Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1241-1250

“To me, you guys are polar opposites. No matter how similar you both look on the outside, your personalities are obviously different. Queenie Silverstein, you should have more faith in me,” Nigel replied solemnly.

As soon as Queenie heard that, her confidence immediately returned and she hummed in response before saying, “Okay. I’ll let this go.”

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” she continued.

“If you agree to have lunch with me, then I will have a plan for tomorrow,” he replied.

Suddenly, Queenie felt a surge of anticipation in her chest. “Sure! Let’s do that.”

“Rest early and don’t think about anything else.”

“So, I can’t think about you tonight? Sure, I’ll do that,” she deliberately teased.

Nigel was speechless. “Except… for me. Think about me.”

“Will you be thinking about me too?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Finally satisfied, she concluded, “Good. I’ll be thinking about you too. Good night.”

“Good night,” he responded.

Queenie waited for a while before hanging up. With anticipation, she was imagining her lunch date with Nigel tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Bonnie had changed into casual clothes and was having her meal downstairs. She asked her mother, “Mom, are Queenie and Young Master Nigel dating?”

“Judging by the situation, I think they are.” Maggie was happy, as she no longer had to worry about her eldest daughter since Queenie was such a lucky person to have met Nigel. For now, she only had to worry about her younger daughter’s future.

“Mom, do you really think that our family can match up to the Manson Family? What if Young Master Nigel is only playing her?” Bonnie asked worriedly.

Truth be told, Maggie was also worried about that matter, for she did not want her daughter to fall for an ungrateful person either. With a frown, she stated, “I will tell Queenie to be more alert. If he is playing with her feelings, then she should stop this relationship and not let it ruin her life.”

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll help Queenie keep a lookout as well.” Bonnie smiled.

Assuming that it was a kind gesture, Maggie grinned approvingly. “That’s good! This is how sisters are meant to be; always loving, helping, and thinking about each other.”

At about 9.00AM next morning, Courtney heard the doorbell ring before she went to open the door. It was then she saw Leslie standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“Mr. Payne, you’re here so early!”

Although Leslie still had a bandaid on his face, he looked to be in high spirits as he dressed up handsomely. He held the flowers in his arms, came into the house, and entered the dining room.

Brandon had left early in the morning whereas Bonnie and Queenie had just finished their breakfast while Maggie was instructing the servants about something.

Just as Bonnie was about to head upstairs, she heard footsteps coming from the entrance and turned her head to see Leslie walking in with a bouquet of flowers. Her expression immediately turned disdainful and she rolled her eyes. “Leslie, didn’t I make myself clear? I told you to never come—”

However, before she could finish, she saw him walking toward the couch with the flowers and knelt on one knee before the couch where Queenie was sitting. “Queenie, please accept these flowers. They are a token of my gratitude.”

Queenie was stunned for a few seconds. Is Leslie giving me flowers? What’s going on?

“Leslie, you’ve got the wrong person!” She frowned.

On the other hand, Bonnie also wondered if Leslie had hit his eye in the car accident yesterday. Otherwise, why was he unable to differentiate between Queenie and herself?

Although Bonnie had given up on him, watching him present flowers to her sister made her feel uncomfortable.

“No, I’ve got you right. This flower is meant for you, Queenie. I apologize for all the hurt I’ve brought to you. Please forgive me.” Leslie felt like he had been reborn and did not even spare Bonnie a glance since he came in.

Meanwhile, Bonnie bit her red lips as she looked disbelievingly at what had happened. Did Leslie just ignore me and is now confessing his love for Queenie?

“Leslie, I heard that you got into an accident yesterday. Where are you hurt?” Bonnie took the initiative to ask about his well-being and walked toward the couch.

As the man turned his head to look at her, his eyes were no longer filled with affection anymore; instead, there was only coldness. “I don’t need your sympathy.”

“I’m sorry. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have left you behind and caused you to get into an accident.” While saying so, Bonnie was shooting him with eyes full of grievances. Back then, she only had to frown a little and Leslie would buy her gifts to coax her.

At first, she thought that Leslie would still care about her feelings like he always did. Yet, she only heard him snort lightly. “I was blind. How could I have left such a good woman like Queenie and get seduced by a heartless woman like you?”

“Excuse me. Did you say I’m heartless? How am I heartless?” Bonnie refused to admit that.

Watching them about to get into a heated argument, Queenie wanted to leave as she stood up and said, “You guys go on. I’ll be in my room.”

However, Leslie grabbed her wrist as soon as she rose to her feet. “Queenie, don’t leave.”

Immediately, she withdrew her hand and warned, “Don’t touch me.”

Despite being given the cold shoulder, Leslie did not show any displeasure. On the contrary, he smiled and offered, “Since we can’t be lovers, can we be friends?”

