novelStupid Mommy
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Jay had always been observant of the things happening around him. It was no wonder that he easily noticed the smell of ointment on Nicole. He raised his hand in an attempt to touch her face but she dodged him.
"Mom, did you stay out to find dad for me?"
As far as he could remember, he had always been different from the other children. Unlike his classmates who had two parents, he only had a mother. Although Uncle Fang treated him very well, he knew all along that he was not his biological father. Genius or not, it was natural for a child like him to want a complete family. That was one of the deepest desires in his young heart.
However, he didn't want his mother to feel miserable for his sake. He didn't want her to commit a mistake because of him.
Hearing Jay's straightforward question, Nicole's mind was suddenly flooded by the image of Kerr's expressionless face and his cruel words about his own unborn baby. She shook her head involuntarily.
"That's ridiculous. Don't talk nonsense. I have gone to work, " she admonished him gently.
She put Jay on the bed and covered him with a quilt. She then sat down by his bedside and studied his delicate face intently.
Nicole noticed the wrinkles between his son's eyebrows. She had never noticed this strange facial expression on her son before, and it was similar to the worried look sported by Kerr earlier. In a split second, the wrinkles between his eyebrows were gone and his facial expression returned to normal.
"Mom, I don't want dad. I just want you, mom. That's enough for me."
Jay looked up at her with his big and innocent eyes.
"My silly boy, don't think too much. Go to sleep now. You need to go to school tomorrow." She patted him softly by the cheek.
Soon enough, Jay was beginning to snore softly in his sleep. Smiling involuntarily, she put a soft kiss on Jay's forehead. After watching his sleeping face for a few more minutes, she went to her room.
Turning on the light and looking at her face in the mirror, she found that it was no longer as red and swollen as before. Her worries about tomorrow had decreased a little but she still felt uneasy because her mind unintentionally dwelled on thoughts about Kerr. He was like a time bomb buried in her heart.
Sitting in his car, Kerr looked up at the room that had just lit up. He was soon lost in thought. He felt something familiar about Nicole, but he couldn't specifically pinpoint where the familiarity was coming from.
He had complete faith in Jared's ability, but even he couldn't find information about Nicole. Usually, this only meant one thing: she was hiding something. What was it? He needed to know about her secret.
"Go back, " he commanded the driver. Behind his cool demeanor, his mind was in shambles as it tried to justify why he followed Nicole home.
He didn't know why he wanted to watch her safely back home.
It was well-known that this gated community belonged to the Gu family. The fully closed residence estate was exclusive to wealthy families and was highly regarded for its security and safety features, thereby earning a good reputation among its residents. Kerr couldn't simply understand why he asked his driver to follow her. Moreover, there was no need for him to watch her go inside and into her room.
Meanwhile, Nicole lost herself in various fancies and conjectures during the whole night. She was feeling paranoid and worried that Kerr would take her son away if he knew about the truth. As a result, she fell asleep very late. The next morning, she didn't wake up on time.
When the alarm clock rang, Nicole was still sound asleep. Jay stood impatiently by her bedside. Seeing that she was frowning in her sleep, he reached out to turn off the alarm clock, sighed softly, and set the alarm again.
He wrote her a note which he put on the night stand along with the ointment. He watched his mother's sleeping face for a few more seconds before turning away to take his little schoolbag. He then went to school without saying goodbye.
In fact, with his intelligence and knowledge, there was no need for him to stay in primary school at all. However, Nicole was worried of him being left-out by other kids of the same age. Since, he did not want to worry his mother, he had to deal with a group of naive chil dren every day, forgetting that he was a child himself.
When the alarm clock came off again, she turned it off instinctively. She was about to go back to sleep when the morning light hit her eyes. She felt that something was strange. When she saw that it was morning already, she slapped her forehead in surprise.
She quickly opened her eyes and looked at the wall clock. It was already half past eight. She had to work at nine o'clock, and Jay must be in class by now.
"Ah!"
Her scream echoed throughout the silent apartment.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she saw the ointment on the night stand and the note under it.
"Mommy, don't be late for work. I already went to school. Remember to eat the breakfast on the table and here's the ointment too. Silly Mommy, don't get hurt again."
The sincere and sweet yet childish words on the paper brought her a lot of comfort.
Although she had gone through some sufferings, Jay was the best gift from God for her.
She quickly got dressed. It took Nicole only ten minutes to prepare for work. Instead of eating the packed sandwich, she decided to bring it to work. Thankfully, she managed to arrive at the office on time at exactly 8:59 AM.
Sitting in the office, Nicole breathed a sigh of relief.
She took out a small mirror and took off the scarf covering her hair and face. In front of the mirror, she started to hastily apply some makeup to her face.
"Mr. Gu, Miss Ning has arrived in the office, " Jared promptly reported to Kerr.
Jared was standing in front of his boss so he could clearly see his face. The gloomy expression on his face slightly faded upon hearing his report.
"Go and ask her to come here, " he said in a terse reply without raising his head.
His eyes were glued to the folder which he was holding.
Jared arrived in front of Nicole's office shortly. He was about to knock on her door but he noticed that the door was slightly open. He gently pushed the door open instead.
To his surprise, he witnessed Nicole put a sandwich into her mouth.
When she heard the door open, she quickly raised her head and saw Jared standing at the door with a blank look on his face. She immediately swallowed the sandwich in her mouth and spoke to him as if nothing was wrong.
"What's the matter, Mr. Jared?"
"Mr. Gu wants to see you, " Jared replied stiffly.
It was the first time that he saw someone eat breakfast during the designated working hours of the Gu Group.
As one of the top enterprises in the world, the Gu Group followed a strict office rules and guidelines to ensure the efficiency and productivity of its staff. The newly-hired director, Nicole Ning, was the first to break those rules.
When she heard what Jared said, she immediately stood up and walked towards the door. When she passed by him, she whispered to him guiltily, "I didn't delay my work, so please don't tell Mr. Gu what you just saw, okay?"
He nodded subconsciously and raised his hand gently when he saw the ingratiating smile on her face. She did not give him the chance to speak as she directly walked towards the office of Mr. Gu.
When he came to his senses, Nicole had already entered Kerr's office. He could help but feel pity for her.
"Mr. Gu, are you looking for me?"
She walked to Kerr's desk silently and looked at him carefully.
"This folder contains all the information about our corporation with the Chu Group. Hand over a plan as soon as possible."
He silently threw the folder on the table and looked up at her.
He intended to call Nicole over just to have a look at her face that was injured, but Kerr had a bigger discovery.
He stood up and went straight to Nicole while staring at the side of her mouth.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing the look in Kerr's eyes, she was puzzled.
"Nicole, how dare you have breakfast in the office? What have you eaten?"
Nicole's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know?
"Sandwich, " Nicole replied quietly as she avoided his gaze.
"Hand it in."
Sitting on the sofa, Kerr seemed ready for an interrogation.
Having no choice, she returned to her office to get the sandwich that she hadn't eaten yet. She grudgingly placed it in front of Kerr, on top of the table.
"Did you make this?" Kerr felt compelled to ask her.
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