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Divorced Billionaire Heiress - Chapter 7
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Phantom led Monster and Nicole to take a bow after the performance. Nicole smiled brightly and got off the stage with poise.
‘Luckily, I still remember the basics! This performance is still quite satisfactory.‘ Nicole thought.
Phantom and Monster followed Nicole off the stage. Monster went over and patted her shoulder. “Lil Nicole, why don’t you just join our band? We’re willing to kick Demon out for you!”
Nicole lowered her head and laughed. “If Demon hears this, he’d probably get up from his hospital bed right now and fight you!’
Monster was in great spirits. “l’m so thrilled to perform with you today. You’re the composer of this song anyway, so except for Demon, only you can perform so flawlessly with us. Lil Nicole, you seem just like you were three years ago!”
Nicole felt a trace of bitterness in her heart. She seemed to have missed out on an inordinate amount of life’s excitement in these three years. Fortunately, it was still not too late to get back on track.
Monster refused to give up and kept persuading Nicole to join their band. “Lil Nicole, if you join us, we’ll surely shock the music world!”
Nicole was just about to reject his offer when Julie walked over with a smile.
“Forget about it, you two…Nikki’s gonna start her career all over again!’
As soon as Julie pulled Nicole out from backstage, Yvette gave her a bear hug. ‘Nikki baby, that was fantastic! You’re my goddess! Do you know how excited everyone was? Your violin is simply amazing!”
Nicole helplessly pried Yvette off of her body. lt was all thanks to Ian’s arrangement that Nicole got to have such a memorable night.
The three ladies thought that Eric and Keith should have already left, so they went back up to the second floor.
Unexpectedly, Eric and Keith were sitting next to the Carter brothers as they stared at Nicole weirdly the moment she showed up.
Yvette snorted in dissatisfaction and pulled Nicole to sit by Ian. “lan, let’s play something. lt’s boring having to sit with such eyesores.”
lan shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, the night’s still young!”
Everyone downstairs was shouting for The Lunatics to have an encore.
“I didn’t think that Nicole could play the violin. Why didn’t I hear about it before?”
Keith could not help his curiosity. He was genuinely shocked.
The moment Nicole went on stage, she was so cool and confident like a queen that was in control of the whole audience
“Why should we tell you? Who the hell are you even?” Yvette scowled at him and retorted.
Keith felt attacked, but he indifferently shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to play something? How about poker dice?“
“Who wants lo play with you’” Yvette scoffed and was holding a grudge against them for Nicole.
‘Stupid bastard!’
Eric Ferguson, who had not spoken suddenly said in a deep voice, “Nicole, are you afraid to play just one game with us?”
Since Nicole came upstairs, Eric’s eyes had not moved away from her. Nicole swirled the wine glass in her hand and looked down seemingly disinterested and treated them as if they were invisible.
Eric suppressed his shock. The Nicole sitting in front of him seemed familiar yet strange to him. At that moment, the emotions surging in his heart were incomparably complicated.
When Nicole was named, she nonchalantly lifted her head and swept a glance at Eric with a faint smile on her face. “What should I be afraid of?”
Although Nicole felt that Eric’s words were unexpected, she was not afraid of him. They were like strangers now, so playing a gambling game was not a big deal.
Yvette objected discontentedly. ”Nikki, why do you wanna play with him? He’s clearly just trying to provoke you!”
Julie pulled Yvette aside and looked at the ex-couple. “Don’t worry, Nikki knows what she’s doing.“ ~
Eric Ferguson grew up as a member of the gentry, so taking part in these social events was like second nature to him. Poker dice was the easiest game and a sure win for Eric. Keith, who was sitting on the side, could not hide his smug smile.
The waiter set the table with two players against each other. Nicole did not make a move. Instead, she looked down and said, “What’s the bet?”
How meaningless would it be without bets?
Eric’s eyes were deep as he stared at her indifferent side profile. “What are your thoughts?”
Before Nicole could say anything, Keith sneered and spoke first. “If Ferg loses, I’ll walk out of here butt *****, but if Nicole loses”
He swept a glance at the Carter brothers and continued in a disdainful tone, “You need to admit in public that you married into the Ferguson family for money, and you can never show your face in Atlanta ever again! Nicole, do you dare to bet on this?’ Ian and Hugh Caner were dumbfounded.
