Ch. 951..960

Chapter 951 Party Pooper

Tessa looked at Nicholas apologetically. Of course, Nicholas understood what she meant, but he didn’t mind at all. “It’s okay. They are all people who have helped you. I can use this chance to thank them as well.”

Naturally, the party started when all the guests arrived. As the host and the star of the day, it was obvious that Nicholas would need to say something. However, he didn’t say any words of formality, only thanking Sofia and the others for taking care of Tessa while raising his wine glass.

“I would like to use this chance to toast everyone here. Please look after my wife in the future as well.” After saying that, he finished the wine in his wine glass in one shot.

At this moment, Tessa’s heart melted while looking at the man’s strong figure. Meanwhile, the generosity and noble aura that Nicholas showed through his actions and words left a good impression on the guests as well.

Just then, Mona went to Tessa’s side and praised Nicholas, “Your President Sawyer is so cool tonight.”

“What do you mean he’s cool tonight? He’s always cool, okay?” Tessa joked with her friend in a good mood and with pride in her eyes. At the same time, Gregory overheard their conversation and lifted his little head proudly. “My daddy is the coolest.”

When the others saw his proud expression, all of them started laughing happily and the atmosphere was very harmonious. However, only Eunice’s smile was forced. She felt envious when she heard that Nicholas was mentioning Tessa in every one of his sentences.

Because of Sofia’s warning just now, she had been behaving from the moment she came in, but she couldn’t help it anymore. Although it was not a grand party tonight and she didn’t need to wear a dress, she still put some effort into her attire today. Yet, in the end, this man didn’t even glance at her ever since she arrived.

I’m so much better than Tessa, but why is this man always keeping his attention on her?!

She became more and more upset thinking about it, so she said jokingly, “Mr. Sawyer, you’re so great that I have a feeling that Tessa is not good enough for you. ”

As soon as she said that, everyone’s brows snapped together.

When Jenny noticed that something was wrong with the atmosphere, she quickly tugged on Eunice’s arm. “Don’t talk gibberish, Eunice. Miss Sofia is angry.”

Hearing that, Eunice turned her head and saw Sofia’s darkened face. Although she was still feeling reluctant, she controlled herself instantly.

Even so, what she said just now still made others uncomfortable.

At this moment, Mona couldn’t help but take her best friend’s side. “I think Tessa and President Sawyer are a match. He’s handsome and she’s beautiful. They’re really a pair made in heaven.”

Although she didn’t dare offend this senior of hers in the industry, she still couldn’t bear to see her friend getting bullied in front of her eyes.

At the same time, her image of this senior was deteriorating in her heart.

When Edward saw that his president had a darkened face, he followed the others and tried to calm down the atmosphere as well.

Meanwhile, Gregory could tell something wasn’t right, so he defended Tessa while pouting his little mouth. He said, “Miss Eunice, I know that you’re jealous of my mommy for having such a good husband like my daddy, but you shouldn’t say that about her. My mommy and daddy are the perfect match for each other.”

Eunice couldn’t keep her poker face on when she was called out like that, but she couldn’t make a fuss about this little guy either.

At the same time, Simon side-eyed her and was quite unhappy. “Can’t you say nice things like a kid when you’re an adult yourself? I think what the lady said just now is right. Tessa and President Sawyer are really a match made in heaven. Tessa is a real treasure. What part of her is bad?”

“You should visit the hospital if you have bad eyesight.” Louis was the one who said that, and it sounded really harsh.

Since he always liked Tessa as his junior, now that someone was bullying her in front of him, it would be weird if he didn’t get angry. Also, his bad temper was well known among the guests.

At that moment, he said to Sofia, “It’s quite difficult to discipline all your apprentices after taking in so many of them, isn’t it?” As he said that, all of them understood that he was referring to Eunice not being well-disciplined, and that included Sofia as well.

Yet, Sofia wasn’t enraged at all. With a smile tugged on her lips, she nodded and said, “That’s right, Mr. Louis. It’s actually difficult to discipline them all since there are just too many members.”

Chapter 952 The Party Has Officially Started

After saying that, Sofia glared at Eunice secretly with warning in her eyes. Seeing that, Eunice clenched her fists together and didn’t dare misbehave anymore.

Meanwhile, Tessa pretended that she didn’t hear the hidden meaning behind their words because she didn’t want to help Eunice at all.

At this moment, Nicholas was the one who spoke. “We’re a match as long as we love each other. It has nothing to do with our background. Also…” He paused for a moment, and his clear voice became a little more affectionate. “Tessa was a hidden gem previously, but she’s beginning to shine now. In the future, she will definitely be dazzling and even outweigh me. By then, I think there will be people saying that I’m not good enough for her.”

