The sun was setting by the time Nicole slipped away from the building.
The fading sunlight warmed her skin, bringing a brief sense of relief.
Every trace of her existence at the club had been deleted.
Even with all his resources, Ayden would still need time to track her down.
Nicole's mind drifted toward home, but the thought came to a halt when she suddenly realized something. Her custom-built motorcycle—her pride and joy—was still in the boxing club's garage.
A quiet curse slipped past her lips.
She had poured months into modifying that bike.
Frustration sent her pacing in circles, fingers tangling in her hair as she tried to make a decision.
There was no way she could return to the club.
But starting over with a new bike?
Nicole retrieved her phone to check her balance.
Three thousand fifty-eight dollars glared back at her.
She could not even buy a single high-end tire with that.
After several moments of silent fuming, Nicole gave in and called a ride home. A shower and some rest would have to come first; she would come up with a plan about her bike later.
One way or another, she would get it back.
By the time the taxi bumped to a stop in Nicole's worn-down neighborhood, the sky had turned completely dark.
She had picked this corner of town for a reason: the rent was cheap, and nobody cared enough to install cameras, perfect for her to stay off her mother's radar after their split.
As she stepped onto the cracked sidewalk and made her way toward the farthest building in the area, the broken streetlights left everything drowned in shadow.
Yet, the deeper she walked, the more she felt that something was amiss.
At the end of the road, a line of sleek luxury sedans waited, headlights slicing through the dark and bouncing off battered brick.
Nicole recognized a familiar license plate, and her expression tightened.
Before she could take another step, the driver's door swung open, and a pair of gleaming dress shoes appeared.
Nicole paused, and she furrowed her brows when she saw the man emerging from the car.
It had been ten years.
Her father still wore that air of quiet sophistication, unchanged by time.
A decade ago, after a DNA test had exposed Nicole as not Gloria Hewitt's child, Gloria had thrown her out without mercy. Liam Hewitt, Nicole's father, away on a business trip, had come home too late. By then, Nina Dixon, Nicole's biological mother, had already took Nicole away, disappearing for years.
Nicole was not Gloria's child, but she was indeed Liam's daughter.
She was the illegitimate daughter of Liam and Nina.
Discovering she had raised her husband's illegitimate daughter for a decade had pushed Gloria into a violent rage. She nearly beat Nicole to death before kicking her out.
As a child, Nicole could not make sense of why the woman who had treasured her so much suddenly became like that.
She had only thought that it was because of the fact that she was Liam's illegitimate daughter.
Only with time did she realize that Gloria hated her not only because she was Liam's illegitimate daughter but also because she was the child of the woman whom Gloria despised the most.
No wonder Gloria told her that she never wanted to see her again.
"Nicole..."
Liam's voice carried down the street, thick with hope and regret. "I've finally found you."
The words floated over the space between them, heavy with sorrow.
"If your agent hadn't told me where you live, I don't know how much longer it would take for me to find you," Liam continued, letting out a sigh as he approached Nicole.
Nicole did not move. Her face was expressionless when she heard Liam's words.
When Liam tried to ruffle her hair, she moved just out of reach.
His hand dropped to his side, his gaze filling with resignation.
"Nicole, you still won't forgive me?"
His gaze was full of pity.
Nicole clenched her jaw and scoffed, meeting his look with cold defiance.