Bonnie’s eyes were wide with shock. Has Leslie fallen for Queenie?

Clearly, Queenie did not want to have anything to do with him, so she went upstairs, but Leslie had no intentions of leaving either. Meanwhile, Bonnie sat on the couch and pretended to be aggrieved.

She wanted to test Leslie’s reaction because she did not believe that he would forget about her overnight. In fact, she was confident that her charms could keep him around.

As soon as she noticed he had turned his head to look at her, her eyes reddened. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t want to hurt you last night. I was mad.”

However, she did not know that the car accident from last night almost killed Leslie. After the near- death experience, he finally understood that the most important thing in the world was not outer beauty but having a conscience.

“We’re done. All I want to do now is to compensate for what I’ve done to Queenie,” he stated.

“Leslie, have you forgotten how she brought Nigel to dinner last night and humiliated you? I don’t recall seeing her being sad about that!” Bonnie snorted lightly and argued.

At that moment, Leslie received a call before he answered it while rising to his feet. “Has everything been sent over?”

Then, he quickened his pace out the door. Bonnie involuntarily got up and stood before the French window, wondering what he sent over. As he was from a well-off family and was not a stingy person, the gifts he had given her throughout the six months they were together might have exceeded a few hundred thousand.

Soon after that, she saw him returning with three employees from a jewelry store. They were wearing gloves as they carefully drew out four sets of jewelry from the suitcases they had brought.

The sun was shining down on them, making the jewelry dazzle ravishingly, and every piece made Bonnie’s heart skip a beat. These four sets of jewelry must have cost at least a hundred thousand! When has Leslie become so generous?

“Mr. Payne, the jewelry you ordered has arrived. Please sign here.”

“Very well. I’ll contact you if there’s any issues.” Leslie nodded as he sat down on the couch.

Once the jewelry store employees had left, Bonnie quickly sat down beside him and pointed at one of the necklaces. “Leslie, the dress I ordered just happens to need a matching necklace! Can you give me

this one?”

“You see these four sets of jewelry? Well, none of them are yours and you can stop dreaming about it. These are all for Queenie.” After finishing his words, he shut the jewelry boxes and carried them upstairs.

Bonnie, who was left alone in the living room, narrowed her eyes and secretly stomped her feet. As expected, one never knew what they had until they lost it. At this point, she realized that she was now more attracted to Leslie than before.

Yet, the man only had eyes for her sister now.

On the other hand, Queenie was passing the time in her room by flipping through books. She was waiting for the clock to strike 11.00AM so that she could leave for her date with Nigel. Unexpectedly, someone knocked on her door.

“Queenie, open up. I have something to tell you.” The sound of Leslie’s voice rang from the outside.

Frowning, she wondered why he had yet to leave. She wanted to ignore him, but he would knock on her door every few seconds, which annoyed her. Thus, she got up and opened the door to see him carrying a few jewelry boxes in his arms.

“Queenie, why don’t you have a look at these and see if you like them? I picked them out especially for you.” Leslie clumsily unlatched the first jewelry box to show her the contents.

However, Queenie merely swept her gaze over the jewelry before looking back at him. “Leslie, I’m telling you, don’t bother me ever again. We can’t even be friends, let alone be lovers, so please leave my house.”

Leslie pursed his lips. Of course, it did not feel good to be rejected, but the usually proud and arrogant man was humbled at this moment. He reasoned with her while hugging those jewelry boxes to his chest. “If you want me to leave, sure, I’ll leave, but you have to accept these. I’ve hurt you so much, so I must compensate for it.”

Before Queenie could react, he pushed her door open and placed all the boxes on the couch in her bedroom. Then, he turned around and left.

“Leslie, take them with you,” she called out from behind him.

However, Leslie ran downstairs and left through the living room. Bonnie approached him and wanted to converse with him, but he did not bother to even spare her a glance.

“Leslie,” she called out again as she bit her lips.

After he left, Queenie looked annoyedly at the four jewelry boxes without any desire to look at them. For her, those were not anything good; they were trouble. All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.

Before she could close the door, Bonnie came over with a resentful expression. “Queenie, what did you say to Leslie last night? Did you talk sh*t about me?”

She believed that Queenie definitely had something to do with why Leslie suddenly changed his mind about her.

While raising her eyebrows, Queenie questioned, “Didn’t you say you never loved him? You should be happy he chose to break up with you.”

A wicked glint flashed across Bonnie’s eyes as she smiled. “That’s right. I don’t love Leslie anymore because I fell for another man.”

The moment Queenie heard those words, her expression fell. She could guess who Bonnie was talking about as she clenched her fists. “Bonnie, you can have whatever that belongs to me, but that man… I suggest that you don’t even think about touching him.”

