Hayden blew gently in Nicole’s ear. “Want to take a bath?”
Nicole’s whole body shivered as she was held tightly in Hayden’s strong arms. In the past, she couldn’t resist Hayden’s advances. The moment he got close, she would surrender, satisfying his every desire and letting him have his way with her.
But now, her body simply couldn’t handle such treatment anymore. Even though her body still instinctively trembled because of Hayden, Nicole pushed him away directly.
“I’m tired and want to rest. After seeing your aunt, I’m not in the mood for this kind of thing.”
That one sentence extinguished the desire in Hayden’s eyes. He restrained himself and withdrew his hands, only able to nod. “Then get some good rest.”
After he left, Nicole immediately locked the door behind him. Hayden stood frowning in the hallway,
staring at the tightly closed door for a long time before finally leaving.
The next day, when Nicole came downstairs, there was a bouquet of her favorite rainbow roses on the
table. Then delicious aromas wafted from the kitchen.
Hayden heard the sound and emerged from the kitchen, still holding a spatula. Seeing Nicole, he smiled.
“Breakfast is sandwiches. That bouquet on the table was chosen according to your preferences, and there’s a bottle of your usual perfume inside. I noticed your bottle was almost empty.”
Nicole looked expressionlessly at the surprise Hayden had prepared, her heart completely unmoved. Even
a fool could see that from last night until now, everything Hayden was doing was to please her. He was trying hard to break the deadlock that had kept her away from home these past days.
But she couldn’t feel happy at all. She just wanted to go home, to return to her brother’s side. This place
where she had lived for seven years made her feel suffocated.
Nicole gripped the railing tightly and sat on the couch, taking out the perfume to smell it. She had smelled a similar scent on Gloria before and immediately pushed the perfume away.
Hayden brought over a glass of milk and handed it to her. “Change your clothes in a bit. We’re going out for a walk. I took the day off to take you shopping for gifts.”
Nicole looked at him deeply but showed no other reaction. Even so, Hayden didn’t mind. He just wanted to quickly repair his relationship with Nicole, to see her chase after him like before, being attentive and caring.
Afraid Nicole would refuse, Hayden paused and reminded her, “That piece of land still needs the original owner to transfer the title. I’ll make a personal trip next week.”
Nicole’s fingertips curled, and she could only get up to change clothes. When she came back downstairs, she saw Hayden putting on his shoes while talking on the phone.
Chapter 27
2/2
“Yes, I’m taking Nicky shopping. It’s been a long time since we went out together. Lunch reservation is made, yes, at the new restaurant on Forest Road.”
After hanging up, Nicole’s gaze fell to his lit phone screen, which clearly displayed the name “Gloria“.
Hayden turned to smile at her. “Let’s go.”
Nicole pretended not to know he was reporting to Gloria and walked out, avoiding his hand.
“Have fun,” Gloria said on the other end before hanging up, her expression instantly turning cold.
It was already Thursday. In three days, Hayden would be getting divorce papers with her. She couldn’t just sit and wait. She couldn’t let Nicole live peacefully and smoothly!
Gloria thought for a moment and called Olivia. “Olivia, when school lets out at noon today, bring Matt to my place. I’ll take him out to eat.”
Nicole followed Hayden inside the restaurant on Forest Road. But as soon as they sat down, she spotted familiar faces. She stopped short, and Hayden immediately looked over as well.
He frowned and walked over. “Matt, you’re supposed to be having lunch break at school. What are you doing here?”
Gloria looked troubled and stood up to explain. “It’s all my fault. Matt came to play at my house during lunch today. I just casually mentioned that you and Nicole were eating here, and he insisted on coming
along.”
Matthew stood up and grabbed Hayden’s hand, refusing to let go. “Daddy, let’s eat together, okay? We ordered so much food. We can’t finish them all!”
As he spoke, he glared smugly at Nicole, as if stealing Hayden away was his victory.
