The stronger a person appeared to be, the more fragile his heart was.
Nicole had indulged her adopted parents for a long time because of the attachments developed over
two decades, but now they gave her no choice.
Nicole suddenly felt cold.
She held her arms crossed her chest like a lonely kid.
Samuel opened his eyes and saw this.
His heart ached a lot.
"As long as you say it, I can make them regret it for the rest of their life!"
"No. I want to end all of this by myself."
Nicole leaned against Samuel's embrace, and the pain from her wounds made her frown. Samuel
caught that.
"Does it hurt?"
"A little bit. I will make Melissa pay a heavy price for the three lashes."
A hint of anger flashed through Nicole's eyes.
"Do you have a plan?"
Samuel turned his body slightly so that Nicole could be more comfortable in his arms.
After leaning over, Nicole whispered, "Melissa has always been fearless. She thinks I couldn't do
anything about her because I always have a soft spot for my adopted parents. They've raised me, so I
would always forgive them no matter what they do. To be honest, I really didn't have the heart to hurt
them before, but they've hurt me too many times, and I've had enough. Now, they want to use my
children. How can I tolerate it? I'm going to do what I have to do, even if that makes me an ungrateful
daughter."
"Don't be afraid. I'm here. If you can't do it, I'll help you. Let me take the blame."
Samuel meant it.
If Nicole gave him permission, he would end that couple immediately.
However, Nicole shook her head and said, "No, I want to do it by myself. If you do it, they'll still think I'm
a pushover and that I'm just lucky to marry you. I want them to know there are consequences to mess
with me."
The thought that her innocent children were betrayed and even hurt by the grandparents they trusted
make Nicole's heart burned with anger.
"I'm worried that you'll feel painful."
"If they have the heart to do this to me, why would I feel painful for getting revenge? They gave me no
choice."
Nicole snorted, "In his early stage, Braden once copied a picture that Ryder Stuart painted before he
became famous. Few people know about this. Stuart had already passed away, and few people know
about his work created before he was famous. Braden stumbled on that painting by chance and
somehow had the idea. When I was a kid, I overheard him tell my adopted mother. Now, Braden has
become famous in the art industry, and he's got disciples working in all lines. Some of his disciples are
quite influential and can help him. Maybe it's Major who has got Melissa out of prison. But I believe
Braden has pulled some strings as well."
When Samuel heard what Nicole said, he hurriedly picked up his phone to call Ernesto.
"I've told Ernesto to start with this. Once we have enough evidence, his reputation as a great artist will
be ruined. I will also ask Laurence to contact the descendants of Stuart. As long as they sue Braden for
plagiarism, he will be in trouble. Then, my adopted mother will ask Melissa to help save him. Melissa is
now abroad. I wonder if she will come back for her biological father."
Nicole's goal was very simple - she wanted to force Melissa to return to the country, and her parents
were her weakness. Of course, if Melissa did not care about her parents, Nicole would think of another
way to make her come back.
Samuel listened quietly. As long as Nicole could vent her anger, he would support her to do anything.
"Did Braden only copy one painting?"
"I'm not sure. This is the only one I know of. I haven't verified the others."
Samuel curled his lips into a cold smile.
"Plagiarism isn't enough to ruin a person's reputation. We need some other scandals."
"I don't have any other ideas."
"Leave it to me."
Samuel offered his help.
"As long as he's got some shit on his ass, I will make sure everyone sees it."
Nicole felt a little uncomfortable.
"You're disgusting!"
Samuel chuckled.
"It's just a metaphor."
"A disgusting metaphor."
"Would you want me to use another metaphor?"
"Forget it. I've heard enough."
Nicole moved, her teeth cracking in pain.
"Damn it! I'm injured. What about Olivia's album?"
Samuel knew his woman would worry about this.
"I've already hired the best zither player for them."
"Great."
Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she remembered something. She hurriedly stood up, but she
hissed in pain, her entire body drenched in a cold sweat.
"Can't you be careful? Don't you know that you're injured? The wounds in your body are bone-deep."
Samuel hurriedly supported her, his heart aching for her.
Nicole knew that she was in severe pain, but she didn't know how her wounds looked like. When she
heard Samuel's words, she immediately narrowed her eyes.
"I've got deep wounds?"
"Deeper than you can imagine."
Nicole's hands clenched tightly.
Melissa!
I would never spare you!
"What were you trying to do in such a hurry just now?"
Samuel's question brought Nicole back to her senses.
"I just want to know if Olivia is alright? She was with me back then."
"She's fine. She was knocked unconscious. She was found by my people and sent to the hospital for a
check-up. Everything is fine with her. She came to check on you not long ago. She has left to meet the
crew. She'll be back tonight."
"I see."
Hearing that Olivia was fine, Nicole finally felt relieved.
"How did you know where I was?"
Nicole looked at Samuel with a much softer expression.
After this incident, she realized that her mood had changed greatly.
Samuel paused for a moment and said, "My people had been secretly protecting you all the time.
When they saw you walk into the alley, they thought it would be fine, so they did not follow. Don't worry.
I have already replaced them. I guarantee that it will never happen again."
"How many people are protecting me?"
Samuel was surprised at her question. He'd thought that Nicole would be angry that he'd had her
followed by bodyguards.
He paused for a moment and said, "Two."
"Add two more. It's best if they're women. Have them follow me around. I'm injured now. With four
people protecting me, I will feel safe."
"Okay."
Samuel was happy that Nicole asked for his protection.
Did this mean that the tension between them had eased?
Nicole was a little tired. She leaned against the bed and yawned, "Samuel, you're keeping something
from me. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But I want you to look me in the eye and tell me, did anything
happen between you and that woman?"
"No."
Samuel did not hesitate at all.
"That woman's name is Tami Hunt. She is an actress. I only talked to her for some information. When
she found out about my identity, she must have got some ideas. It's my fault that I didn't notice it."
Samuel confessed, but he didn't say anything more than he should say.
Nicole knew Samuel well.
If he wanted to keep something secret, even if you threatened him with a knife, he wouldn't tell you.
This was all that Samuel could tell her, but it was enough to make her trust him.
"You know I have mysophobia when it comes to a relationship. I would never want something that has
been used by another woman. Today, you said that there is nothing going on between you and her, and
I believe you. But you better not lie to me! There is no secret that can stay in the dark forever."
Nicole looked at Samuel with a firm gaze.
Samuel's heart skipped a beat.
"I'm not lying to you. You're the only woman I love in my life."
"Remember what you said today. I'm tired and want to sleep."
Nicole closed her eyes.
Samuel knew that after this incident, Nicole and he were back together.
He was thrilled.
Seeing Nicole's exhausted look, he felt a little distressed, though.
"What do you want to eat? I'll have someone get it."
"Anything is fine. I don't have an appetite."
Before Samuel reminded her, Nicole didn't realize that she hadn't had any food for a whole day. She
was too hungry that she could no longer feel it.
Samuel knew that Nicole shouldn't eat anything with a strong flavor with her condition. He could only
get some light food for her.
"I'll have someone get some porridge for you."
"I want to eat what you cook."
Nicole's lazy eyes were so enchanted that Samuel agreed without thinking.
"Alright. I'll go home and cook some food. Get some sleep. There are bodyguards outside, and no
irrelevant people will be able to get in. I'll wake you up when I come back with the food."
"Okay!"
Nicole felt severe pain all over her body, and she was not interested in talking. With the help of Samuel,
she lay on the bed and closed her eyes.
Samuel covered her with the blanket and went out.
When Nicole heard him talking to the bodyguards at the door, her eyelids were so heavy that she fell
asleep.
After sleeping for a while, Nicole was woken up by the noise outside.
She thought that Samuel had returned, but from the noise outside, she made out a familiar voice.
Zayn?
This name flashed through Nicole's mind.
She frowned involuntarily.
How did Zayn know that something had happened to her? And what was he doing here?
Nicole was puzzled. Before she could say anything, Zayn, with Pedro's help, pushed open the door and
rushed in. However, the bodyguard grabbed him by the collar and threw him out.
Zayn fought back and pressed the bodyguard against the wall. Then, he kicked the bodyguard out and
kicked the door shut.
A hint of astonishment flashed through Nicole's eyes.
Zayn was a hell of a fighter!
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