Ch. 1996..2000: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 1996-2000

Chapter 1996

Nicole was on the verge of losing herself in the face of Jared's captivating smile. Her final sliver of sanity was reminding her that she should be reacting with anger, but when she looked at Jared, she just could not shake the idea of letting her guard down.

Feeling shameful and frustrated within, she gritted her teeth and yelled, "You're moving back to the estate from today onwards!"

She could not allow him to linger here anymore because he was simply too dangerous for her. Before she could regain her memories, she had to keep a distance from him.

"Freshen up." Jared dragged her to the bathroom, having changed the subject smoothly.

This left Nicole confused. 'What does this mean? Did he agree to it or not?'

She got freshened up and changed her clothes in a daze before leaving the room with Jared.

"Daddy." Lana's adorable voice echoed across the hallway as her tiny legs carried on a sprint toward Jared.

"Hey, Lana." Jared held Lana up with a doting look on his face, loving this thoughtful angel to the bone.

The edge of Nicole's mouth twitched. 'When did this little one like Jared more than she likes me? She greeted him and did not even bother to acknowledge my existence.'

Nolan too felt very frustrated after he saw how Lana had switched sides completely. 'What's so good about Jared? How did Lana accept him so quickly?'

"Let's go eat," Nicole suggested, not about to get mad at Lana.

Then, she grabbed Nolan's hand and went downstairs.

The two siblings never had a father, and they had always wished to have one. That was why Nolan called Lawrence his godfather. Still, Lana had never displayed any sort of affection toward Lawrence. Jared was the only person Lana would do all these things to thus far.

"Mommy, I didn't get to ask you this yesterday. How did your date with Godpa? Did you have a good time?" Nolan intentionally raised his voice, making it louder when he uttered the word, "date".

It had taken him much effort to give out the information to Lawrence, and Lawrence had cooperated with him and taken action too. He really hoped that Nicole and Lawrence could be together as he wished.

"Don't spout nonsense. We just had some work-related matters to discuss." Nicole said. 'What date is he talking about? Nolan is getting more and more outrageous.'

"Yeah. Mommy will only go on a date with Daddy." Lana unhappily said.

She could not understand why her brother had to act like this when it was clear that it was better for them to have their biological father. Indeed, she had been longing to reunite with Jared.

"What do you know?" Nolan became a little frustrated as he thought to himself. 'Godfather is the best.'

"Hmph. I know everything." Lana scoffed haughtily and shifted her gaze to Jared. "Daddy, would you go on a date with Mommy too?"

Lana thought that it would only be right for Jared and Nicole to date. That was something that she wanted to see too.

"Sure." Jared agreed and he was delighted to have a thoughtful daughter like Lana.

In response, Nicole glowered at Jared. 'Sure? How could he agree with her without even giving it any thought? Is he not going to ask for my opinion at least?'

Having seen through her thoughts, Jared deliberately said, "I'm sorry, Lana. I don't think your Mommy wants to do that."

"Mommy, please go on a date with Daddy." Lana pleaded, feeling so disappointed that she looked as if she was about to cry.

Seeing this, Nicole became so furious that she gritted her teeth. 'Jared is such a despicable man for pulling this trick on me.'

 

Chapter 1997

"Mommy!" Lana's eyes turned red, indicating that she would cry at any second if Nicole said no.

The entire family would be heartbroken as soon as Lana cried, and knowing this, Nolan suddenly felt a headache.

Then, he immediately convinced Lana that, "Sis, Mommy is very busy with work. She doesn't have time for a date."

"That's why she needs a date to relax," Lana confidently said as if there was nothing wrong with what was stated. "Right, Mommy?"

A subtle smile appeared on Jared's face as his affection for Lana grew even deeper. He was not expecting that to happen at all.

'Lana must be an angel gifted to me,' he thought to himself.

Nicole did not know what to do. As far as her current relationship status with Jared was concerned, they were miles from reaching the stage in which they would consider dating each other. They were merely closer than strangers; they were not even friends with each other. However, her heart ached when she saw the disappointed and sullen look on Lana's face.

"Come on, Mommy. Just say yes." Lana grabbed Nicole's sleeve and said in a coquettish tone of voice.

"Yeah, Mommy. Please make Lana's wish come true," Nolan butted in.

This left Nicole in a state of surprise. 'Why did Nolan's attitude take such a big turn so suddenly?'

Jared shifted his gaze to Nolan too, cognizant that something was not right. 'This little brat was never on my side. I wonder why he is supporting me now.'

In reply, Jared put on a knowing look and said, "Don't worry. We'll go on a date once Mommy is done with her work."

"Yeah!" Lana became elated, her smile shining brighter than the sun.

On the other hand, Nolan was not cheering at all, signaling that he was secretly plotting something. Jared noticed it and knew that the little brat would not be on his side if he did not have an ulterior motive.

"Come on, let's go eat." Jared looked away and walked toward the restaurant while carrying Lana.

"Good morning, Grandpa, Grandma, and uncles," she greeted.

Lana's baby voice echoed across the restaurant while Nolan stood there in place, pondering to himself, 'I'll tell Godpa about this, so that he can go there too. I'm sure that Mommy will know that he is her best option if he has a chance to prove himself.'

After finishing breakfast, Nicole left Nolan and Lana at home so that Gloria could take care of them. Then, the other members of the family followed suit, leaving the Riddle residence one after another.

Jared drove Nicole to the Riddle Corporation without mentioning anything about the date again on their way there.

Instead, he handed Nicole a folder and said, "This is the info detailing a few kindergartens in San Joto. Have a look."

He had not made any decision on the spot; instead, he had selected a few of the best options as he figured that he should seek Nicole's opinion first. After all, she was the one who had spent the past five years with the kids, and thus, would understand them better than him.

Nicole's mind wandered as she looked at the folder. She could not believe that Jared had already begun planning for their children's future. What surprised her even more was that he had prepared everything, just to leave the final decision to her.

Nicole found what he did very heartwarming. Although Jared might appear to be domineering at times, he still showed her a lot of respect. Multiple times in the past, she would only need to tell him about something in brief detail, and before she knew it, he would get it done.

"Thank you," Nicole slowly said, thanking him not for just the information he had prepared, but also the respect he had shown her, which made her feel somewhat at ease.

Jared was sharp enough to pick that up. He knew exactly what she meant. However, to him, that was the way their relationship should be.

After that, he shifted the topic. "That doctor has disappeared."

"Doctor?" Nicole paused for a moment before she could realize who he was talking about.

Then, her face darkened as she asked, "Grandpa's doctor? How did it happen?"

'He acted so quickly. Has he found out that we're investigating him?' she thought.

"He's probably just afraid of getting exposed, so he ran away before anything happened. Max has sent a lot of people out in the past few days, but they haven't found any traces of him," Jared said as a malicious glint flashed in his eyes.

Chapter 1998

Max had already acted very promptly, and yet, the people he had sent ended up coming back empty- handed anyway. The doctor was nowhere to be found, and he had probably fled during midnight. In addition, he had not left any clues at his home, and no one knew how he had left or where he had gone.

After knowing what had happened, Nicole's pupils contracted slightly. "If that's the case, could he already be murdered?"

"It's possible," he replied, as they were all thinking that too.

Nicole bit her lip lightly, as though she was lost in thought. Upon noticing Nicole's silence, Jared left her be, as he knew that she needed time to calm down.

After some time, the car slowly came to a halt as they had already arrived at the headquarters of the Riddle Corporation.

Nicole got out of the car, and was about to say something when Jared beat her to it. "I'll come to pick you up after work."

She paused for a moment before agreeing, "Sure."

A satisfied look flashed across Jared's face. He watched as Nicole entered the building and left.

Nicole went to the top level of the building where the highest-ranking officers worked and that was when she spotted Sean and Steve.

They could not help but feel sorry for Nicole upon noticing the amount of documents she was holding. "You just started working. There's no need to push yourself so hard. Take it easy."

"I..." Nicole looked at the documents in her hands. "Not all of them are related to work."

To be specific, only one of them was about work, and it was the letter of intent on cooperation that Lawrence had given her. The other two were given to her by Jared; one was the information about the partners of the Riddle Corporation and the other featured the details about Nolan and Lana's future kindergarten.

