Nicole cast a stern gaze at him as she began to harbor thoughts within herself.
Ha! Happy birthday? A cruel and heartless demon like you should spend the rest of your days suffering, throughout the remainder of your life!
Since she had fallen silent for almost a minute, Levant urged, “Nicole, I’ll allow you to leave once you’ve wished me sincerely.”
Clenching her fists with all her might, Nicole pressed forth, “Happy birthday.” It didn’t sound like a wish in the slightest. Instead, it sounded as though it was more of a curse.
Nonetheless, Levant behaved as though he couldn’t be bothered by it at all. He expressed his gratitude in a thick-skinned manner, uttering, “Thanks, Nicole!”
She had enough of playing along with him. In the end, she queried, “Can I leave yet?”
“Do you want me to get someone to send you home?” Levant gave it a thought and offered gently.
“Thanks, but no thanks!” After she finished her sentence, Nicole reached for her bag and sprinted her way out.
Levant had his eyes glued to the lit cigarette on the ashtray with a vicious smirk on his face. He couldn’t help but wonder if Evan had noticed the faint scent of tobacco on Nicole’s dress.
Meanwhile, after Evan reached Imperial Garden, he noticed that Nicole was nowhere to be seen again.
Thus, he summoned his children and asked, “Where’s your Mommy?”
“I don’t know, Daddy. By the time we’d reached home, she was nowhere to be seen.”
“Yes, Daddy! Grandma was the one who had picked us up and brought us to Seet Residence for some time because she said that Grandpa missed us a lot. By the time we returned home, Mommy had long made her way out.”
“Could it be that she’s still working?”
Furrowing his brows, Evan was about to make a call, but a maid rushed over and told him, “Ms. Lane had reached home earlier than usual. However, she rushed out anxiously to a certain somewhere after she’d received a gift.”
“Gift? What sort of gift?”
“I’m not sure, but it has been delivered by a mysterious man. He insisted on having Ms. Lane check it out on her own. A few minutes after she returned to the bedroom with the gift, she made her way out again.”
Evan was shocked and confused at the same time. He couldn’t figure out the identity of the person who had delivered Nicole the gift.
He was increasingly confused as he thought about it. Immediately, he reached for his phone and called Nicole.
“Evan, I’m driving. I’ll reach home in ten minutes.”
“Okay. Drive safe.”
Evan decided to hang up the call for the time being. He decided to wait for her return because it would be better to have the conversation in person.
Meanwhile, Nicole, who was driving, stared at the dazzling illumination on the streets. She was feeling a sense of insecurity deep down.
She was certain that Evan would want her to tell him about her whereabouts, but she couldn’t possibly tell him the truth.
Otherwise, Levant would put her father at stake again. She had merely switched off her phone, yet the wicked man had already amputated her father’s finger to warn her. Nicole was afraid that Levant would send her father’s head her way the next time she ignored or defied his instructions.
After all, he was a maniac who would resort to everything and anything to achieve his goals. His cruelty knew no boundaries.
What should I tell him?
As she made her way home, countless thoughts crossed her mind, including a shopping trip with her best friend and an emergency that had arisen that required her immediate attention.
She thought of all sorts of things, yet none of them sounded convincing enough. Evan was a smart and capable man. Therefore, she would have to make something flawless up to deceive him.
She turned the idea over in her mind and finally got a few tentative excuses in her mind. In the end, she decided on the seemingly flawless one and murmured to herself, “I’ll tell him this once I’m home! It’s a flawless excuse! I’m pretty sure that he’ll believe me!”
After she reached Imperial Garden and parked her car in the garage, she dashed over to the living room.
On the other hand, Evan sat cross-legged on the couch idly, perusing a stack of documents that he had with him. Immediately after he caught a glimpse of Nicole, he set them aside.
Staring at Nicole in the eyes, he was about to bring up the gift that she had received, yet Nicole got ahead of him and started explaining herself. “I have dropped by my assistant’s place because lately, she has been zoning out at work quite frequently. After I got off work, I noticed that a man had been bothering her. I couldn’t bear to leave her alone and I made my way over to her place after I’d reached home. Fortunately, everything is fine.”