As if she had found something she could use against Queenie, Bonnie smirked even more triumphantly. “What right do you have to warn me not to touch him? Aren’t all men the same? I could steal Leslie away from you. Who’s to say I can’t take Nigel away too?”

At this point, Queenie did not know where her rage came from, but when she saw the smug look on Bonnie’s face, she stepped forward and gave Bonnie a hard slap.

The sound from the slap was loud and crisp. Though Queenie never slapped anyone, Bonnie had stepped on her tail this time.

Bonnie’s gaze turned furious as she thought about hitting Queenie back. However, just at that moment, she heard her parents’ voices coming from downstairs.

“Oh, Leslie came over? Where is he?” It was Maggie’s voice.

Biting her lips, Bonnie looked at Queenie and threatened, “Just you wait for the day where you’ll be chased out of this house again!”

Once she finished, she turned around and ran into the doorframe beside her, letting out a pained scream.

“Ahh!”

Before Queenie could react, she saw Bonnie crash into the doorframe as a trail of blood was running down her hairline. It was not serious, but the blood that flowed down and stained her face made the scene look terrifying.

Downstairs, the Silverstein couple was about to take a rest and have a drink of water when they heard the commotion from upstairs. They did not even get to have a sip before running upstairs.

Meanwhile, Queenie was stunned by what had happened. She never expected Bonnie to be so ruthless as to run into the wall and injure herself just to frame her.

“My gosh! Bonnie!” screamed Maggie when she saw the terrifying scene of her daughter lying on the floor with her face covered with blood.

“Queenie, w-why did you push me? What did I do wrong?” Bonnie struggled to get up and looked at Queenie with her innocent and pained eyes.

“Honey, send her to the hospital, quick! Send Bonnie to the hospital. She’s going to get disfigured.” Maggie was so anxious that tears started to flow down her eyes.

Brandon immediately carried Bonnie into his arms and yelled at Queenie, “What did you do to her?”

“I-I didn’t push her. She ran into the wall herself.” Though Queenie was telling the truth, the current situation rendered her words unconvincing.

Maggie was also looking at Queenie as if her youngest daughter’s distressed state was all caused by Queenie. Besides the blood flowing from Bonnie’s forehead, there was a visible handprint on one side of her face, but her eldest daughter was standing there as if nothing had happened.

“Queenie, how could you do such a thing? That’s your sister!” After spitting those words in disappointment, she quickly left with her husband, who had Bonnie in his arms.

Queenie fell into a daze while standing there. Tears of grievance welled up in her eyes as she thought about the questioning gazes her parents threw at her as if she was a ruthless person; those gazes were like knives piercing her chest.

But I didn’t do anything! She took a deep breath and suddenly had the thought of running away from home. Would this home be peaceful once I’m gone?

If so, she could move out for the time being.

As she made that decision, she went to her closet, took out her suitcase, and began to pack her clothes. She had decided to stay in a hotel for a while.

Meanwhile, in the hospital nearby.

Bonnie’s injuries had been cleaned and wrapped in gauze. As for the swelling on her face, which was left by the slap, the nurse applied some topical medication on it to help with the swelling.

“Bonnie, what were you guys arguing about? Why did Queenie push you?”

“Perhaps I said something wrong and triggered her.”

“What did you say?” Brandon frowned.

“I said I wanted to break up with Leslie, and she suddenly became irritated. She even framed me, saying that I was going to steal her current boyfriend, Nigel. I felt so wronged. Does breaking up with Leslie mean I wanted to snatch her boyfriend from her? How could she think of me this way?” As Bonnie narrated her sob story, she wiped her tears away.

Maggie met Brandon’s gaze and sighed. “Is Queenie being overly sensitive?”

“Even if she was, she shouldn’t have pushed you or hit you for that matter. If you had to be taught a lesson, we should have been the ones to do it. She’ll get it from me once we return,” Brandon comforted her.

“Dad, Mom, Queenie also said that she hates that I look like her. She said she hated my face. S-She wanted to ruin my face! I was so scared!” After saying that, Bonnie hid in her mother’s arms and sobbed even harder.

“What nonsense is that? You both are twins. Of course, you two look very alike,” Maggie reassured her.

“Queenie must be afraid that Young Master Nigel might see my face someday and that I will steal her boyfriend again, so she wanted to disfigure me.” Bonnie was desperately trying to lure the Silverstein couple to think that Queenie bore such a vicious thought.

“Queenie is a good child and she wouldn’t have such bad thoughts. Bonnie, you must have misunderstood her.” Maggie did not believe her eldest daughter would bear such intentions.

“Mom, you don’t understand. Queenie loves Young Master Nigel so much that she wouldn’t let anyone steal him from her. She must be in over her head. That’s why she did this to me, but I understand her and don’t blame her.” Bonnie put on a selfless act while smiling. “I hope she and Young Master Nigel can be happy together.”

Hearing that, both parents felt dejected. Their daughters saw each other as enemies and they would feel distressed if any one of them got hurt.

In the meantime, Queenie was inside the parking lot of the Silverstein Residence. She loaded her suitcase onto the passenger seat of her car before stepping hard on the accelerator and speeding out of the Silverstein Residence.

According to her understanding of Bonnie, she would bad-mouth her as much as possible before their parents. Instead of letting her parents lecture her when they returned, it would be better if she moved out!

I’m just gonna talk to them until they cool down.

Just as she drove onto the road, she stopped by the roadside and dialed Nigel’s number.

“Hey. I’m on my way to pick you up.”

“No need. I drove my car out.” She was feeling devastated.

“Why? What happened?” Nigel keenly caught something wrong with her voice.

“I-I got in a fight with my sister. I want to move out for a while.” After saying that, she asked, “Does your hotel offer monthly packages?”

“Let’s talk after we meet up at the restaurant.” Nigel’s voice deepened.

“Alright.”

At 11.30AM, Queenie arrived at the restaurant where she and Nigel agreed to meet. Very soon, a black SUV entered the parking lot and he had arrived.

Looking at the approaching man with an elegant and handsome demeanor, she imagined Bonnie wrapping her arms around his and showing off her victory to her. At that moment, a determined goal immediately appeared in her mind.

No, I’ll never let someone like Bonnie get close to Nigel.

“Let’s head up!” Nigel said to her. Seeing that she was in a bad mood, he held her hand as they headed upstairs.

At first, Queenie was stunned. She felt a warm feeling inside her when he held her hand and all the grievances she had suffered at home had all dissipated.

While Bonnie hurt her, Nigel healed her.

Inside the restaurant, he narrowed his eyes as he asked, “So, tell me. What did you guys argue about?”

Queenie did not want to expose the skeleton inside her family’s closet, nor did she want Nigel to know that Bonnie was plotting to get close to seduce him. Having such a disgrace of a sister was indeed something she did not want to share with others.

Moreover, she did not know him that well. She thought that if he was someone who other women could easily seduce, she would not start a relationship with him anyway.

Therefore, she had to decipher what kind of person he was first and foremost. She smiled bitterly and replied, “Nothing much, just an argument between sisters.”

“If you believe in my character, you don’t have to stay at the hotel. You can think about staying with me,” Nigel stated.

“B-But, wouldn’t that be such a hassle?” Excitement secretly flashed across her eyes. She had thought about living at his home, but she was too embarrassed to mention it.

As for his character, according to her twenty-four years of life experience, he was very trustworthy.

Hooking his lips into a smile, he persuaded, “Did you forget? If we were to be together, wouldn’t we have to live closer together? Otherwise, how will you get to know me better?”

She was stunned for a few seconds. Does he need to be so straightforward?

“Sure, I accept your offer.” Queenie still remembered his junk food stash. If she stayed at his home, she would be able to eat all the snacks she wanted for free. She could use dating him as an excuse to eat all his delicious snacks. Wasn’t that something to look forward to?

Meanwhile, Nigel had mixed feelings in his heart. Although she quickly agreed to his suggestion, he could not help but wonder if she would do the same if it were some other man.

He did not understand why, but he thought that the woman before him was so naive that he felt worried for her. Therefore, he would only be reassured if she dated him.

At that moment, Queenie’s phone rang. She glanced at it and felt nervous. “My dad.”

Switching her gaze between the phone and Nigel, she decided to answer the call in private so that he would not watch her getting scolded.

“Excuse me while I answer this.” Soon, she grabbed her phone, exited the restaurant, and answered it out in the corridor.

Knowing that her father’s first words would be very loud, she pulled the phone away from her after answering it.

“Queenie Silverstein, where are you?” As expected, her father’s voice boomed out of the receiver.

She pouted in grievance before putting the phone closer to her ear and replied, “Dad, I’m having lunch with a friend.”

“Your sister is seriously injured, yet you’re still in the mood to eat? You’re lucky Bonnie isn’t disfigured. Do you know what the consequences would be if she were disfigured?”

Queenie silently argued that it was impossible that Bonnie would disfigure herself. She even chose to hit the part of her head that she could cover with her hair. No matter what, Queenie was able to see how ruthless Bonnie could be.

“Dad, I really didn’t push her. She did it to herself.” Queenie could not help but reason to him because she had no intention to take the blame for this incident.

“How dare you make any excuses! Bonnie isn’t stupid. How could she do this to herself? Also, did you leave a slap mark on her face?” Brandon accused.

“Yes, I did slap her, but I didn’t push her. I will admit to everything I did, but I will never admit to something I didn’t do.” She was also a person with integrity. If she did it, she would admit it, but if she did not, she would not want to be the scapegoat.