Yvette was so enraged that she wanted to stand up and defend Nicole, but Julie pulled Yvette back and told her not to be impulsive.
Eric’s eyebrows furrowed tighter. He was about to interrupt Keith when Nicole sneered and raised her eyebrows mockingly. “Sure, I accept.”
Nicole looked so scornful of Eric, as if he was not a worthy opponent.
Keith laughed at the fact that Nicole was ignorant and oblivious to how strong her opponent was.
In the whole of Atlanta, Eric’s poker dice skills were unbeatable, even if he played with his eyes closed. Back then, Eric won his first big cash windfall at Vegas, not to mention, these menial people in front of them were all insignificant character compared to Eric.
‘l can finally avenge myself today!’ Keith thought.
Eric stretched out his hand. Ladies first.
Nicole took the dice shaker on the table and shook it, then casually rested the back of her hand on it as she looked at Eric. “Your turn.”
Eric looked at Nicole quizzically and frowned. It was obvious that Nicole did not take this game seriously. ‘Does she truly not care whether she wins or loses this bet?‘
Keith was watching eagerly as if they had already won the game. ‘Nicole is such a noob! Look at the way she shook the dice, how unprofessional! Does she think she can win with two simple shakes? No way!’
Eric pondered for a moment, then casually lifted the dice cup. It was a four-of-a-kind, an expected win. He then glanced at Nicole, who still looked unfazed.
Keith was so excited that he almost jumped up. “Ferg, way to go! You used your usual skills. Here l thought that you might get soft-hearted…”
Ian Carter clapped at the side and was not surprised by this. He smiled faintly and said, “Mr. Ludwig, Mr. Ferguson has never been soft-hearted towards Nicole, but at least we finally get to see Mr. Ferguson’s ability today.”
“Why are you complimenting Eric? Are you trying to divert our attention and renege on the bet? Nicole, why don’t you let us see your hand? Don’t be a sore loser”
“Keith Ludwig! Empty vessels make the most noise, so shut the f*ck up!” Yvette could not help but rebuke.
Nicole watched as the atmosphere suddenly became tense and laughed lightly. Her slender fingers tapped the dice cup twice before she casually tipped it over. Before everyone had time to react, she took her purse and stood up. “l’m leaving, you guys carry on.”
Besides Yvette and Hugh who were both startled, Julie and lan seemed to have already expected this result and were calm and unperturbed.
The moment Keith saw Nicole’s dice, he just felt like dying. ‘Five-of-a-kind! How could she get an upper hand over Eric? This woman just
simply shook the dice on the table and was able to get five-of-a-kind?!’
When Keith looked up again, the woman had already disappeared.
Yvette gloatingly slapped the table and snugly said, “Mr. Ludwig, don’t forget to strip butt ***** before leaving! As you just said, don’t be a sore loser…”
“You…you’re cheating!” Keith’s face was flushed as all kinds of emotions flashed by.
“Cheating? Mr. Ludwig, you’re the one who wanted to play. These are the rules of the table, yet you dare say that we’re cheating when you lost? If you can’t afford to lose, why play in the first place? Mr. Ferguson, don’t you think so?”
Yvette sneered and called Eric Ferguson out as she gnashed her teeth in anger.
Keith looked at his best friend with big, innocent, pleading eyes. The words “save me‘ were written all over his face.
Eric glanced at Yvette, then swept a glance at Ian and Hugh before his gaze landed on Keith. “We lost.“
His face was calm and unmoved. At first, Eric felt it strange that the sound of the dice from his hand and Nicole’s hand were a little off.
However, he was not the slightest bit upset that he lost. Instead, he even felt a little delighted.
Eric Ferguson quickly left the table, leaving Keith stupefied as he received hostile glares from Nicole’s friends.
The taut string in Keith’s heart suddenly
snapped, Keith felt that those people led by Yvette just wanted to eat him alive.
‘Eric left me like that’? Aren’t we bros?‘
Keith looked at the people in front of him and bit his lower lip as he spoke with no dignity, “Can you please spare me this time?“
The whole group said in unison, “No!”
