The result of her paternity test with Zane Lane was ready.
Nicole’s heart was thumping.
The paternity test result showed that she had no parent-child relationship with Zane.
No relationship?
She carefully read and re-read the test result over and over again before finally accept that Zane really was not her father.
Who then, was her biological father?
Those who were privy to this matter, besides Zane, were none other than Levant and Sylphiette. Should she force herself to keep on investigating to get to the bottom of this matter?
Her deep contemplation was broken by a sudden announcement. “Ma’am, dinner is ready. The young ones are already grumbling that they are hungry.”
“Got it.”
Nicole was pulled back to reality by the maid’s words. She kept the test result in a safe place and walked downstairs.
Yoda had already seated the children on their respective dining chairs. They were waiting for her.
Per her habit, Nicole still prepared a set of dishes beside her for Evan before letting the children had their meal.
“Yoda, can you help me fix my tablet later? It somehow malfunctioned and I can’t use it anymore.”
Juan gave Yoda a pleading look, resulting in the latter agreeing.
Meanwhile, Nicole seemed to be spacing out as she ate her food.
She was still perturbed by the result of the paternity test. Her mind was filled with questions she currently had no answers for.
Could she be the offspring of her mother’s affair with someone else?
Why did her mother never mention anything about her biological father at all?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she no longer had any appetite. Immediately, she came up with a blatant excuse and withdrew from the table.
Looking at her retreating figure, Yoda had a deep furrow on his face.
After the young ones were fed, he took them out for their usual post-dinner walk.
As Nicole was sitting in a daze in her study room, a panicked butler suddenly knocked urgently on the door.
“Come in.”
The butler walked briskly up to her and addressed her respectfully, “Ma’am.”
Seeing his solemn expression, Nicole asked curiously, “Is there anything wrong?”
“Someone wants to see you,” came the reply.
“Who?”
“This is his business card.”
With just a mere glance, Nicole frowned deeply as she saw Levant’s name printed on the card.
Why did he suddenly come all the way here?
Initially, she had planned to refuse to see him. Before she could ask him to leave, she remembered that Levant might have some information on his biological father and hence changed her mind just as quickly.
“Let him in,” said Nicole in a resigned tone.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The butler welcomed Levant in and took him to the study room.
“Ma’am is inside. Please go in.”
Remembering the relationship stratagem formulated by Zackery which he had fervently studied before he came, Levant instantly gained a boost of confidence. After checking his composure and correcting his posture, he valiantly stepped into the study room.
“Ms. Lane, pardon me for the night visit.”
Nicole looked up and sized him up. He was dressed in quite the similar state as the first time she saw him: a black high-profile suit clad on a tall and handsome figure. He still exuded the same extraordinary air of a gentleman with fine temperament.
“Please, take a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything going on for you to come to visit me at such a late hour?” Nicole asked in her usual straightforward manner.
Levant remembered the advice written in the relationship stratagem, “The more you like her, the more reserved you have to be. If you lose yourself, not only will you fail to earn her affection, but you will also lose her respect.”
He coughed to break the ice before raising his brows, “I must say, Ms. Lane. I’m quite troubled by the fact that my goodwill night visit has not been rewarded with at least a cup of coffee. Is this your hospitality?”
Nicole was caught off-guard by his question. Since his reasoning made sense, she ordered the maid to serve coffee.
“Please enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
Lifting up the cup and contently sipping on the brew, Levant was thinking hard about the next step on the stratagem. After a while, he gently placed the coffee cup back on the table.
“Ms. Lane, my purpose here tonight is to bid you farewell.”
“Farewell?”
Nicole was obviously surprised by this, for she had thought that Levant had shown up to pester her.
“Yes. I shall be leaving for K Nation in a couple more days. Therefore, Ms. Lane, take good care of yourself.”
Uh, that’s quite sudden.
Nicole’s mind was in a spiral. Since Levant is about to return to K Nation, shall I take the opportunity to enquire about my biological father?
After pausing for a moment, she opened her mouth and said, “And I shall wish you a good journey and god speed.”
“Thank you.”
Right after, she followed up with a question, “How much do you know about my background?”
Levant stayed silent. The stratagem had mentioned that for one’s words to hold value, one must not give it away freely, for no one would cherish something which is easily obtained. Therefore, even though he clearly knew about her background in detail, he had to keep it to himself for now.