Hearing that, Tessa was stunned as she didn’t know that he would say such a thing, making her feel extremely touched. They looked affectionately at each other. Even when they didn’t say anything, their heartfelt love for each other that radiated from their bodies made the others envy them.

All the guests, except for Eunice, were giving them their blessings sincerely. Moreover, Nicholas was praising Tessa very highly with his words just now.

Meanwhile, Edward looked at his president with a face full of shock as he didn’t know that Nicholas had such a thought in his mind.

On the other hand, the others felt that Nicholas was very impressive since they knew about his noble status and that Tessa’s background really wasn’t a match for his. Yet, he wasn’t blinded by others’ vision at all.

At once, all of them praised Nicholas.

“Having your mind this straight is enough to prove your feelings for Tessa. Please live a good life with her.” Sofia spoke.

Hearing that, Nicholas nodded.

At this moment, the other older musicians were praising Nicholas as well.

Among them, Louis was extremely satisfied with Nicholas. He teased Tessa with a smile, “This little man really knows how to make people like him. No wonder Tessa is always thinking about you and always talking about you with me.”

“Mr. Louis!” Tessa was blushing from his tease.

Nicholas’ heart melted when he saw that. He couldn’t help but hold her hand under the table.

When the others saw that, especially the few handsome guys, they started to hoot jokingly.

Although Tessa was shy, she didn’t let go of Nicholas’ hand.

Looking at these two being all gooey, Louis was delighted. While narrowing his eyes, he said with a smile, “Mr. Sawyer, it’s such a rare opportunity today. We should have a good drinking session later.”

“Of course.” Nicholas didn’t refuse. Then, he started to chat with the other guests.

Meanwhile, Mona looked at Tessa, who had a beaming smile on her face, and teased, “I don’t think I’m here for dinner today. I’m just here to witness your PDA. Are you trying to kill a loner like me?”

“Are you jealous?” Tessa raised her brows, her eyes twinkling with delight.

Hearing that, Mona didn’t deny it either. She said with a nod, “I’m dying of jealousy.”

“You should find someone, then.”

“I need some candidates first, right? After knowing such an impressive person like President Sawyer, I feel that my taste in men has elevated. Tessa, you need to take the responsibility. I’ll hand you my lifetime happiness from now on.”

“Sure, I know a few impressive single men too. I’ll introduce them to you later.” Tessa knew that Mona was just joking, so she nodded obliviously.

At this moment, Edward, who was sitting beside them, overheard their conversation. He quickly sold himself. “Miss Tessa, I want to be in a loving relationship too.”

The party had officially started with their small talks and laughs.

Among the dishes served tonight, most of them were Vienna’s delicacies, but there were some Mediterranean dishes prepared by Tessa.

Edward had the chance to eat Tessa’s home-cooked food last time, so he knew it immediately the moment he tasted it. “Miss Tessa, you made these Mediterranean dishes, right?”

“You can tell?” Tessa was a little surprised.

With a nod, Edward answered, “The taste of the dishes that you make is different from the others. They just taste better.”

“Of course. Mommy’s cooking is the best.” Gregory lifted his head proudly while the corners of his mouth were full of grease.

Chapter 953 He Should Be Hers

Everyone laughed when they saw how adorable Gregory was. Jenny and the others tried the dishes and were impressed by how good it tasted. “It’s delicious.”

“Tessa, you’re not only talented at playing the violin, you’re so good at cooking too. It makes me look bad!” “Now, I’m envious of Mr. Sawyer for having a good wife like Tessa.”

All of them couldn’t stop praising Tessa. “You guys flatter me. I’m just mediocre.” Tessa’s face blushed red as she listened to their praises.

“Tessa, you’re being too humble. The dishes taste amazing.” Louis took another bite as he spoke.

Everyone nodded in agreement and were all praises for her dishes except Eunice. She didn’t think that it was that good after taking a bite, but of course, she couldn’t speak her mind in front of everyone.

Soon, the dishes on the table were running out. Noticing that, Tessa immediately got the chef to prepare some tapas. Everyone got along well as the room was filled with laughter and chatter throughout the meal.

Nicholas took good care of everyone and felt like he had known Tessa’s seniors since forever although they had just met. He could join in their conversation no matter the topic and could provide his perspective on them.

“President Sawyer, you’re so knowledgeable.”

“Yeah, I initially thought that President Sawyer wouldn’t know much about music and art, but it seems like I was being narrow-minded.”

“President Sawyer must have learned about it for Tessa.” Marjorie pointed it out.