Downstairs.
Nicole came out from the side door where there was no crowd. She had just sent a text to her big brother, so his driver should be arriving soon. She also sent Yvette a message.
“Nicole…”
A raspy voice called her name as Eric’s tall and brawny figure stood at the side door. Nicole was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on her aloof and guarded look.
Noticing her change in expression, Eric lowered his eyes slightly.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Ferguson?”
The light at the side door was dim and elongated their shadows. When Eric took a step forward, Nicole took a step back, establishing a clear boundary between them.
Eric smirked and threw the lit cigarette in his hand aside. He continued to approach her and stared at her closely.
“Nicole. Ingrid provoked you first at the restaurant, so I’ll get her to apologize to you”
Nicole lowered her eyes and laughed for a moment. Suddenly, she stopped smiling and looked so cold with a trace of derision in her eyes.
“There’s no need for that. Just watch your family properly.”
The restaurant incident was not the only thing they needed to apologize for anyway.
Nicole no longer cared for their apologies.
Eric frowned slightly and wanted to say something, but a frantic scream coming from the door interrupted him. When he looked over, he saw a butt-***** Keith running out with his hands covering his face. He was so humiliated and desperate that his voice cracked. “I won’t let you get away with this! “
When Keith got to the door, there was a flash of light. The ***** man stopped in his tracks and was shocked to see Eric and Nicole standing next to him. He was ashamed and vexed as he pointed at Nicole with his trembling arm. He even wanted to cry.
“You…you even took a picture?! “
Nicole looked at the picture on her phone with satisfaction. It was not blurry and the angle was just nice to capture everything. It was simply perfect!
She gently hooked the corners of her lips and glanced at Keith provocatively.
“Mr. Ludwig, it’s a pity if no one recorded your entertaining performance, so I purposely waited for you here.“
Nicole knew that Keith would not have the guts to leave through the front door, and there was only one side door in this bar.
“You…you…“
Keith was so exasperated that he became speechless and covered his private parts with both hands.
Nicole’s gaze was cold and her tone was stern as she said, “If you dare to mess with me again, I’ll post this photo for the whole world to see! “
‘Does he think that I’m the same stupid woman from three years ago? How dare he mess with me?’
As soon as Nicole turned around, Grant Stanton’s driver was waiting by the roadside. The driver bowed politely and waited patiently for Nicole to finish her business.
Nicole did not even glance at Eric and bypassed him, then sat inside Grant’s luxury car. The car gradually drove out of sight, and only then did Eric withdraw his gaze.
Somehow, Eric felt uncomfortable seeing that Nicole’s face was unmoved and filled with mockery without the slightest hint of shyness or evasion when Keith ran out n@ked.
However, when Eric looked back at the events tonight, from Nicole’s violin performance on stage to the poker dice game, his original impression of the well-behaved and quiet
Nicole suddenly changed. Every move she made was such a mystery. It felt like there was a thin layer of fog that surrounded her, making it increasingly impossible to see through her.
Thinking of this, the bottom of Eric’s heart became irritable again. Seeing Keith standing there staring at Nicole’s departed car, Eric could not help but frown. He tossed the jacket in his hand on Keith’s head and said,
“Let’s go! Do you not feel ashamed?”
Keith reacted with a jolt and quickly took Eric’s jacket to cover his face as he scurried to the car.
“Get in! F*ck! Your ex-wife destroyed me today!”
When Eric and Keith got into the car, Keith quickly put on his clothes while complaining.
“Your ex-wife is such a femme fatale. She’s so ruthless and heartless! l can’t beat her…”
Eric’s face turned cold when he heard his muttered words. He took out a cigarette with his slender fingers and lit it. The smoke coming from the cigarette made his eyes seem dim and inscrutable.
Yvette and Julie followed Ian out of the bar. They looked smug when they saw the two men in the car.
Ian took a few steps forward to the car through the car window, the corners of his lips hooked up into an unruly and playful smile. “Mr. Ludwig, it was just a bet, so don’t take it to heart. We’re still friends, “right?”
Keith’s body shook with anger.
