Ch. 401..410
Always Been Yours Chapter 401
Cut off All Business Dealings
Remus replied, “Their engagement is something that our families have agreed on long ago. If Nicholas’ attitude bothers you, you may rest assured. I’ll give him a lecture so that he won’t hurt Hayley.”
When he heard Remus’ words, Maxwell pretended to think about it for a moment. Then, he feigned reluctant acceptance.
After Maxwell left afterward, Remus immediately called Tobias with a scowl. “Give the orders for our company to sever all business dealings with Timothy Reinhart’s company at once.”
Tobias hesitated for a moment on the other end. Then, he asked, “Dad, isn’t that a bad thing to do? And besides, Nicholas will probably be angry if he learns about this.”
“If he’s angry about it, tell him to come to me!” Remus ordered before hanging up the phone right away.
Tobias had no choice but to order his assistant to do as Remus had said. Since he was the company’s chairman, he could give orders without notifying Nicholas, the company’s president.
That afternoon, Tobias’ assistant went to Timothy’s company. “President Reinhart, I’m here on behalf of our company to express our interest in buying out the patent for the tracking system from you. We’ll buy it at triple the amount of our previous investment, so I guarantee you that your company won’t be getting the short end of the stick.” He handed to Timothy the patent transfer agreement prepared by the company. “As long as you sign the agreement, this check will be yours,” he said while producing a check with many zeros on it and putting it onto the table.
However, Timothy wasn’t tempted by the offer. The tracking system was his and Henry’s brainchild. Naturally, they had to keep hold of the patent in order to make more money. As for their previous collaboration with Nicholas, it was firstly because they didn’t have enough starting capital and secondly because doing so would be a win-win situation for both sides. But now, he was being asked to give up the patent, which he would never do.
He refused almost without hesitation, saying, “Sorry, but we’re not going to sell the patent.” With that, he had someone show the assistant out on the excuse that he still had work to attend to.
After returning to his office, Timothy thought about what had just happened, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He took out his phone and called Nicholas, asking, “Nicholas, isn’t our collaboration going well? Why did you have someone buy out the patent for the tracking system?”
Nicholas was dumbfounded by the question on the other end of the line. After a moment, he said with a frown, “I didn’t order anyone to buy out the patent for your system.”
“But your father’s assistant just came to me, saying that you guys want to buy the patent,” Timothy replied before giving a brief account of the conversation just now.
Nicholas’ good-looking face was extremely sullen when he finished listening to Timothy’s story. Obviously, this has to be Grandpa’s doing. “I got it. Don’t worry; the patent is still yours, and nothing will happen to our collaboration. I’ve got something else to do, so I gotta go,” he said. With that, he hung up and stood up from his executive chair all of a sudden before storming out of his office in a huff.
Edward was just about to report on his work, only to be startled when he bumped head-on into a fierce-looking Nicholas in the hallway. “President Sawyer…” he said gingerly, but Nicholas left with big strides, as if he hadn’t heard Edward.
Then, Nicholas barged straight into the chairman’s office with a loud bang. With a frosty expression, he stood furiously in front of Tobias’ desk and questioned, “Why do you want to buy out the patent for Timothy’s company’s project?”
Standing behind him was Tobias’ secretary, who looked at a loss for what to do.
Tobias’ expression remained unchanged or rather, he had predicted long ago that Nicholas would come over to question him. After motioning his secretary to leave with a wave of his hand, he slowly replied, “This is your grandpa’s order.”
“Why?” Nicholas’ voice turned even chillier.
Tobias raised an eyebrow slightly while looking up at his tall son before him. “Do I have to tell you why? Your grandpa said that your ties with the Reinharts must be severed, even if it means that the project will be shelved.”
Unsurprisingly, Nicholas’ expression looked as black as thunder upon hearing this.
Seeing his response, Tobias stood up and came out from behind his desk. Standing before Nicholas, he patted him on the shoulder and persuaded in a grave tone, “Stop opposing your grandpa, okay? He’s too frail to bear it, and besides, no matter which of you wins, in the end, the Reinhart siblings will be the ones who lose and get hurt. You have to understand that a project isn’t as valuable as the Stone Family to him.”
Always Been Yours Chapter 402
Resigning as President
“Ha!” Nicholas let out a sneer. “In that case, I’ll resign from my position as president of the company. It’s not like I cared much about this job, anyway. That way, Grandpa won’t have to get pissed off anymore, and I can do whatever I want to do without having to burden myself with my family,” he said. With that, he turned around and left right away.
That very night, Nicholas went abroad right away with Gregory.
Tobias was stunned when he learned of the news. He didn’t expect Nicholas to be so resolute and determined.
Naturally, this couldn’t be kept from Remus either. “How unacceptable! This is simply outrageous! Who gave him the permission to leave?!” he barked with a fierce glower while sitting on his sickbed in the hospital ward; he was so furious that his chest ached dully.
Fearing that he might fall ill with rage, Tobias and Stefania repeatedly tried to appease him. Tobias said, “Take care of yourself, Dad. We’ll lecture Nicholas for that.”