Hearing that, Nicholas acquiesced to Marjorie’s remarks as he smiled. Because of that, Nicholas had left a good impression on Tessa’s seniors. Soon, the topic shifted from arts and music to business, which was Nicholas’ forte. When Marjorie heard him speak about business, he suddenly recalled the business that he had.

“President Sawyer, I have a few questions about running a business and would like to get some pointers from you.”

“Sure.” Nicholas didn’t reject him and was all ears as he listened to the issues that Marjorie was facing.

After giving it some thought, Nicholas suggested, “Although I’ve not been in that field before, the principle remains the same. You can try doing it this way…” With that, Nicholas gave him a few suggestions.

Upon listening to Nicholas’ suggestions, Marjorie was suddenly enlightened and praised him, “President Sawyer, you’re amazing! This issue has been on my mind for the longest time, but you could easily solve it.” Nicholas smiled and they moved on to another topic.

Although Eunice didn’t cause any trouble, her gaze was constantly on Nicholas. Her infatuation toward him had gotten deeper when she saw how confident he was when he spoke and was able to carry any conversations very well. She felt that someone as perfect as him should be hers!

On the other hand, Mona and two of Tessa’s female seniors listened when the men spoke and winked at Tessa. “Tessa, we’re so envious of you.”

During dinner, Eunice joined the conversation too, but she didn’t give up on trying to interact with Nicholas. However, he would just ignore her no matter what she said. Tessa would also do the same, which enraged Eunice.

Sofia, who was observing from the side, was mad when she saw how Eunice had crossed the line and followed behind Eunice when she went to the washroom. In the corridor, Eunice noticed Sofia’s grim expression. It made her heart sink as she had a bad feeling about what was to come.

Sure enough, the next second, Sofia stopped her and reprimanded, “What’s wrong with you tonight? Are you trying to ruin the dinner like how you did last time?”

“I’m not.” Eunice denied.

Sofia didn’t believe her words and continued reprimanding her, “Tessa is hosting a dinner tonight, and those attending are the seniors within this field. Put your ego away this instant! Don’t you feel embarrassed?” Although Sofia seemed calm on the outside when Louis mocked her, deep inside, she was furious about it.

Chapter 954 Infatuation

After all, she valued her reputation more since she was at the peak of her career. Eunice, on the other hand, was unhappy about it as she felt that Sofia was taking Tessa’s side.

Sofia didn’t care about her feelings and warned her, “If you still keep this up, don’t blame me for chasing you out later on!”

After Sofia had said what she wanted to, she turned around and walked toward the dining room. Eunice was exasperated by the treatment that she received. Why does everyone like Tessa, that b*tch, so much? And what’s wrong with all the maestros? Why are they so fond of this woman? She returned to the dining room angrily, but she still couldn’t figure it out.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Sebastian went to open the door. The well-dressed Wanda was seen standing outside the door, and her eyes flickered when she heard laughter coming from inside the house.

As Sebastian looked at her, he asked her in confusion, “May I know who you are looking for?” By the time Wanda returned home, Sebastian had already been transferred to Vienna. Thus, he hadn’t met her before.

Hearing that, she furrowed her brows slightly and tried to suppress her unhappiness while smiling. “I’m here to see Nicholas. I’m Wanda of the Muller Family.” Sebastian instantly knew who she was after hearing that.

“You must be here for Master Nicholas’ birthday dinner. Please come in.” He then brought her to the dining room and announced, “Master, Miss Muller is here.”

Tessa was surprised to see the beautiful Wanda standing at the doorway as she never expected her to be there.

“Why are you here?” Nicholas frowned and looked at her coldly.

“I’ve been busy all day. I specially came here to thank you since the project has been successfully negotiated,” she explained with a smile on her face before handing him a gift while she scanned the room. “I’ve prepared this birthday gift for you. Happy birthday.”

As Mona stared at Wanda, she could instantly tell that she had bad intentions. She then nudged Tessa and whispered to her, “I bet this woman has her eyes on President Sawyer. You should hurry over, receive the gift from her, and let her know that you are President Sawyer’s wife!”

Tessa laughed after hearing that, but she also stood up and went over to Wanda as Nicholas seemed to be ignoring her. Since Wanda was their guest, it wouldn’t be good to chase her away, especially in front of that many people.

“Thank you, Miss Muller.” Tessa received the gift on behalf of Nicholas and said with a smile, “If you don’t mind, you should have something to eat before leaving.”

Wanda gladly obliged as she had purposely picked to visit at this hour so that Nicholas wouldn’t be able to make her leave even if he wanted to. As she was seated, she smiled at everyone and nodded at them. Since the ones who were present were maestros of their field, they merely nodded politely and resumed their interrupted conversation. Even so, Wanda didn’t feel embarrassed or out of place at all.

As Wanda’s gaze fell upon Nicholas, she couldn’t hide her infatuation toward him. Maybe it was because he had had a few drinks, he exuded a lazy yet charming aura. Paired with his good looks, she couldn’t pull her gaze away from him.

Just then, the maids had already set up her utensils and had poured her a glass of wine. Seeing that, she raised her glass and said, “Happy birthday, Nicholas.”

Upon hearing that, he glanced at her and nodded politely but continued to ignore her after that.

He then turned to Tessa and reminded her gently, “You should eat more. I noticed that you haven’t eaten much tonight.”

“Got it.” She smiled as his gesture made her heart warm and fuzzy. It was apparent that he had been paying attention to her the whole night. As he looked at her, he gave her a gentle smile.

Noticing that, Wanda clenched the hand which was holding onto the wine glass, looking both unhappy and jealous. She had never seen Nicholas being that gentle and caring toward anyone before. Little did she know that her expression had been noticed by Eunice, who had just come back from the washroom.

Chapter 955 Childhood Sweethearts

She noticed the way that woman looked at Nicholas was rather different. As she thought about it, an idea suddenly came to her mind.

“Miss Muller, are you from Xerthania?” She started a conversation with Wanda. Albeit being surprised, Wanda smiled as she answered, “Yes, I just got here today.”

“You seem close to Nicholas. Are both of you family friends?” Eunice blinked her eyes as she asked.

Hearing that, Wanda narrowed her gaze as she looked at the curious Eunice. Wanda’s gaze darkened, but her expression remained calm as she answered, “Something like that. My Grandpa had known Mr. Sawyer for many years, and I used to have play dates at Nicholas’ house. On top of that, we were classmates too.” Wanda purposely made it sound like she had a close relationship with Nicholas, and Eunice could tell she was doing that on purpose.

It turned out that Eunice’s hunch about Wanda having feelings for Nicholas was right. As she thought about it, she smirked because she thought that things were about to get interesting. “Oh, so both of you are childhood sweethearts!” Eunice teased her.

Hearing that, Wanda pretended to be shy while she replied, “Not really; I attended high school overseas. I just got back to Xerthania recently.”

“So what are you doing now?”

“I was able to start a company with Nicholas’ help.” Wanda kept mentioning Nicholas. The sharp-witted could easily tell what Wanda’s intentions were. Truth be told, if Eunice wasn’t trying to keep her enemy close, she would have just ignored the old woman. Just like that, both women with ulterior motives chatted away with each other.

Soon after, they stood up hand in hand as if they were best friends while they walked toward Tessa. “Tessa, I’ll be taking a stroll in the garden with Wanda. We’ll be back in a short while,” Eunice informed her.

Tessa hadn’t been paying attention to them earlier and was actually surprised to see them being that close with each other. She frowned and found it puzzling as she thought about it. Since when did they get this close with each other?

Mona, who noticed them walking out, dashed over to Tessa and whispered, “What’s wrong with Miss Muller? I overheard their conversation earlier on, and she couldn’t stop mentioning about your President Nicholas.”

“Just let her be. She’s just a family friend of the Sawyer Family.” Tessa didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

Seeing how unfazed Tessa was made Mona anxious on her behalf. “You should pay some attention to it. Nothing good would come from those women being close to each other.”

“Don’t worry, I know what to do. On top of that, I trust Nicholas.” Tessa smiled as she knew that Mona was just concerned about her. She soon switched the topic and asked about Mona’s practice at Hathaway Philharmonic. “Although I’m currently not at Hathaway Philharmonic, you can look for me if you have any questions. If I don’t know the answer to it, I can ask my teacher for help.”

“Tessa, you’re the best.” She hugged her delightedly and exclaimed, “If you were a man, I’d do anything to court you.”

Their conversation was overheard by Gregory. He had been walking past, and he became anxious at once. “Godmother, Mommy is a female, so you cannot court her. She is also my Daddy’s wife, so I won’t allow you to snatch Mommy away. If not, I won’t like you anymore.” Both Tessa and Mona laughed when they heard that.

Later in the evening, the dinner had almost come to an end. Sofia then turned to look at Tessa and asked, “Don’t you have a present for President Sawyer?”

Hearing that, everyone looked at her curiously and asked, “Tessa, what present have you prepared?”

“I composed a new song,” Tessa responded with a smile as she stood up. With that, she walked over to the middle of the dining room as Sebastian tactfully passed her the violin. Soon, the room was filled with beautiful melodies and everyone was absorbed in the music. When the song ended, there was a thunderous applause; all of them were all praises for Tessa.

Chapter 956 Can’t Even Handle a Woman

“This song sounds really good.” “Your violin skills have improved a lot.”

“You’re great!”  Hearing that, Tessa bowed at everyone humbly before taking a seat. She stared at Nicholas with flickering eyes and asked, “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” He replied as he held her hand and looked at her lovingly. Eunice and Wanda, however, couldn’t stand seeing them being all lovey dovey and were green with envy.

The dinner ended at around 10.00PM. After that, the guests started presenting their gifts to Nicholas. The gifts he received were mostly antiques and paintings, but Eunice was the only one who gave him a necktie.

“Mr. Sawyer, I hope you’ll like it.” She smiled seductively and looked at him with flickering eyes as she handed him the gift.

Seeing that, everyone furrowed their brows. Nicholas, on the other hand, had no intention of accepting her gift. “Edward,” he called out.

Edward instantly knew what he meant and went up to Eunice with a smile. “Miss Eunice, please pass me the gift.” Eunice was stunned upon seeing that as he never expected Nicholas to make her look bad in front of everyone. In the end, she had no choice but to pass the gift to Edward.

After everyone had presented their gifts, most of them started leaving one after another. Wanda, who didn’t want to leave, pretended to be drunk in order to stay back. On top of that, she assumed that Nicholas wouldn’t make her go back since she had gone there alone. Eunice also wanted to stay back, but Sofia didn’t even give her a chance to do so as she had asked Marjorie to send her back. Not long later, only Edward and Wanda were left there.

“President, what should we do with Miss Muller?” Edward didn’t know what to do as he looked at the hungover Wanda.

Nicholas and Tessa frowned as they stared at Wanda. Wanda’s breath quickened and was nervous when she felt that she was being stared at. Let me stay back. Let me stay back, she prayed in her heart.

However, her prayers had gone unanswered when Nicholas’ voice suddenly rang. “Send her to a hotel.”

“Got it.” Edward nodded and went up to Wanda to carry her up.

Wanda, who was laying on the couch, felt extremely frustrated. She couldn’t understand why Nicholas wouldn’t let her stay when she was already drunk. Did he dislike her that much? The thought of it made her furious, and she vowed that she would never leave tonight.

“I’m not leaving… Don’t touch me. Let me sleep.” She pretended to be drunk and pushed Edward away.

Edward never expected that she would suddenly make a fuss about it, and he almost fell over after being pushed. Luckily, he managed to grab onto the couch and regained his balance. He then looked over at Nicholas hesitantly, but Nicholas remained quiet with a frown on his face. Seeing that, Edward had no choice but to try to carry Wanda again.

Wanda was exasperated when she saw Edward attempting to carry her up again. How dumb is he? Can’t he see that I have no plans of leaving?

“What are you doing? Did I allow you to touch me? Let go of me now! Get your hands off me!” She smacked Edward’s hands away. Edward was in pain because of that and wasn’t expecting her to smack him that hard.

Even so, Edward didn’t let go of the grip, which infuriated Wanda. “Didn’t I say to get your hands off me? I want to sleep. Sleep! Get away from me…”

She would do anything just to stay back even if it meant risking her image. Edward was stunned at her reckless behavior as his impression of her had always been gentle and polite. He never expected her to act in such a way, which put him in an awkward position as he might accidentally touch some parts where he shouldn’t when she kept struggling.

In the end, he really couldn’t manage to do it and left her at the couch before telling Nicholas, “Since Miss Muller is this drunk, maybe we should let her stay here.”

Chapter 957 Surprise

Wanda’s lips curled into a barely-there smirk at those words. It seemed like her efforts had paid off, and she had succeeded in staying by Nicholas’ side.

She thought that he would agree to her proposal considering the current circumstances. However, little did she know that he was far from agreeable to her suggestion.

”Can’t you even handle a woman? What use do I have for you?” Nicholas shot daggers at Edward as he walked toward Wanda.

Edward awkwardly scratched his head as he pulled a face but could not stop himself from wondering what Nicholas would do. He glanced at the two curiously as he pondered, Does he have a trick up his sleeve to stop that woman?

Even Tessa, who was on the side, looked at Nicholas in slight anticipation as she didn’t know what he would do to fend the woman off.

On the other side, Wanda, who was pretending to be drunk, heard Nicholas’ words, and dread rose in her heart.

Nevertheless, her nerves were quickly replaced by anticipation as she could feel the man she loved coming closer.

Just as she was thinking about whether she should do something ‘untoward’ and blame it on the alcohol later, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and collapsed.

Then, Nicholas retracted his hand in satisfaction and ordered coldly, ”Now you have no excuse for being unable to get her out of my sight.”

Edward gawked at Nicholas’ swift strike, and his lips twitched in disbelief. Nevertheless, he could not help but admit that Nicholas was indeed a decisive and reliable man.

Next to Edward, Tessa couldn’t help the burst of giggles from escaping her lips at Nicholas’ unexpected move.

She watched as Edward carried Wanda away and walked toward Nicholas with a somewhat worried expression. ”Would this be a problem in the future?”

”Nope,” he answered as he gently led Tessa into his embrace. ”Stop worrying about unimportant people. You’ve had a long day. You should rest.”

As for Gregory, he was exhausted and had fallen asleep a long time ago.

Tessa’s heart warmed at his display of affection and concern.

She knew he was worried about her health and shook her head, smiling. ”I’m not tired. Besides, I’ve got a present for you.”

Nicholas quirked his brow at her words.

”What present?” He looked at her curiously.

Tessa smiled gently with a tinge of mischievousness. ”Follow me.” Then, she grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the bedroom, but she did not go in immediately as she was excited about the reveal. She recalled how he had given her numerous surprises in the past and gave him a cheeky look. ”Close your eyes.”

He could not resist her request when he gazed down at her bright eyes and obediently shut his eyes as his lips continued to curve up into a small smile. ”Can I go in now?”

‘Yup,” she answered cheerfully and pulled him into the room.

After she entered the room, she did not rush to switch on the lights because a faint light emitted from the bed.

She led Nicholas to the side of the bed before whispering, ”You can open your eyes now.”

The next second, he opened his eyes to see something that surprised and touched him.

On the huge bed lay a pretty gift box emitting a soft light. Two exquisite watches were lying in the middle of the box with some white feathers surrounding them. It was a beautiful sight.

Nicholas instantly recognized that they were the latest limited edition watches for couples from Rolex.

Then, Tessa picked up the men’s watch and helped Nicholas wear it. ”When I first saw this watch, I immediately thought of you. Take a look. It suits you perfectly.”

She regarded his wrist with joy and admiration as a beautiful smile crept up her face.

He took a look at her before looking down at his new wristwatch. He could feel his heart melting at the sight since he knew how hard she worked to be able to afford such a watch.

He had never been a materialistic man, but he was particularly fond of the watch only because it was a gift from his beloved wife, Tessa.

Then, he took the initiative to pick up the women’s watch and wrapped it around her delicate wrist.

He was pleased just looking at the couple’s watches on their wrists, which were identical but different in size.

As they embraced each other, he suddenly realized that the surprise she had prepared was similar to what he had done before and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Chapter 958 Father and Son Interaction

Tessa looked at him in confusion when she heard Nicholas’ sudden burst of laughter. ”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing. I’m just pleased to receive a gift.” Of course, he wasn’t planning on telling her the truth. Otherwise, she would definitely make a big deal out of it and seriously explain her entire thought process behind the gift.

Tessa never thought that he would beguile her, so she answered with a smile, ”At first, I didn’t think to prepare a different gift. But after the song was stolen, even if you were fine with it. Besides, I felt I could have made more improvements before Richelle stole the score. So, I got this instead.”

He tightened his arms around her after listening to her side of the story. ”Thank you. I like it a lot.”

”I’m glad you like it.” She returned his embrace while rubbing her cheek against his chest.

When the atmosphere was just right, Gregory suddenly exclaimed from the entrance, ”Oh no! My eyes are going blind. Daddy and Mommy are being naughty. You didn’t close the door.”

Even though he said that, he did not seem abashed at all. If anything, his eyes were wide open as he stared at Tessa and Nicholas mischievously.

Meanwhile, Tessa and Nicholas jumped at the sudden interruption.

After they realized it was only Gregory, she laughed while Nicholas’ face darkened with a hint of resignation.

Gregory sure knew how to pick the right time to appear.

”Weren’t you sleeping? Why did you come here?” He stopped Tessa, who was about to go to Gregory.

Now, he only wanted to get rid of this little lightbulb so they could continue enjoying each other’s company.

Alas, Gregory couldn’t really understand that his father was trying to chase him out. So instead, he beamed cheerfully as he announced his intention and the reason behind his barging into the room.

”I was sleeping, but I suddenly remembered I hadn’t given you my present, Daddy. So, I woke up.”

As he talked, he dashed toward Nicholas while carefully holding the present he had spent a lot of effort on. ”Daddy, this is my favorite robot. Now I’m giving it to you. Happy Birthday, Daddy.”

Nicholas’ eyes gazed into his son’s adoring ones, and his annoyance at the abrupt interruption dissipated as his heart melted into a puddle.

”Thank you, I love it very much.”

He accepted the little robot and ruffled Gregory’s soft black hair.

