By the time the truth came to light, both her daughters would see Evan as a jerk and they would start criticizing him until he had nothing to say to excuse himself.
Merely thinking about how deflated he would look when the time came was enough to put Nicole in great spirits.
“Mommy, are you done with Daddy? It’s time we go to school.”
“Let’s go then.”
After Nicole left with the kids, Evan made his way to the dining table to find it contained nothing but some remnants of food. Then, he entered the kitchen and soon walked out with a begrudged look. As he found nothing left, he wondered whether Nicole had calculated the portion accurately to make sure the food was only enough for the kids.
“Mr. Seet, are you heading to the office without having breakfast?”
“I’m gonna skip it.”
Blake was confused when he looked at Evan who was leaving the house with a sullen face. Why didn’t he have anything for breakfast?
Was he not hungry? If that was the case, why did he even enter the kitchen?
By the time Evan drove his Maybach out of Hillside Villa, Blake was still speculating. In his opinion, Mr. Seet must have decided to skip the breakfast out of spite because his mood was spoilt by the argument he had with Ms. Lane.
Because of that, Blake decided to have a talk with Ms. Lane when she was back and advised her not to be so harsh to Mr. Seet. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could get along with each other well?
…
Evan’s phone rang when he was on his way to the office.
A glimmer of astonishment flashed in his eyes when he saw the caller ID. Excitedly, he picked the call up.
“Evan, are you in the middle of something?”
“Grandpa, I’m free to talk.”
“Your parents and I are on the way back to the country and we will be reaching Hillside Villa in another one and a half hour. Will you be free at noon?”
“Grandpa, I’m going back to Hillside Villa right away to welcome you!”
“Your work should be your priority. Don’t let the company’s operation get affected because of me.”
“Grandpa, don’t worry because there won’t be any issue.”
After ending the conversation with his grandfather, Evan immediately made a U-turn and sped toward Hillside Villa.
In the meantime, Nicole just returned home after sending the kids to the kindergartens. Before she even entered the living room, she spotted Evan’s Maybach making its way back.
Did he forget something?
Her curiosity was piqued. Just as she stepped foot in the living room, her pace came to a stop when her attention was caught by Evan’s voice at the back.
“I have something to tell you.”
Nicole’s heart gave a lurch, dreading that he was going to broach the topic of the custody of the kids.
She followed him to the study upstairs where he stared at her and said in a fairly polite tone, “Ms. Lane, I’m going to receive some very important guests here so I would like to…”
“I will move out.”
Nicole supposed some woman he was after would be here. If that were the case, her presence would indeed bring him inconvenience.
She bumped into Zane again on her way back. As her father had made his stance very clear that he would not go easy on her, she expected more trouble looming ahead.
Although Evan was involved in the matter, it was, after all, their family affair. At the same time, she reckoned it was about time she settled the scores with the people from her family.
Stunned by her quick response, Evan continued, “What about the kids…”
“I will take Nina and Maya with me. As for Juan and Kyle, I respect their decisions. They are free to stay or go with me.”
It had never occurred to Evan that she would say that. Tightening his grip around the teacup, he opined, “In fact, you should understand that it might be better for Juan to stay.”
Was this his indirect attempt at fighting for Juan’s custody?
Nicole countered decisively, “Mr. Seet, I told you I will respect the boy’s opinion. If Juan is happy to stay I’m not going to stop him but it doesn’t mean I will give you his custody.”
Evan’s pensive eyes turned bleak slightly in response. He decided not to demand more because it was enough of a surprise that Nicole actually allowed Juan to stay.
On the other hand, he should take his time to handle Juan’s custody matter.
“My guests will be here in another half an hour…”
“I’ll pack up my things and leave right away.”
Evan was surprised to see that she was willing to leave so readily considering that she had fought so hard in order to stay back then.
Looking at her back when she left the study, he actually thought there was something fishy.
When Nicole finished packing her stuff and left the mansion, she heaved out a sigh of relief.