Stefania chimed in, “Tobias’s right; you have to take care of yourself. The doctor said you can’t get angry at the moment.”
To everyone’s surprise, Remus ignored them altogether and instead shifted his furious gaze to Kieran, who had been standing aside and trying to be invisible all this while. He ordered, “Go bring your brother back—now!”
Kieran didn’t expect that Remus would target him despite his best efforts to minimize his presence. He blinked his eyes and threw his hands up, saying innocently, “Grandpa, it’s not that I don’t want to look for him. I don’t even know where he is.”
Exasperated, Remus said to Tobias between clenched teeth, “Send people to look for him. Bring him back no matter what!”
Tobias nodded with a solemn expression.
Seeing Remus’ response, Kieran breathed a sigh of relief. Well, it’s fine as long as I don’t have to look for Nicholas myself, he thought. In fact, he had a rough idea of what Nicholas was thinking. Indeed, Remus had pushed Nicholas a little too far this time. Nicholas only left because he had no other choice, so Kieran wanted to grab a chance for him. And besides, he knew where Nicholas would go.
Remus was still furious over the next few days. After all, he truly didn’t expect Nicholas to actually quit his job as he had said.
On the other hand, Hayley and the Stones were stupefied. Never did they expect Nicholas to be so blunt; he’d rather resign as president of his family’s company than marry Hayley. “This Nicholas guy has gone too far! He’s humiliating our Hayley!” Sonia swore in exasperation.
Nero and Maxwell looked as black as thunder, too.
Her eyes lowered, Hayley sat on the sofa as her hands clenched into fists on her lap with so much strength that her knuckles turned white. I’ve never been humiliated like this before in my whole life! she thought.
…
Meanwhile, Tessa was completely unaware of what was happening in the country. Her daily life in Vienna was basically spent between the orchestra and her apartment.
Today, she returned to her apartment with her violin on her back as usual. To her surprise, however, as soon as she reached the entrance of her neighborhood, she saw someone she didn’t expect.
Gregory’s joyful voice rang. “Miss Tessa!” Shaking off Nicholas’ hand, he merrily ran toward Tessa as fast as his little legs could carry him before flinging his arms around her legs. “Miss Tessa, I’m here to see you. Are you surprised?”
Upon hearing this, Tessa finally recovered from surprise. She bent down and picked Gregory up before walking toward the extraordinarily handsome man nearby with a bright smile.
Nicholas watched with unconcealed tenderness in his eyes as the lady leisurely walked toward him. “Welcome home,” he said.
Tessa was stunned for a moment. She didn’t understand why, but these simple words made her feel at home. In the end, unable to figure out the reason, she gave up thinking about it. Her eyes crinkled in a smile as she nodded, saying, “Yeah, I’m back.”
Nicholas curled his lips into a faint smile. Then, he took Tessa’s violin from her and held her hand, taking her home.
After they returned to the apartment, Tessa poured Nicholas and Gregory a glass of water each and sat down on the sofa with them. “How long are you two gonna stay this time?” she asked.
Nicholas said with a mischievous smile, “What if I say we’re gonna stay here permanently?”
“Daddy, are we really gonna stay here for a long time?”
Always Been Yours Chapter 403
Moving Into Their New Home
Overjoyed with surprise, Gregory tugged at Nicholas’ sleeve and asked him for confirmation.
Nicholas looked down at the boy. He said in a gentle voice, “We’ll be living with Tessa from now on. Isn’t that great?”
“Of course it’s great!” Gregory was thrilled with excitement. After all, he had always dreamed of living with Tessa.
On the other hand, Tessa finally recovered from her astonishment. She turned to Nicholas with a frown, asking, “Did something happen?” Normally, as president of the Sawyer Group, Nicholas would’ve been busy every single day, so how could he possibly have time to live abroad permanently?
Of course, Nicholas noticed Tessa’s suspicion, but he didn’t want her to worry about what had happened back home. “Don’t overthink it. Nothing happened; it’s just that I want to give myself a long holiday and rest for some time,” he said. Then, not wanting to continue the subject, he changed the topic, saying, “Your apartment isn’t big enough to house us. As it happens, I asked someone to help me buy a house over here earlier on. Now that the renovation has been completed, let me take you to look at the house.”
Located in an affluent district, the brand-new villa was built in complete accordance with Vienna’s artistic architectural style. Its interior decor was expensive and luxurious, with all the necessary furniture, but it didn’t lack the warmth and coziness of a home.
Nicholas took Tessa by the hand and showed her around the villa. “What do you think?” he asked with his head lowered after they returned to the living room. “Just tell me if there’s anything you don’t like. I’ll get someone to fix it right away.”
“No, there’s no need to fix anything. This place is well decorated.” Tessa’s eyes showed a hint of worry as she looked around. She could tell from the house’s decor that Nicholas seemed to have made up his mind to settle down here. At the thought of this, she couldn’t help but ask again, “Nicholas, tell me the truth. Did something happen back home?”
