WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

It’s almost two o’clock in the afternoon, and Kimberly’s work still isn’t finished. Since Nicholas left, for some reason, her tasks have piled up so much. Perhaps she’s massaged her throbbing temples more than three times by now.

What can she do? If she doesn’t finish it now, it might pile up even more. Of course, she’ll be the one in trouble later. Not to mention Nicholas, who will surely complain if the deadline he gave isn’t met on time. He’s very professional when it comes to work. Despite being engaged, Kimberly is still treated like any other employee.

As she’s analyzing the graphs on the computer screen, Kimberly’s activities suddenly come to a halt upon the appearance of someone she should have avoided.

“Here’s your lunch. It seems like you haven’t eaten yet.” A handsome man approaches and hands Kimberly two lunch boxes. After confirming that the food is accepted, he doesn’t leave right away. He chooses to sit and watch Kimberly, who is still busy working.

“You should eat first. It’s already past lunchtime. You might get sick later,” he says while glancing at the watch on his wrist.

Kimberly shifts her focus, looking at the man who has been sitting in front of her.

“Just a little more, mister. After that, I’ll be free from this exhausting work. By the way, isn’t Mr. Edward afraid to visit me here?”

Edward laughs.

“Afraid of who? You mean Nicholas?”

Kimberly nods.

“I’ve seen Mr. Nicholas often looking annoyed with you. What exactly has been going on between the two of you all this time?” Kimberly asks curiously. Nicholas and Edward always seem like cat and dog. They get along only at certain times, especially since Nicholas always shows his displeasure.

Edward grins. He’s sitting more relaxed now.

“Do you want to know why Nicholas dislikes me so much?” Now, Edward intentionally leans forward and whispers, as if he doesn’t want anyone else to hear.

Kimberly leans in, feeling curious about what the foreign man is about to say.

“What is it?”

“Back then, Nicholas hated me because I openly wanted to compete with him. It reached its peak in our final semester at college. The woman he liked chose me over Nicholas,” Edward whispers.

The next moment, laughter bursts from Kimberly’s lips. After all this time, her curiosity is finally satisfied. It turns out that the initial conflict between these two friends was often about women.

“Back then, I did intentionally get close to the woman Nicholas liked. I don’t know why, but I enjoyed making him angry. It was his fault too; he and Kenzi were equally slow in taking action. Even now, it’s the same,” he continues.

This time, Kimberly agrees. Nicholas is the type of guy who is rigid, insensitive, and lacking in romance. Kimberly often feels annoyed and frustrated because he often acts cold and indifferent.

“You really are a true Playboy, Mr. Edward.” Kimberly laughs again. “So, what happened to the woman he liked?” Kimberly asks while holding her aching cheeks.

Edward shrugs dramatically.

“She disappeared a long time ago. Besides, after that, Nicholas met Claire and had a long-term relationship before getting engaged. You must have heard about Claire, right?”

Kimberly nods slowly. “Nicholas’s ex-fiancée, right? I met her when I was in London a while ago. She’s really beautiful,” Kimberly murmurs softly.

“Yeah, that’s right, she’s beautiful. But unfortunately, she dared to bring another man into Nicholas’s apartment. That’s what traumatized Nicholas and made him decide not to have a relationship with women anymore after that.” After saying that, Edward’s phone rings, and he stands up, signaling that he has to leave Kimberly.

After finally completing all her tasks, it’s already 4 o’clock in the afternoon when Kimberly finally eats the meal Edward gave her. While chewing her food, she keeps checking her phone, worried that Nicholas might call. But to her surprise, he hasn’t contacted her by the time she finishes eating.

Not wanting to make a big deal out of it like yesterday, she decides to tidy up all the documents she’s worked on and heads home. However, as soon as she reaches the lobby, she’s surprised by Mario’s unexpected arrival without prior notice. He looks anxious, sitting not far from the reception desk.

“What’s going on?” Kimberly asked as she stood before Mario.

He rose from his seat. “Kimmy, you have to come with me right now. Grandpa is in the hospital,” Mario said, filled with hope.

Kimberly hesitated for a moment, unsure of what decision to make. If she went with Mario, there was no guarantee she could return to Nicholas’s place. But if she refused, she might not get another chance to see Grandpa Arthur.

“Kimmy, please…” Mario continued to insist. “Just visit Grandpa for a while. I promise, after the visit, I’ll take you back. I’ll personally escort you.”

Kimberly gazed into Mario’s dark eyes, searching for any sign of deception. Eventually, she became convinced that he was sincere in his words.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

The next few minutes, Kimberly followed Mario to the parking lot and got into the car.

Arriving at the hospital, Kimberly saw with her own eyes the man who had cared for her with love and tenderness now lying weakly in a hospital bed. So many medical devices were attached to the middle-aged man’s body. Kimberly’s heart ached, and she rushed to hug him.

“Grandpa…” she whispered softly.

The middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes. “Kimberly… where have you been, dear?” he whispered so softly it was almost inaudible.

After hugging him, Kimberly kissed Arthur’s hand repeatedly, as if trying to make up for all the time she had been away.

“Why are you so sick like this? Grandpa must have forgotten to take his medicine,” Kimberly protested.

Arthur smiled. “How could I forget when you’re not here to remind me? All this time, you’ve been the one preparing all the medicine I take.”

Unnoticed, tears welled up in Kimberly’s eyes. She felt guilty for leaving Arthur for so long, knowing that no one else had been looking after him. Adrian, her uncle, had chosen not to get involved in Arthur’s affairs after he wasn’t designated as the heir. Since Kimberly left, it was Mario who took care of everything, even though he was just a friend of Kimberly’s.

“Don’t leave again, dear. Don’t you love your old grandpa? My time is running out,” Arthur said.

“Shh…” Kimberly whispered softly. “Grandpa won’t go anywhere. Grandpa will definitely get better.” Kimberly cried even more. Mario, standing behind her, could only gently pat her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“Now, Grandpa needs to rest. Kimberly won’t go anywhere,” Mario reassured Arthur.

While Kimberly was feeling sad about Arthur’s condition, her phone rang. It was Nicholas calling at an inopportune time. She asked Mario for some distance and found a place to answer the call.

“Hello, darling,” Nicholas greeted.

“Hi…” Kimberly struggled to make her voice sound normal.

“I really miss you. I’m sorry I was so busy this afternoon, but everything’s done now. I might arrive in Indonesia tomorrow evening,” he explained.

Kimberly took a deep breath. “I miss you too. I feel like hugging you right now.” Kimberly spoke honestly. She really needed someone to lean on, to let out all the tears that had been weighing on her chest.

“We’ll meet tomorrow, Kimmy. Oh, by the way, where are you right now?” Nicholas asked suddenly.

“I-I’m in the apartment lobby. I just got back from the office,” Kimberly replied hesitantly. She was clearly lying, and she hoped Nicholas wouldn’t become suspicious.

“Alright, after you arrive, take a quick shower and don’t forget to have dinner. Get some rest too. We’ll meet soon. Oh, do you want me to bring something home for you? Anything you want, I’ll get it for you,” Nicholas offered.

From behind her phone, Kimberly smiled. For a moment, she forgot her sadness because of Nicholas’s sweet gesture.

“No need. I just hope you’ll come home soon and hug me tightly.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure you’ll be satisfied with my hug tomorrow. See you tomorrow, Kimmy.”

Knowing that Kimberly had finished her phone call, Mario, who had been watching, approached. The man kept his promise to escort Kimberly home. They reached the apartment lobby, and Mario accompanied her down.

“Thank you so much, Kimmy. I hope your grandpa gets better soon,” Mario said. They were both standing in the apartment lobby.

“I should be the one thanking you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help you take care of grandpa. Please let me know if anything urgent comes up. I really rely on you.” Kimberly’s face turned sad again, thinking about Arthur lying weak in bed.

Mario, seeing the change in Kimberly’s expression, pulled her close to him. Sure enough, Kimberly burst into tears once more. Mario tried to comfort her for quite some time.

“It’s okay, no need to cry. I’ll be taking care of your grandpa. You don’t have to worry. And if anything happens, I’ll contact you immediately.” Mario released his embrace and then left Kimberly.

For the umpteenth time, someone from a distance had managed to capture the moment when Kimberly was embracing Mario.

***

Nicholas kept his promise and came home on time today. When Kimberly returned from work, he was already sitting comfortably on the living room sofa, watching TV.

Upon seeing Kimberly, he stood up and pulled her into his embrace. He held her for quite some time, expressing the longing that had built up over the past few days due to their separation.

“Gosh, I haven’t showered yet, Nick. Aren’t you grossed out hugging me?” Kimberly protested, puckering her lips. But Nicholas paid no attention to Kimberly’s words.

Nicholas shook his head. “No, why would I be grossed out? You still smell good.” The next moment, Nicholas pressed his nose against Kimberly’s neck, inhaling her scent deeply. “Your lips even taste like strawberries today,” he said with a grin, clearly noticing it was because of the lip balm Kimberly was wearing.

“You’re absolutely crazy!” Kimberly exclaimed. “Come on, I need to shower. I feel all sticky. We can continue this later,” Kimberly requested.

“Give me one kiss, and then you can go shower,” Nicholas teased.

Not wanting to argue, Kimberly complied with Nicholas’s request. She gave him a brief kiss on the lips before heading off to shower.

After quickly completing their shower and dinner rituals, it seemed that Nicholas was getting back at Kimberly for their three-day separation. He confined Kimberly in his room. Not only that, he even locked her body in his embrace.

“Nick, I might suffocate if you hug me this tightly,” Kimberly protested.

Nicholas chuckled and loosened his embrace. “It’s your fault for making me miss you,” he said, planting a quick kiss on Kimberly’s lips.

“OH, Nick. How many times have you kissed me already? You act as if there’s no tomorrow,” Kimberly exclaimed.

Nicholas grinned, and instead of stopping, he pulled Kimberly’s neck closer and greedily kissed her lips. He didn’t allow Kimberly to resist even a little. So, after that, they spent the night releasing their longing, kissing and embracing each other with satisfaction, as if they might not be able to do it again tomorrow.

Yes, it could really happen.