As they arrived at Anderson Residence, Nicole turned to the man in a suit at the steering wheel. Due to the fact that he traveled all over the city for her, his hair visibly grew unkempt. To be fair, the man, as long as he kept his mouth shut and refrained from uttering any sort of infuriating words, was actually a sight for sore eyes.
The sky was engulfed by darkness in the middle of the night, and if she didn’t have a ride, she would have to walk her way home. Looking at him, she said, “Please wait for me, President Gardner. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay, go ahead.” Colton nodded, willing to be a gentleman in her eyes. Regardless of the result, the partnership between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel was considered secured. None could blame him for his heartlessness as he was only fulfilling his role as an opportunistic businessman.
At Anderson Residence, where the lights were still on and flickering, Nicole decidedly barged into the building. The sound of the door being pushed open was loud and clear, and it had William and Lydia, who were resting in the living room, turning their heads to her.
Nicole gazed at the two of them. Without wasting a breath, she questioned, “Is my son here?”
Lydia was taken aback for a moment before recalling Nicole’s previous words. Swiftly, she concealed the nervousness in her eyes as she scowled at her. “Why’d your son be here, psycho?!”
As Nicole was in no mood to beat around the bush with the couple, she stared at them with her eyes so resolute and repeated her question. She coldly interrogated, “Did you kidnap my son?!”
Since the Andersons had always wanted to establish a connection with the Manns, their intention back when they asked Nicole to return to the family instantly became obvious, and in no way would she allow them to use her son as a leverage against her.
“Have you gone insane, Nicole? Go be a psycho out there instead of charging into someone else’s home! Who in the world would want to kidnap that abomination you gave birth to?” Lydia dauntingly replied. In her wide-open eyes were a hint of condescension.
Forcing herself to cool down as her lips quivered, Nicole calmly added, “Just state your demand and release my son.”
“You have a son?” William, who had been remaining silent on the couch, suddenly inquired.
Nicole saw his expression, and it seemed rather genuine, as if he was actually clueless that she had a son. Is Hayden really not here?
“Hayden! Hayden!” Nicole yelled in the villa, but to no avail.
Lydia, out of patience, eventually rebuked, “Hey, you psychotic tramp! First, you shamelessly got pregnant before getting married, and now you’re here looking for your son. You must be absolutely sick in the head!”
Nevertheless, Nicole, focusing on her son’s search, didn’t bother to indulge in the argument before turning around and leaving after she made sure her son wasn’t in the residence.
It wasn’t until Nicole finally left that Queenie ambled down the staircase. “Mom.” She walked to the couch and sat down with a face full of joy.
Lydia glanced at her. Recalling Nicole’s behavior, she figured that Queenie had succeeded in her plan and revealed a relieved grin. “I thought you were attending F&M Apparel’s annual dinner. Why are you home this early?”
Queenie, who went upstairs to get changed upon her return, coincidentally missed Nicole’s visit. At the mention of the dinner, a trace of vexation flashed across her eyes as she clenched her fists. She reluctantly said, “Mom, it turns out that b*tch Nicole was F&M Apparel’s Chief Designer, Lisa.” She had never anticipated Nicole to undergo such a massive change in mere five years, nor did they know what blatant tricks she’d used to achieve such a high position.
“What?!” Lydia dazedly exclaimed as she opened her eyes in dismay. Nicole has been F&M Apparel’s Lisa all along?!
Remembering the embarrassing incident back at F&M Apparel’s annual dinner, Queenie couldn’t help but feel resentful, thinking it was all Nicole’s fault that she had now become a joke in the country’s upper society.
“Wait, you mean Nicole’s the Lisa from F&M Apparel?” William squinted his greedy eyes, almost to the point where his pupil couldn’t be seen.
“That’s right, Dad,” Queenie grittingly replied as she turned to her father. “Hell, she even used her identity to accuse and insult me on purpose! I can’t be any more embarrassed at the annual dinner!”
At that moment, Lydia lowered her head, contemplating, as if she remembered something before swiftly raising her head and turning to Queenie. “Queenie, have you done the thing?”
Seeing as William was still present, Queenie pursed her lips without uttering a word, but Lydia, who couldn’t be bothered by such a minor inconvenience, grasped her daughter and said, “Tell me! Did you do it or not, Queenie?”
Weirded out by his wife and daughter, William frowned at them. “What are you on about?”
Since Queenie couldn’t hide it any longer, she came clean about everything. “It was me who abducted Nicole’s son, and we’re going to toss him into the ocean, so they won’t be able to find him even if they looked everywhere!” Malice flashed across her eyes when she said that.
Enraged, William sprung up from his seat and gave Queenie a slap, to which her blanched face immediately swelled and the smirk on her face turned upside down. She peered at her father in disbelief. William had never beaten her ever since she was a child, but the smack he just landed was drawn with unrepressed strength, leaving a scorching throb on her cheek.
“Imbecile!” William bellowed as he glared at his daughter’s pitiable face.
Having been humiliated during F&M Apparel’s annual dinner, she was now served with a ferocious smack by her own father. Naturally, her voice started to grow tremulous. “Dad?”
“Nicole is now the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, and she has the full support of the company. Do you think they will just stand idly by and watch as her son goes missing?” William rebuked with immense rage on his face. He grew so exasperated that his body trembled just by looking at his incompetent daughter before him.
Of course, Queenie hadn’t considered that far into the matter. Pressing her tingling cheek, she stared at her father with her reddened eyes. “But the child belongs to Colton, Dad! If he were to know about what happened five years ago and realize the woman was Nicole, we’d all be dead!” She frustratingly vented with her eyes thoroughly reddened. “Remember how you treated Nicole five years ago? Even if she’s now the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, there’s no way she would ever help our family!”