Before Nicholas could speak, though, Gregory’s excited voice rang. “I like you so much, Daddy! I can live with Miss Tessa permanently from now on.” With a bright smile on his face, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him toward Tessa. As it turned out, he had gone to the bathroom just now. Now that he was back, he latched onto Tessa again, of course.
Nicholas was somewhat relieved that Gregory came back at this moment, for he had yet to figure out how to explain the matter to Tessa otherwise.
However, Tessa might have read the man’s mind. She gave him a look as if saying, “Just you wait.”
Just then, Gregory’s adorably childish voice rang again. “Miss Tessa, let’s pick our room. I want to live with you.”
“No, you can’t.” Nicholas turned down Gregory’s suggestion at once before Tessa could respond. “You’re already a little boy, so you should sleep alone in your own room.” This little boy’s got to be kidding! If I let him share a room with Tessa, then what about me?
Gregory pouted his lips. He tried to negotiate with Nicholas, saying, “I’m just a four-year-old kid.”
Nicholas shot him a frosty look. “Which means you’re old enough to sleep alone.”
Gregory was rendered speechless. At a loss for a retort, he puffed out his cheeks angrily, saying, “You’re a bad daddy!”
Tessa was amused as she listened to the father and son’s conversation. However, she was somewhat hesitant as well. “Am I gonna move in here too?”
“What do you think?” Despite the rhetorical question, Nicholas’ attitude was obvious enough; he insisted that Tessa move in with them.
In the end, Tessa couldn’t make the man change his mind, so she had no choice but to agree to it.
They moved into the villa that very evening. Tessa prepared several homemade dishes herself before telling the father and son, who were playing in the living room, to come over for dinner.
Gregory happily jumped off the sofa and headed straight for the dining table. “Oh, yeah! I can eat the food made by Miss Tessa again!”
Nicholas followed closely behind the boy. Seeing the lovely meal on the dinner table, he looked at Tessa tenderly and said in an indescribably attractive voice, “Thanks for the meal.”
“Come on and eat.” Tessa smiled sweetly while serving dinner to the father and son.
Gregory’s cheeks were bulging with food over dinner, and he didn’t forget to compliment Tessa on her cooking in every way he could with such honeyed words as though his lips were coated with honey. “It’s been a long time since I last enjoyed your cooking, Miss Tessa. Really, I like your cooking the most; the food you make is super yummy.”
Always Been Yours Chapter 404
An Opportunity
The dining room kept reverberating with cheerful laughter as the three enjoyed a very homely dinner.
When they finished having dinner afterward, Tessa played with Gregory for a while in the garden before taking the little boy to wash up and sleep. After he fell asleep, she quietly left the room and then turned around to go to the study. “Nicholas, I’m coming in.” She knocked on the door and entered, only to see Nicholas sitting at his desk; he looked very attractive in his black bathrobe with a large part of his chest bare.
Nicholas’ stony features softened the instant he saw her. “Gregory’s asleep?”
“Yeah, he’s asleep.” Tessa came to her senses and nodded. Then, recalling her purpose for coming here, she went up to Nicholas with a serious look on her face. “You’d better fess up. What actually happened? Why the sudden decision to settle down here?”
Seeing the lady’s unusually serious expression in the brightly lit study, Nicholas curled his lips into a faint smile. He confessed, “It’s nothing, actually. It’s just that I resigned from my position as the Sawyer Group’s president.”
“You resigned from your position as president?” Tessa was taken aback. She asked with a look of disbelief, “Why? Did your family agree to it?”
“Even if they don’t agree to it, it doesn’t matter. I’m gone now,” Nicholas said while pulling Tessa into his arms. Then, he joked, “You’re probably gonna have to support Greg and me from now on.”
“Oh, with pleasure,” Tessa replied while hugging Nicholas back around the neck. Still, she couldn’t get Nicholas’ departure from home out of her mind. She asked, “Am I the reason you left?”
Nicholas looked at Tessa with deep, fathomless eyes. He couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, “I suddenly realize that it’s not good for my lady to be too clever.”
Tessa frowned. Just then, Nicholas’ deep voice rang in her ear again. “Don’t overthink it. I left to teach Grandpa a lesson. His desire for control has grown over the years, and the only way to deal with him is to give an eye for an eye.”
“Still, it’s all because of me.” Tessa’s spirits drooped all at once with guilt. “Seems like your family really dislikes me very much.”
Nicholas’ heart ached somewhat when he heard the lady’s deep, depressed voice. He adjusted her sitting position to have her sit facing him. Then, cupping her little face with both hands, he comforted her in a tender voice, saying, “Like I said, don’t overthink it. This has nothing to do with you. Even if you were out of the picture, Grandpa and my parents would still force me into marrying the person they wanted me to marry.”
Tessa felt sorry for Nicholas upon hearing this. “Why do they have to do this? Don’t they take your wishes into consideration at all?”
“To them, I’m the Sawyer Group’s heir, so I have to prioritize the Sawyer Group above everything else. That’s why they’ve had my life planned out since I was little,” Nicholas explained as a hint of mockery appeared in his dark eyes. “But as I grew up, I disliked their arrangements more and more. After pitting my wits against them all these years, I’ve gotten increasingly sick of such a life. I’ve been wanting to do this since the past few years, but the opportunity never presented itself. Now’s the right time to do it, and I can take this opportunity to rest for a while.”
