Chapter 363 Oliver vs. Nicole: Durian

Chapter 363 Oliver vs. Nicole: Durian
Rosalind parked her car next to the yard. 
As soon as she got out, she caught a whiff of a foul odor wafting from the entrance.
Nicole got out of the car, covering her nose. 
Rosalind cursed. “Who the hell did this?”
Nicole tugged Rosalind’s arm and led her around the mess. 
Then she unlocked the gate and walked inside.
She called for someone to clean it up.
The area by the gate was quickly cleaned up, but the stench lingered in the air.
Standing in the yard, Rosalind said, "Dwayne's a victim. It was hard enough for him to help so many people escape. Who’d want to do something like that?”
Nicole was expressionless.
All she could think about was putting this whole thing behind her as quickly as possible. 
She stood in the yard and looked around.
In the front yard, a large banyan tree had a swing hanging from it. Next to the tree was a set of old bamboo furniture. At the other end of the yard, various flowers and plants were growing.
The house was an old, three-story building with a small backyard behind it.
She could almost picture Margot and her husband sitting on those bamboo chairs, drinking coffee and admiring the flowers.
"What are you thinking about?" Rosalind nudged her. "Why don't you just sell this place? Oliver can certainly support you. Why put yourself through all this trouble?”
Nicole snapped back to reality, then remembered when Margot handed her the keys; she'd simply said, “Just do your best.”
Margot’s husband had passed away last year. They had one child who worked in drug enforcement.
After his last mission, he never returned—no one knew if he was alive or dead.
Margot hated everything about drugs.
The moment she heard Dwayne and Nicole’s names that day, she lost control and grabbed an egg to throw at them.
Later, however, public opinion online shifted in Dwayne’s favor. 
Margot came back to find Nicole.

“Nicole?” 
Nicole turned her head and smiled. "What others think is their business. We can’t let anyone stop us from doing what we truly want to do.”
Rosalind was taken aback, then said, "Nicole, you've really grown up."
Nicole was momentarily speechless.
“Philip, what are you doing here?” 
Philip arrived just as Rosalind and Nicole were walking around upstairs.
He glanced at the worker cleaning by the door. “Since I didn’t have anything else to do, I figured I’d stop by.”
In truth, he was worried—afraid that what happened last time might happen again.
Rosalind nodded.
Finding Philip’s gaze lingered far more often on Nicole than on her, Rosalind pursed her lips. 
She’d always known about Philip’s feelings for Nicole, but she hadn't dared to bring them up.
After walking around for a while, Nicole wanted to go home.
Philip stood by the roadside and watched Rosalind’s car drive away.
“Have a happy honeymoon,” Rosalind called out from the car.
Nicole smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "What are you thinking? I’m just accompanying him on a business trip. It’s not like we’re on a honeymoon.”
Rosalind fished a small bottle of perfume out of the glove compartment and handed it to Nicole. "This is for you."
Nicole took it. "Thanks."
She got out of the car and watched Rosalind drive away. 
She hummed a tune as she walked back inside.
Oliver was on the phone when he heard her, and he turned his head to look at her.
Nicole ran over with a smile, threw her arms around him, and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Afraid she might fall, Oliver supported her with one hand.
"Beast, I missed you." She planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
Oliver tilted his head to look at her. "Can't you call me something else?"
"No way. It’s your own fault for being so bossy.” She hooked her arms around his neck and gazed at his face.
Her gaze fell on his phone, which was still connected.
She immediately slid down, took a couple of steps back, and pressed her lips together. 
Oliver chuckled. “Scared already?”
He picked up the phone and said, "Send me the finalized proposal."
Then he hung up.
“Were you on the phone?”
“Yeah, just taking care of some work.”
"Why didn't you give me a heads-up?"
"I did," he said with a smile.
He walked into the kitchen and brought out a plate of durian from the fridge.
"I thought you'd be back later, so I put it in the freezer a little while ago. It'll taste better if it freezes a bit longer." He sat down.
Nicole felt a bit smug. "So you're actually starting to get to know me."
She sat down next to him, picked up a spoon, and took a bite.
Oliver paused. 
"You eat first. I'll go upstairs and pack a few things." 
As soon as he stood up, she held him back. “What’s the rush? We have the whole day, and you’ve been packing all day.”
She scooped up a spoonful of durian and held it to his lips. “Eat with me.”
Oliver looked at the durian on the spoon, his brow twitching slightly. "I saved this for you. You eat it."
“No, I want you to eat it with me.” Her tone softened. 
"All right."
She smiled.
He looked down, took a small bite, and swallowed slowly.
Only then did she notice that he didn’t seem to like it very much. “Don’t you like it?”
"It's okay."
"Can't stand the smell?"
“I’m going upstairs first,” Oliver said, changing the subject.
"Okay."
He went upstairs, and she quickly finished the durian on her plate before turning on the exhaust fan.
The main bedroom door was ajar — he was inside.
She went to the guest bedroom and brushed her teeth several times. 
When she was done, she exhaled into her palm and sniffed it.
After brushing her teeth a few more times, she plopped down on the bed in the guest bedroom and sent Liam a message on her phone.
Just as she finished, Oliver pushed the door open and walked in.
"Sleeping over here tonight?" he smirked.
"No rush. We'll talk about it tonight," he said. "We're going over to my brother's for dinner in a bit."
"Okay." She nodded and added, "I didn't mean it that way."
He smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "It's been two days. I can tell you’ve been wanting it, too. No need to be embarrassed.”