Aurora had always been a good girl back in Clothville, her days spent between school and home, unaware of the storms brewing outside. It was only natural that she hadn’t heard of Mr. Coleman upon her recent return from the United States.
“What does he mean by ‘done’?” Aurora was puzzled.
“Mr. Coleman is a nickname the streets gave him; he owns the world’s largest chain of casinos and wields tremendous power. I owe my success today to both Irene and his assistance. The issue with Zachary required his arrangement. I called Irene because only she could ask Nick for help. Zachary probably has lost a lot of money last night.”
“And what is the relationship between Irene and Nick?” Aurora thought of the enchanting woman she had met the day before.
“Just a tortured love affair,” Julian sighed, thinking of their complicated relationship.
“What do you mean by ‘tortured’?”
“They love each other but can’t be together,” Julian, who saw things clearly, explained.
He picked up his phone and typed a few words before showing his response to Aurora: “And Irene?”
“Do you hope they reconcile?”
“Of course, just like Irene once hoped for you and me. Initially, Hayden stood between us, then you disappeared and went to the United States. Much has separated them as well,” Julian sighed.
Aurora understood that Julian also hoped for their reconciliation, thus using Zachary’s incident to bring them together.
“Don’t worry, as long as there’s love, no distance is too great. No matter how time passes, those who love each other will eventually be together.”
Aurora could feel the melancholy in Julian’s heart. As an observer, he could only do so much for them.
“Yes, they certainly will,” Julian nodded gently, holding Aurora tighter, “One only realizes the value of something once it’s lost. No matter what others say, I will never let you go in this lifetime.”
At that moment, in another luxurious villa, Nick saw the light from his phone screen and, knowing that the woman hated to be woken during her sleep, he had silenced it.
He opened the message, “And Irene?”
Nick looked helplessly at the woman sleeping soundly in his arms. He had stayed awake almost all night just watching her. She had tossed and turned until morning before finally falling into a deep sleep, forgetting their past grievances and conflicts, peacefully enveloped in his embrace.
His arm was numb, but he couldn’t bear to move and wake her. And Irene? He had refrained from touching her all night, but surely that wasn’t enough to earn her forgiveness.
“Nothing special,” he texted back.
“A woman needs to be cherished and pampered. Be assertive when necessary but also give her space. Use this incident as an excuse to stick by her side, treat her gently. Women find it hardest to resist tenderness. Over time, once she’s used to your presence, she won’t bear to have you leave.”
Nick was surprised to receive such an extensive reply from Julian, who was usually sparing with his words. This didn’t sound like him at all, but it certainly cleared his confusion.
Do women prefer gentleness over dominance? Should he consider adjusting his rough temper?
Julian, seeing the woman who had taken his phone to send messages, chuckled, “Women find it hardest to resist tenderness? Hmm?”
Indeed, it was not Julian who had sent those messages, but Aurora. Since Irene had helped her significantly, she also wanted to give their relationship a push.
Aurora turned around and embraced Julian’s neck, “If women didn’t like tenderness, how could I have fallen for you? Young Master Barnet.”
Julian gently scraped her nose tip, “Then I shall build walls of tenderness to completely immerse you in my gentle world.”
“I’m already immersed,” Aurora said, her lips curving into a smile.
“I hope Irene and Nick reconcile soon,” Julian murmured.
“They definitely will, true lovers always end up together.”
Nick put down his phone. Not to be too domineering with women, but gentle, and to give them space? He was seriously contemplating these issues.
Suddenly, the woman in his arms moaned softly, her long eyelashes fluttering as if she was about to wake from a dream.
“Nicholas…” she opened her eyes and was momentarily disoriented, murmuring hazily.
The familiar address warmed Nick’s heart, and he gently patted her back, “Irene, sleep a little longer.”
“Oh.” The woman blinked and fell asleep again in his arms. Wasn’t this moment of tranquility exactly what he had always dreamed of?
Irene, I’m sorry, I won’t hurt you again.
Zachary returned home like a walking corpse, Genevieve oblivious to what had happened, yawning as she came downstairs.
“Where did you go messing around last night? I’ve been telling you to behave recently, and you-”
Before she could finish, he was already kneeling, “Mom, help me, you’re the only one who can now.”
“What’s wrong with you, have you been drinking again? I told you not to drink so much… What happened, you don’t smell of alcohol, stand up and tell me what’s going on!” Genevieve thought Zachary was out of his mind.
Carefully, Zachary stood up, “Mom, do you have any money? I need to borrow some.”
“So it’s about money, is it another fancy car you’re after? How many cars do you need?
You’re kneeling over a car? You silly boy. Tell me, how much do you need?”
“This much.” Zachary was too embarrassed to say the amount, instead gesturing with his hands.
“Six million?” Genevieve hadn’t thought it through yet.
“Add another zero,” Zachary said, trembling.
“Sixty million? Are you out of your mind, what do you need such an expensive car for?” Genevieve still thought it was just about buying a car.
“Mom, I’ll tell you the truth, it’s not for a car this time. I smashed someone’s bar and owed over ten million. To cover this debt, I gambled at the casino hoping to win it back, but ended up losing tens of millions.”
“You, are you insane? Where are you going to find tens of millions to lose?” Genevieve couldn’t help but curse.
“I took out some loans, maybe I was really crazy then, thinking I’d stop after one win, but I got in deeper and deeper, now I owe fifty million including interest, and another ten million for the bar, mom, please help me, or I’m done for!”
Thinking of the people he had offended, Zachary burst into tears, while Genevieve looked at her sniveling, tearful son.
“You, you’re absolutely infuriating, you know what your grandfather despised the most! You’ve committed his greatest taboo, you fool!” Genevieve might have had a heart attack if she had a heart condition.