After leaving the shopping mall, she spotted a drinks shop opposite. As she suddenly had an urge to drink something, she walked over with her bags in hand.
She ordered her favorite melon-flavored milk tea and sat down in a quiet corner to wait.
The waitress only served her the drink after a long while.
“Ma’am, here’s your milk tea.”
“Why did it take such a long time?”
“The drinks we sell here are different from the others. Have a taste of it!”
When Nicole picked it up and took a sip, she could not help but frown. It tasted quite weird, unlike the drink she had in the past.
“Is this the melon-flavored milk tea?”
The waitress stared directly into her eyes. Instead of replying, she merely smiled and left.
Nicole’s brows furrowed. She kept scrutinizing her milk tea, thinking that there was something strange with the waitress’s smile.
Is there something wrong with this drink? Not daring to finish the milk tea, she stood up and hurriedly left the shop.
When the bodyguards saw her rushing out so quickly, they worriedly asked if something had happened to her.
The waitress’s strange smile surfaced in her mind again, making her feel immensely uneasy.
She softly mumbled, “Nothing. Let’s go home.”
After returning to Imperial Garden, she felt extremely exhausted and was overcome with a strong urge to sleep. She started to wonder if the milk tea had been spiked.
She laid on the bed and soon began to dream.
This was a very drowsy sleep. She even had a nightmare that was plagued with terrifying images.
It was already nighttime when she woke up. Evan was sitting beside the bed and watching her silently.
As she stared at Evan, his face suddenly morphed into Zane’s face. She sat up abruptly and exclaimed in shock, “Why are you here?”
Evan frowned. “I’m waiting for you to wake up so we can eat together.”
Eat?
The scenes of her being tortured and forced to eat leftovers when she was staying in the Lane family suddenly appeared in her mind.
“I don’t want to eat! I don’t want to eat!”
She trembled gently as her face became pale. Noticing that something was amiss, Evan quickly held her hand and asked worriedly, “Nicole, what’s wrong?”
When Nicole raised her head and saw that it was Evan, she heaved a sigh of relief.
“I thought I saw Zane earlier.”
Evan sank into deep thoughts.
“Why would you suddenly remember him for no reason?”
Nicole shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know either. Perhaps I’m too tired recently.
Pinching her nose gently, Evan said, “I won’t tire you at night anymore. I’ll let you have a good night’s sleep.” Although Nicole flashed him a small smile, she still felt very uneasy. Did that cup of milk tea have something to do with me feeling so exhausted and even mistaking Evan for someone else?
When they arrived at the dining room, they saw the four children, Stephen and Avril waiting for them.
“Dinner tonight is quite sumptuous. It’s much better than what we ate at Seet Residence! At least, there are meat and vegetables, which gives a balanced diet.”
Juan glanced at her. “We’re still growing so we need to replenish our nutrition and have a balanced diet.”
Maya held her fork with her chubby hands. She only took a few vegetables and poured a cup of fruit yogurt for herself. “I’m eating according to the menu my dietician came up for me. I’ll be having these for dinner for the remaining half of the month.”
“Maya, as long as you’re determined, your diet will definitely be a success.”
“Yeah!”
The four children started eating. However, Nicole picked up her fork and suddenly placed it down.
“The fish! The fish is crying out in pain. Don’t eat it anymore! It’s hurting!”
Everyone was rendered speechless.
Evan and Stephen glanced at her in shock, while the children were dumbfounded as well.
Widening her eyes, Maya asked, “Mommy, if the fish is already dead, how can it cry out in pain?”
Nina side-eyed her. “You’re wrong. Even if the fish isn’t dead, it won’t cry out in pain either!”
Nicole’s eyes bore into the plate of roasted fish. Earlier, I heard the fish crying out in pain. What happened? Was it a hallucination?
“Nicole, do you feel uncomfortable?”
Turning around and glancing at Evan, she shook her head gently. Although she could not shake this feeling of uneasiness, she did not know what was causing it. As she was still clueless about what was going on, she did not want to make Evan worry and merely replied, “It’s… It’s nothing. I’m just joking with you.”
