Ch. 1801..1805: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 1801-1805

Chapter 1801

'How am I supposed to stomach this?'

Then, he immediately rushed forward and gave Lloyd a kick.

'Thank goodness I came in time!' he thought.

The panic Nicole was feeling as she was held by Lloyd slowly dissipated the instant she allowed Jared to hug her.

After that, she whispered, "I'm fine. Your timing was perfect."

As of a minute ago, Lloyd was behaving as if he had lost his mind.

'He actually tried to take advantage of the scene to force a kiss upon me?!' Nicole thought in disbelief.

To make matters worse, Nachelle knew all about this, and yet, she had allowed her son to do as he pleased without calling for a cut to the scene at all.

Lloyd knew all too well how Nicole operated and how she would react. In fact, she nearly fell victim to his tricks. The humiliation she had been given made her furious.

It was then that Nachelle rushed over with her crew to help Lloyd up. "Lloyd, are you alright?"

She was appalled to see her son lying in a pile of broken glass with his back bleeding. "Are you hurt?! Oh god, you're bleeding!"

The crew member by the side immediately yelled as soon as he saw that. "I'll call the ambulance!"

When everyone else heard that Lloyd had been injured, they scrambled over to help him up.

Nachelle became livid at that instant as she glared at Jared. "Mr. Johnston! This is the Holder's film set! How can you just barge in like that!? Aside from interrupting our shoot, you've even struck an actor of ours!"

Lloyd was her darling baby, and ever since he returned home, she had given him everything he wanted while not allowing any harm or grievances to befall him. Yet, after his reunion with Nicole, he had been subjected to countless humiliations and rejections. To top it all off, Jared had now struck her son!

Jared could see that Nachelle was angry, but this did not bother him at all. "So what? This may be your crew, but don't you forget, I'm the investor here!"

He had spent a great deal of money just to have a firm say on things and yet, Nachelle had attempted to weasel out of the deal and turn it against him. She had previously agreed not to arrange too many scenes involving intimate contact for Nicole, and yet, she had allowed Lloyd to commit this very travesty today.

If he was a moment too late, Lloyd would have defiled her. Even as of now, Jared wanted to gut him standing.

'That kick wasn't as powerful as it should be!' he thought,

"So, what if you're an investor! You think the Holders are short on money? We can cancel the contract right now if that's the case!" Nachelle yelled, determined that she would use the scorched earth approach on anyone who would dare to hurt her son regardless of who they were.

Jared sneered as soon as he heard that. "Sure. Pay me fivefold in compensation, then."

Even if everyone in the country feared the Holder family, he did not. He had already included that clause in the contract as he feared that the old wily fox would attempt to pull a stunt like this somewhere down the line.

"You!"

Although the Holder family could place influential people in chokeholds by using their dark secrets against them, they were always short on liquid money. Otherwise, Nachelle would not have agreed to Jared's investment. Still, she had failed to foresee that this decision alone would halt the entire production. That very same decision had resulted in Jared hurting her son, and now, all she wanted to do was to ruin the Johnston group right there and then.

"Of course, we can also come to a peaceful dissolution of the contract, under the condition that Nicole gets to leave the production team from today onwards!" Jared stated, for he already had enough of this farce.

Nachelle was a fox, and so was Lloyd. Both of them had utilized favors to get Nicole to stay in the production team, and both had also schemed to take her away from him. The only reason he had allowed Nicole to become a part of it was because he trusted her. However, this did not mean that he would allow anyone to mistreat her the way they did.

"Don't... even think..." Lloyd, who had gotten up, hissed as he shot Jared a murderous glare.

He had finally gotten the chance to have more contact with Nicole, and even if he had to do so through the film, he wanted to make more good memories with her.

'And Jared wants to ruin all of that?!' Lloyd fumed.

At that moment, Nicole, who was totally disappointed with Lloyd, walked over and said, "This, I'm afraid, is not your call to make."

Dejection appeared in Nicole's eyes as Lloyd was at a loss for words. He had seen such a look in Nicole's eyes before, and he knew that the very moment she gave him that look, it meant that she would definitely not change her mind.

Chapter 1802

"Lloyd, I've only agreed to do all of this because you've aided me back then. However, you've made me extremely uncomfortable today, and I've decided to stop the shoot for now. Don't worry, I'll repay you what I owe, but in another way," she said.

Indeed, it was not like Lloyd's intelligence could not be bought with money. It was just that she had no need for them before. As of now, she no longer wished to cooperate with this insatiable mother-and- son duo. If anyone else could provide her with the intel she needed for a price, she would pay even more money to get it done.