“Y-You… Look at what this home has become! Can you be more considerate of your sister? She has suffered so much since she was young. You’re her older sister, so can’t you be nicer to her?” Brandon was also at a loss for what to do. He thought he had spoiled his eldest daughter so much to the point that he had caused her to be ignorant, arrogant, selfish, and rude.

Forcing back her tears, Queenie bit her lips and stated, “Dad, I’ve already decided to stay at a friend’s house for the time being. I think this home will be more peaceful without me.”

“Queenie, I didn’t mean to chase you away… Why are you—” Brandon was shocked.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Take good care of my injured sister.” After saying that, Queenie hung up. Now, it would be more peaceful at home and around her. Also, she did not have to watch Bonnie’s act for now.

At the Silverstein Residence.

While Brandon was sitting on the couch and talking on the phone, Bonnie was eavesdropping by the railing on the second floor. After he ended the call, she pretended to come down the stairs and asked, “Dad, where is Queenie? Did she find a place to hide because she’s afraid of getting scolded? I don’t even blame her for anything.”

Sighing, Brandon replied, “She said she’d be staying at a friend’s house for the time being. She’s always been stubborn and she’d hide from us every time we wanted to lecture her. Bonnie, you stay

home and recuperate!”

A hint of jealousy flashed across Bonnie’s eyes. Could the friend Queenie was talking about be Nigel? Was she so keen on moving in with him?

Suddenly, Bonnie was secretly frustrated with herself. At first, she thought she could get her parents to scold Queenie and drive them away from each other. Yet, she never expected she would give Queenie another reason to leave home to find Nigel. It was such a careless mistake.

More importantly, Nigel was unlike Leslie. She could not meet him as easily since he had a higher social status.

“Dad, I don’t think Queenie is staying at her friend’s. I think she’s staying at Young Master Nigel’s home! This might ruin her reputation.” She decided to make Queenie come home.

Stunned by her words, Brandon wondered if it might be true. Was his eldest daughter staying at Nigel’s home? It seemed like his daughter had grown up and out of his control.

“Bonnie, it’s inappropriate for me to stick my nose into this matter. Moreover, I believe in Young Master Nigel’s character and I hope he could be my future son-in-law too.” In reality, he was glad to hear about that. Also, he hoped that Queenie was smart enough to know how to capture the heart of a man like Nigel.

“Dad, Leslie dumped me, so you have to find me a better guy next time. I don’t want to marry into a family that is not as good as Queenie.” Then, Bonnie shamelessly ran toward Brandon and held his hand while speaking like a spoiled child.

“Alright, alright. I will introduce you to men with prominent backgrounds if I have the chance. Oh, right. I have an invitation to a banquet on Friday night. I’ll bring you with me.”

“Is it a high-end banquet?”

“I think it’s the largest business banquet Averna has had in recent years. You can meet a lot of excellent young men there.”

Bonnie’s eyes lit up when she heard that. The person she wanted to see the most was none other than Nigel. As long as she paid more attention to her outfit and makeup, she would have a higher chance of seducing him at the banquet.

Just like Leslie, whom she met at a banquet and used some means to seduce.

Her idea was that no man would dislike a taste of something new, especially men like Nigel. She had the skill set that an unsophisticated person like Queenie did not have.

Back at the restaurant.

After taking her father’s call, Queenie was in quite a good mood as Bonnie had given her a chance to move out of the house without getting lectured by her parents.

“Did your father scold you?” Nigel asked.

“Of course, he did, but I’m thick-skinned enough to not be afraid of getting a scolding from him!” She smiled as she started to anticipate staying at his home.

After lunch, Queenie drove her car to Nigel’s home. As she got to the parking lot, she discovered her car was the cheapest one among all the luxury cars in the parking lot.

“This is my first time seeing this car. This must be a sports car, right?” she asked while looking at a cool sports car.

“Yes! I’ll take you out on a ride in it someday.” The gaze Nigel showered at the car also seemed like he was looking at a piece of treasure.

While Queenie was looking at the sports car, Nigel opened the door for her to get inside and feel how it was to sit inside a sports car. She stayed in the car and looked around for quite a bit before descending it.

Then, her suitcase was brought into the elevator by Nigel as they went straight up to the third floor. She was shown to the guest room she previously stayed in, where she saw the few dresses Cecily brought over last time!

As she had planned for a long stay, she brought many clothes with her and a full set of her daily necessities like facial cleansers and makeup.

After Queenie finished tidying up her things, she came out of her room and sat on the couch in the third-floor living room. While she was looking out at the scenery, she felt a hint of sorrow rising inside her. Avoiding the problem should not be the solution, and Bonnie’s character and actions would bring many worries and trouble for their parents.

She hoped that her parents would have a peaceful life without having to help Bonnie clean up the mess she made and apologize to others.

What can I do about this sister of mine? That question bothered her.

At that moment, a chocolate box appeared in her sight line. Her eyes lit up, and all her worries were thrown out the window as she reached for the box of chocolate and looked up at the man offering it to her. “How did you know I like this kind of chocolate?”

“Didn’t you finish two boxes of these chocolates last time? I had three boxes, and this is the last one,” Nigel spoke while sitting down beside her. Then, Queenie silently returned the box to him. “Since this is

the last one, I refuse to eat them. You should leave it for yourself.”

Nigel was shocked for a few seconds before putting the box of chocolates back into her arms. “Good things are meant to be shared with the people you love. That’s the meaning behind their existence.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment as if those words were sweeter than the chocolate.

Although she did not know what he liked about her, she felt happy to be liked by someone.

Opening up the box of chocolate, she unwrapped the first one and fed it to Nigel. “Here. Let’s share.”

After he took a bite, Queenie looked at the half-eaten chocolate and waited for him to finish before feeding it to him. Unexpectedly, he mischievously held her hand and brought the half-eaten chocolate to her lips.

“Take a bite! Don’t be shy.”

She fed the piece of chocolate into her mouth while blushing and tasted the same rich taste from the same chocolate piece he had eaten.

The box only contained eight dainty pieces of chocolate. Queenie could have easily finished the whole box alone, but since two people were sharing it, the chocolates disappeared very quickly.

Feeling as though she had not had enough, she said, “This chocolate is so good. It’s a pity we can’t get them here.”

Nigel looked at her disappointed expression and smiled. Not being available in the country did not mean that he could not get his hands on some more.

At that moment, his phone rang and Queenie just happened to see Julian’s name. She thought, So these two handsome fellows are actually friends!

“Hey, Julian.”

“Why don’t I come over to your place and play some games tonight?”

“It will be inconvenient for you to come over during this near period of time.” Nigel went straight to the point.

“How is it inconvenient?” asked Julian.

“What do you think?”

“Oh! So, you’re hiding someone in your home!” As expected from the person who drew up with Nigel, he got it right on the first try.

“Shush. You can’t tell anyone about this.” Nigel did not want to publicize this matter, as it was better to date someone in the dark. If anyone found out about this, especially his parents, he would not be able to enjoy dating someone because his parents would start urging him about marriage.

“Have you finally come to your senses?” Julian asked. “Invite her out for a meal with us someday.”

“You’ll meet her eventually.” After Nigel finished, he hung up the call.

“Was that Julian Gilmore, the movie star?” Queenie asked with a curious expression.

Nigel suddenly realized that she was Julian’s fan, so before she could completely fall in love with him, he decided to ban Julian from coming over.

“Do you like him?” He probed while narrowing his eyes at her.

“Who doesn’t? All my friends are swooned by him.”

At this point, the man’s eyes were dangerously narrowed as he questioned, “What about you?”

“I…” Queenie was quick to react as she giggled. “I only like him for his acting. Haha.”

Her smile looked guilty and it just so happened that she received a notification on her phone at that moment. The screen of her phone, which was left on the table, suddenly lit up and a picture of Julian in his latest photoshoot appeared on her screen.

Queenie had forgotten that this was the other phone she had at home and was not the phone Nigel had given her.

She was exposed by her own wallpaper.

Slowly picking up the phone, she tried to hide it behind her body…

Then, Nigel’s face came extremely close to hers. “I think you like more than just his acting!”

Queenie felt wronged. How could she possibly have known she would get to know him in such a short amount of time? Also, how could she have known that he and Julian were friends, which was why she had forgotten to change the wallpaper on her phone?

“I’ll change it. I’m changing it now.” After saying that, she took out her phone and changed the wallpaper to her self-portrait in front of him. Then, she showed it to him while saying, “Here. I changed it. Do you think this picture looks good?”

At that point, Nigel was even more sure of one thing. Julian is not allowed to show up before me for the time being.

Suddenly, Queenie’s phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was her mother calling, so she said to him, “It’s my mom. Excuse me.”

Once she finished speaking, she took her phone and went to the balcony to pick up the call. “Hi, Mom.”

“Queenie, are you staying at Nigel’s home?” A questioning tone sounded from the other end of the call. It was Bonnie.

Frowning, she answered, “I’m not telling you anything.”

“I think you are. You’re desperate to sleep with him so that you can win his heart, am I right?”

“I’m not you, so I don’t need to use your methods to win a man’s heart,” Queenie replied flatly.

“Queenie, come home! I know I was wrong and I shouldn’t have made you angry. It was all my fault.” Bonnie’s tone suddenly turned pitiful.

“Bonnie, cut the act. You’re such a hypocrite. I will never—”

“Queenie, what are you talking about?” Maggie’s stern voice sounded from the phone.

