After Nicholas was finally done dealing with the reporters, he led me backstage. Claudia was very surprised to see me and Nicholas going into the room arm-in-arm. Her small face contorted with rage, and her eyes nearly popped out. She raised her voice as she demanded, "Nick! Why is Arianna here?"
Claudia's lips trembled as she clenched her fists even tighter. I did not doubt that if there were no outsiders here, she would have punched me. Claudia stood alone behind me in silence for a while. I did not know what she was thinking, but I could tell from her demeanor that she had finally calmed
"Ariana!"Claudia's eyes flared with fury as if she wanted to burn me to ashes in an instant. Infuriated, she shrieked, "Do you think you're safe just because you're pregnant?"She was so enraged by me that she was practically hopping mad, but she couldn't do anything else aside from clenching her
Terrified, Claudia shook her head vigorously and denied everything. "N-No! It wasn't me! It was her—she fell on her own!"Already on the edge of losing my voice, I cried out, "How could I ever harm my own child? That's my baby!"I sobbed uncontrollably, my body quivering as Nicholas cupped my cheeks
Nicholas's eyes were thick with emotion. "Let's go to the hospital. I will give you a satisfying answer."My vision was blurry, but I felt like I actually understood the look in his eyes for the first time ever. I trusted that he was truly going to give me a satisfying answer this time. Gazing at h
I lowered my gaze. When I looked up again, my eyes were flaring with determination. "I am voluntarily filing for a divorce," I whispered. Nicholas fell silent. The staff patiently asked, "And you, sir?"Nicholas didn't answer her. Instead, he turned toward me, and his eyes began reddening. I fel
I met Nicholas's gaze and spotted the palpable grief in his eyes. I could tell that he was struggling, but it was probably because his hope to build his own family had been shattered. This was something he'd been longing for since he was young, after all. He said that I was ruthless because I faile
An hour later, a 60-second video of Nicholas and I bidding our farewells in front of the court made headlines. People online even commented that the scene where Nicholas's coat billowed about in the wind as he watched me leave surpassed those in tragic films. "Just how desperate was she to file fo
Claudia had left, yet it still felt like someone was standing there. The tension of a silent standoff stirred something deep within me. But under the cover of darkness, whatever I couldn't hide would still remain unseen."Was it you?" Nicholas's voice carried no hint of emotion, and his gaze was unr
The journey from Jay Caldwell & Co. to Coral Villa wasn't long, taking less than half an hour.I kept refreshing the webpage, watching the situation unfold. The trending topics about Claudia and Nelson continued to drop in popularity. Someone was clearly working to bury the story."Tell the PR team
In Nicholas's mind, it seemed like I still loved him because I had his child.I could clearly feel that from the moment I revealed that Tabitha was his daughter, he became much softer."We're here," Douglas reminded me in a low voice, snapping me back to the present.Today, I was meeting with Yasmin
After finishing lunch, I asked Douglas to take me to Jay Caldwell & Co. I needed to discuss a few things with Yasmine.Nicholas stopped me in front of the car. "Can't you spare me just half an hour?"The wind was stronger today, and my words carried a coldness as I spoke."I think you should make th
Just as I was about to turn Nicholas down, the waiter knocked and brought in the dishes I ordered.I frowned. "Did you bring the wrong dishes? This isn't what I ordered."I was starving and had ordered butter-poached lobster tails, seared scallops, sous vide short ribs, and king crab legs with herb
I got into the car and saw Nicholas outside through the window, kicking at a patch of grass with a gloomy look on his face.Douglas glanced at me. "Ms. Jones, did you and Mr. Hawk make up?"Upon hearing that, I lifted my gaze and caught the confusion in his eyes through the rearview mirror. I shook
Christopher trembled as I stepped toward him. Although each of my steps was graceful and unhurried, they seemed to fill him with dread.At that moment, I felt like I was some kind of demon. Why else would it take so many bodyguards to hold Christopher down? I did not doubt that, if they let him go,
"Christopher?" I gasped.I had planned to slip away quietly, but Christopher's desperate cries were so loud they drew a crowd. It was then I realized Coral Villa looked the same as before, yet it had changed in so many ways. Otherwise, where did all these people come from?A guard in black kicked C
Nicholas needed some time alone, and my mood did not ease from the heavy pain as I pushed open the door.Just a door between us, and we were each steeped in our own pain."Ah! Ah!"The sound of a little voice pulled me from my thoughts. I practiced my smile twice before I leaned over the railing. "