When Kerr saw the distant and cautious expression on Nicole's face, he couldn’t help but feel upset
about it. He tried to hold her in his arms again, but she quickly dodged his attempts.
"Nicole, why don't you trust me?"
He was already aware that Nicole tended to be stubborn. His scandal with Sunny also didn't help; it
was probably imprinted in Nicole's mind. Even though he couldn't explain everything to her yet, he still
didn't want her to push him away.
Despite hearing Kerr's question, Nicole still didn't look up at him. She just raised her hand to her
cheeks to wipe away the remaining tears and took a deep breath, as if she was trying to gather the
courage to look at him in the eye.
"What do you want me to believe, Mr. Gu? Do you expect me to believe that nothing happened
between you and Sunny? Even if you were innocent in this, it is obvious that you cannot deny your
relationship with Sunny to the public. You can't even explain anything to me. If it was really nothing, you
wouldn't have let the rumors go for this long," she explained to him.
"But what did you do? What else did you do besides telling me repeatedly to trust you? Be honest with
me. You and Sunny are meant to be together, right?" she asked.
"You can't change the relationship, can you?"
Nicole's voice was calm. Recently, she found out many things that she wished hadn't. Admittedly, she
was angry when she found out those things but eventually, she calmed down.
She wanted to believe in Kerr but she knew in her heart that she shouldn't dare. The more she gave
herself time to think about it, the clearer everything became for her. She couldn't afford to entangle
herself with Kerr and his life. It was just too complicated. Someone more powerful was probably behind
Kerr.
She didn't want to be someone who would depend so much on Kerr. She wasn't that kind of person.
"Nicole, please just give me some time. I promise I will take care of it."
If he were being honest, Kerr was pretty surprised at how calm Nicole looked while they talked. He
didn't expect that she would see the situation clearly.
However, he knew that this was a defense mechanism for Nicole so she could protect herself and Jay
from any more pain. All these years, Nicole had done everything by herself. She had to remain strong
for both her and Jay's well-being.
When he thought of that, Kerr couldn't help but feel sorry for Nicole and what she went through.
"How long will you make me wait, Mr. Gu? One month? A year? Or are you not sure how long this will
take for you to fix? I didn't mean to make things so hard for you. Please, just let me go. I just can't
convince myself to be your mistress," Nicole said in a serious tone.
"I can't be someone who is always going to live under your shadow, Mr. Gu. I'm sorry. I am grateful for
everything you did yesterday and today. I appreciate you staying with me and I'm thankful for you
helping to save Jay's life.
Unfortunately, I can't really pay you back for those because of my limited abilities."
Nicole gave a curt nod to Kerr and left the rooftop.
There was a heavy feeling in her chest as she walked away from him. She also felt like there was
something stuck in her throat. It felt as if something was preventing her from breathing. She felt a
different kind of pain spread all over her body.
She was the only one who knew how hard it was for her to not hug Kerr. She had never thought that it
would be so difficult for her to leave him.
He didn't object. Kerr knew that as long as the situation was not yet solved, he had no right to hug her
or even come hear her.
When he fell in love with Nicole, the thought of her living under his shadow didn't even cross through
his mind. That wasn't what he wanted for her. If he loved a woman, he wanted her to be standing proud
beside him, not behind him.
Nicole walked around the corridor of the hospital in low spirits. She had an aura of gloominess around
her that everyone who walked past her could notice.
"Nicole?"
At the other end of the hallway, Nicole saw Avery Lin. She looked anxious.
"Hi, Avery," Nicole greeted.
When she looked at Avery, she really wanted to smile at her. But no matter how hard she tried to flex
the muscles on her face, she just couldn't seem to flash her even the smallest sliver of a smile.
"Oh you silly girl, you don't have to force a smile for me. I understand that this isn't the best time for
you. How is my godson? You should have called me as soon as possible."
Avery stepped forward and reached out her arms to Nicole and gave her a tight hug. She looked at her
with sympathetic eyes.
Avery went to the hospital as soon as she heard the news. She was really sad to see how miserable
Nicole looked. Nobody on earth knew Nicole the way Avery did. Nicole had always been stubborn and
strong.
However, no matter how strong someone was, they could still be hurt. Being strong did not mean that
they were immune to pain. It just meant that they could tolerate it a little bit longer than others. Nicole
wasn't a stranger to pain, she tended to carry all burden on her thin shoulders by herself.
"Avery, don't worry about it. I am okay. Jay is also out of danger. As long as I take good care of him, he
will recover soon enough. I'm such… a horrible mother..."
Nicole let go of her and led Avery to Jay's ward.
She still blamed herself for what happened. She was still repenting. She couldn't believe that her
carelessness resulted in Jay suffering so much at a young age. She felt that she did not take good care
of him at all.
"Don't talk like that. You are the most responsible and caring mother in the world. Honey, all of this will
pass, trust me," Avery told her friend in an attempt to comfort her.
When Avery spotted a lonely figure that stood at the end of the hallway, she gave the figure a slight nod
of acknowledgment. Then she followed Nicole to the ward.
When Kerr saw that Avery was with Nicole, he felt at ease. He knew that Nicole would be cared for
even if he wasn't by her side. He turned around and left the hospital.
As the days passed, Jay gradually got better. His recovery was going smoothly and he was getting
more and more cheerful every day. Nicole had brought the files of the bidding project to the hospital so
that she could properly take care of Jay and finish her work too.
A few days later, Nicole felt exhausted from the workload. However, Kerr made it clear that the work
must be done by her and he had no intention of handing it over to any other employee. So, she
continued to work.
Thankfully, Avery often visited to help her take care of her son. It gave Nicole the chance to rest and
not feel overwhelmed by her tasks. It was a big help.
"Godmother, when will I get better? Mommy is so tired!"
Jay paid close attention to Nicole and her well-being; he felt bad for her. He was sad that he couldn't do
anything but lie on the bed.
"Soon. As long as you take your medicine when you're supposed to, you will get better in no time! Then
you can do anything you want. Tell me, what do you want to do when you get out of here?"
With the soup in her hand, Avery patiently fed the boy bit by bit and conversed with him. Avery found
Jay very adorable; she was happy that she was his godmother. It was the first time that Avery felt good
about taking care of a child.
For so long, she used to think that having a child was troublesome. They were messy and loud.
However, now, she realized that it wasn't that bad.
"I want a laptop, if possible," he answered.
Stuck in a hospital bed, he had limited access to any type of news. He was eager to find out if the
problem that he had caused Kerr had already been fixed or not.
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