9. The Fraud

Nadine returns to the office to meet Anna.

"You're really weird today. Suddenly, you want to cancel the contract. And make a fuss with Mr. Miller."

Nadine only smiled faintly at Anna's nagging.

"You know Mr. Miller's in a bad state right now? His father had just died two days ago. And he has to hand over his resort to this company."

Anna immediately fell silent because she realized that she had said too much. But Nadine continued Anna's words.

"Plus, his aunt was seriously injured and still in hospital, had to separate from him lover and was forced to marry an evil woman like me. That's about Adrian's misfortune, right?"

Anna panicked when she heard Nadine's words. But Nadine didn't seem to mind at all and instead laughed a little at Anna.

"That's why I want to cancel our wedding, Ann...."

Anna was surprised by Nadine's statement. She, who had been making various ways to get Adrian, suddenly canceled their marriage.

"You're really weird. Today, you did things you wouldn't normally do. Dare against your father. Say hello to any employee you meet at the office. Say thank you to me and even ask for my help. And most spectacularly, you cancel your wedding. Are you sure you're Nadine Merrick?"

Nadine was surprised by Anna's statement.

"You also dare to criticize me now, Ann."

Anna was surprised and immediately corrected her words.

"You're the weird one. I'm just making sure you're in good health."

Nadine is still studying the documents given by Anna.

"Ehmm, so what kind of person should I be Ann?"

Anna seemed hesitant to answer Nadine's question.

"Come on... I won't be mad. I'm determined to be a good girl from today on."

Nadine's broad smile made Anna even more hesitant to answer.

"Hmm.... It seems that you are indeed afraid of me."

Anna immediately denied it.

"Not like that, Miss Nadine. It's just that..."

Nadine put down her pen and stared at Anna, waiting for Anna to answer her question.

"You are too stiff, rarely smile even to greet employees. You always do your own work. You will have various ways to get whatever you want. Ehmm, even though it's the wrong way."

Nadine listened carefully to Anna's statement. On the other hand, Anna, who felt that Nadine was looking at her sharply, looked a little panicked.

"Ooh.... Calm down, I'm not mad. I was just thinking. How boring I am."

Nadine again checked the documents that Anna gave her.

"So you changed out of boredom?"

This time Nadine laughed at Anna's question. Anna, who saw Nadine laughing out loud, looked surprised.

"Ha ha ha.... Maybe I'm tired of playing the bad girl. So I want to relax a bit and be a supporting role maybe."

Anna still looks confused by Nadine's words. Seeing that, Nadine again explained her words.

"The point is... I want to make amends for my past mistakes. And I want to enjoy my life without ruining others' lives."

Anna chuckled after hearing a strange reason from Nadine.

"Tsk... It still feels weird that you've suddenly changed."

Nadine just smiled faintly and commented again.

"Believe me.. It took me a long time to realize that my life is too wasteful if I only use it to pursue something that doesn't belong to me."

Nadine closed the document in front of her and gave it to Anna. Anna just shook her head and immediately left the room after getting the signature on the document.

Nadine rushed to finish her work. She wanted to go home immediately and rework her plans to restore the Millers' resort. But her plan didn't seem to be working when Anna went back into her room.

"Miss Nadine. Your father wants to talk to you."

Nadine took a deep breath and immediately got up from her chair to meet her father. Before entering her father's office, she took a deep breath.

"Looks like you went back to your original plan to marry Adrian."

A smirk appeared on her father's face.

"You know what mess you made in order to marry that man?"

Even without her father telling her, she already knew. After their first meeting, Nadine, who still wants to avenge her defeat in her project, begins to find out who Adrian is.

She hired someone to follow Adrian and report his activities to Nadine. Over time, the cold Nadine seemed to be fascinated by Adrian's friendly attitude towards everyone. Nadine, who had been tough and stiff all this time, began to admire Adrian, who was the opposite of her.

Maybe the expression of curiosity that can kill you is very suitable for Nadine's current condition. Her curiosity grew into love and, like someone who is obsessed with something, she wanted to have Adrian all to herself. Even though she knew at that time, Adrian already had Olivia.

She openly confessed her feelings to Adrian at that time and ended up being politely rejected by Adrian. Not giving up, she keeps trying to seduce Adrian to be her boyfriend, which makes Adrian annoyed with Nadine.

She looked for another way to get it, even if it had to be the wrong way. She wanted to make Adrian indebted to her so that she would marry her.

"Nadine?"

Her father's voice interrupted her thought.

"You created a fake partnership project with them. And caused a huge loss to them. Their property will even be confiscated by the bank."

Nadine smirked at her father's contradictory words. Her father must have been happy because of their mess. He could build a new hotel in that strategic place if Adrian couldn't fulfill their agreement.

"But you seem happy with the matter. You are even willing to persuade Mr. Miller to sell his resort to you."

His father took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his eyebrow. Nadine, who wants to know what made Adrian's father willing to sell the hotel, provokes his father to confess his action.

"Nadine... As good as the location of the hotel is, if he is still having problems with the bank and the tax authorities, I will think again about buying it. It's wasting my time if I have to take care of it."

Nadine still doesn't believe her father's words.

"How could Mr. Miller so easily give up his assets to you? Didn't he always protect his family-owned hotel no matter what?"

Nadine still remembers when she convinced Adrian's father to join her hotel. He politely refused because no matter what happened he wanted to keep the hotel, owned by his family.

"I also don't know for sure what the reason is. The certainty is that when I cross-checked their financial and tax statements, there were many strange things. Just so you know, Nadine, I refused the purchase first. But..."

Nadine waited for her father to speak.

"When Miller said he would guarantee his son would marry you, I agreed. In the end, I put the five-year terms of marriage to ensure that his son doesn't run away after marrying you."

Nadine was surprised to hear her father's explanation.

"You know what that mean?"