Feeling his anger flare to even greater heights at the statement, Evan pulled out his phone to call his mother instantly.
The call got through, but before Evan could say anything, his mother silenced him with a simple ultimatum. “You can either find a random woman to marry immediately, or you let Ms. Tussaud take care of Kyle for two months. The choice is yours.”
“I’ve made it clear that I don’t want to be married!”
“Maybe you don’t need a wife, but can you let Kyle grow up without a mother? Unless you want Sofie to marry into this family and be Kyle’s mother, of course.”
Evan was well-aware of how Sofie had treated Kyle earlier. If he truly married that sort of a woman, it would be no better than sending Kyle to a concentration camp.
After carefully considering his choices again, Evan decided that his best option was to comply with his mother’s demands for now. He was confident that he could come up with a plan to put up a fight with Nicole until she backed down.
“You win this round, mother,” Evan said scornfully, then hanging up immediately.
Kyle walked out of his bedroom, feeling a rush of happiness when he saw Nicole. He rushed over to her and grabbed her hand, his little face beaming with joy. “Do you know how to make a pizza?”
Nicole smiled as she nodded. Her daughter Maya was a little foodie as well, so she had mastered the skill of making various types of food. “Well, what type of pizza do you want?”
“I want to eat a beef pepperoni and cheese pizza.” Kyle beamed.
“Shall I make it for you now?” Nicole threw a glance at Evan.
She walked to the kitchen, chatting merrily with Kyle as he followed her.
Evan watched them go with an ugly expression on his face. Kyle was unresponsive and laconic when Evan spoke to him last night, but he was now talking to Nicole happily. He even wanted to eat the pizza she made.
He was the one who had raised Kyle ever since he was born, yet Kyle already preferred the mother he had just met for a few days.
“Don’t think that you’re actually worthy to be Kyle’s mother, Nicole!”
Watching Evan fume resentfully, Blake cleared his throat. “Mr. Seet, it’s time for you to go to the office now.”
Evan acknowledged the reminder with a cold nod. He was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something, then he stopped in his tracks. He glared at Blake. “Watch that woman carefully. I want to know every single move she makes.”
After that, Evan strode out of the room as soon as he had finished talking, but he added, “It will be the best if you can put a camera on her. Make sure the footage can be checked anytime, too.”
Blake’s expression changed suddenly. “You can turn on every single camera in the villa, Mr. Seet, but if you secretly put a camera on Ms. Tussaud, it’s considered an invasion of privacy and that is illegal. So I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Then make sure all of the cameras in this villa are turned on! Make sure there aren’t any blind spots and get people to install cameras if there are!”
Blake was speechless. Do you really need to be so guarded against one woman? But he did not dare to voice his opinion, thus, he merely nodded silently and carried out Evan’s orders.
After Nicole was done making the pizza, Kyle took a bite of it happily. The taste was heavenly, even better than those sold in restaurants.
“Eat more if you like it,” Nicole said.
Kyle nodded, reaching for another slice and eating it happily.
Nicole broke into a smile at the sight. She was content just watching Kyle eat, knowing that she was quietly fulfilling her motherly duties to Kyle and that was satisfying.
Near noon, Mrs. Seet suddenly called Nicole to inform her about Evan’s favorite dishes, asking her to prepare them for him.
Nicole was quite speechless with the request. She had no problem cooking those dishes, but whether Evan was willing to eat her food was another matter entirely.
Won’t it just be a waste of time and ingredients?
However, if Nicole wanted to continue taking care of Kyle, she needed to comply with Mrs. Seet’s requests. So obediently, Nicole washed her hands before retrieving the ingredients from the fridge. She started to cook after taking a deep breath.
She asked Kyle what he wanted to eat as well, so she could cook it for him too.
By noon, she needed to return home to take care of her remaining three children. She left before Evan returned home.
Before she left, Nicole looked at the dishes she had made pensively and reminded Blake. “Don’t tell Mr. Seet that I cooked them. If he doesn’t eat them, then please help yourself. It’s a shame seeing so much good food go to waste.”
Blake understood what she meant. Evan would order all the food to be thrown away immediately if he knew Nicole was the one who prepared them. “Rest assured, Ms. Tussaud. I know what needs to be done.”
After Nicole left, Blake specially sent the other helpers to arrange the dishes artfully on the dining table. Looking at the exquisite dishes, he felt his mouth started to water. Blake never expected Ms. Tussaud to be able to cook so well.
Evan would definitely enjoy this meal.
