"Mr. Gu, please don't take me for a fool. I know my place and that is someone who is merely an
employee of the Gu Group. Whatever it is that happened between us, it was nothing but my wishful
thinking. Rest assured, it won't happen again in the future. So, I'm kindly asking you to please let me
go. Miss He is the perfect person for you. You both belong with each other; you're a match made in
heaven."
Nicole had very little trust on the man to begin with. She let her guard down for a short while and this
happened. This couldn't go on and she refused to believe him anymore.
Her mind wandered back to her plan to return to Manhattan with Jay. Perhaps she shouldn't give up her
intention of leaving because of Kerr. However, her heart sank in sadness and disappointment when she
chose to leave again.
"Nicole."
Even if he knew his words were useless, Kerr couldn't do anything else but to try and pacify Nicole.
"Mr. Gu, you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm just a nobody. I will do my best to finish this
bidding successfully and I hope you can approve of my resignation."
Restraining her sadness, she turned around and left.
As she turned around, tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She raised the back of her hand and
wiped them away. She didn't want Kerr to see her fragility.
She became stronger because of Jay, but she became extremely fragile because of Kerr. She didn't
like who she was becoming and how vulnerable she turned because of the latter.
Following the disappearing back of Nicole with his eyes, Kerr clenched his fists and punched the wall
beside him, blood flowing down from the cracks of his fingers.
As Kerr went back to his office, Jared happened to see the wound on his boss's hand. He immediately
took out the first-aid kit and simply bound up the wound.
"Mr. Gu, do you need me to explain it to Director Ning?"
He looked at the dark face of Kerr and carefully tried to figure out what he was thinking. For the entire
morning, the CEO was like a mad lion ready to pounce and no one dared to get close to him.
Jared stood by Kerr, trembling with fear. He didn't expect that this entire dilemma would have such a
large effect on his boss.
"She hasn't eaten lunch yet."
Though his tone was indifferent, the hint of sadness couldn't be hidden in his eyes.
Nicole thought she could hide her tears from him, but she didn't know that he had been watching every
move of hers with his eyes and heart. How could he not have noticed her tears?
He knew that this time around, Nicole was incredibly upset, and maybe all the efforts he had made had
been in vain.
"I see, Mr. Gu. Don't worry."
Hearing that, Jared walked out of the office. A moment later, he headed towards Nicole's office with a
paper bag of food in his hand.
When she saw Jared, she scrunched up in annoyance.
"Director Ning, I heard that you haven't eaten yet. Mr. Gu asked me to bring to you this."
Wearing a smile, Jared looked at Nicole and wanted to take the opportunity to put in a good word for
Kerr. But when he saw the serious look on her face, he felt uneasy.
Nicole looked up at the exquisite paper bag, and continued to read the documents in front of her.
"Take it back and please pass on the message to Mr. Gu for me. Don't do such a meaningless thing
anymore. I don't need it and I don't want it. He should focus his attention on someone else in need."
She tried to hide her emotions from him, but it seemed that no matter how hard she tried to control her
heart, she still failed to keep Kerr out.
"Director Ning, you have to believe that Mr. Gu is really concerned about you. The things about Miss
He are really not what he wants. There are things he simply has no control over. I hope that you can
understand him. He—"
Before he could finish his thoughts, he was interrupted by Nicole.
"Perhaps I should clarify. I don't care what Mr. Gu wants. If he has nothing to do with Miss He, I don't
care either. He is the one who has kept Sunny with him, even though he claimed that he did it against
his will.
It's difficult for me to trust him, you can go now."
She knew that Jared was here to put in a good word for Kerr. Yet still, she wasn't given a reasonable
explanation. She couldn't put trust on a man based on his words alone.
In fact, she was not that strong, and she even lost her sense of security after she had been betrayed by
Gregory. Over the years, she was still unwilling to give her heart to others, even if she had to take care
of her son alone.
But she didn't expect that Kerr would end up stumbling into her life.
"Director Ning."
Looking at the firm look of Nicole, Jared sighed, turned and left.
"Wait!"
Before he could walk out of the office, he heard the voice of the director. He looked back with
expectation.
"You forgot something."
Nicole glanced at the paper bag of food on the table and motioned for Jared to take it away.
She didn't want to accept any kindness from Kerr anymore. Since she was doomed to lose everything,
she chose to reject it all. This was her principle.
Just like what he had said, she was a hedgehog. She would gather the thorns around her to protect
herself whenever she got hurt.
After hesitating for a while, Jared didn't take the food with him.
"That is for you, Miss Ning. Even if you're upset, please take care of yourself."
Jared nodded at Nicole and closed the door behind him.
Watching him leave, she stared blankly at the food box on the table for a while. Then she stood up and
threw it into the trash can.
Time passed. Since that day, she hadn't laid eyes on Kerr. It seemed that he had disappeared from her
life.
If she didn't spot the black Porsche following her car, perhaps she really thought that Kerr had
disappeared from her sight.
"Mommy, have you decided to return to Manhattan?"
Sitting on the back seat, Jay looked at Nicole who was driving and tilted his head.
"That's exactly what you want, isn't it?"
Hearing her son's voice, Nicole looked at him carefully and saw the black car accidentally.
"Be careful, Mommy!"
Looking ahead, he warned Nicole loudly.
"Ah!"
When she turned her head back on the road, she saw a car coming from the opposite, so she abruptly
turned the steering wheel, but it was too late.
The car didn't stop until it hit the fence along the side of the road. When Nicole's head hit the door, she
felt dizzy.
However, by instinct, she turned to check on Jay.
"Jay..."
Nicole's voice became weak and she was unconscious.
"Nicole!"
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda