Chapter 05

**Group Royal.**

**Office of the President.**

A whole day had passed, but Nicholas hadn't received any news about Clarice. It was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth without a trace. Outside, Luna gently opened the door to the President's Office and entered.

Nicholas looked up and gazed at Luna, who was approaching him.

"Did you find her?" His voice was somewhat hoarse, but Luna simply shook her head.

"President, we've searched for her and even asked her father, but no one knows where she is!"

"Could she have gone to find her mother?" Nicholas asked, thinking of Julia.

"I find that highly unlikely. The Gatti family humiliated her too much last time, and with Clarice's personality, she would never seek out her mother," Luna said with conviction.

Nicholas's face gradually darkened, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness.

"Go and find her, no matter what method you use, you must find her for me, do you hear me?"

"President, actually..." Luna's expression seemed a bit hesitant.

"If you have something to say, say it." Nicholas was agitated and nervous, but when he saw her stammering, he became even unhappier, and his tone grew more impatient.

"It's all right, don't worry. I'll find a good private investigator to bring back Miss Savas."

"And Luna, you have only 24 hours. If you can't locate her within this time, you don't need to come to work tomorrow, okay?" Nicholas issued his final ultimatum to her and gestured for her to leave.

Luna didn't dare to linger any longer and quickly left to find a reputable private investigator. Otherwise, she would be a newly unemployed person tomorrow after years of serving Nicholas.

Alice didn't have any culinary skills, but at least she knew how to make a decent instant noodle dish. Since graduating from university and moving out on her own to prove to her parents that she could support herself, in the first few months, with a meager salary, she subsisted on instant noodles, and to satisfy her own appetite, she put all sorts of ingredients in her instant noodles. In the end, she finally learned how to cook instant noodles.

At this moment, in their small apartment, the two of them were sitting across from each other at the dining table. Each of them had a large bowl of instant noodles with various vegetables, eggs, and sausages.

"How about that? Did you like it? Didn't find it disgusting at all?" Alice saw that Clarice had no adverse reactions and asked with a victorious smile.

Even Clarice herself found it strange. She didn't eat instant noodles before, so she couldn't stand the taste of the seasoning packet. However, she didn't know why, but when she looked at the bowl of instant noodles, which had a unique fragrance, she couldn't help but drool. She really wanted to eat it.

"It's not disgusting; it actually looks really delicious." As she spoke, she tasted it and nodded. "The taste is very good."

"Tell me, are you suffering? It seems like you've come to like instant noodles. The child in your belly must have a heavy taste." Seeing this, Alice laughed bitterly and shook her head, and Clarice laughed. She didn't say a word and concentrated on eating the noodles.

Recently, due to Nicholas and her surprise pregnancy, she hadn't had a proper meal. Now that she had finally found something she could eat, she naturally had to eat more. Not long after, she finished eating, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and burped with satisfaction.

"So, did you eat well? Are you full?" Alice asked.

"I'm full. I'll eat instant noodles in the future, so I won't have to worry about going hungry anymore."

"If you want to lose your beauty, eat instant noodles. I only made them today because of special circumstances. In the future, you should obediently eat something good to regain your figure." Upon hearing this, Alice rolled her eyes at her.

When she first found out she was pregnant, she was pleasantly surprised and often fantasized whether the baby in her stomach was a boy or a girl and if the baby would look like Nicholas or her after it was born. But now, she dared not think about anything.

"Alice, can I keep this child here?" She touched her belly and asked uncertainly. Although she was asking Alice, it was more like asking herself.

"Clarice, what's the meaning of that? You don't want the baby?" Hearing this, Alice's expression changed, and she immediately looked at her sternly.

Clarice's eyes blinked slightly, and they instantly turned red.

"Alice, I grew up in a bad family, without a father and without my mother. I don't want my child, or daughter, to experience that. I don't want them to suffer!"

"But the child is innocent. This is a little life. Do you really want to do this?" Alice asked somewhat impatiently.

"I don't know, Alice. I really don't know what to do. His father doesn't want him, and I can't give him a complete family. This kind of unhappy life, I've experienced enough of it. Can I let my child experience it again?" Clarice said and cried. Originally, she thought the baby in her belly was the result of her love for Nicholas, but apparently, she was wrong. Perhaps from the beginning to the end, Nicholas never thought of taking her as his wife, and Alice understood the pain in her heart. For a while, she didn't know how to persuade Clarice, so she could only hug her, comfort her, and let her cry freely.

The next morning, while Clarice was still sleeping, she suddenly heard a scream coming from the living room. She woke up from her sleep, rubbed her eyes, and walked out of her room to see Alice brushing her teeth while looking at the phone with a passionate look.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Seeing Clarice, Alice immediately wiped her mouth, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Clarice, did I wake you up?"

"Yes, but it's okay. I have light sleep anyway. What happened?" Clarice asked, walking over to her, and looked at the phone in her hands.

Alice quickly handed her phone to her, and Clarice saw the headlines on gossip websites announcing the marriage of two families, the Murray and Armani families, Nicholas and Mary. The corresponding picture was precisely a picture of Nicholas and Mary together, a perfect match between a man and a woman.