Chapter 197 Leave
As Nicole didn’t bring much with her, her belongings didn’t even fill up a suitcase.
Baffled by the sudden move, Hayden looked questioningly over at his mother before shifting his gaze to Colton, asking, “Mom, Mr. Handsome, why are we leaving? I like it here.”
At that, Nicole ruffled his hair and explained, “We are only meant to stay here for a short while, and now, it’s time for us to go home.”
A discontented Hayden pouted with a hint of pity in his eyes. “But I like Mr. Handsome. I don’t want to leave…”
Colton’s heart softened for some reason at Hayden’s adorable, pleading look, and he comforted the little one with hoarseness in his voice. “If you’d like, Hayden, you can come and play whenever you want.”
Happiness instantly replaced the glum on Hayden’s face. “Really?” he asked, looking up at Colton, who nodded. “Really.”
Resigned, Nicole pulled Hayden into her arms and pinched his cheeks lightly, teasing, “You’ve only stayed here for a few days, and you’re already reluctant to leave? What next? You’re leaving me as well?”
Hayden hurriedly turned to Nicole in the face of her ‘confrontation’. “No. You’re the most important, Mom. Mr. Handsome is at most the second most important!” To express his sincerity, he even nuzzled in her arms.
Whitney, on the other hand, couldn’t help rolling her eyes when she saw how the child pretended to be all sweet in front of his mother. The kiddo was as mischievous as Loki—as if he was ever this sweet and benign.
He acted practically like an adult whenever he was with her.
Later, Nicole asked Whitney to take Hayden out, leaving her and Colton in the room.
At that point, Colton no longer tried to keep her and only said, “Safe journey.”
Nicole nodded and thanked him solemnly, “I really appreciate your help saving me from the scandal surrounding Daniella’s suicide. Whether you did it for Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel’s collaboration or for another reason, I should give you my thanks regardlessly.”
Seeing that Nicole stood on ceremony, Colton only said, “It’s what I should do.”
With that, Nicole headed out, not hanging around further.
After getting into the car, she made Whitney drive, who obliged despite her reluctance.
Then, out of the blue, Whitney asked, “Hey, Miss Nicole, is it me, or does President Gardner seem to have a thing for you?”
Nicole furrowed her brows at that and kicked the back of the driver’s seat. “You better keep these unrealistic thoughts to yourself. If I hear another word about it, I’m sending you back to F&M Apparel!”
Observing that Nicole had reacted so dramatically, Whitney couldn’t help mumbling, keeping her hands on the wheel, “Oh, c’mon, I was just thinking out loud. Aren’t you overreacting a little?”
However, right after she finished her words, she sensed a storm brewing in the back seat.
Immediately, she took her words back. “My mistake. I must’ve been seeing things!”
Seeing that her assistant chickened out in two shakes, Nicole burst into a chuckle. This girl sure is amusing.
Whitney drove them to their previous residence. Because of the scandal surrounding Daniella’s matter, they had to leave in a hurry, so most of their things had to be left here. Nicole even had to phone their housekeeper to give her the time off.
It had only been a little over a week, but it felt like a century had passed when they returned.
On the bright side, the place wasn’t filthy since they hadn’t been gone for long. Seeing it was getting late, Nicole decided to just order takeouts.
Meanwhile, Whitney sat all slumped on the couch like she was boneless, her eyes glued to the laptop in her hands.
Hayden sat next to her, imitating her posture and action, looking like a mini version of Whitney.
Seeing his mother busying away in the kitchen, he gave her a kick and asked, “My grandma died of a different cause, didn’t she?”
Whitney’s eyes widened with incredulity at that. She and Nicole had just learned of it earlier that afternoon. How had he already found out?!
“How did you know?” she asked.
He replied with a hint of smugness, “I found out from the search records in your laptop.”
At that, she balled her hand into a fist and punched the little guy. “You hacked into my computer again!?”