Gregory could feel the joy emanating from Nicholas, so he beamed brightly. ”I knew you would like it!”

Tessa watched on silently as her heart softened at the heartwarming scene between father and son.

On the other side, Edward had dropped Wanda at a hotel and left.

Yet, perhaps he had shut the door too loudly, so the knocked-out Wanda woke up the instant he had departed.

As she massaged her sore neck, she sat up on the bed and scanned the hotel room’s decor. Then, it didn’t take her long to get out of her dazed state as she put two to two together and figured out just what had happened to her. The instant she came to that conclusion, she couldn’t help but feel her blood boil.

That’s too mean of him! How could he knock her out and toss her in a hotel?

Despite being angry at Nicholas’ treatment of her, she still placed the blame on Tessa.

She felt that it must have been Tessa who influenced Nicholas’ harsh attitude toward her.

Otherwise, it was customary for her to stay the night due to the close relationship between their families.

As for the incident where he knocked her out, she decided to feign ignorance as it didn’t coincide with her own rose-tinted world.

”One day, I’ll make sure that you disappear from Nicholas’ side, Tessa,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

Right at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Wanda regained her composure and opened the door but was stunned to see the person who knocked.

Outside the door, Eunice looked up and down at Wanda before smirking. ”I knew you were feigning drunk.”

Wanda felt embarrassed when her lie was seen through, so she avoided Eunice’s cunning gaze.

Therefore, she pretended she didn’t hear what Eunice had said and asked, ”Miss Eunice, what brings you here?”

”You’re not going to invite me in? I think we need to have a chat.”

Eunice didn’t mind her playing the fool; she merely flipped her hair over her shoulder and signaled Wanda to invite her in.

Wanda frowned slightly, but still took a step aside and allowed her entry.

After they were seated, Eunice made a show by sweeping her gaze across the hotel room and mocked, ”I thought you would have stayed in the house since you were childhood friends with President Nicholas. But look what we have here. Tsk. Tsk.”

Chapter 959 I’m Not Capable Enough

Eunice’s words were like a well-aimed arrow pierced through Wanda’s heart mercilessly, and her face turned stony as she didn’t bother with courtesies as she snapped, ”What do you want?”

Of course, Eunice heard the anger in her voice, but she didn’t care. She rested her chin against her palm and tilted her head as she looked at Wanda meaningfully before parting her red lips. ”Miss Muller, you like Mr. Sawyer, don’t you?”

Wanda was stunned and was a little surprised because she didn’t expect her to be so straightforward.

Her gaze darted around as she tried to come up with something to hide, but eventually, she figured there was no shame in admitting such a thing. So, she didn’t deny Eunice’s words and stared into the woman’s eyes with a tinge of hostility. ”Even if that was true, so what? There isn’t any man better than Nicholas in this world. Besides, how could I not fall for him after the days we spent together? I’m sure Miss Eunice shares the same sentiment.”

Eunice raised an eyebrow and let out a light laugh. ”You’re right. His charm is hard to resist.”

…

At the same time, Timothy was hard at work in his office in the Reinhart Group as his slender fingers flitted across the keyboard while his face wore a grim expression. Anyone would have jumped to the conclusion that he faced a rather challenging problem.

Yet, on the screen of the computer, the surveillance video Tessa gave him was playing. It was as he suspected. Someone had edited this video, and a part of it was deleted.

Soon, he was done writing the code and a recovery window popped up on the screen; heaving a sigh of relief.

He had been working on decoding this since last night when he got the video, but the other party was much cleverer than he expected. Thus, he spent the whole night looking for a way to crack the code to recover the deleted footage.

At the moment, the recovery bar on the screen had run mid-way.

He looked at the screen with cold eyes. Let’s see who dares bully my sister! Unexpectedly, the recovery of the footage was met with an obstacle as his code failed.

He looked at the screen incredulously as his brows furrowed deeper as he started working on his code again.

Alas, the whole morning went by, and he still couldn’t do a thing to recover the video.

At this moment, Henry knocked on the door and entered the office, chattering, ”Dude, it’s lunchtime. It’s time for lunch.”

”Just get a takeaway for me? I’m not going.”

Timothy replied without lifting his head, and his fingers did not slow down the slightest. So, it was only natural for Henry to notice that he was way too preoccupied with something, making him curious.

It had been a long time since Henry had seen his good friend so grave. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him as he went over to Timothy’s desk while he asked in concern, ”What happened?”

Just then, he saw a window pop up saying that the recovery had failed.

So, he pressed for answers, ”What’s that?”

Timothy spared him a glance but didn’t hide the incident regarding Tessa’s stolen manuscript. Instead, he roughly briefed Henry about the theft.