’Hmph! Simple for you to say, you’re not the one that ran out *****! I’m afraid my name will become the laughing stock of the city from now on! What a shame…utter humiliation! But…l brought this on myself…even if I feel wronged, I can’t complain…’
Earlier when Keith was still clothed upstairs, lan looked at Keith indifferently.
“You don’t wanna strip? lf Nicole lost, would you have let her go?“
The answer, of course, was a solid no.
Thus, Keith was stripped out of his clothes.
Keith wanted to ignore lan and let out a cold grunt. He arrogantly turned his head away to express his anger.
Eric glanced at Ian. His voice was deep and dangerous as he said, “Mr. Carter, are you venting out your anger on behalf of Nicole today?”
“Mr. Ferguson, you’re kidding, right? Isn’t It obvious that Nicole won by herself? You should be willing to lose when going into a bet. A big man like you can’t even compare to a lady, huh?“
Ian laughed nonchalantly and tapped his finger on the car window. He pondered for a moment and gave Eric a meaningful glance.
“Mr. Ferguson, you didn’t expect Nicole to win, did you?”
“It was indeed unexpected.”
“You were married for three years, yet you still don’t know her at all. I guess in your eyes, Nicole is worth nothing.” Ian had a faint smile in his eyes. He took a deep breath, tilted his head, and smiled devilishly.
“But…there’s no need for you to get to know her in the future, because to us, Nicole will always be the best!” Ian cocked his thumb and raised his eyebrows in a sneer.
Eric’s gaze was sharp and threatening as he narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Carter, you wouldn’t be interested in that woman, right?”
Ian laughed out loud and met his gaze openly. “I am. I want to pursue her, and I have to thank you for letting her go so that I can get this opportunity.”
Eric indifferently withdrew his gaze and looked to the front with an expressionless face. Keith, who was sitting on the side, could not stand it anymore and said,
”Why are you talking so much? Ferg, just drive!“
He really could not stay here for another moment.
Eric stepped on the gas pedal and drove away immediately. Keith saw Eric’s sudden change in expression and was shocked.
“Are you angry?”
‘It’s so obvious that Ian Carter is interested in Nicole, so what’s wrong with him admitting it?’ Keith thought.
Eric did not want to answer Keith and only said, “Don’t you think that you should care about your photos more?”
“Damn it!“ Keith cursed. This was the first time he was defeated by the same woman twice in a row.
“Why did you have to marry her in the first place? There are plenty of women who are right for you, so why her? I honestly don’t know what you were thinking. We all felt so sorry for you, so lucky for you, we’ve never treated her as one of us.”
Keith muttered.
The car came to a screeching halt. Eric’s face turned a few shades darker and his chest suddenly felt uncomfortably congested.
‘They didn’t treat her as one of us? Was I like that too?’ Eric thought.
“Get out!” Eric’s voice was icy cold.
Keith looked at him puzzled. “Why?”
“l’m going to the office, you’re out of the way.” Eric’s face was inexplicably glum. Keith had no choice but to get off. While he stood in the cold wind and watched as the car became more distant, he suddenly realized that Eric was not going in the direction of his office.
On the other side, Yvette walked over smugly. “That Keith Ludwig should lay low for now. He really won’t back down until he knocks into a wall!”
Julie nodded. “If we don’t show him who’s boss, he’d really think that Nikki’s a pushover…”
Yvette froze for a moment. “But when did Nikki start playing poker dice, and so good at that?“
Julie and Ian looked at each other and laughed. Julie then explained, “When Nikki was studying in France, there was one month when she fought with her family, so they cut her off financially. Then, she somehow got tricked into
working as – dealer at the biggest underground casino there. To her surprise, she learned those skills under the table and even made a fortune!
After Uncle Floyd found out, he was so scared that he immediately begged her to leave that place and compensated her with a black card that has no credit limit…”
Yvette’s eyes widened in awe. She regretted not attending the same university as Nicole.
Early morning.
Nicole opened her eyes in the warm morning light. It felt so cozy and mellow that she curled her lips into a sweet smile. Someone knocked on the door right on time. A maid asked in a soft voice, “Miss, are you awake?”
Hearing this, Nicole answered in a lazy voice, “Mm…come in.”