"Hey guys, I have something to tell you," Nicole said with a stern expression without divulging more about the documents in her hands.

The look on Sean and Steve's faces became solemn too after hearing that.

"Let's go to your office then," Sean said.

"Sure."

Soon after, the three of them stepped foot into Nicole's office.

"About what happened to Grandpa, something went wrong with the investigation. The doctor has gone missing," Nicole briefly informed.

"What? What happened?" Sean and Steve asked, feeling a little shocked.

Nobody else was supposed to know that they were investigating their grandfather's medication, so they were not expecting anyone to be alerted by their actions.

"I don't know." Nicole shook her head.

Although she had thought of several possibilities, she did not have any evidence to back them up.

"Now that the doctor is gone, there's no way we can find out who's behind everything that has transpired," Steve said in frustration.

The doctor had no reason to harm their grandfather unless he had been bribed. After all, he was just a pawn, and discovering who the mastermind behind it all was the biggest priority.

"You're right," Sean said, agreeing that it would be very difficult for them to trace the person behind everything, as the doctor had disappeared into the night.

"Since there's nothing we can do now, let's just report the doctor to the police. As for the mastermind..." A hint of profound coldness flashed in Nicole's eyes before she continued. "The person who can benefit most from this is the most suspicious. We just have to be prepared."

Sean and Steve exchanged glances upon hearing that, knowing what to do at once.

Indeed, if something horrible had really happened to their grandfather, the person who could benefit the most would have the highest degree of suspicion. Of course, it did not mean that they were going to exclude any other individuals who could gain something from it too.

Chapter 1999

"Let's just do as Nicole said," Sean quickly decided.

There were more important things waiting for them to do, so they did not wish to waste any more effort on this matter, especially after considering the things that had happened to Nicole. Even as of now, they were yet to unravel the mystery and neutralize the threats around Nicole. As such, they had to be very cautious.

"Sure," Steve said before proceeding to remind his sister. "Nicole, the reunion banquet will be held soon. After that, you'll officially be back in the company. Don't shoulder everything on your own. You can always come to me and Sean when you have any problems."

"Okay." Nicole nodded lightly as her heart was filled with warmth. 'It feels so good to be back with my family."

"Alright, carry on with your work. We'll leave now."

"Let's have lunch together."

"Sure."

Upon hearing that Nicole would be joining them for lunch, Sean and Steve turned around and left.

Now alone in the office, Nicole sighed quietly. 'San Joto is indeed full of dangers everywhere. Fortunately, I have my family, who has given me the courage and strength to face everything.'

Her gaze fell on the documents on her desk as a hint of soft light flickered in her eyes. Then, she thought of Jared.

Her legal husband had appeared out of nowhere, shocking her and leaving her utterly perplexed, and yet, she realized that she had stopped resisting him after she had gotten to know him better. She had

even started to accept him.

She slowly opened the documents Jared had handed her. Indeed, it was something she needed very much at that time. She had to know more about the background and other information about the various enterprises and families in San Joto, especially those who had formed partnerships with the Riddle Corporation. She had to understand them better because they would still be working together in the future.

On the other side, Steve had followed Sean to his office after leaving.

"Bro, did you see what documents Nicole was holding?" Steve's gaze darkened.

"Yeah." Sean nodded, as the documents were too glaring for him to not notice.

"Lawrence is really efficient. The company has just been established, and he has already delivered the letter to Nicole," Steve said eloquently.

Steve's eyes became even darker. "How's the investigation on Lawrence going? Any new progress?"

"Nope. Like what we've discovered before, we still can't find anything wrong with him."

Although they did not have anything substantial enough to prove their assumptions, they still could not fully trust Lawrence.

"It's just strange that he possesses such a perfect record. Also, all of us had been trying to find Nicole as soon as she went missing. There's just no way we couldn't find a single trace of her if there wasn't anyone standing in our way."

They figured that if Lawrence was able to erase all of Nicole's information and give her a new identity so seamlessly, it would not be easy for them to glean anything particularly suspicious about him.