Tessa’s inner guilt lessened somewhat when she listened to Nicholas’ explanation and learned that her presence was just an opportunity. Still, her heart ached at the stress he had been under over these years. In a rare display of initiative, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his warm lips. She comforted him, saying, “In that case, you may have a good rest here these days. Let’s not think about those depressing things.”
Nicholas’ deep eyes darkened at the soft and brief touch on his lips, and he stared fixedly at Tessa’s pink and tender lips.
The man’s gaze was so intense that Tessa couldn’t ignore it. A delicate glow slowly spread over her cheeks, making her look very sweet and charming as a lovely pinkness showed through her fair skin.
The couple’s heads drew closer to each other under the light as their warm, damp breaths mingled in the air. The moment their lips met, the longing that they had been suppressing all this while was unleashed, and the air in the study started to heat up.
Always Been Yours Chapter 405
Interrogated
As if she had been drained of all energy, Tessa leaned weakly against Nicholas with her eyes glazed with lust.
A long time later, Nicholas finally released his grip on Tessa, who had nearly passed out from lack of oxygen. However, their necking didn’t end there. Aroused, the man scooped her up in his arms and went back to their bedroom. Their wonderful nightlife had just begun.
The next day, Tessa had to go to the orchestra after having breakfast with Nicholas and Gregory. She really wanted to stay with them at home, but the orchestra’s public performance was just around the corner, so it’d be inappropriate for her to ask for leave. As a result, Gregory and Nicholas were left in the huge villa, and Nicholas played with Gregory in the living room.
Some time afterward, Kieran gave Nicholas a video call. He asked with concern, “Nicholas, have you guys settled down over there? Is Greg alright?”
Upon hearing Kieran’s voice, Gregory, who was next to Nicholas, happily leaned over, saying, “Uncle Kieran, I’m fine!”
Upon seeing this, Nicholas held his phone closer to Gregory to make it easier for the latter to speak to Kieran.
The uncle and nephew laughed and joked for a while before Nicholas’ phone was back in his hands.
Kieran hemmed as his smile faded somewhat. Then, he said with a solemn expression, “Nicholas, Grandpa was very angry after you left. As for the company, nothing went wrong except that I’ve got more work to do.” His voice took on an unspeakably aggrieved note toward the end of his sentence. Back when Nicholas was still at the office, he had never had endless work to be busy with every single day like he was at present.
Nicholas pretended not to see the pitiful look in his brother’s eyes. He said coolly, “Keep an eye on the company during this time. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me about it.” Although he had said he wouldn’t care about what was going on in the country, he still paid close attention to the situation over there, especially the situation of the company. Of course, he was able to take such a hands-off approach because he wasn’t worried at all, knowing that Kieran would take care of the company even if he was absent.
The instant Kieran heard this, his face scrunched up in distress. Why am I always the one who gets dragged into trouble and suffers? I just wanted to be a loafer behind Nicholas; why am I handling the company’s documents on his behalf now? And besides, the president’s workload is simply inhumane, especially when I see the documents piling up on my desk, which makes me want all the more to defy Nicholas and go abroad straight away to abduct him back to the country. At the thought of this, he couldn’t help but ask in a whisper, “Nicholas, do you have any plans about what to do next?”
“I’ll be staying abroad for the time being.” Nicholas darted an impassive glance at Kieran. He knew full well what Kieran was thinking, but he would never go back until Remus gave in.
When Kieran heard this, his face scrunched up even more. After hanging up the phone, he took a glance at the documents piled up on his desk. Then, resigning himself to his fate, he started reviewing the documents with a sigh.
When Kieran finished work in the evening, he was terribly exhausted, so he drove straight to Dynasty Gardens. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go home. However, he knew very well that if he went home, his parents would definitely interrogate him about Nicholas’ whereabouts, so he’d rather go to Nicholas’ place to have some peace.
However, little did he expect that his parents would pursue him all the way to Nicholas’ place despite his desire to hide from them.
In the brightly lit living room, Tobias and Stefania sat on the sofa with serious looks on their faces while eyeing Kieran up and down with scrutiny. “Do you really have no idea where your brother is?”
“Dad, Mom, please let me off. I really don’t know where Nicholas is.” Kieran begged for mercy with a troubled expression. “It’s not like you two don’t know what he’s capable of. He’s got many ways to make people unable to find him.”
Tobias and Stefania looked at each other. What Kieran said was indeed true. With Nicholas’ capabilities, making them unable to find him was a piece of cake. Still, they didn’t believe that Kieran hadn’t heard from him.
In the end, Tobias fixed Kieran with a warning stare. “Let me ask you again, Kieran. Do you really have no idea where your brother is?”
Kieran’s heart shuddered with fear when he noticed the threat in Tobias’ eyes. Still, he gritted his teeth and insisted, “Dad, I really don’t know where he is!”
