Chloe Snyder thought, ‘Old Master? Nicole’s tone is so helpless, and that familiarity of addressing the old man…’The people present were taken aback.The white-bearded Mr. Wilheim finally stopped in his tracks.He had a hint of a smile in his refined gaze.Mr. Wilheim grunted coldly.However, his tone carried reproof and regret. “Someone who quit halfway doesn’t deserve to be my apprentice!”Nicole was the only apprentice Mr. Wilheim took in. She was extremely soulful, and her talent was a hundred times beyond any regular person. Every stroke of Nicole’s paintings was filled with such spirit.However, Nicole only learned from Mr. Wilheim for less than half a year before she quit and turned to learn about business.Mr. Wilheim, who finally accepted that one apprentice in his entire career, was so infuriated that he lost his appetite for a few days.He had so much regret and anger!‘How dare she ask to buy my painting?! Dream on!’ Mr. Wilheim wanted to take this opportunity
Nicole was a little hesitant when she received the invitation to the Carter family’s banquet.Since Ian had feelings for her, Nicole subconsciously did not want to get too involved with the Carter family.However, on second thought, this might just be a polite way to thank her for the painting.It would be petty of her to overthink things.When Nicole arrived at the Carter mansion as promised, she unexpectedly saw Chloe Snyder there as well.Chloe came earlier than she did.She was laughing with Old Master Carter and Gillian.Nicole handed over the painting she had gotten, “The Blazing Sun”.Gillian thanked her and took a glance at it.Her face stiffened slightly, but it only lasted for a moment before she regained composure.Nicole did not notice this change.She went up to greet Old Master Carter.Ian had been hiding out upstairs until he heard Nicole’s voice. He hurriedly came downstairs and smiled in surprise.“Lil N, come on up! I just flipped through our yearbook and
Nicole was slightly surprised when she heard these words.This was the second time she had heard this warning.The first time, it was from Quinn before she got married to Eric Ferguson.Unexpectedly, this time, it was from Ian’s mother, Gillian...Nicole looked back at Gillian’s calm and expressionless face.It felt like all the warmth and familiarity from before were merely a disguise.Nicole’s heart turned cold. She had always treated Gillian as a respected elder.She did not expect this to happen.Nicole pulled the corners of her lips.“Mrs. Carter, are you warning me?”“It’s fine if you want to think of it that way, Nicole. Ian had a hard time taking over the company, but because of you, he threw away fifty billion just to buy that land. He not only got beaten up by his grandfather, but he was almost kicked out of the board too. Did you know that?”Nicole was stunned. She thought that she had made a timely save.She did not expect Ian to face so much trouble.Gillian f
Although Nicole did not want to receive Eric Ferguson, he was already here, so she had to maintain superficial politeness.Logan held open the door of her office.Nicole walked in with big strides.She exuded such a confident and elegant aura and carried such superiority that made her so unattainable that others could only look up to her and sigh in admiration.Eric watched her back as she pushed the door in and was slightly stunned.This scene suddenly felt so familiar.That image deep in his mind surfaced for a while. In the darkness, the woman in the red dress whose face could not be seen, and the light that pierced through the night.The light that broke through the dark sky was overwhelming.He frowned slightly. That was back when he was in Europe.‘Why did I suddenly remember this?’......“Mr. Ferguson, please come in…”Logan extended his arm and politely reminded him.Eric walked in and swept a glance.The furnishing of Nicole’s office was very minimalist.The
Eric’s face was taut. After a moment, he nodded his head in agreement. “Okay.”He unconditionally agreed with the compensation she asked for although dealing with it might be a bit troublesome.However, Eric finally felt relieved. ‘She’s willing to accept my compensation, so does that mean our relationship is still salvageable?’Nicole was not surprised by his agreement.At that moment, she stood up and walked behind her desk.“I’ll have someone work out the details with Ferguson Corporation. Let’s keep this cooperation private and confidential for now…”Eric had the same thoughts. After all, the project had just started, so it was not appropriate to be too high-profile.Looking at Nicole’s actions, she was probably about to send him out the next second.Since things between them had just started to ease up, it was better to avoid any unpleasant arguments.Eric stood up after some thought. “Then… I’ll head back…”Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes were affixed to a
Eric was curious why his lost ring would be in Nicole’s possession.Nicole’s eyes flickered slightly. She was obviously unwilling to answer this irritating question.However, she was even more unwilling to get entangled with Eric Ferguson.She simply told him.“I thought you knew…”‘You should know…’“This ring was returned to me one morning by Wendy Quade. She said that you had too much to drink the night before and slept at her place, then casually just threw it aside. So, she personally returned it to me.”Nicole would probably never forget that confrontation.That was the first time that Nicole felt such despair about their marriage.Nicole was lost in sadness, depression, and anger back then.Luckily, she managed to walk out of that darkness in time.Looking at the flicker of confusion and pain in his eyes, Nicole sneered with contempt.‘Perhaps I was mistaken. Eric Ferguson is a cold-blooded animal without feelings. How could he feel any pain because of me? Even if he
Ian Carter and Old Master Carter both felt a little strange about Nicole’s sudden departure.Nicole had never been so impolite before.Under Old Master Carter’s probing eyes, Gillian finally could not hold back and told him everything, that the painting was a fake and about Chloe’s fondness for Ian.When Old Master Carter heard this, he was fuming. His daughter-in-law, Gillian, had always been well-behaved and never caused trouble. Thus, he was satisfied with her.He did not expect that Gillian would make such a mess of things.How could he not be angry?Old Master Carter asked experts in the industry to find a photo of “The Blazing Sun” that was exhibited in the World Museum, then showed it to Gillian.This painting was Mr. Wilheim’s creation at the peak of his career.Every inch of this artwork meticulously brought out the beauty and grandeur of the full painting.Therefore, after some deliberation, Mr. Wilheim decided not to add his signature to this painting. Thus, “The
Hearing this, Nicole raised her eyes and absently smiled. “I admit to the first one. As for the latter, you’ve really wronged me…”Nicole smiled devilishly with a hint of gloating in her eyes.Sure enough, Gillian probably knew that she was duped. ‘Gillian did not even answer Chloe’s calls? How ruthless…’Chloe Snyder’s eyes were cold and stern. She kept pressing on. “Who are you to get Eric Ferguson to kick me out of that cooperation? Do you know how much effort I had to put in just to get into the market in Atlanta and form that connection?”She did not bother to work with small companies and went straight to Ferguson Corporation.It took some effort to obtain Eric Ferguson’s good impression and trust.Surprisingly, Nicole swept all her efforts away with just a few words.How could Chloe not be angry?Nicole let out a light laugh with a disdainful expression.“Your effort is telling Eric Ferguson that you can make Ian completely give up on me?”Chloe’s face stiffened as a