Hacked Love Chapter-4

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝗹𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲."

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲? 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱."

Gloria immediately came over to show her a piece of dress.

Norah was jealous that her mom went away as soon as Nicole called her. So, when she saw the clothes in their hands, she went over to them with a plan.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗸𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁."

So, was Norah insinuating that she did not look good enough to wear that dress?

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘁."

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆, 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘁."

Gloria's eyes lit up as she instinctively knew that this dress suited Nicole, and so she hurriedly urged her.

Norah did not expect Nicole to say that, and she felt upset at the moment. This hillbilly really dared to try.

Nicole took the dress and disappeared into the fitting room. It was not long before she drew open the door curtain and appeared in this gorgeous dress.

She was used to wearing just pants that were convenient for her to move around. By wearing a dress suddenly, she felt *****.

Nicole usually dressed more casually, but thanks to her curvy body lines, she still looked great, even smart, in T shirts and pants.

After letting her long hair down, Nicole and Gloria looked even more alike, so too their temperament.

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿: "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀."

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿: "𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀."

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂."

Norah looked jealous, as much as surprised.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘆?"

She was the one who was raised in a wealthy family, so she did not believe that she would lose to a hillbilly.

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿: "𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲."

Gloria was also in a predicament. But seeing that Nicole looked so gorgeous in that dress, she could only say,

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹. 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀."

She then asked the boutique manager to issue the bill and walked toward the cashier counter.

Norah almost stomped her feet in displeasure, but she could not lose her composure. Her mouth twitched as she squeezed a smile.

Nicole sneered.

She had never caused trouble, but she would not run away if someone came looking for trouble. Whoever wanted to affront her, she would surely return the favor.

Nicole was not in a hurry to change back into her clothes. Instead, she walked around the store in front of Norah in this dress and then turned to look at other clothes.

Sensing that Nicole would glow in any dress she wore, just like her, Gloria started to put anything beautiful on her.

Norah saw Gloria buy Nicole several outfits and followed suits, getting herself five to six sets. But Gloria, citing the fact that she already had a lot of clothes, only bought two sets for her.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲?

"𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?"

A voice suddenly spoke. Gloria turned her head and saw that it was her son, Steve.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?"

Seeing Steve, Norah rushed over and held Steve's hand, looking like they were very close.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?"

Steve pulled Norah's hand off his, as he felt awkward when other people were around.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘀𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲."

Nicole heard from Daniel that her second brother, Steve, was a financial wizard.

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼, 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲."

Just like Sean, Steve inherited the genes of his parents, born handsome. He looked extraordinary with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

(𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽) "𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿."

Nicole smirked, not expecting that this gentle-looking brother of hers was a sweet talker.

Norah pouted, feeling not too happy.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆."

In more than a decade, they had never been close. Steve could not help but freeze in place. But he quickly respond𝘦𝘥.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹."

This obviously sounded insincere. After all, Norah looked much ordinary, and there was actually a slight difference between her and the Riddles.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀."

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗲."

After saying hello, Steve got busy with his work. Gloria looked on with a smile as Steve and then looked back at Nicole with a doting expression.

"Steve's biggest hobby is to make money, and he is pretty stingy. Judging by his willingness to bring you out to dinner, I guess he values you a lot."

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲'𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘆.𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗜 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁."

These words stirred Norah's jealousy even more.

Indeed, Steve had not invited her to dinner in so many years. But he was so generous to Nicole when Nicole returned.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

'𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭? 𝘞𝘩𝘺?'

She was the sister who had lived with him under the same roof for over ten years, for god's sake.

Norah was really upset, her teeth almost sinking into her lip. But she had to put up a fake gentle smile as she followed behind the two.

When they arrived home, the three of them noticed a luxury car that they had never seen before parked up in front of the door.

Feeling curious, Gloria entered the house with her two daughters and saw a well-dressed man sitting across Daniel.

Norah had never seen such a good looking man before. She rushed up to Gloria.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗠𝗼𝗺, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻?"

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

(𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱) "𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮."

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

(𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻) "𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹"

When Daniel saw Gloria and his daughters, he quickly got up and introduced them.

𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿."

As Daniel introduced Nicole to Jared Johnston, the affection on his face was plain to see.

Norah was waiting for Daniel to introduce her, but Daniel did not even spare her a glance.

Jared's glacial eyes swept over the three of them, and then he stood up and nodded to Nicole.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

"𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱."

Jared's words startled Gloria and Norah.

The friendship between the Johnston and Riddle families spanned across generations.

Mr. Johnston Sr. and Mr. Riddle Sr. had made a marriage arrangement for their grandchildren in the early years, and Jared was the fiancé whom .

Norah had been hearing about but had never met. Jared had been studying abroad before

She did not expect that when Jared finally returned to the country, she was no longer the daughter of the Riddle family.

Noticing that Jared was staring at Nicole, jealousy turned into thorns pricking Norah in the heart. She felt hurt even when breathing.

It was all Nicole's fault for not coming back at the right time. Otherwise, she would be the only person Jared saw now.

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲."

The man in front of him was truly charming, but Nicole simply responded with her name and said nothing else.

Gloria felt awkward but guessed that Nicole had just returned, not knowing who Jared was.

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱."

Jared could not help but take a second look at Nicole.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

"𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆."

What he said elated Daniel and Gloria.

Jared was the most outstanding grandchild of the Johnston family. It would be great if Nicole could get his likes.

Nicole looked at Jared's dark eyes and felt that there was more to this man than met the eye. She was good at reading people, but this man had an unfathomable look in the eyes.

The three of them sat down together. Gloria deliberately let Nicole and Jared sit next to each other, and Norah could only sit down by herself.

Nicole felt it weird, wondering why she was seated next to a stranger.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

"𝗠𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗲. 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗱𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲."

Nicole was completely dumbfounded.

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗙𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗲?"

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

'𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?'

When Daniel coughed nervously, Gloria got the hint and hurriedly said,

𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿

"𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗿. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗿. 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗲."

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁?"

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

'𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹!"

She had only been back to the Riddle family for two days and had not even met all the family members. Yet here she met her fiancé?

As cool as she was, she could no longer stay calm.

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲

"𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺? 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀."

Who would still get married by arranged marriages nowadays?

𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲

"𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲."

He and Gloria had also worried about this before, but when they saw Jared was such an excellent man, they hoped Nicole would find a good husband like him.

Nicole's face turned pale, but Norah thought Nicole took things for granted.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗵

"𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮."

Norah finally caught everyone's attention, and even Jared was now looking at her.

Norah saw Jared looking at her, her heart instantly pounding, her face blushed. She let out a smile like a fine lady.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

"𝗦𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆?"

Jared emphasized the word "adopted" when he spoke. It made Norah feel like a basin of icy water pouring on her head.

This was the biggest thorn in her heart. Norah did not expect Jared to say it so directly. For a moment, the smile froze on her face.

She did not want to admit it, but she could not deny it either. All she could do now was to bite her lip with a hurt feeling, her eyes reddening, looking as if she deserved pity.

Norah had known since she was a child that she was not as outstanding as her parents and brothers in terms of looks, but being the sole daughter of the family was her advantage.

Usually, she just needed to use the victim card, and everyone would soften and not hurt her again. It was a trick that had always been working.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

" 𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮."

It sounded matter of course to Jared, as if it was just a weather chat. But it completely stunned Daniel and Gloria.

𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻

"𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁."

🖤..................................🖤

-- 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 --22 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗢𝗹𝗱. --𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. -- 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵. 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼.

-- 𝗝𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 -- 25 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱. -𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗝 𝗖𝗼. -- 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲. --𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.