Stunned for a few seconds, Queenie suddenly realized what had happened. Bonnie must have pressed on the loudspeaker and deliberately let her mother hear her last sentence.

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

“Mom, don’t blame Queenie.” Then, Bonnie’s weak voice sounded from the other end.

“Queenie, is this how I brought you up? How could you call your sister that way?” Marry angrily questioned, “I heard Bonnie say that you’re staying at Nigel’s. Queenie, how many times have I told you that you should reserve some dignity. Both of you aren’t even engaged. How could you move in together?”

“That’s right! Queenie, what if you get pregnant? What if the Manson Family looks down on us and forces you to abort the baby? Aborting a baby is bad for your health,” Bonnie suddenly mentioned out of nowhere.

This time, Queenie had indeed experienced how scheming Bonnie could be. She only had to say a few words to make their parents scold her.

“Mom, don’t worry. That won’t happen.” Queenie tried to comfort her mother.

“Queenie, come home this instant.” Maggie started to feel worried that what Bonnie said might come true.

“Queenie, you should listen to Mom. It’s dangerous for you to stay with a man alone. I’m saying this because I care about you!” Bonnie spoke as if she was indeed concerned about her sister.

“Queenie, stop making me worried about you. You must come home tonight. I’m not joking with you.” Maggie’s usual gentle voice had turned serious.

“Queenie, Mom is really worried about you.”

After taking a deep breath, Queenie tried to persuade her mother again, “Mom, I promise, nothing will happen. Just trust me.”

“Queenie Silverstein, if you don’t come home tonight, don’t blame me for wanting to cut ties with you!” With that, Maggie hung up.

In the meantime, Bonnie was smiling triumphantly in the Silversteins’ living room. A night with Nigel? Dream on, Queenie!

While Queenie stood on the balcony, she thought she had underestimated Bonnie’s schemes.

Even though she had left home, her sister still had to make things difficult for her.

Standing on the balcony, she closed her eyes and thought about how she was always the obedient daughter. Ever since she was young, she would go with her parents’ decisions and never disobeyed

them. However, she decided that tonight would be the first time to break that streak.

She was going to stay at Nigel’s home tonight, not for anything else, but to prove to her parents that she was a grown-up now and was perfectly capable of making her own decisions.

After making up her mind, Queenie called her mother. This time, it was Maggie who picked up.

“Hey, Queenie. I was too harsh with you earlier—”

“Mom, I’m not going home tonight. I’m twenty-four, and I can take account of my own actions. Also, I believe in Nigel’s character.”

“But—”

“You didn’t bother Leslie and Bonnie when they were together, so now I’m asking you to do the same with me and Nigel.” Without waiting for her mother to respond, she hung up the phone.

Meanwhile at the Silverstein Residence, Maggie sighed while sitting on her bed. She had been overly protective of Queenie ever since she was young and thought that she had not grown up enough to let her pursue the life she wanted. As she thought about that, she decided it was time to let go.

Queenie fell into a daze while standing on the balcony. When she turned around, she saw a tall figure standing by the door. How long has he been here?

She was so flustered and instantly averted her gaze. At the thought of what she had just said on the phone, she felt her cheeks getting warm. Did he hear what I said?

“Are you done with your calls?” Nigel asked casually.

She thought it would be best if he did not overhear her disregarding her parents’ disapproval and insisted on living with him. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.

However, she did not know that he had indeed heard everything and was being respectful to her by not expressing it. He was especially shocked when he heard her last sentence. It had only been ten days since they met and she actually trusted him so much.

After pondering for a while, he suggested, “How about I bring you somewhere special for dinner tonight?”

“Where?” Queenie began to anticipate dinnertime.

“To a restaurant my family owns by the beach. I can bring you out for a drive to relax.” He decided to find a way to make her happy.

“Sure!” She nodded.

At that moment, Nigel’s phone rang. He took a look, smiled, and told Queenie, “I need to take this call.”

After that, he took his phone and entered his room.

“Hey! My little nephew.”

“Uncle Nigel, I don’t have any homework this afternoon and I wanna come over to your house and play games with you.” The cheer of an excited child sounded from the other end.

However, Nigel immediately refused. “No, you can’t come over. I’m busy lately and I don’t have time to play games with you.”

“Uncle Nigel, are you at home? I’m coming over.” The kid was not giving up that easily. He rarely had the afternoon off, so he was dead set on coming over.

“Jared, how about you come over next time? I’ll bring you to some good food, go to the amusement park, and we can do whatever you want.” Nigel did not want to be overly obvious, so he had to coax

the kid to change his mind. Otherwise, things might get out of hand.