Always Been Yours Chapter 406
Let Me Have Control of My Own Life
“Fine. Remember what you’ve just said. If I find out that you’ve lied to us, I’m gonna break your f*cking leg!”
The Sawyers were looking for Nicholas, and so was Hayley, who couldn’t accept being treated like this by Nicholas and wanted an explanation from him. Am I that bad that he’d rather resign as president of the Sawyer Group than marry me? She had his whereabouts investigated for a few days. However, the investigation yielded no results—or rather, Nicholas had concealed his whereabouts in advance, having predicted long ago that his family wouldn’t give up after he left.
After ending her phone conversation with her assistant, who had called to report to her on the progress of the investigation, Hayley clutched her phone tightly with a dark expression. Clenching her teeth, she mumbled bitterly, “Seems like no one can force this guy into doing what he doesn’t want to do.”
On the other hand, Remus had been discharged from the hospital several days earlier. He had had Nicholas’ whereabouts looked into and tried to contact him all this while, but he had been unable to reach him. He knew that he had been blocked on Nicholas’ phone.
The atmosphere in the Sawyer Residence was tense over the next few days.
Seeing how sullen Remus looked, Andrew reminded him, saying, “Do you think Master Nicholas would take Young Master Gregory to Miss Reinhart’s place?”
Remus narrowed his eyes. “I’d thought about this at first, but there was no news from there. And besides, Nicholas can’t possibly have gone there.”
Upon hearing this, Andrew pondered for a moment and realized what Remus meant. If Master Nicholas had gone to Miss Reinhart at this time, he’d undoubtedly cause her trouble, he thought.
When Remus finished having dinner afterward, he took out his cell phone and dialed Nicholas’ number again. To his surprise, he got through to Nicholas this time.
“Grandpa.” Nicholas’ chilly voice sounded through the phone.
Remus was stunned for a moment. The next instant, he flew into a rage, barking, “Where are you right now? Come back at once!”
“Have you agreed to my terms, then?”
“What terms?”
Compared with Remus, who was boiling with rage, Nicholas was calm, his voice imperturbable. “Let me have control of my own life.”
“Nicholas Sawyer, are you threatening me?” Remus exploded with rage. He reproached, “As the Sawyer Group’s heir, you have no freedom in life to begin with. You should’ve understood that the more you gain, the more you have to give up.”
The instant Remus said so, there was a brief silence on the other end of the line. A moment later, Nicholas’ cold voice rang again. “You’re right, Grandpa. That’s why I’ve now resigned from my position as president to be able to do whatever I want to do.”
For some reason, Remus suddenly had a bad feeling upon hearing this. “What do you want to do?”
“I’m gonna rejoin the army.”
“Say that again, Nicholas! What do you want to do?!” questioned an infuriated Remus in a stern voice. However, he passed out from anger before he could hear Nicholas’ answer. After all, by rejoining the army, Nicholas was putting his life at risk. Who else would inherit the Sawyer Family’s business if anything were to happen to him? And most importantly, Nicholas had taken Gregory away with him.
Hearing the cries of alarm that sounded through the phone, Nicholas knew that Remus had passed out from anger once again. He felt sorry for Remus, but upon recalling the latter’s usual way of doing things, he hardened his heart and hung up.
Once again, Remus was rushed into the hospital overnight for treatment. When he regained consciousness, he looked as if he had aged ten years and had one foot in the grave.
Kieran couldn’t bear to see Remus like this.
However, Remus’ mind was preoccupied with Nicholas’ plan to rejoin the army. Lying weakly in his sickbed, he clenched his teeth while saying to Tobias, Stefania, and Kieran, “Whatever method you use, you guys have to bring Nicholas and Greg back. He mustn’t rejoin the army with Greg!”
Upon hearing this, Kieran couldn’t help but step forward and persuade, “Grandpa, as long as you stop forcing Nicholas into marrying a woman he doesn’t like, I’m sure that he’ll come back with Greg.”
Always Been Yours Chapter 407
Calling off the Engagement
Upon hearing Kieran’s words, Remus fell silent. I thought that everything I’d done was for Nicholas’ own good, but could the current situation really have been my fault?
Seeing that Remus seemed to have listened to his words, Kieran tried to persuade him further. However, before he could speak, Remus chased him out of the ward with a wave of his hand. “I want to have some time alone. Get out of the room, all of you; Andrew, you may stay.”
Kieran and his parents were worried about Remus, but they could only leave the ward as they were unable to dissuade Remus. Before they left, they didn’t forget to ask Andrew to take good care of Remus.
With that, silence filled the ward at once. After a long time, Remus’ frail voice rang in the room. “Am I really wrong?” he said as if mumbling to himself or asking Andrew.
Seeing how Remus looked, Andrew stood aside and persuaded him, saying, “Old Master Sawyer, I’d say we should let the younger generation carve out their own path in life. Maybe Master Nicholas did something so extreme because he really had been pushed too hard.”
Upon hearing this, Remus closed his eyes without saying a word.
Seeing Remus’ response, Andrew loyally stayed by his sickbed without saying another word.
