With such a statement, they concluded that she had married a grotesque and was hiding him from them, which explained why she did not invite them. While they were chatting, she handed out their packs of comestibles and drinks to them.
Both friends and foes, collected and appreciated her.
Then, Lorene spoke, “Now that you are married, Arthur will consider remarrying. I am happy for you.”
“Yes,” another jester responded loudly.
Nevertheless, Nichole gave a deaf ear to their jestings because they were the same group of people who taunted her often with repulsive comments like:
(Arthur had refused to remarry because of your presence in his life. Why not remarry so that he can be free to remarry too?)
Previously, such idle talk hurt her, especially when she remembered that Arthur kept ignoring her. Now, she would absorb them and keep her head high as the legitimate and famous First Lady of the Bailey’s Family. So, she did not give their idle talks a thought but concentrated on handing out the packs, and her friends cheered her up.
“Thank you, Nichole, you are the best.”
“Congratulations. I wish you a blissful married life.”
“Thank you.”
“Congratulations, Nichole.”
Soon, they dispersed. Nichole and the janitor took two packs to the MD, who appreciated her gesture. She returned to her office and waited for her shift, which would resume by noon. Then, she realized that she had goofed up. There were no packs for her teammates, who would resume very soon, and her phone became essential to her.
When she settled down, she pondered, ‘Where did Zoey go with my car yesterday?’
At Stephen’s Residence.
The fear-stricken Zoey thought that the voices and movements she heard were from the apartment where she was confined, and she became still. If only she knew that those voices and movements were from Stephen’s neighbors, who would help her out, she would have raised an alarm.
At that point, she crawled to the bathroom to conceal herself from the abductors. The last food she had was on Monday morning. To sustain her system, she began to drink the water from the bathroom tap and helped herself with the toilet when she was pressed.
At The Stephen’s Resort
After Stephen’s staff collected the petition from Barr. Guidance, he took it to his boss, and he met him having his late breakfast.
“Good morning, Boss. There is a message for you,” he informed him.
He looked up from his plate, looked at the staff, and asked him, “Who brought it?”
“I don’t know, Boss, and he came with two policemen.”
Stephen collected the sealed envelope and unsealed it. He perused the petition while the staff stood by and waited for the next instruction. Jude studied his unreadable countenance. Subsequently, he ordered the staff member, “You can leave.”
“It is all right, Boss.”
Stephen looked at Jude and grumbled, “Who has the time to waste on dialogue? I will do my thing as I deem fit.”
Jude could not decipher his statement but inquired. “I didn’t get you, Boss. What did you say?”
“Never mind. It was just a family squabble,” he answered him dismissively.
“I got it,” Jude answered him and minded his business.
At the Bailey International Conglomerates.
Arthur was in a high spirit when he got to his office, and his secretary noticed it. Then, she welcomed him enthusiastically, “Good morning, Boss. The joy radiating around you today is overwhelming. What is new?”
The frenzied Arthur, just discovered that he must have been incautious by allowing his joy to bleed into his carriage. All the same, he cautioned himself at once.
Then, he responded, “Good morning, Mrs. Felix. How are you today?”
He inched towards his office to avoid more discoveries from his secretary.
“I am fine, Boss. What is new?” She inquired and walked after him.
He opened his office, walked in, and Mrs. Felix followed suit. When he sat down, the inquisitive secretary attempted to take her seat too, but he dismissed her cheerfully, “You can return to your office, Mrs. Felix. I am fine.”
“It is all right, Boss. I thought I would hear that you have finally recognized how much Nichole loves you,” she said.
Without waiting for his response, she walked out of the office at once and shut the door behind her. Arthur looked at the closed door with incredulous surprise for a few seconds and muttered, ‘Everyone seemed to be aware of how much she loved me.’
Now, he picked up his phone to call his wife but discovered that it was still switched off.
“Oh. Her phone is at home and switched off,” he said to himself.
He smiled broadly and called Mrs. Felix back.
‘After all, I asked her to flaunt that we are married. Why won’t I flaunt it?’ he murmured.
“Yes, Boss. You called me,” she answered when she walked in.
He looked at her and smiled before he asked her, “How do you know that Nichole loves me?”
Now, the Secretary chuckled, and declared, “It is obvious. Many men wanted her, but she hid under you to scare them off. It became a mockery on her part when you fail to recognize that she loves you.”
“It is all right. I am glad that I did not disappoint her. You may wish to know that we got married this morning.”
“Wow! I knew that there was something extraordinary about this morning. Congratulations.”
“Thank you for your wishes.”
“You are welcome. Kindly take care of her. Her love for you has triumphed.”
“I won’t let her down.”
Mrs. Felix returned to her office to intensify her efforts in warding off the female staff members whom she knew had an interest in him. Afterward, Arthur settled down to work. To his bewilderment, he saw an alert of the payment made by Mr. Rex Edmonton that day, and he exclaimed, “Wow! This is good. Double blessing for today.”
Then, he called Louis at once. He picked up the moment it connected and greeted him, “Hello, Father. Are you out of the registry?”
“Yes. Over an hour ago.”
“Wow! That is good to hear. Best wishes.”
“Thank you, dear.”
“I am so sorry that I could not be present”
“It is all right. Your siblings represented you.”
“That is good to know. Congratulations once again.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I saw an alert of the payment.”
“Yes, Father. We concluded the deal and he paid.”
“I’m so proud of you, Son. Keep it up.”
“Thank you, Father. I’m happy that I made you happy.”
“It is okay. See you later.”
“See you, later.”