Gardner Corporation was so influential in the country that its presence alone resembled a monarch, while the relatively small media companies were as puny as an ant, and anyone who dared to go up against Gardner Corporation would be stepped on, like an ant.
Seeing as the reporters had surrendered their recording tapes, Colton stopped bothering them and turned around to leave.
On the other hand, watching as Colton showed up and left without showing any affection to her, Queenie hopelessly sat on the ground and bitterly cried in Lydia’s arms.
Followingly, the reporters followed Colton out.
With the crowd dismissed, Queenie started cursing. “Mom. I’m sure… I’m sure it’s the doing of that b*tch Nicole!”
At her daughter’s wailing, Lydia, too, felt pained. She initially thought they would be able to bring Nicole down this time and seal her within helplessness. Out of her expectation, Nicole fired back and set her daughter up. She held Queenie as she gently patted her back, clenching her teeth. “Don’t worry, Queenie. I’ll never forgive her! And I’ll make sure that she wishes she was dead!”
The night sky was so dark it resembled the finest black fabric in the world.
Meanwhile, Nicole was leaning against the railing as she coldly stared at the turmoil unfolding beneath her with her eyes slightly lowered. The matter was supposedly resolved, but all of a sudden, a burning sensation surged in her body, eating away at her will. She bit her lips as she gripped the railing. Squinting her eyes, she had never expected the drug Lydia set up to be so strong, so her only option right now was to go home. As for her mother’s innocence, one day, she would surely force it out of Lydia.
Right when she was about to leave, a man’s raspy voice stopped her. “You’re here, Miss Nicole Anderson.”
Intuitively, she turned around, and her gaze fell upon Colton’s sable eyes. She was stunned for a moment before quickly regaining her senses. She then pursed her lips and greeted him with a beam. “Yes.”
Due to the night’s dullness and the fact that there was no lighting where they were, their vision was almost pitch black, which was why Colton couldn’t see her weird expression.
“Are you not going downstairs?” Colton took a few steps forward and came before Nicole.
As he neared her, Nicole could smell the scent unique to the man, just like the scent from five years back. Zoning out, she quickly snapped out of it and subconsciously stepped back as an unusual redness occurred on her snowy cheeks. “Maybe not. I’m just an outsider, and I’ll surely make a fool of myself if I show up down there.” Finished, she subconsciously gulped her saliva as she held her shaky body up with her hand. For some reason, Colton’s approach gave her an irresistible sensation to get close to him. Hence, she clenched her fists and pricked her palms with her fingers, attempting to suppress her urge to act rashly.
Colton said nothing more. He was aware of a thing or two about the grudge Nicole had against the Anderson Family, as well as how the Anderson Family was scornful of her. “Do you know what happened earlier?” Lowering his gaze, he casually quizzed all of a sudden.
With that, Nicole pretended to be calm and clueless, asking, “What happened?”
Hearing her answer, Colton lowered his eyes and softly uttered, “Nothing too important, actually. Since you don’t know, let’s forget about it.”
They stood not too close to each other, about ten inches apart. Yet, Nicole could still feel the itch in her throat and the thumping desire to pounce at the man. However, she tried to hold it in. As she lowered her gaze, she swiftly stated, “It’s late. I should go.” If she were to tarry any longer, she might actually do something she would regret. Having said that, she was about to turn around and leave, but Colton suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“Miss Anderson, I have something to ask of you.” His grab wasn’t forceful. As he was holding her, he could feel the terrifying heat on her skin in his palm. He slightly frowned, and as he was about to say something, Nicole quickly jerked her hand away before hastily stepping back.
“Just tell me what it is, President Gardner. I’ll help you out if it’s within my capabilities.”
Although Colton was bewildered, he started to express his thoughts earnestly. “So, my sister is graduating this year, and she plans to attend the graduation prom. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to design a dress for her. Only if you have the time, that is.”