Meanwhile, Kieran was stopped and interrogated by his parents again in the hallway. “Kieran, do you really have no idea where your brother’s been?” Stefania looked at Kieran skeptically.
Standing beside her was Tobias, who fixed Kieran with a warning glare.
Kieran felt a headache coming on when he saw his parents like this. “Dad, Mom, like I said, I don’t know where Nicholas is. Why wouldn’t you believe me?”
“You don’t know where he is? If you don’t know where he is, why were you speaking for him just now?” Stefania didn’t believe at all that Kieran didn’t know Nicholas’ whereabouts. “I’m telling you, either you go and bring Nicholas back at once, or you don’t come back anymore.”
Speechless, Kieran was both upset and aggrieved. Why am I always the one who suffers for the trouble Nicholas has caused? he thought. Still, he gritted his teeth and insisted, “Like I said, I don’t know where Nicholas is, so where am I supposed to look for him? Ah, never mind. If you can’t stand the sight of me at home, just chase me out so that I don’t have to manage the company’s affairs anymore,” he said in a fit of desperation. In any case, I can’t betray Nicholas no matter what.
Stefania was rendered speechless with anger by his flippant tone of voice. “How dare you—”
Tobias wished he could beat up this son of his, too.
Just then, however, Hayley’s gentle voice rang behind them. “Mr. Sawyer, Mrs. Sawyer, Kieran, why are you guys standing outside the ward?”
Upon hearing Hayley’s voice, Stefania immediately composed her features and turned around to look at Hayley with fondness. “What brings you here at such a late hour?” Previously, Hayley had looked after Remus in the hospital rain or shine, which made the elders of the Sawyer Family grow fond of her. Therefore, at the moment, the Sawyer Family’s elders treated her as a member of the younger generation that they found pleasing.
Seeing his mother’s sudden change in countenance, Kieran speechlessly stood aside and rolled his eyes in secret before staring at Hayley. He also wanted to know why this woman came here.
Pursing her lips slightly, Hayley replied with a pained expression, “I heard that Old Master Sawyer fell ill again, so I’m here to pay him a visit and have my engagement to Nicholas called off while I’m at it. Is it convenient for him to see me now?”
Stefania was surprised. “You want to call off the engagement?”
Tobias and Kieran were surprised as well, especially Kieran, who never dreamed that Hayley would propose calling off the engagement on her own initiative. Isn’t this woman determined to marry no one else but Nicholas?
Hayley didn’t know what Kieran was thinking, though. Forcing a smile, she pretended to be mature and magnanimous, saying, “Mrs. Sawyer, I’m not someone who doesn’t know what’s good for me either. Now that Nicholas has made it clear that he’s unwilling to marry me, if I still insist on marrying him, I’ll only make myself a laughingstock.”
Upon hearing such words, Stefania and Tobias suddenly felt somewhat sorry for Hayley, who seemed so sensible and mature. They felt that she really was a good girl, and that it’d be too bad for their son to let her slip through his fingers. They wanted to persuade Hayley not to call off the engagement at first, but upon recalling their son’s attitude, they bit back their words of persuasion.
Always Been Yours Chapter 408
Nothing Good Will Come Out of a Forced Marriage
Ah, forget it. Nothing good will come out of a forced marriage, anyway, thought Stefania. She said apologetically, “Hayley, what happened this time was Nicholas’ fault. If you need any help in the future, feel free to ask us.”
Hayley pursed her lips and nodded, but her eyes flickered for an instant. In reality, her actual purpose for coming here wasn’t to call off her engagement to Nicholas, but to pretend to compromise herself in order for the Sawyer Family’s elders to see how mature and sensible she was.
Kieran left the hospital afterward. As soon as he got into his car, he immediately gave Nicholas a video call. “Nicholas, let me tell you this. The engagement has been called off, so you can come back now.”
“The engagement has been called off?” Nicholas’ surprised voice sounded through the phone. “What happened? You’ve got to explain it in detail.”
“What else could’ve happened? Hayley can’t afford to lose face after you kicked up such a huge fuss by leaving. And besides, Grandpa was hospitalized again today, so she came to have the engagement called off.” Kieran told Nicholas what had happened just now. Then, he questioned, “Nicholas, when are you gonna come back? You’d better come back quickly, or I’m gonna die young. You’ve got no idea how unbearable my life has been these days. Not only do I have to deal with the company’s affairs, but I’m threatened by Mom and Dad every single day.”
Nicholas was unmoved by Kieran’s complaints, though. He replied in an impassive voice, “I have no plans to come back anytime soon.”
Kieran whined in the video, “Why? Hasn’t the engagement been called off? Why wouldn’t you come back? Do you really want to see me die young?”
Nicholas’ eyes darkened. Inwardly, he knew very well that the annulment of his engagement to Hayley was just a stall. After all, he knew Remus well enough. If Remus could really change his mind so readily, he wouldn’t have had to rebel to such an extent. And besides, Hayley was a scheming woman who could come up with all kinds of tricks, so it was hard to say that she didn’t have another plan in mind.
