Do you think she can just have regrets like that? If she wants me to believe her, she should go back to the countryside." "Nigel!" Rebecca's forehead was furrowed. "Is your anger towards her really that great? She's your aunt and your own flesh and blood. Why are you so stubborn? She's just asking for a chance." "What chance? A chance to pester us again?""Okay...." Rebecca sighed, looking stressed. She rubbed her forehead. "I won't argue with you anymore...... Sorry son, but whether you like it or not, I'll invite her. All I want is for you two to talk and make amends." "You're the one who's in charge, Mom. But I hope you won't regret your decision."....
When Rebecca got home from work, she found Nigel crying while her brother in-law tried to calm him down. Rina was nowhere to be found since she was out to play mahjong. Rebecca was shocked to see that Nigel, who was almost two years old, had a gauze on his forehead. When she asked what had happened, Rina's husband explained:"While Rina was engrossed in playing mahjong at their house, Nigel woke up and immediately cried when he found himself alone in the room. One of Rina's mahjong buddies mentioned that her child was awake, but Rina simply replied that the crying child wasn't hers. She called out to her husband, but he wasn't around because he had gone out to buy something.Nigel's crying persisted since no one was attending to him, until Rina and her friends heard a loud thud from the room, followed by Nigel's intense wailing. Rina decided to take a peek at her nephew, annoyed.But when she stormed into the room, she was shocked to see that Nigel had wound on his forehead and was b
Nigel's face darkened. "Aunt, I didn't ask for your opinion, and who do you think you are to question my decisions?" "You..." Rina was taken aback by her nephew's response. "I'm your aunt!""You may be my aunt, but our relationship only goes as far as blood ties. You've never contributed anything to our lives, so learn your place. If not, you might just find yourself going back early." "Nigel..." Nathalie intervened, worried that things might escalate further between him and his aunt. She spoke softly. "She's your aunt, you shouldn't speak to her like that."Nigel sneered. "Heh, aunt? I've had enough of this woman. If only you knew her true nature.""Are you threatening me, huh, Nigel?" Rina asked loudly. At that moment, she was being held back by Lyka, who had pulled her away earlier because she seemed to want to charge at Nigel. "And what are you saying that I haven't contributed anything to you and your mother?... Pfft!" She pretended to spat to the side. "You ungrateful little
As soon as they entered the suite Nigel booked for them, they were amazed. The VIP suite was huge and luxurious, with two bedrooms and a spacious living room. "Wow, this room is massive! And look, the bed is so soft!" "That's right, aunt. It's crazy how rich your sister's husband is. I'm so jealous." Lyka said while checking out the amenities in the room. Rina suddenly fell silent. Earlier, she had a smug look on her face, but now it seemed like she was consumed by envy. She couldn't help but compare her simple life in the countryside to her sister's luxurious life in the city. 'Why hasn't something like this happened to me? Is it because Rebecca is prettier than me?' She clenched her fists in frustration, gripping the bedsheet tightly.Rina's reverie was interrupted by a sudden knock. When Lyka opened the door, a hotel staff member stood before them. "Good afternoon, ma'am, just checking in. Are you getting hungry or do you need anything?"Rina approached the staff member in curi