Upon hearing that, William calmed down and regained his composure. Indeed, with how he’d treated Nicole and her mother five years ago, Nicole would surely hold that grudge forever. “Get the child home. I’ll handle the rest,” he wearily instructed. Having been affiliated with the business field for so many years, he was nothing but experienced.
Meanwhile, Queenie was still unable to comprehend why William would want the child back given that she could easily marry into the Gardner Family once the child was out of the picture.
“But why?” Queenie questioned, baffled.
“The connections over at F&M Apparel are rather complicated, so that trick of yours will eventually be seen through,” William replied.
“No way! The men I recruited were all insignificant thugs!” A hint of malice flashed across Queenie’s eyes. She abhorred Nicole and her righteous look. She couldn’t work out how she could turn from a miserable nobody to a mighty figure, and she was annoyed by that.
“Now that F&M Apparel is working with Gardner Corporation, she won’t just receive help from her company, but also from Gardner Corporation. Do you think your lowly lackeys can hide it for long? It’s only a matter of time until Nicole traces it back to you, and by then, not only you, but the entire Andersons will be doomed!” With his perturbed eyes, he stared forward, and looking at his incompetent daughter just made him even angrier. If he had known how talented Nicole was, he wouldn’t have driven her away. Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, huh? It would be life-changing if we get to work with her.
As Queenie listened to her father, she grew slightly nervous. Biting her lips, she timidly inquired, “Then, what can we do now?”
“Have your men send the child over at once, and I’ll handle the rest. Just pretend as if you know nothing.” William extended his hand and massaged his forehead.
Hearing his words, Lydia hesitantly uttered, “But if President Gardner were to know what Queenie did…”
“Another fool, aren’t you? Nicole’s the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel. As long as we please her, we wouldn’t even need the Gardners to turn our lives around,” he sternly claimed. He was thoroughly aware of the benefits his family could use.
At her father’s words, Queenie clenched her fists even tighter and panted as she was boiling with fury. What gives?! Dad’s idea is to please Nicole?!
Nicole had been gone for five years, and during those five years, Queenie had shamelessly gratified Colton for the sake of getting her family’s life back on the right track. But right now, William was highly astonished, not by “Lisa,” but by Nicole, and he even hit her for Nicole’s sake.
Watching as Queenie was still standing idly, he loudly shouted, “Well, what are you waiting for? Go bring my grandson back!” After getting to know that Nicole was, in fact, Lisa, William’s attitude had undergone a drastic change, and he even referred to Hayden as his grandson.
Although Queenie was still irate, she could only endure it and grit her teeth as she made the call.
Meanwhile, Nicole, like a lunatic, was still searching for her son. As it hadn’t been long since her return to the country, she basically knew no one other than the Andersons as well as Joseph and Colton, so she couldn’t fathom who would want to abduct her child.
After Colton sent her home, she was all out of clues. And so, she kept on calling her son’s number, hoping he would pick up, but his phone was still turned off.
“Wah…” She ultimately broke down. As she crouched down on the ground, she forcefully pressed her face against her knees, agonizingly sniffling and whimpering.
Staring at the woman crouching under the shade of a tree and listening to her sobbing, Colton strangely grew upset. He then walked to her and slightly lowered his head to look at her. He had seen many sides of the woman, be it her optimistic or lively side, but it was his first time seeing her so sorrowful and restless.
He gulped and blinked his inky eyes before squatting down to take a good look at her. “Miss Anderson, I’ve sent some men to look for him. We’ll receive news latest by tomorrow.” His thickly voice was somehow reassuring to listen to.
Sniffling, Nicole raised her head with her vision clouded by her tears. Her mind was nothing but perturbed, and she needed a shoulder to cry on more than anything else now. As she peered at the man before her, she directly threw herself into his arms.
At once, Colton was taken aback. He could feel Nicole helplessly shaking in his arms. His arms stiffened, but he eventually raised them and gently patted her, comforting her with his hoarse voice. “It’ll be okay.”
After crying for a while, Nicole sniffled and incidentally sensed a unique smell on the man. It was a subtle scent of tobacco, but it wasn’t appalling. She then nodded and raised her head.
At that moment, Zachary came and found Nicole and Colton snuggling against each other under the tree, as well as how Colton’s hand was on her back. The sight was rather intimate. Withdrawing his gaze, he hurried over and stood beside Nicole. With a sympathetic tone, he muttered, “Are you okay, Nicole?”
Flickering her sore eyes, Nicole lifted her head and revealed her damp eyes that were stained with a hint of redness. She seemed awfully pitiful. Accordingly, she pulled herself out of Colton’s arms, and since she had squatted for a long time, her legs started to numb. Thereupon, when she tried to get up, she tripped herself and almost fell down, but luckily, Zachary managed to grab her. Drained, she shut her eyes. The makeup on her face was smeared by her tears and marred her appearance.
Looking at her captivating face, Zachary bitterly caressed her cheek as a trace of guilt flashed across his eyes.
Nicole had her eyes closed. Because of her tears, her long eyelashes clumped together and were clinging to her skin.
As Zachary had come, Colton stood up and blandly stared at the two as they embraced each other. He wordlessly pursed his lips.
On the other hand, while Zachary was tenderly fondling her head, he gazed at Colton as if he was looking at a stranger. “President Gardner, thank you for taking care of Nicole. We shall postpone the discussion for our partnership to a later time. It’s not quite appropriate to do it now.”
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