At that instant, Lloyd felt a wave of numbing coldness radiating from within.

"Nicole..." he uttered, still wanting to say something.

However, Nicole had already lost her patience. "Let's go. Take me away from here."

She was really tired and only wanted to leave this place.

Seeing that, Jared held onto Nicole and walked her out in domineering fashion, and as he did so, no one dared to try to stop him, not even Nachelle. The mother-and-son duo could only watch as the two made their exit.

Noticing that the crew was staring at Lloyd's sorry state, Nachelle fumed. "Why are you just standing there!? Hurry up and send Lloyd to the hospital!"

It was only then that everyone snapped back to reality and hurried over to help Lloyd out of the set. The ambulance had already arrived by then, so they did what they were supposed to, and helped him onto it.

Concurrently, Lloyd could no longer feel the pain on his body, and his eyes had totally lost their luster. His heart was pining for Nicole, and he really could not help what he had done. He then recalled how

Nicole had reacted to him.

He truly could not understand what he lacked in comparison to Jared. It made little sense to him as to why Nicole would be so repulsed by him.

With his heart ripped to shreds, he could only close his eyes and allow the pain in his heart to fester. 'I hate this... I hate this so much. If Jared is no longer around, will Nicole give me a chance?'

Inside Jared's vehicle, Nicole leaned against the car window in exhaustion as she looked out with downcast eyes.

Noticing that, Jared could not help himself from pulling her over and letting her rest her head against his chest.

Hearing Jared's heartbeat, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"Thank you..." She closed her eyes and whispered softly.

Back then, she was the one taking care of others, and never once had she ever been caught in such a situation before. It was because of Lloyd and her history with him in the past that had caused her to be careless.

It was only after they had fought that she realized that Lloyd had never forsaken his training. The amount of strength and the sort of techniques he had employed against her earlier made her realize that he was much stronger than before.

It was because of these factors that she was rendered immobile at that time.

'I've really underestimated Lloyd. He is no longer that sidekick who would just follow behind me,' she surmised.

'Yeah, for the Holders to control the lifeblood of information, they must possess exceptional skills in order to defend themselves,' she continued. 'Still, why would he slack on his training?'

Sensing that Nicole was a little exhausted, Jared asked, "Is it because of Lloyd? You look... a little sad."

He had many rivals, and Lloyd was just another one to him. Yet, it was only today that he realized the essential difference between Lloyd and Harvey: there was a history between Nicole and Lloyd that he did not know about.

Chapter 1803

Sensing that Nicole was a little dejected at that moment, Jared took a deep breath.

"Perhaps. I don't know what this feeling is. I just feel... very disappointed... in him," she said.

She had already made her rejection clear to Lloyd, thinking that he would care about her feelings, and not have any more delusions about her. Yet, what he had done earlier had thoroughly disappointed her.

To think that Lloyd would do something like that to her was just painful.

Back then, Lloyd was the one who understood her best, as he was her partner since a very young age before Carl even joined. Back then, Lloyd would take note of her feelings, and would never do anything that would make her uncomfortable. But now he had changed...

Jared hugged her even harder. "Your disappointment means you have too high a hope for this person. I won't allow you to care about another man."

Nicole raised her head in helplessness. "I care about him, but not because of love. In fact, it's not... not even because of friendship."

Her relationship with Lloyd could perhaps only be described as comrade-in-arms who had been through life and death situations together.

"However, it doesn't matter any longer. I will not get anywhere close to him anymore," she said, for the Lloyd now was no longer the Lloyd she knew.

This Lloyd was both familiar yet foreign to her.

"Still, I'm afraid that Lloyd will not be providing me any further information," she said, though there was not a trace of concern in her voice as she knew she still had Jared.

"Don't worry. The person we've released is almost back there. We'll find that group soon enough," Jared assured.

Nicole nodded, and in a tired tone of voice, she said, "Alright. Anyway, I don't plan to show up on set ever again. As for the other stuff, do as you see fit."

Jared had invested in the show because of her, and if she wanted to leave, he could solve that issue in whichever way he wanted.

"Alright. The Holder family may not have enough cash flowing in, so they will definitely not choose to pay the compensation in fivefold. They'll definitely allow you to leave," Jared stated.

Hearing this, Nicole felt much more reassured. "Thankfully, you've seen this coming."

Jared had always been one to strategize and plan ahead.

"I knew that the two were scheming." Jared's eyes darkened.

To be fair, Nicole was not there, and as such, she did not know how the Holders truly were, and as a result, had trusted them blindly.

Nicole nodded. "It looks like your sixth sense is pretty on point, Mr. Jared."

She had agreed to their terms on the basis that she had to acquire the intelligence needed to track the Braves, thinking that it was just a trivial matter.

"Now that you know, you'll do well to listen to me next time," Jared stated with a satisfied smile.

In the foreseeable future, he would never allow Nicole to do something as stupid as that ever again.

As the filming had halted prematurely and the day was still young, Jared brought Nicole to a restaurant with a view of the night for a meal to comfort her. It was only after Nicole began to feel better that he

sent her home.

Jared then looked at Nicole. "You said that we'll go ahead and register for our marriage once the filming is done. Now that it is done, when do we get married?"

Nicole noted the sincerity in Jared's eyes, and this time, her heart softened.

"Any time," she said.

After receiving that answer, a spark of joy appeared in Jared's eyes.

Recently, Jared had been acting like an innocent child before her.

"Alright, once I've helped you with the Braves and what's left of the contract with the film crew, we'll head to Panem," he said.

"Alright." Nicole nodded.

Her heart fluttered when she saw Jared behaving the way he did. Then, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

But a kiss on the forehead was nowhere near enough and just as Nicole was about to pull away, Jared immediately kissed her on the lips before deepening it. In fact, the pair were so engrossed in their kiss that they had forgotten they were right at the front gate of the house.

Not far away, Sean and Steve stopped the car in embarrassment as they looked at each other, finding it too awkward to get off the car now.

Although that was the case, Steve did not forget to tease Sean. "Heh, Nicole is already settling down and some of us haven't even shared a kiss with someone yet."

Sean tensed up a little. "Steve, no one would think you're mute if you kept quiet."

Chapter 1804

"Always has been." Steve burst out into laughter.

Sean was extremely embarrassed and was about to give Steve a punch when Steve telegraphed the hit and quickly got out of the car.

The thud of the closing door surprised both Nicole and Jared as they spun around and looked over.

Jared was unperturbed but Nicole was blushing hard as she fumbled, "Uh... I'll be heading in first."

"Alright." Jared curled his lips gleefully as he watched Nicole speeding off.

Seeing that Nicole had left, Steve walked over. "Mr. Jared, your progress is exceptional."

Jared raised his eyebrow. "Of course. Mr. Steve, you should learn from me. Be a little more focused and you can get married sooner as well."

Hearing that, Steve suddenly felt embarrassed.

At the same time, Sean had gotten out of the car and happened to hear that.

After he had walked up to Steve, he elbowed his younger brother at the side and said, "Heard that? If you could actually be serious for once, you can be like Mr. Jared too."

Steve's face turned green at once. "Get lost."

Immediately after, he turned around and strode into the house.

Jared then looked at Sean and said, "I'll be going off then."

Sean smiled coyly. "Alright."

He then watched as Jared got into the car and drove toward the manor next to the Riddle family's residence.

At the juncture, he had to admit that Jared's method of pursuing his wife was something the lads of the Riddle family should learn from.

Meanwhile, just as Nicole had entered the house, everyone had already finished their meals and was sitting in the living room.

Seeing that Nicole had returned, Gloria smiled and asked, "Why are you back so early today?"

Not wanting to say much, Nicole simply explained, "The filming ended earlier today, so I came home right away."

"Have you eaten already?" Gloria asked, worried that her daughter had not eaten because she had returned at such an early hour.

Nicole nodded. "Yeah, I've eaten already."

Steve then walked in from outside, and after having been taunted by Jared, he could not help himself from teasing Nicole. "Mr. Jared had already taken Nicole out for a meal, and he even dropped her at the door."

When Gloria heard that, a look of joy appeared on her face. "Ever since Mr. Jared moved into the area, he has consistently been driving Nicole to and from school. How nice."

Nicole shot Steve a glance, and realizing that her mischievous brother had purposefully brought Jared up, she shot back playfully. "Mom, did you hear that? Steve is envious of me now. How about you arrange a partner for him?"

The moment she uttered those words, Steve almost bit his tongue. "I... I did not mean that at all."

Gloria, however, was overjoyed. "What an excellent idea!"

At that moment, Sean walked in, prompting Gloria to say, "Let's arrange one for Sean as well. At the very least, Steve has had a girlfriend before, Sean still doesn't have a partner up until now!"

Finding himself catching a stray bullet just as he entered the place, Sean said, in a bashful tone, "Mom, can you not tell Nicole everything?"

He had just been so busy with work that he did not have the mood or the time to get himself a girlfriend. As such, it puzzled him as to why his mother was implying that he was incapable of finding himself a woman.

"What's there not to tell? If I had known that the five of you would have difficulty finding a partner, I would've set you all up for arranged marriages. At the very least, not all of you would still be single, unlike how you are now," Gloria argued.

Samuel and Spencer, who were seated on the sofa squirmed awkwardly. "Mom... It's fine that you want to fuss about Sean and Steve, but can you leave us out of this?"

"Yeah, we're still students."

In response, Gloria rolled her eyes at the twins. "And Nicole isn't? Don't look for excuses just because you can't be bothered to put in the effort."

After she had said that, Gloria turned to her daughter and continued, "Nicole, think of something for your poor brothers. The girls you've hooked Samuel and Spencer with for the banquet seem to be decent folks. Are they your schoolmates?"

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Samuel and Spencer said, "Stop it, Mom..."

Chapter 1805

Yet, Samuel could not help himself from thinking about June, who was really well dressed that night.

Spencer too thought of Lulu and it seemed that he was not opposed to the idea.

"Stop what? Let's organize a family barbeque this weekend. Nicole, bring those two girls over. Sean and Steve? Invite your previous companions over as well."

At that moment, a surge of instant regret flooded Steve. 'Me and my big mouth.'

Sean began to feel awkward too, and in resignation, he said, "Mom, Nicole still has filming to do during the weekends."

Nicole, however, smiled. "I don't need to film this weekend. If it's for your future, I'll definitely return home for it."

The second she said that, all five of her elder brothers looked at her helplessly.

In an attempt to steer the conversation, Samuel looked at Stanley and said, "Mom, why are you worried about us and not Stanley?"

In reply, Stanley rolled his eyes at them. "My partner is already living here."

He had no need to invite anyone. Tia was like family, and because of that, he was totally unfazed.

Seeing that, both Samuel and Spencer felt a pang of jealousy for Stanley.

Tia was always at home taking care of Mrs. Wallace Sr., and was just like a younger sister to them, so it was natural for them to get along without any sort of awkwardness.

"Good, that settles things then. I want to see who is the least capable of you lot this weekend. At least one of you won't be able to bring a girlfriend back," Gloria said.

After provoking her sons in deliberate fashion, Gloria smiled as she went upstairs, with Nicole following right behind.

Behind her, the brothers began arguing with each other in the living room, cursing out and lamenting among one another because of Steve's big mouth.

Steve really wanted to give himself a proper slap or two, but it would not help things as it stood.

The next day, Lulu and June saw Nicole arriving at school, and in a tone of concern, they asked. "Nicole, why is it that there are always problems with your filming crew? I heard a paparazzi saying that Lloyd got injured as well?"

Nicole looked at Lulu and replied, "You sure get your news fast."

Hearing that, Lulu suddenly found herself in an awkward spot. "Heh, I'm a Lloydite, and I'm also a member of his fan club. Although it's not been officially announced yet, the fan club has gotten someone to scout things out, and they said that they saw Lloyd being carried into the ambulance. What happened exactly?"

Not wanting to talk about what happened yesterday, Nicole said, "He got cut by the table glass. Nothing too serious."

"Oh? Just that?" Lulu was surprised, thinking that it was a major piece of news.

Nicole nodded. "Of course. Why? You sound a little disappointed."

Lulu quickly shook her head. "No, no. Why would I be? It's good that Lloyd is alright."

She was after all his fan, so it made no sense as to why she would want him to be injured.

Seeing that both June and Lulu had calmed down, Nicole then said, "Are the two of you free this weekend? My mom is inviting the both of you to my place."

"Huh? She's inviting us..."

"As guests?!"

Nicole raised her eyebrow. "Yeah. Will the two of you be available?"

The two were stunned for a good moment before they sputtered, "Yes!"

"Of course!" June exclaimed, feeling extremely excited.

The thought of having the opportunity to visit the Riddle's residence and meet Samuel during the weekends sent her heart fluttering in an inexplicable way.

"But, why would she invite us..." Lulu asked.

Although she was elated, she was curious about the reason nonetheless.

A glint appeared in Nicole's eyes as she smiled and said, "My mom is urging my brothers to get themselves girlfriends, and she's inviting their partners during the company's annual dinner for the weekend party."

"Huh, are you for real?