"What wedding date? Don't make fun of me. I'm already busy enough. Fortunately, the bidding is going
to start soon, so I'll be able to use it as an excuse to stall off my mother."
Baron felt helpless as he said it.
He wasn't expecting his mother to be so determined this time. He even considered going out and
distancing himself from it all for a while, but avoiding the problem wouldn't solve it for him. Not to
mention that Nicole was still there.
At least she was already past what happened at the party, which put his mind a little at ease.
"Ok, don't be so picky about girls. I think Miss Chen's a nice girl. She's kind and generous, and a good
match for you."
Nicole looked down at her watch and suddenly remembered she had an appointment with Avery Lin
that day. She then turned anxiously to Baron.
"Holy crap! Baron, take me to that restaurant we often go. I've completely forgotten I had an
appointment today."
Noticing how restless she was, Baron nodded as he turned the steering wheel and picked the road
towards the restaurant.
"Who is it?"
Baron wasn't used to seeing Nicole anxious about anything. As far as he could tell, she would only get
apprehensive within matters which regarded Jay.
"You should come with us. We haven't seen each other for seven years, but she's my best friend. She's
the daughter of the Lin Group's CEO and quite a beautiful woman. Her name's Avery Lin. I think you'll
like her."
Nicole's eyes lit up with hope. If Baron wasn't interested in Maggie, he could be in Avery. Who knew if
they weren't each other's fate?
Baron shrugged in response.
"How beautiful? As much as you are?"
Baron had come across with many beautiful women, but no one compared to Nicole. He would never
forget the moment he first saw her.
"She's more beautiful than I am, actually."
Growing up with Avery, Nicole knew her well.
Baron parked the car in front of the restaurant and handed the key to the valet at the door. Next, he
followed Nicole inside.
The first thing Baron's eyes met when he stepped into the restaurant was a girl in red, quietly settled at
a seat by the window. He just never expected that Nicole would walk straight to her.
"Honey, forgive me, I'm late."
Approaching Avery, Nicole opened her arms and pulled her friend into a tight embrace.
Avery's red dress not only fit her curves to perfection but also highlighted her unusual white skin. Yet it
was the bright smile on her delicate face as she hugged Nicole tightly, which was astonishing.
As she grinned, a tiny dimple showed on the corner of her mouth.
"It's been seven years since we last saw each other. How dare you be late now? I've missed you so
much! Don't leave this time again, okay? We can work this out together, no matter what happens."
Avery still hadn't forgiven herself for her inability to dissuade Nicole from taking off all those years ago.
During this period, however, she stayed and worked on Nicole's behalf to investigate what happened in
the past, but so far, she'd got nothing relevant.
Even so, Avery's words touched Nicole.
She was grateful that she had such a good friend on her side.
"Avery, I've missed you too."
After greeting each other fondly, Nicole didn't know what to say next since she had too much to tell her
friend. As she sat next to Avery, holding her hand, she raised her head and saw Baron. She couldn't
help feeling embarrassed to introduce them now.
"Baron, this is Avery. As I mentioned to you before, she's my best friend." Nicole then looked at Avery
and continued, "Avery, this is Baron Fang, a classmate of mine from Manhattan, and he's also my best
friend."
Baron gently nodded at Avery, and then thoughtfully ordered them some food.
"Listen, Nicole. In these past seven years, I've wanted to come to you in Manhattan, but I never had the
chance. You have no idea how many times I've gotten away from the marriages arranged by my
parents. I get a headache every time I think about it. But, anyway, how are you? Where's my godson?"
Nicole smiled helplessly.
It was clear that time hadn't changed Avery a bit. She was still the same Avery from seven years ago.
Although she was dressed like an elegant lady now, her cheerful personality came out the moment she
spoke.
"Slow down. I'll answer one question at a time. First, I'm working at the Gu Group, and I'm doing great.
About Jay, don't worry, he's at school. It's a pity you can't see him today, but you can meet him another
time. Now I have something important to tell you.
I came back to investigate what happened seven years ago. With the Ning Group's overnight
bankruptcy and my father's passing, I wasn't able to take such a blow, so I fled back then.
But as the time passed, I thought of those events again and again, and I felt that there was more to it,"
Nicole said.
If Gregory hadn't also cheated on her, Nicole probably wouldn't have run away like that. However, it
was for the best that she had. Back then, the Ning Group was in the eye of the storm, and little could
have been done.
"I knew how upset you were, so I've persuaded my father to help you find out what happened. But
when I got at the airport, you had already left.
After you were gone, people started to forget about the Ning Group. There wasn't any news about your
stepmother or your sister anymore. Then, I went to find Aunt Sandra and asked her about the events of
that year.
She's your father's wife, so I thought she might've known something about her husband's business. But
she refused to mention or look further into any of it."
At the time, Avery thought Sandra was still grieving her husband's death, so she didn't ask her more.
However, later she started to realize it wasn't so simple.
"Maybe Aunt Sandra just didn't want to mention my father's death again. It all happened so sudden.
She must have felt so alone. My sister was still too young and I also wasn't around, she was probably
under a lot of pressure," Nicole sighed.
Every time she was reminded of how everything happened, Nicole felt guilty towards Sandra and
Bonnie. Even though Sandra wasn't her real mom, she had lived with her for over ten years and
regarded her as a family member.
"That was what I also thought at the time, but later, I found that it wasn't that simple."
Avery raised her head and glanced at Baron. During their whole conversation, he'd been sitting
opposite to her in silence.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda