WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

Instead of feeling sad, Edward, who had been in Nicholas’s office since earlier, wore a smirk. He had been smiling non-stop. He wanted to laugh, but he knew better than to do it openly.

“Stop making fun of me, Ed. I hope one day you’ll feel what I’m feeling right now.”

Edward couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. He burst into laughter, making Nicholas even more irritated.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone so foolish, Nick. You’re truly pathetic.”

Nicholas grumbled in frustration. “You’ve gone too far, Ed. Aren’t you sympathetic to what’s happening to me? Even last night, when that guy attacked me, you didn’t help at all!” Nicholas protested.

“Why should I help?” Edward teased. “You needed a wake-up call. I might have punched you myself if that guy hadn’t punched you in the face last night. Instead of apologizing, you called Kimberly cheap. What a moron! Where did you leave your brain, Mr. Alistair?” Edward sneered, venting all his frustration on Nicholas.

As they continued arguing, without a knock or warning, the office door suddenly swung open. Simultaneously, Nicholas and Edward turned to see a man strolling in casually and carefree. He promptly seated himself right next to Edward.

“Oh my, Kenzi Maximilian. Where’s your etiquette? You just walked into a room without knocking,” Edward complained. Besides his habit of commenting on people’s lives, Edward was also fond of making protests.

Kenzi looked at him sardonically. “Why should I knock on the door of my own office? If I want to, I could even kick you out!”

Once his interlocutor had finished his sentence, Edward, without hesitation, lightly punched Kenzi’s arm until the man winced in pain. Then, a moment later, he hugged his friend tightly.

“Well, don’t kick me out. Remember, your company still needs my expertise,” Edward teased as he released his embrace.

Kenzi’s gaze now shifted to Nicholas, who had been silently observing.

“Are you okay, Nick?” Kenzi asked, puzzled. It was usually Nicholas who eagerly welcomed his arrival.

“I-”

“He’s heartbroken, Ken,” Edward interjected, making Nicholas glare at him.

Kenzi furrowed his brow. “Heartbroken? What do you mean?”

Nicholas began to speak, intending to explain, “Kimmy-”

“Kimberly recently left him. It’s his own fault; he was so foolish. He accused Kimberly of cheating and even called her cheap. Just look at Kimberly’s friend, her lips were swollen from being hit by the guy Nicholas thought was Kimberly’s lover,” Edward cut in again.

Oh God, Nicholas was absolutely fuming. He felt like Edward was talking way too much. This was the second time his words had been interrupted by the cheeky playboy.

“Ed, can you please be quiet for a moment? You’re acting as if you’re my spokesperson!”

Edward chuckled and raised both his hands. “Alright… alright. I’ll be quiet. But no promises about not speaking later.”

This time, Kenzi laughed, then asked again, “So, what’s really going on with you?”

Nicholas sighed deeply. He was unsure where to start. The issue was so complicated, in his opinion.

“As you’ve heard from Edward, some of what he said is true. Kimberly left me because of the foolish things I did to her. I accused her of having a relationship with another man. And last night, that guy even claimed to be Kimberly’s fiancé. That’s what made me lose my temper and call Kimberly cheap.”

“Oh God, Nicholas,” Kenzi said incredulously. “Why have you changed so much now? Where’s the wise Nicholas that Alya was always proud of? I thought among the three of us, I was the worst when it came to women. Turns out there’s someone even worse, and it’s you, Nick.”

Nicholas grunted in frustration. “Ken, please, take my side. Don’t be like Edward, who always calls me stupid.”

“Alright, forget what I said earlier. Now, answer my question. Do you know the guy who claimed to be Kimberly’s fiancé last night?” Kenzi asked, curious.NôvelDrama.Org content.

Nicholas shook his head. “Not specifically. I’ve met him and crossed paths with him a few times. I’ve also seen him talking to Kimberly on several occasions. I even thought about asking Hans to investigate anything related to Kimberly.”

Kenzi furrowed his brow. He looked puzzled. “Hans? You want Hans to investigate Kimberly?”

Nicholas nodded. “I’ve lost track, Ken. Up to this point, I don’t know where Kimberly lives. I’ve tried searching and gathering information from her friends and acquaintances, but the results have been futile.” Nicholas sounded utterly desperate.

Kenzi leaned back in his chair, adjusting his position to be more relaxed. “I actually wanted to tell you a long time ago. But I held back because I thought it would be better for Kimberly to tell you herself. But after hearing your story, it seems you really don’t know anything.”

Now it was Nicholas’s turn to be confused by Kenzi. What did his friend’s words mean?

“Ken, please don’t be like Edward. Get straight to the point, don’t beat around the bush,” Nicholas protested, his tone filled with frustration.

Kenzi took a deep breath and then continued speaking. “I’ve been investigating who Kimberly is for a while now. If you want to know, Kimberly is the only granddaughter of Arthur Rayder, the owner of Rayder Corp.”

Nicholas stared at Kenzi in disbelief. “You must be joking, Ken?”

Kenzi shrugged dramatically. “Believe it or not. If you want to find Kimberly, maybe she’s at her real residence.”

Nicholas rubbed his throbbing temples. He couldn’t believe how many secrets she had kept from him.

“You said you loved me, Kimberly. But why did you keep so many secrets from me?”