Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Under Xanthe's arrangement, Nicholas successfully moved in. Right after dinner, Eugenie was urged to help tidy up his room.

Whether Xanthe did it intentionally or not, his room was arranged directly across from hers—despite the house having so many other rooms available.

The elderly lived on the first floor, so with Xanthe's arrangement, the second floor essentially housed only the two of them. Eugenie put on a show of organizing the bedsheets, but the moment Xanthe went downstairs to busy herself with other matters, she straight-up abandoned her task.

"You're being so disobedient. I might have to tattle on you to your grandmother." Nicholas deliberately waved the cleaning cloth in front of her. Eugenie grabbed a nearby pillow and hurled it at him.

"What do you mean I'm not helping? Tell me—did I or did I not put the pillowcase on for you? Didn't I help you make the bed? Didn't I actually work?"

The second Xanthe left, Eugenie went boneless, flopping onto the bed to watch him work, her eyes fixed on him with exceptional focus.

This righteously indignant tone was rather unusual. Seeing that everything was nearly organized, Nicholas washed the cloth and came back, mimicking her posture by lying down beside her. He reached out tentatively, wedging his fingers between hers before interlocking them.

"Who said you could hold my hand?" Eugenie tried to pull away, but couldn't match his strength. In the end, she failed.

Sensing her movement, Nicholas secretly applied more force, his tone suddenly softening. "Let me hold it for a bit to recharge. These past few days without you has been really exhausting."

Seeing his drooping eyes, Eugenie felt a pang of sympathy and let him be. "When you first arrived, I asked you how you got here, but you didn't answer. Can you tell me now?"

Nicholas nuzzled forward like a puppy, shifting to a more comfortable position before slowly telling her the truth. "My second uncle has always seen our family as a thorn in his side. He thinks my dad stole his position as company heir, so he's joined forces with other shareholders to scheme against me, trying to pull me down from my CEO position."

She'd heard before that his family's internal power struggles were fierce. Now it seemed the rumors weren't all false.

"And then?" The matter couldn't be that simple. Eugenie continued questioning him.

Nicholas answered, "A few days before you came back, he'd already started making moves. When you saw how busy I was, that's what I was dealing with. I intentionally gave myself a vacation, so I pretended to fall for it and went along with Second Uncle's wishes, handing over the CEO position."

For the sake of a vacation—what kind of reason was that? His excuse was truly unexpected. It took Eugenie a moment to process it.

Her words carried a hint of incomprehension. "You worked so hard to secure your CEO position, and now you're just handing it over like that. Isn't that a bit too reckless?"

Nicholas didn't think so. He'd considered this question on the way here, but when Eugenie appeared before him, he suddenly felt it was all worth it. "I'm giving myself a vacation so I'll have time to come find you. You don't even know—these past few days without you, I had zero motivation dealing with all that stuff. Plus, don't worry, I'm only doing this to lull the enemy into complacency. I never intended to actually give up the CEO position."

Nicholas pressed her hand against his heart. His usually slicked-back hair was now down, and somehow the scene gave off the feeling of a pitiful puppy.

Knowing he had his own plan, Eugenie stopped worrying about him. Since she couldn't pull her hand back, she raised one finger and poked his chest. "As long as you know what you're doing. How many days are you planning to stay?"

He thought she was trying to kick him out and immediately looked displeased. "Why are you asking that? I just got here and you already want to drive me away?"

"That's not what I meant." Seeing his mood shift, Eugenie instinctively explained. Only after hearing her response did his expression improve.

Having figured out why he had time to come over, she grew somewhat languid. Lying on the comfortable bed for so long had cultivated a bit of drowsiness.

"How did you get here?" Eugenie let out a lazy yawn, asking casually.

"I drove. I checked the distance—driving is more convenient." After Nicholas answered, noticing the sleepiness in her eyes, he actively shifted closer to her side. Their shoulders were now touching.

Eugenie didn't notice, unaware of his little maneuver. Her mind was completely occupied with the fact that he'd driven here. A news story from her past life suddenly crashed into her thoughts.

In her previous life, Nicholas had died in a car accident. She'd thought she couldn't remember the exact timing of the accident, but those numbers appeared in her mind with precise clarity.

The news had come out several hours after the accident. The date was November 10th, and the year was this very year.

The gradually clarifying memories in her mind dispersed the drowsiness that had been gathering. Something occurred to her, and she abruptly sat up. Before Nicholas could react, she pulled her hand free and left the room.

"Genie, what's wrong?" Nicholas's voice sounded behind her.

She returned to her own room and shut the door, pulling out her phone to check the calendar. The car accident from her previous life was only a few days away.

So was Nicholas's car accident in the past life related to his second uncle? If she followed the current sequence of events, the most pressing matter facing him right now was his second uncle conspiring with others to set a trap for him.

In her previous life, she had only glanced at the news briefly, knowing only that he died in a car accident. She hadn't paid attention to who was behind it. After that news story, there seemed to be no other related reports—the truth appeared to be of no interest to anyone.

On this critical date, if she could just ensure he safely passed through that day, would he avoid repeating his past life's fate?

In this life, Eugenie decided to help him dodge this crisis. She couldn't let this happen again. When she'd asked for his help before, she'd secretly sworn an oath—in return, she would preserve his life and not let the villains behind the scenes succeed.

Just as she was lost in thought, someone knocked on the door behind her. Nicholas's voice came from outside.

"Eugenie, what's wrong? Did something happen? Don't scare me!"

Regarding her rebirth, Eugenie didn't know how to explain it. Plus, she had no evidence proving that a car accident would definitely occur that day.

Since there were still things she needed to confirm, she didn't plan to alarm him right now.

Eugenie adjusted her emotions, making sure he wouldn't detect anything unusual, then went forward to open the door. Seeing nothing abnormal in her expression, Nicholas felt slightly reassured.

"What was that about just now when you suddenly pulled away from me? Did I hold you too tight?" Nicholas thought he hadn't gauged his strength properly and lowered his head, wanting to check.

She stepped forward, reaching her arms around his waist and offering him a warm hug.

"You didn't hurt me. I just suddenly remembered something and was anxious to confirm it, so I reacted too strongly. Did I scare you?"

Seeing her voluntarily draw close, Nicholas suppressed his doubts and actively returned the embrace. "I was scared, but I'm glad you're okay."

Eugenie nuzzled against his chest, her mind occupied with other matters.