Last night, Grant’s driver brought her to the Stanton mansion.
Two maids pushed in a huge clothing rack and spoke respectfully, “Miss, these are the clothes prepared especially for you. Master and Eldest Young Master are waiting for you in the dining hall.“
Nicole was slightly shocked. ‘Dad is so extra…l bet he wanted to buy out all my favorite brands so that I’m the only one who can wear them…’
There were several pieces of the same style in different colors. Although there was no logo, Nicole could tell from the familiar workmanship and fabric that these were from Prada’s private collection. Some of them were this season’s latest limited edition pieces, so they were invaluable.
She certainly had to adapt to this kind of luxury lifestyle again. “Alright, you guys may leave.”
Nicole got out of bed to freshen up, then randomly picked a little black dress that was chic and tasteful and paired it with a white blazer before she walked out of her room.
lnside the dining hall, Floyd and Grant Stanton were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast with effortless grace.
When Floyd saw his daughter, he smiled with squinted eyes. “My baby’s finally awake!”
Grant turned to look at Nicole and smiled with his eyes.
“l heard that Keith Ludwig ran out of Tattle Bar butt ***** last night. Even though he covered his face, he was still recognized. Old Master Ludwig dragged him back home to punish him early this morning. The Ludwigs are now busy dealing with the scandal online and their stock almost fell to its limit down. My little sister is really capable!”
Nicole helplessly shrugged her shoulders and walked over to sit down. “He was the one who provoked me first.”
“Serves him right! What are the Ludwigs compared to my baby? Do whatever you want, Princess.” Floyd Stanton doted on Nicole and gave her a bowl of oatmeal.
After taking a few rushed bites of breakfast, Nicole took Grant’s car to the office.
When Nicole arrived at her office, Logan was standing at the door waiting for her.
“Vice President, Samantha Lindt came here early in the morning. She’s now waiting for you in your office.”
Nicole nodded. “ls there any news from J&L?”
“l’ve already contacted the President of J&L Corporation, Gerard Lichman. He proposed to have a talk in person over dinner.”
“Alright, set up an appointment then.”
“Yes, Vice President.”
When Nicole pushed the door open, she saw that Samantha was spinning leisurely in her chair, seemingly enjoying herself. For a moment, the atmosphere in the office was a little awkward.
Samantha’s expression changed when she saw Nicole. She hurriedly stood up and looked at Logan reproachfully. “Why didn’t you inform me that the Vice President is here?”
Nicole smiled insouciantly and walked over.
“Ms. Lindt, since you like this chair so much, it’s yours. Logan, send it to Ms. Lindt’s office later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Vice President Nicole, I don’t mean anything else. There’s no need to give me this chair.”
Nicole sat on one end of the sofa. Her eyes were cold. “I’m a germaphobe, so I won’t sit on a chair that someone else has sat on.”
Samantha was rebuffed, so she glared fiercely at Nicole. She secretly cursed Nicole in her heart and thought. ‘She slept her way into this position, so what is she so proud of?’
“Ms. Lindt, why did you come in here?”
Nicole glanced at her.
Samantha walked over with a document and threw it in front of Nicole.
“Here, don’t say that l didn’t remind you. There are a lot of people eyeing this Project from FH Corporation. Their chairman proposed dinner tonight to talk over this cooperation. Vice President Nicole, you ought to grasp this
opportunity.”
Nicole flipped through two pages of the document and closed the file without another glance. She did not believe that Samantha would be so kind as to share such a big slice of cake with her.
However, since Samantha was so proactive, Nicole felt that it would be a waste if she did not play along with her.
She smiled. “Ms. Lindt, will you be present this evening?“
“Of course, I’ll introduce you both.”
“Great, then I’ll be there on time.”
Nicole handed the document to Logan.
“Raise this by 30%.”
Logan took it over without hesitation.
“Okay, I’ll get it done.“
At this moment, Yvette barged in, holding a huge bouquet that blocked her line of sight.
“Nikki, quick! I’m exhausted!”
Nicole was a little surprised. “What’s this?”
“Someone is pursuing you, of course…so he sent you flowers…” Yvette raised her eyebrows and smiled suggestively.