Seeing how Nicholas remained silent in the video, Kieran could actually guess what he was thinking. He couldn’t help but mutter, “No matter whether the annulment of your engagement to Hayley is real or not, the engagement is at least called off for now. If you still don’t come back, Grandpa, Dad, and Mom are certainly not gonna let you abandon the company like this.”
Nicholas thought up an idea. “What about this? Tell Grandpa that I can run the company remotely, but I’m not going back anytime soon.”
His words filled Kieran with deep resentment. “All you know is let me do such thankless jobs.”
“That’s because you’re the right person for the job.” Nicholas glanced at him with a barely noticeable flicker of amusement in his eyes. “If there’s nothing else, I gotta go.”
“Hold on a minute! Who said there’s nothing else?” Kieran hurriedly stopped Nicholas from hanging up. He asked, “You haven’t told me why you’re not coming back!”
Nicholas didn’t hide his plans. “I’m gonna take advantage of these days to take Greg to different places to foster our bond with each other. Ever since he was born, I had either been carrying out missions for the army or busying myself with the company’s affairs. I want to make it up to him for that.”
Kieran didn’t believe every single word Nicholas had said, though. He curled his lips before saying sourly, “You wanna make it up to Greg? The way I see it, that’s not the only reason. My future sister-in-law is gonna travel with you two, right?”
Remus stayed in the hospital for two days. After his health improved, he went back to the Sawyer Residence. On the day of his discharge from the hospital, he learned from Tobias about the annulment of Nicholas’ engagement to Hayley. Tobias, Stefania, and Kieran hadn’t told him about the annulment of their engagement earlier out of concern for Remus’ health.
On their way home, Kieran took the opportunity to tell Remus that Nicholas wouldn’t come back anytime soon. “Nicholas said he’s planning to take Greg to different places to foster their bond.”
Remus’ expressionless face betrayed no sign of emotions when he heard Kieran’s words.
Seeing Remus’ expressionless face, Stefania shot Kieran a glare and started to persuade the old man, saying, “Dad, it’s true that Nicholas hadn’t spent much time with Greg all these years; he was either busy with the army’s missions or running the company. He said that he’d be running the company remotely, anyway, so why don’t we just let him be?”
Always Been Yours Chapter 409
Worried
Remus ignored Stefania, though.
Seeing Remus’ response, Stefania looked embarrassed.
With that, the atmosphere in the car became somewhat oppressive. Luckily, they arrived at the Sawyer Residence soon after that.
Remus got out of the car with Andrew’s help. Before Tobias and the others got out of the car, he said coldly, “Just do whatever you guys are supposed to do.” With that, he motioned for Andrew to leave.
Remus then recuperated at home for a few days. Knowing that Nicholas was determined not to come back, he eventually decided not to force him anymore.
However, Hayley came to the Sawyer Residence every single day to visit Remus these days, and today was no exception.
“You look much better than yesterday, Old Master Sawyer. Seems like you had a good rest last night.” Dressed in a gray long-sleeved lace dress belted at the waist, Hayley sat on the sofa, wearing a meek and charming smile on her exquisitely made-up face.
Sitting across from her was Remus, who was dressed in loungewear. Although he was no longer as energetic as he used to be, it was true that he looked much better. “Thanks for visiting me every day.” He took a sip of his tea while looking at Hayley fondly.
Hayley pursed her lips before flattering him in an unnoticeable way, saying, “I just want to see you get better since I wish that you’re in good health.”
It had to be said that Hayley’s daily visits made Remus grow increasingly fond of her. As a consequence, the idea that he had given up at first emerged again.
That night, Hayley took her leave after having dinner with Remus. After seeing her leave the living room, Remus called Andrew over, saying, “Tell our people to do everything possible to search for Nicholas.”
Andrew was puzzled as to why Remus wanted to look for Nicholas again all of a sudden. Still, he nodded and did as Remus said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Nicholas was totally unaware of these things. After settling down in Vienna, he handled the company’s affairs in the villa’s study during the day and had dinner with Tessa and Gregory at night. Occasionally, they would go out for a walk like a family, and Tessa would find time to teach Gregory to play the violin. Their lives were so happy and fulfilling every single day that it felt unreal.
In the quiet of the night, Tessa nestled in Nicholas’ arms. Upon recalling how happy their lives had been these days, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
The man’s deep voice rang beside her. “Why sigh all of a sudden?”
Tessa was startled; she thought Nicholas had fallen asleep. “Why are you still awake?”
“I was about to fall asleep at first, but I heard you sigh, so I don’t feel like sleeping anymore for now. What’s wrong?” Nicholas questioned.
Tessa shook her head and glossed it over, saying, “Nothing. I just wanted to sigh all of a sudden. Let’s sleep.” As she spoke, she hugged Nicholas and closed her eyes.
Upon seeing this, Nicholas fell asleep with her in his arms without questioning her further.
No one knew how much time had passed before Tessa opened her eyes again. Staring at the man’s impeccably handsome face, she was somewhat worried deep down. She wondered whether it was right or wrong of her to stay here with Nicholas like this.
