Nicole’s face was a little pale as she quietly looked at Hayden. Standing beside him was his so–called
wife, yet the woman he truly loved was right before him. How was he supposed to introduce them?
If their roles were reversed, she would be just as stumped.
Hayden met Nicole’s gaze and softly said, “This is Gloria Ashford, an old… friend.”
She couldn’t tell if she was imagining it, but the word “friend” seemed to stick in his throat, like it didn’t quite fit.
Despite her slightly shaking body, she maintained her composure. “An old friend? Sounds like you two
were childhood sweethearts.”
Gloria laughed. “Oh, no. We met when we were 20. Back then…”
She suddenly paused, as if recalling something funny, and covered her mouth in an elegant chuckle. “He used to have the funniest haircut! That trendy side part? He’d walk on campus and turn everyone’s heads.”
Hayden seemed helpless. “Here you go again.”
“What? I still have a photo of you from that time. Don’t piss me off, or I’ll show it to your wife,” Gloria joked, extending her hand to hit his arm playfully.
Matthew lunged over, arms around her as he chirped, “What kind of photo, Ms. Ashford? I wanna see! I
wanna see!”
The scene before Nicole was a painful sight. Anyone watching Gloria with Hayden and Matthew would
assume she was the real wife and mother, while she was the outsider.
Gloria cupped Matthew’s cheeks and winked playfully. “I’ll show it to you later, okay?”
Hayden gave a faint smile at that, then turned toward Nicole, only to see her already walking away.
He quickly caught up and grabbed her wrist. “What’s wrong? I know Matt’s being a brat, but I’ll talk to him
and make sure he apologizes to you when we get home.”
Nicole bit her lower lip. “Have you seen the thing I left for you?”
He was confused. “What thing?”
It was obvious he hadn’t read the letter, judging from his clueless expression. She simply brushed him off with a smile. “Oh, nothing much. Just… make sure you check your study tonight. Goodbye.”
“Let me take you home,” Hayden said, beckoning to the driver across the street to bring the car over.
Nicole didn’t get in the car. She pulled her hand free from his grip and insisted on leaving by cab. He stood there, watching the vehicle pull up before them.
Chapter 4
2/4
Behind him, Gloria came up and said something.
Nicole glanced over her shoulder but didn’t hear the words. But whatever it was, it made Hayden smile. The two of them looked perfectly at ease, chatting and laughing like old friends.
Turning away, a sharp pain jolted through her palm. She looked down to find her hand marked with small indentations where her nails had dug into her skin.
Without another glance, she entered the cab and left them behind.
Back at the hotel, Jeremiah called and told her to come in two days for the fit–to–fly assessment.
Nicole had wanted to leave sooner, but the schedule was packed with elderly patients who urgently
needed to fly for treatment. Among the hundreds of names on the list, she was the only one with a terminal diagnosis.
Once she was back in her hotel room, she deleted every possible means of contacting Hayden from her
phone.
At 5:00 pm, Matthew was dropped off at home by the driver.
The moment he walked in, he threw down his schoolbag and ran through the house, shouting, “Mommy, I
wanna do my homework now! I don’t wanna get yelled at by my teacher anymore! I wanna do it right now!”
Truthfully, he regretted goofing off the night before. Still, he thought it was also partly Nicole’s fault for not
reminding him to do his homework at 8:00 pm.
Sure, she was annoying sometimes, always bugging him when he was having fun. But he knew he had to
listen. Otherwise, he would lose his gold star and fall behind in class–something he never wanted to be
laughed at again.
He raced upstairs, his feet pounding on the steps. He opened every door, searching room after room, but
found no sign of her.
“Taylor, where’s Mommy?” Matthew yelled toward the hallway.
Taylor came out of the kitchen and answered, “I haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s out running errands, Mr.
Matthew. Want some egg custard?”
Matthew pouted. “Yours doesn’t taste as good as hers. Forget it.”
He stomped back to his room, grabbed his game console, and started playing. A few minutes in, he found himself glancing at the time.
Finally, he sighed and plopped down cross–legged on the floor, mumbling, “It’s just homework. I can do it myself.”
Chapter 4
3/4
Before long, he found out he couldn’t.
The exercises became harder because no one was there to explain them; his eyes got tired, and no one reminded him to take a break.
Out of habit, he even opened his mouth for a grape, but no one fed him fruit like Nicole usually did.
Frustrated, he stormed off to look for Taylor and the housekeepers. However, Taylor was illiterate, while the housekeepers didn’t speak Veridian.
Neither did they know how to massage around his eyes to help him relax, nor know how to feed him the sliced–up fruits the right way, like Nicole always did.
Matthew’s face darkened. He suddenly remembered how nice it was to do homework on the balcony with Nicole, the breeze blowing gently around them.
Now that he thought about it, homework hadn’t seemed that bad after all.
He finally snapped, “I’m calling Mommy!”
Taylor hurried to bring him his smartwatch. Matthew repeatedly phoned until the call was picked up. The second the call connected, he blurted, “Mommy, where are you? Why aren’t you home yet?”
There was a pause on the other end. Then came Nicole’s voice, calm and distant. “What do you want?”
“I’m waiting for you to help me with my homework! Do you want me to get scolded by my teacher again tomorrow? Hurry up and come home!” he urged impatiently.
Nicole clutched her phone, her expression growing colder with each word.
She had poured her heart into raising him, only to have a two–faced son who was kind to everyone but her.
“I thought you loved Ms. Ashford so much. Go find her. Don’t come to me,” she said sarcastically.
With that, the call disconnected.
Matthew stood stunned, his smartwatch held in his hand. Nicole’s coldness was something he never
expected.
The sound of screeching brakes downstairs made him turn instantly. He ran down the stairs, ready to
tattle.
After hearing the whole story, Hayden let out a low scoff and peered down at him from above.
“This is your fault for upsetting her. I’m gonna find her. And when she gets back, you’d better apologize properly. You hear me?”
Matthew grunted noncommittally, head down in a clear show of sulking.
About 30 minutes later, a knock sounded on Nicole’s hotel room door. She opened it, expecting
Chapter 4
A/A
housekeeping, only to freeze when she was met with a pair of deep, unreadable eyes staring back at her.
“H–How did you know I was here?”
Hayden stepped inside with a takeout bag in hand. “Have you eaten yet? I got you meatballs with extra gravy, just the way you like them. Eat it while it’s hot.”
He was still in his crisp, tailored suit–the one she had ironed for him that morning.
Without waiting for a response, he removed his jacket, looked around the room, and rolled up his sleeves. He reached for the coat she had hung up, then opened her suitcase.
“Come home with me. It’s not convenient living here. Matt’s been acting out, and he needs both of us right now. Let’s go home and deal with him together instead of you throwing a tantrum here.”
Nicole watched quietly as he crouched down to pack her things. Without warning, a tear escaped her eye. She quickly turned her head and wiped it away.
“Have you not checked what I left on your desk yet?” she asked.
Hayden froze mid–movement, then looked up at her. “What is this thing you keep talking about? This is the second time you’ve mentioned it today.”
Spin to Claim Your Surprise Reward!
Play
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