"I guess he has genuine feelings for Nicole, but his methods..." Steve scoffed.

Even though Lawrence had painted a beautiful picture, Steve was not entirely convinced. Instead, he felt that what Lawrence had done was done in order to mislead and deceive others.

"Regardless, he was the one who had rescued Nicole and taken care of her for five years. We must keep an eye on him. As long as he doesn't do anything to harm Nicole, we can leave the rest to her."

They figured that it would be inappropriate for them to get in the way of their personal relationship, and as Nicole's brothers, they should support every decision she made.

"Understood. I'll do that."

Although they were going to cease their investigation of him, it did not mean that they would let their guard down. After all, Lawrence was simply too mysterious.

As the sun set, Nicole left the office to see that Jared had already been waiting for her outside. It seemed that he had been there for a while.

The setting sun cast a golden glow on Jared, providing a warm contrast to his frosty and haughty presence.

Jared put on a gentle smile when he saw her coming out. Seeing that, Nicole was stunned, finding herself lost in his smile.

'How could this guy be so enchanting? A single smile of his is enough to make me feel so vulnerable.'

Chapter 2000

Nicole's heart was beating uncontrollably; she could even feel it thumping. Her cheeks were faintly flushed too.

"Come here," Jared said with a subtle smile when he saw her standing in place.

It was only then that Nicole came to realize that she had been staring at him the entire time without even noticing that she had stopped walking. She could not help but feel a little uneasy.

"Let's go." Jared grabbed her delicate hands and led her into the car after she had finally come to him.

The car started moving, and when Nicole noticed that they were not heading toward their home, she asked curiously, "Where are we going?"

"To a date," Jared said.

Hearing that, Nicole was shocked. "I didn't agree to go on a date with you!"

'I haven't remembered anything about us yet. It'd be so weird for us to go out on a date!' she thought to herself.

"But you promised Lana yesterday," Jared smugly said.

"Don't get me wrong. I was just trying to comfort Lana at that time. There's no need for us to actually go on a date," Nicole sulked as she rolled her eyes at Jared.

She refused to believe that Jared did not understand what she had truly meant.

"I disagree. I believe there is definitely a need." Jared became unusually serious.

In truth, he really needed a date with Nicole.

If Nicole could not regain her memories for now, they would need to start over and fall in love again. He did not mind giving her time, and he respected the situation she was in as well. However, he had to stay by her side and make sure that she would not leave him anymore. He had to keep her safe no matter what.

Nicole seemed to notice the sadness in his eyes, and she somehow felt a twinge of pain in her heart. Then, she swallowed her words and stopped with her blatant rejection of him.

'If what he said is true, he has been living in tremendous pain over the past five years. Even though I don't have any memories of us, I can imagine how heartbroken he must have felt,' she thought.

The car slowly came to a halt as they arrived at the restaurant.

It was a very new restaurant that was decorated in Nicole's favorite style, serving the cuisines she loved the most.

Upon entering the restaurant, Nicole noticed that there were not many people inside, and among those who were present, all of them looked like waiters.

Seeing that, she could not help but ask in confusion, "Isn't it dinner time now?"

'Why is there no one here during this time?' she wondered.

"We'll be their only customers for tonight."

After all, this was their first time going on a real date following their reunion. Jared did not wish for anybody else to disturb them. He just wanted to look at her, spend some time with her, and savor this moment that he had been yearning for.

However, Nicole did not know how to feel about Jared reserving the entire place for her. 'This is a little too formal, isn't it?'

They sat down at the only table with utensils arranged, and the waiter began serving the dishes. Soon after, the table was filled with various delicacies.

Nicole felt a surge of warmth in her heart when she saw that everything which had been served was her favorite food. She knew that Jared truly loved and cared for her.

As the music played in the background of the meticulously decorated dining environment, Nicole strangely felt blessed, even though it was merely a dinner.

"Mr. Johnston." Nicole uttered, deciding to address Jared that way after thinking about it for the entire day.

"Call me Jared," he said, feeling a little upset.

He just could not get used to Nicole calling him from such a distance.

Nicole then scrambled to find another way to address him after noticing how persistent he was. "Jared Johnston."