After dinner with his grandpa ended, Nicolas rose to his feet and picked up a napkin to wipe off his hands and lips.
"Grandpa, I'm off to my room," he said, his voice gentle.
Grandpa Daniel gave a nod and said, "Alright. You should get enough rest by tomorrow morning. You should be up on time to go and welcome your bride."
Nicolas sighed and replied, "Got it." Then he made his way out of the dining room, as he ascended the grand stairs in the living room and went back to his room.
The sound of his phone ringing alerted him. When he reached the drawer where he had kept his phone, Nicolas picked it up. It was an iPhone, so he swiped the screen and saw it was his friend, Aaron calling him.
"Hello, Aaron, what is it?" Nicolas asked in a lazy voice as he moved to have a seat on the couch in his room.
"I'm just calling to check on you, since you don't want to check on me. Have you gotten home? Check the news," Aaron said, his voice laced with excitement.
"What's on the news?" Nicolas inquired, his brows furrowed.
"Just take a sneak peek and you'll discover. It's very important since you're going to get married tomorrow," Aaron spoke, chuckling over the call.
"Alright. I'll check it. Let me end the call," Nicolas said, his finger reaching to click the end button, but Aaron squealed, "Don't end it. Check the news first. Isn't your laptop there?"
"No. I want to check with my phone. I'll call you back," Nicolas swiftly replied, and Aaron groaned.
"Alright. You'll call," Aaron chuckled and ended the call, and Nicolas' brows furrowed as he didn't understand what was making Aaron chuckle.
Shaking his head, Nicolas went online to see what was happening. As the CEO of the Sullivan group, a large conglomerate, Nicolas was very popular and influential as a young billionaire among his peers.
When he clicked on the trending news, Nicolas' eyes widened in shock when he saw the news headlines.
Breaking news! Billionaire CEO of the Sullivan group, Nicolas Sullivan, was spotted kissing a woman in a high-end restaurant this afternoon. The rumors circulated that she could be his fiancée, but he hasn't posted anything related to his relationship yet.
Nicolas immediately closed his online page. He placed a call across to his PR manager immediately.
"Douglas, take down the news report about me online," he ordered furiously.
"Got it, boss," replied the PR manager, who was already preparing to call Nicolas and ask him if he should take down the trending news.
The news had gained a massive amount of likes, with more than 1 million likes already surfacing on the post.
The PR Manager knew that he risked losing his job if he didn't stop the trend and take down the photos.
Some fans had already dug out who they think the lady might be, but so far, Cindy's image hadn't popped out online.
Furiously, Nicolas placed a call to his PR manager and ordered him, "Ensure that you get whoever posted that picture arrested."
"Okay, boss," the sweating PR manager, Douglas, said, as he ended the call and swung into action to track the account that had dared to capture a photo of Nicolas and Cindy kissing.
At the angle the photo was taken, it showed perfectly that Cindy had kissed Nicolas, as she was hugging his neck and also, she plopped on his thighs and hugged him closely.
There was no way an AI would have created such a stunning and captivating scene.
On the other hand, Nicolas clicked, saved, and saved the two photos of him and Cindy kissing. He tried to make out her face, but he couldn't picture it well. Her bangs had covered some part of her face, and also, she was facing him, so the camera could only capture the side of his face.
Nicolas wondered why Cindy wasn't online. Most women were online these days, he pondered, before his loud ringing tone broke the silence in his room.
Aaron excitedly inquired, "Have you seen the trending photos of yourself? I can't forget how stunned I was seeing that lady kiss you. Are you going to get her arrested? What if she knew that you were getting married and she tried to steal the opportunity to hook up with you?"
Nicolas had a thoughtful gaze. "I don't think so," he replied calmly.
"Why will you say that?" Aaron asked, shocked that Nicolas wasn't going to go after Cindy or whoever the woman was. As he recalled, the manager of the restaurant had addressed her as Cindy White.
"That's because I didn't post about my wedding, so only a few people know that I'm getting married. And one of them is you. If that young woman knew, then I will assume that you were the one who hired her to chase after me," Nicolas replied firmly.
"What?" Aaron gasped, his eyes widening in shock.
"How can you suspect me of having a hand in this? Anyway, I know that you won't believe me, but I honestly haven't met that lady before. I think I saw her a few times at the restaurant, but I don't know her personally, and I didn't hire her."
"It's fine. I will still get married tomorrow. After all, I already promised Grandpa that I will, and I don't want to disappoint him. I've already taken down the news, and I will issue a press release that no one dared to drag the Sullivan group. My private life is not of public concern," Nicolas replied coldly.
"Cool. Should I come to join you tomorrow? At least to be your best man," Aaron inquired, his voice gentle.
"No need. I will handle it alone. After all, you're single, and it's a simple wedding. You should look for your own wife, and not try to steal mine," Nicolas replied, laughing, and Aaron was speechless, knowing that Nicolas was wary of people. But they were best friends since their childhood days.
"Fine. Goodnight," Aaron replied, his voice calm, and he ended the call.
Nicolas' phone rang, and when he picked it up, it was a call from his maternal grandmother, Ashely Brown.
"Hello, Grandma," Nicolas greeted her softly, compared to how sharply he had spoken to his friend. He let his guards down when he was with his elderly guardians.
"I saw a photo of you and a woman. Who is she? Bring her over? I want to see her before you both wed," Grandma Ashley inquired.
"Mama, I will bring her over tomorrow. Grandpa already insisted that I wed her," Nicolas lied, making it seem like Cindy was his wife, whereas he was getting married to another woman whom he hadn't even met.
The line drew silence before Grandma Ashley said, "Nicolas, a woman who kisses you publicly like that could be a wayward woman. I want you to marry a hometown girl, and not those city hot women."
"Don't worry, Mama. I will bring her over to meet you. She is not like that," Nicolas said, his voice gentle and laced with the hope that Tasha was a decent woman.
"Alright," Grandma Ashley replied, left with no other option, and said, "Take care, Nicolas."
The call ended, and Nicolas switched off his phone, knowing that his aunt's will bombard him with calls.
Using his laptop, he checked to see if the photos had been removed from the internet, and they had been taken down.
Relieved, Nicolas went to his bed to rest, anticipating to see his wife the next day.