If it hadn't been for him, Maggie wouldn't have suffered like this.
But Baron couldn't force himself to be with a woman he didn't love at all.
He made his way to Nicole's ward and stopped at the door. He was greeted by the sight of people
laughing and joking happily, even though he knew that Jay was in a fight with Kerr.
Baron knew that Jay would only behave like this in front of people he felt truly comfortable with. It was a
side of Jay that Baron had never seen before.
So Baron turned and left. He wasn't about to get in the way of Nicole's happiness.
A figure walked past the door, catching Nicole's eye. She frowned, feeling slightly suspicious and
uncertain.
"There's no need to look. He already left." Kerr's voice was smooth as silk in Nicole's ear.
A ripple of shock ran through her. "Wait, do you know who I saw? Was it really Baron? Is he really in
the hospital?" Nicole was curious.
"Take no notice of other men. I'm enough for you, aren't I?" Kerr raised his hand and stroked her cheek,
gently turning her to face him. He was always so commanding.
Nicole took in Kerr's words with a faint, helpless smile. "Are you jealous of him? Baron's just a friend,
you know."
Although they hadn't met up for a long time, Nicole was still very worried about Baron.
Jay watched the show from the sidelines. "I don't know. Men... Men are so petty." Raising his arms, he
flopped back on the bed with his hands behind his head.
When he looked at Kerr, the provocation in his eyes was obvious.
"Oh, and you're not?" Kerr really didn't care what Jay had to say on the matter.
"I'm just a boy, not an old man." Jay's words held a confident swagger.
Nicole sighed and covered her face with her hands. When it came to bickering with each other, her
husband and son were really something!
From then onward, Kerr made sure he had lots of free time to spend with Nicole as they waited for the
baby to be born.
But in the meantime, the Gu family were far from giving up.
In the Gu family's old house
Jack sat in the living room while Kelvin gave his account of what had been going on with Kerr. As Jack
listened, his face turned darker, contorting with displeasure.
"My Lord, the young master has been in the hospital with Nicole. In an attempt to protect her, he has
called lots of people in to surround the woman. Our people can't get near her right now."
The truth was that Kelvin had actually asked his men to go easy on Kerr and Nicole. He had to take the
man's identity into account, after all.
He was well aware that Kerr was the future heir of the Gu family.
"Lure Nicole away. Kerr was the CEO of the Gu Group. How could he become a deputy CEO of such a
shady company? He has brought even more shame on his family name!"
If it hadn't been for Jack asking Kelvin to bribe the press and block all the news, the Gu family would
have become a laughing stock in the whole city a long time ago.
Kelvin nodded. "I understand."
In the Lin family’s villa
Sitting behind his desk, Zachary looked at the email he had just received on his laptop. He picked up
his phone forlornly, typed out a message, and sent it, all the while thinking of Nicole's wedding that day.
He had made a decision.
As soon as Zachary walked out of the study, he overheard Avery's joyful laughter. When he reached
the stairs, he saw Avery sitting on the sofa watching a movie, chuckling happily to herself.
"What's so funny?" Zachary walked over to Avery and sat down beside her.
Avery kept her full attention on the TV. She obviously wasn't paying any attention at all to Zachary
when she gave an automatic nod in his direction.
"I just thought of something and I wanted to talk about it with you. Nicole has never been accepted by
the Gu family because of who she is. Maybe we can help her."
Hearing her best friend's name made Avery sit up and turn off the TV, slightly reluctantly.
"How?" Avery looked at Zachary expectantly, waiting for his answer.
"Get Nicole adopted by the Lin family, so she'll have married Kerr as a Lin daughter." Zachary had been
pretty sure that Avery would have no objections to this plan, so he had already contacted his foster
parents.
Basically, the matter was already settled.
"Okay! Then Nicole and I will really be sisters." Excitement fizzed through Avery's words.
"Enough about Nicole. Let's talk about us now. There are only three days to go until our wedding. Why
haven't you tried your wedding dress on, Avery?" Zachary wasn't very happy with her attitude. She
seemed so offhand.
His words made the smile on Avery's face vanish. "Do I have to try it on? The dress has to be tailored
exactly to my size. There's no room at all for error with it. But Zachary, since you've mentioned
marriage...
I need to talk to you about something." Sitting up straight, Avery reached under the coffee table. She
took out a document and handed it to him.
"This is the marriage agreement I drew up. Have a look at it. If it is okay with you, we should sign the
contract as soon as possible." Avery was ready with a pen, waiting for his signature.
"In short, after we get married, we'll live our own separate lives. We won't get in each other's way, but
neither will either of us damage the reputation of the other.
We still have to live in the same villa, but we'll have separate bedrooms. You can't have anything to do
with me, nor can you ask me to perform any duties as a wife." Avery finished her speech.
But she couldn't help blushing when she mentioned the obligations of a husband and wife.
At these words, Zachary's face darkened like a storm cloud. He tightened his grip on the document,
crumpling the edges of the paper in his hand as he pressed down hard.
"Avery, you're saying you won't share a room with me?" Zachary hadn't expected Avery to find a way to
distance herself from him like this, casting him aside.
Avery took one glance at Zachary's face and understood that he was about to lose his temper. She
involuntarily shrank back away from him as she nodded her head.
Just as Zachary was about to reach his hand out to Avery, her phone gave out a shrill ring. She
immediately jumped out of the sofa, answering the call. When she heard Nicole's voice, her gaze fell
absently on Zachary.
"Okay, I get it. I'll be right there." She finished speaking and hung up the phone.
On the other side, Nicole clutched her phone, looking puzzled. She'd just wanted to chat with Avery,
and she hadn't expected her friend to rush over immediately.
It didn't take long for Avery to appear at her friend's bedside, her face etched with misery. "Nicole, you
have to save me..." Avery gripped Nicole's hand, not wanting to let go.
"Calm down, bride-to-be." Nicole knew Avery was feeling very anxious. Perhaps because Kerr had
hidden her own wedding from her, Nicole had never experienced pre-marriage nerves herself.
Avery told her friend the whole story. Not only did she get no sympathy, but Nicole also laughed at her.
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