Evan returned home on time, he barely parked his Maybach properly before hurrying to ask Blake about Nicole’s every single move throughout the day.
Blake reported everything truthfully, sparing no detail. Evan just laughed coldly when he heard the report. He refused to believe that woman was so obedient. There were definitely still some tricks up her sleeve.
When Evan walked into the dining room, he frowned when he saw the mouthwatering array of dishes arranged on the table.
“Do we have a new chef?”
“No, sir. Mrs. Seet specially sent someone over to deliver these dishes for you.” Blake delivered the excuse calmly.
Evan took a seat at the dining table, finding his gaze drawn by the beef stew in front of him. The beef cutlets were coated in the velvety gravy, tempting him to pick a piece up with his fork. When he bit into the meat, it was tender and juicy, flavorful, and not cloying. It was the best beef stew he had ever tasted, cooked exactly to his tastes.
The rest of the dishes on the table were as delicious as the beef stew. Evan was a notoriously picky eater, but even he could not help but enjoy a second serving of everything.
Watching Evan dig in with relish, Blake felt a sense of delight. If Ms. Tussaud continued taking care of Kyle, Mr. Seet would be adequately taken care of as well.
Blake was just confused as to why Evan insisted on guarding himself so carefully against Ms. Tussaud like she was a petty thief. As far as he knew, Ms. Tussaud was just a brilliant doctor who happened to be a fantastic cook.
He was ruminating when he saw Evan put down his empty plate. Evan asked, “Are the cameras installed yet?”
“John’s work efficiency has always been good, Mr. Seet. The cameras have been installed since this morning.”
“Very good.”
Evan knew that Nicole would not be content without playing one trick or another. With these newly installed cameras, he could easily find out if she did anything suspicious.
All that was left for him to do now was just waiting to catch her in the act.
…
The sound of rushing water in the kitchen stopped as the tap was turned off. Finished with her chores in the kitchen, Nicole made her way to the living room.
In one corner of the room, Juan was drawn into learning hacking techniques.
On the other hand, Nina was carefully practicing make-up techniques on her dolls.
Meanwhile, Maya was looking at various boxes arranged in front of her, each filled with desserts of different flavors. She mumbled quietly as she tasted a tiny cake. “Why do rolled oats taste so good paired with yogurt? This is delicious!”
Looking at her three children, a smile spread across Nicole’s face. “Be nice to each other. Mommy’s going to work now.”
“Bye, Mommy.”
“See you at night, Mommy.”
“Mommy, I want to eat cake pops tonight!”
Hearing Maya’s loud exclamation, Nina just said three words, “What a pig!”
“But if you say that, then I think Mommy gave you the wrong name! Mommy, I suggest that Nina shouldn’t be called Nina anymore.” Maya’s tiny voice was very serious.
Nicole just laughed slightly. “Then what should we call her?”
“How about… grouchy?” suggested Maya as her clear eyes shone.
Juan turned around and stared at Maya in astonishment. That nickname is pretty accurate. Juan was tempted to give Maya a big thumbs up, but Nina’s deadly glare scared him into keeping his arm down.
Nina refused to admit defeat. She retaliated, “Fine, I’ll accept the nickname grouchy if you also change your name from Maya to piggy.”
“You’re the piggy!”
“No, you are! The one who likes snacks is the pig!”
“Alright, alright, stop it! Juan, keep an eye on these two. Also, girls, I will confiscate your things if you keep arguing like that.”
Nina had her eyes on her beautiful trinkets while Maya stared at her delicious snacks. Neither of them wanted to have their things confiscated, so they turned to one another. They were in sync when they rolled their eyes at one another before shutting up.
The room was finally quiet.
Nicole left the house in a hurry and got to Hillside Villa.
She was about to go hang out with Kyle when Sophia walked over with a curious expression on. Sophia held Nicole’s hand as if they knew each other well.
“So how is it? Is Evan nicer to you now?”
Nicole wasn’t used to being that close to Sophia, but she didn’t feel right retracting her arm either. Nicole thought about it for a while before reporting honestly, “He was surprised to see me this morning…”
Surprised and disgusted, that is. He even told me to f*ck off.
Nicole left that part out because she knew that Sophia could guess it, anyway. Sophia was a little stunned to hear that. Nicole then added, “I went to my place this afternoon because I left some stuffs there, and he had gone to work by the time I got back. I haven’t seen him since.”
They haven’t seen each other since this morning? thought Sophia.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.