Henry was furious after hearing about the matter. ”How could they do that to Tess? Give me a copy of this video, Tim. I’m going to help.”

Timothy didn’t refuse his offer and immediately gave him a copy. Still, they didn’t manage to recover the footage even when the both of them worked together in tandem.

After they had tried to fix the surveillance footage for the whole day, Timothy finally gave up as he video-called Tessa in utter dejection.

”Tess.”

”Oh my goodness, what have you done? Look at those black circles! Did you not sleep last night?” Tessa was concerned when she saw the unhidden fatigue painted across his face.

He knew there was no point in lying to her, so he told her earnestly, ”I just wanted to help you look for the culprit.”

Once Tessa heard his explanation, she didn’t know if she should be angry or feel gratified that her brother cherished her so dearly that he had sacrificed his sleep for her. ”I’m not in any rush anyways. So why are you putting yourself through this? Don’t do this next time. If not, I’ll never confide in you ever again.”

”Alright, I got it. I won’t do this again.” He knew she was worried about his health and his heart warmed as he listened to her light rebuke.

Then, he changed the topic to the video and said solemnly, ”I worked with Henry to decode it, but we were unsuccessful. It’s obvious they were prepared for this.”

It would be a lie to say that Tessa wasn’t disappointed by this. She knew her brother’s skills, so she didn’t expect they would fail to recover the deleted footage.

Timothy also felt terrible when he saw her apparent dismay. ”I’m not good enough.”

Her heart tugged when she saw the self-blame written all over his face. ”This has nothing to do with you. So don’t you dare blame yourself.”

Chapter 960 Is Eunice the Culprit?

Tessa comforted him, ”Besides, Nicholas already knows about this. I’m sure he’s also investigating the matter.”

Timothy nodded but promised himself that he would further his studies. Then, he would be able to help Tessa the next time she was in trouble.

After that, he asked curiously, ”Since this is a targeted attack on you, do you have an inkling of who might have done this? Anyone who you have bad blood with?”

”Someone with bad blood?” Tessa murmured as she recalled the things that had happened lately. If it was someone she had offended, then it could only be Eunice. Could it be Eunice who stole her composition?

Just as that thought popped into her mind, she quickly dismissed it. Even though Eunice wasn’t likable, she was a professional through and through.

Timothy noticed the change in Tessa’s eyes and questioned, ”Tess, do you have someone in mind?”

”No.” Tessa came to her senses and shook her head.

Unfortunately, Timothy didn’t believe her and insisted that she tell him.

Eventually, she told him about the conflict with Eunice, ”Despite her leaving a rather bad taste in my mouth, I believe in my teacher’s judgment of character. So, it’s probably not her.”

Since she put it that way, Timothy believed her. Nonetheless, he still had an awful impression of Eunice as she dared to seduce Nicholas.

After she hung up the phone, she palmed her phone as her fingers rubbed against the screen as she pondered the matter deeply with a frown etched on her face. For the life of her, she could not figure out just who was targeting her.

At this moment, Nicholas had come upstairs because Tessa was taking a suspiciously long time to return downstairs for breakfast. He felt uneasy, so he came up to check if everything was alright.

When he saw her standing in the hallway, her brows furrowed, he could not help but walk over with concern. ”What’s with the face? What happened?”

She didn’t see the point in hiding anything from him, so she recounted Timothy’s failure in recovering the footage to him.

”Tim said it must have been a master hacker that deleted the footage. I just can’t figure out who would go through so much effort to steal it.”

Nicholas’ eyes darkened upon hearing that new piece of information. ”Don’t worry. I’ve already ordered my men to get to the bottom of this. I believe we’ll get some answers soon. Let’s head down for breakfast first. Don’t you need to go to the orchestra later?”

She nodded and followed him to the dining room.

They didn’t know that they could not get any clues about the culprit this time because Susan had learned from her mistake.

She had been careless last time and got caught red-handed. So now, she made sure to be twice as cautious and did all she could to cover her tracks.

When she got the manuscript, she asked her father’s aid to delete the footage. So, even a top hacker would not be able to recover it.

After breakfast, Tessa brought Gregory to the orchestra while Nicholas went to the Sawyer Group’s branch office.

The instant he entered the office, Edward came knocking to report on his work and schedule for the day. Once he was finished with his account for the day, Nicholas didn’t waste any time inquiring deeply, ”Any news about Vernon?”

”I was just about to talk about him.” Edward respectfully divulged the results of the investigation. ”Vernon had been in contact with someone from Miss Tessa’s orchestra a few days ago.”

Nicholas’ face went icy at those words.”Who?”

”She’s a violinist from Sofia Symphony’s Group Six called Richelle.”