On the other hand, Nicole could feel the effects of the drug getting stronger. There wasn’t any issue back when she was alone, but after Colton came, her body temperature speedily rose as the urge within her intensified. Hastily, she nodded and replied, “Of course.” Finished, she was about to leave, but out of nowhere, everything turned dark. She tripped herself and almost fell to the ground, but luckily, Colton, thanks to his agility, managed to grab her.
Holding her in his arms, Colton only noticed then the inordinately scorching temperature of the woman’s body.
There was nothing but blackness in Nicole’s vision. When she regained consciousness, the man’s scent gushed into her nostrils. Her heart skipped a beat, and as intimacy slowly surged in her eyes, she opened her mouth and licked her dry lips before she wrapped her arms around the man before her. With a voice so subtle yet so fatally alluring, she whispered, “Give it to me…”
Dazed, Colton, watching as Nicole was getting strange, regained his senses and held her up, inquiring, “Nicole, are you okay?”
Nicole inhaled the unique scent from the man’s body that was swirling at her nose. The ambiguous smell stormed into her nose, making her tempted to stick her body against him. Her mind was in a mess. A minute ago, she was still managing to retain her rationality, but after taking a whiff of Colton’s scent, she felt that she was about to lose herself. With both her arms around Colton, Nicole, as if she no longer cared about decency, grasped him and aggressively rubbed herself against him, all while she muttered, “It’s so hot… Give it to me…”
Consequently, Colton’s body froze. The woman in his arms, too, carried a fragrant aroma. It wasn’t a thick perfume scent, but a subtle, refreshing aroma that was natural and rather nice. Regardless, judging by Nicole’s look, he easily figured out that she was drugged. The woman was fondling across Colton’s chest with her petite hands, and as she was touching him, he felt a burning sensation surging within him, to which he quickly grasped her hand. After all, if she were to go on caressing him, even he couldn’t assure how things would end up.
“Nicole, can you still hold it?” Colton calmed himself down before asking.
Opening her moistened eyes, Nicole turned to look at him with her confused eyes. She could no longer understand what Colton was saying. In that instant, all she knew was that her body was unbearably hot, and that she craved the man before her.
Receiving no response, Colton could only pull out his phone and give Harvey a call. After the call went through, he cut to the chase and directly blurted, “Harvey. Twenty minutes. My place.”
“Why? You must have pissed someone off and had your *ss beaten, huh?” On the phone, Harvey vilely questioned.
Harvey Yates, after getting his master’s degree in medical school, started a small clinic that specialized in treating wealthy individuals. Since they used to live near each other back then, and thanks to Harvey’s shameless attitude, he and Colton eventually got to know each other.
“A friend of mine was drugged, and it’s serious. Hurry over.” Colton finished his sentence in one breath. Then, he lifted Nicole up. If he were to let the symptoms go on, something atrocious might happen. With that, he carried her and rushed down the staircase. Under the rays of the lights, he could finally see her awfully red cheeks. Those once-snowy cheeks were now as red as a beetroot.
“No way! Colton, you absolute beast! Did you fall for another girl, who doesn’t share the same feeling, and now you’re forcing it onto her?” Before Colton managed to hang up, the momentary silence was suddenly torn apart by Harvey’s energetic voice.
At once, Colton had the urge to go profane, but he suppressed it and patiently said, “Cut the nonsense and get over here fast! Or else!” Annoyed by Harvey’s talkativeness, he swiftly hung up.
In the meantime, Nicole, who was in his arms, wasn’t exactly calm as she snuggled her face against his chest. Even with his clothes on, he could still feel the temptation growing with her constantly teasing him. He lowered his head and stared at the woman in his embrace. If it weren’t for his persisting determination, he would have done her on the spot. Without contemplating any further, he carried her into his car before getting into the driver’s seat and hitting the gas.
…
Today was William’s birthday. What was supposed to be a merry day turned into an intercourse plight.
After Queenie and Joseph were sent to the hospital, the reporters, upon Colton’s warning, had shown themselves out of the building.