“I don’t want that. I want to head over and play. I’m asking Mr. Caine to send me over now.” The kid had a private bodyguard, so he could go out whenever and wherever he wanted just by telling his bodyguard.

Nigel held his head as he tried to think of a solution. He could reject anyone, but the kid was clingy to him. Before he entered elementary school, he would come by every Saturday and stay the night. If he had not been swarmed by homework, he would have been coming over every weekend.

“How about this? Do you remember Mr. Gilmore? He has a whole set of games at his house. Why don’t you go there?”

“I can’t. My dad doesn’t let me visit other people’s houses at will, so I can only head to yours.” Jared was also afraid of getting scolded by his parents, so he laughed sheepishly before saying, “Uncle Nigel, I’m heading out now! You’ll see me soon.”

Without getting the chance to dismiss his visit again, he had no choice but to call for help when he saw that his nephew had already hung up the call. At this point, who else could he call other than Julian?

When Julian picked up Nigel’s call, his voice sounded a little slurred as though he had just woken up from a nap. “Hello…”

“Julian, are you free from this afternoon till 8.00PM tonight?”

“Yes! I am!”

“Can you come over to my house immediately? I need your help.”

“What’s the matter?”

“My nephew insists on coming over to my house, but I’m going out on a date, so I need you to come over and accompany him.”

“You’re asking me to be a nanny?” Julian got the gist of the situation. In order to let his friend successfully go on his date, he would have to accept this job. “Sure. I’m coming over now.”

Since Nigel did not want his nephew to find out that there were feminine necessities in his home, Nigel reminded Julian, “Don’t bring him into the guest room beside my bedroom.”

“Understood. Quickly bring your girlfriend and leave! I’m coming over.” After saying that, Julian hung up.

Nigel let out a sigh of relief and discovered that it was only 3.00PM. He turned to Queenie and said, “Pack a set of clothes. We’re going to stay the night at the hotel there.”

Thinking that it might be a long trip back and forth from the beach, and staying for a night sounded like a good idea, Queenie agreed since she had not been to the beach in a long while. “Sure! I’ll go and pack my things now.”

After they packed lightly, Nigel came down to the underground parking lot and chose a cool sports car. Then, he opened the door and urged, “Get in.”

Queenie also felt relaxed, knowing that she was going on the trip. As they ascended the car, they left the residence.

Fifteen minutes after they departed, a white sports car arrived. It was Julian who arrived early because his home was close by to Nigel’s. Five more minutes later, a black Rolls Royce arrived.

The back door of the car opened automatically and down came a young boy in gray sports attire with handsomely styled hair that matched his perfectly defined face. It seemed that the Young Master of the

Presgrave Family, Jared Presgrave, had grown some more.

Though he was young, he had inherited his father’s style and was exuding an elegant demeanor one might find among nobles.

“Uncle Nigel, I’m here!” The kid ran into the living room with his backpack.

However, he saw a different person waiting for him on the couch. He was stunned for a few seconds before turning chippy again. “Mr. Glimore, you’re here too!”

“Yes! Nigel isn’t free, so how about I accompany you for today?” Julian asked with a smile.

Of course, Jared would like that. Not only was Julian handsome, but he was also good at playing games too, so Jared nodded happily. “Sure!”

“Let’s go! Pick some snacks and we’ll head upstairs,” said Julian as he held the kid’s hand.

The reason Nigel had his stash of junk food was mostly because of this little fellow. After all, when Jared’s parents were busy dating, Nigel was Jared’s nanny and had spent a lot of time with him. Gradually, Nigel would find snacks from all over the world to coax Jared.

Now, his stash of junk food had finally found its new purpose, which was to coax his girlfriend. On their way from the city area toward Seasight Lane, the blue sports car sped on the road like a blue panther. While they drove toward the setting sun in the distance, the man and woman inside the car were happily chatting while enjoying the music.

Queenie was sent abroad after she turned eighteen. Coincidentally, she was staying in the same country as Nigel, but they were in different schools. After their conversation, she discovered that she had heard about his social circle back then.

That particular club was only open to the top wealthiest people and he used to be a member of that club. According to him, everyone inside the club was from a prominent family and the brightest among their peers. It was a social circle that everyone who studied abroad wanted to enter.

There was once when Queenie met a rich young master who liked her and wanted to introduce her to that social circle. However, she rejected the offer.

She was not a materialistic person, so she would not forcefully enter a social circle she could not enter. However, it was still the top social circle whom everybody racked their brains to get into.

Then, Nigel talked about his life. He told her about his hobbies, which were racing and skiing; not only that, he also had the top resources for those industries. On the other hand, he even helped his family widen its business into those industries.

Along the way, he also took a detour and brought her to a sightseeing platform that had the perfect spot to watch the sunset. After Queenie alighted from the sports car, she sat on the hood of the car with him and watched the beautiful sunset.