Over the next few days, Tessa concealed her emotions pretty well, but Nicholas nonetheless noticed her misgivings. On this day, he booked three flight tickets to Filisburg right away, planning to take Tessa and Gregory to go sightseeing in Filisburg on the weekend when Tessa didn’t have to go to the orchestra to undergo training.
After getting off the plane, Tessa slipped her left arm through Nicholas’ arm while holding Gregory’s hand in her right hand with a smile of irrepressible happiness on her face. The good-looking pair and the adorable kid became the envy of others right away.
After leaving the airport, Nicholas took Tessa and Gregory to the hotel to check in and rest for a while. After they had lunch, he took the two of them out of the hotel.
On their way out of the hotel, Tessa asked curiously, “Where are we going?”
“You’ll know it once we arrive,” Nicholas answered, deliberately keeping Tessa in suspense as he drove.
Tessa couldn’t help but chuckle, but her heart warmed. Nicholas acts like this whenever he’s preparing a surprise for me.
Gregory was also curious about where his father would take them, but he was even happier to be able to be with Tessa.
Always Been Yours Chapter 410
An Outdoor Art Exhibition
Suddenly, Gregory pointed at a building outside the car window, shouting, “Miss Tessa, look! That building is so beautiful!”
Tessa turned to look at the building. Indeed, the building looked very beautiful and aesthetic. If Vienna was the city of classical music and an artistic paradise, Filisburg would be the sacred place for love and the definition of romance. One might as well say that everyone in Filisburg had romance in their bones.
After a while, the car stopped at the entrance of a park. “Here we are. Let’s get out of the car,” Nicholas said while unbuckling his seat belt before he got down from the car.
She followed closely behind him with Gregory. After getting out of the car, she realized that the park was hosting an outdoor art exhibition.
By this moment, the art exhibition had drawn many visitors. Taking Tessa’s hand in one hand and Gregory’s in the other, Nicholas slowly entered the venue.
The paintings here weren’t made by renowned painters, but they looked very lifelike. It didn’t take long before Tessa and Gregory were fascinated by the paintings at the scene.
Nicholas stayed quietly beside them the whole time while preventing others from bumping into them.
Just then, a cheerful melody played in the distance. A surprised Tessa turned to look at Nicholas. “Is an orchestra performing here?” In her memory, art exhibitions were usually quiet; even if there was music, only soft music would be played in which no orchestra would be hired to perform.
He nodded with a smile before he explained, “This art exhibition is held by the businesspeople of Filisburg, who have also invited the orchestra to perform here for charity. There’ll even be a stage play later on. I thought you’d probably like this place, so I brought you here to take a look.”
His words sent a warm current through Tessa.
On the other hand, Gregory could hardly wait to watch the stage play. He tugged at Nicholas’ hand, urging, “Daddy, where’s the stage play? Hurry up and bring us to watch it!”
Nicholas turned to look at Tessa while ignoring him.
She chuckled. “Since Greg wants to watch the stage play, let’s watch it first.”
Nicholas nodded before bringing them deeper into the park.
Many people smiled kindly at them as they were on the way to watch the stage play. Some even got the wrong idea about them and praised, “Your child looks very adorable.”
Upon hearing such words, Tessa felt somewhat embarrassed. However, she also felt very pleased, and she had no intention of explaining the truth.
Nicholas felt the same too.
Gregory, on the other hand, was beside himself with joy when he heard such words. He had wanted Tessa to be his mother a long time ago. It’s just that Daddy is too stupid, which makes me unable to call her “Mom” even now, he thought. At the thought of this, he turned to look at Nicholas with gloom in his eyes.
After sensing the boy’s gaze, Nicholas looked totally perplexed.
By the time they finished watching the stage play, the originally bright blue sky had been dyed a deep red by the rays of the evening sunlight. He took Tessa and Gregory to a restaurant where he had made a reservation for a homely dinner.
As night fell, the three of them went to the Bardale Canal and drifted along the river current in the boat. The dim lights in their surroundings were reflected on the river’s surface, and the reflection floated on the ripples. The scenery looked just as picturesque as an oil painting.
Gregory flung himself into Tessa’s arms with a happy smile on his face as his big, round eyes sparkled as if there were stars in them. “This place is so beautiful, Miss Tessa.”
Tessa hugged him as she replied with a sweet smile, “Yeah, it’s beautiful indeed.” As she spoke, her starry eyes fell upon Nicholas, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of dark and fathomless eyes.
As their eyes met, a rich sweetness emanated from them; it was as if even the air was sweet at this moment.
Not noticing the subtle chemistry between the two adults, Gregory wrapped his arms around Tessa’s neck while shouting excitedly at Nicholas, “Daddy, could you take a photo of Miss Tessa and me?”
Tessa and Nicholas finally came to their senses upon hearing this. “Let’s take a photo of us, then.” She looked at him with a smile.
Naturally, Nicholas wouldn’t turn her down, so he took out his cell phone and took a picture of them.
As soon as the camera flashed, Gregory stretched out his hand impatiently while saying, “Let me take a look at the photo, Daddy. How is it?”