Meanwhile, William, scowling, grew enraged upon seeing Lydia, whose face was dirtied with tear stains. Exasperated, he raised his hand and ferociously landed a smack on her face. “What the f*ck do you think you’re doing? Will you finally be satisfied when my reputation sinks into a sh*thole?! Will you?!” he outrageously roared.
The incident that took place tonight had utterly disgraced the Anderson Family.
As William did not hold back with his slap, Lydia was now pressing her stinging face, and tears uncontrollably fell from the corner of her eyes.
Given Nicole’s honorable reputation as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, William already had the plans to reel her back into the Anderson Family.
Many years ago, Lydia had driven Nicole and her mother out of Anderson Residence and banished her from returning. “Did you even think why Queenie and Joseph would be in the same room, drugged at the same time?” Her eyes glistened with tears as she raised her head, looking resentful.
William’s body froze. He turned to Lydia’s tear-stained face and tensed his brows. After pondering for a bit, he quizzed, “You think it’s Nicole’s doing?”
Seeing as he was buying her implication, Lydia quickly replied, “What else could it be? Queenie was doing just fine with President Gardner. Why would she sleep with Joseph?”
William found her words reasonable. All these years, thanks to Queenie’s efforts in playing up to the Gardner Family, the Andersons were able to reap innumerable benefits, so indeed, Queenie had no reason to offend the Gardners for Joseph’s sake. Thinking of this, the anger on his face waned, and he was no longer as tilted as he was.
Sensing the result of her manipulation, Lydia hurriedly added, “Think about it. Five years ago, when Nicole came to us begging for money to treat her mother, do you remember how we rejected her? And this time, Nicole must be trying to get back at us by setting Queenie up!” As she was speaking, she brushed her tears off, whimpering and saying, “Oh, Poor Queenie… she… she almost got violated!”
Hearing Lydia’s wailing, William finally calmed himself down, as shown on his face. After regaining his composure, he recalled his memories from five years ago. Indeed, he had been dreadful toward Nicole and her mother, sparing not even a penny for them. And that explained why Nicole returned – to take her revenge.
“Okay, calm down now. It didn’t happen in the end, no? I’m sure President Gardner will investigate the matter thoroughly, so it’ll only be a matter of time until the culprit is captured.” Having cooled down, William comforted Lydia.
…
Meanwhile, in the luxurious sedan was its finely designed interiors.
Nicole, with her eyes half shut, lay back on her seat. The car windows were tightly shut. Even without the heater, she could still feel her body burning. She put out her tongue and licked her unhydrated lips, looking dazed when she looked ahead.
Colton, squinting his eyes, could vividly observe the woman beside him in the car. On her pale face were her rosy cheeks as well as a pair of unglossed lips, seemingly tender and moist, that even Colton would want to take a bite.
Having been soundless for a while, Nicole, once again, began to act up. Somehow, her hand found its way to the buckle, and she unfastened her seatbelt before she weakly leaned against Colton. Wafting at her lucid eyes was mist that made them look captivating. Her voice carried a hint of allure. “I’m so hot, and your body is so cold…”
Despite that, Colton endured his urges. Seeing the red light, he pumped the brake and subsequently pushed the woman back to her seat.
With his bassy, hoarse voice, he said, “Stay put, or I can’t guarantee what’ll happen.” He was so tempted to talk dirty. His heart that had stayed unmoved for so long was strangely triggered by Nicole.
As if she didn’t hear him, she reached out her hands and held his head before pecking him on his cheek.
With that, Colton was stupefied. It was as if a surge of electricity defibrillated his heart. Coming back to his senses, he turned to her, only to see her dark, sparkling eyes. All of a sudden, a honk from behind disrupted his thoughts, to which he hastily withdrew his body and seated himself before hitting the pedal to head home.
Feeling not a thing in her arms, Nicole felt empty and once again threw herself onto
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