Kimberly stared vacantly out of the window of the room she upied. It was the seventh day since she had undergone cancer surgery. Now, she was in Indonesia, at the Rayder family residence.
Despite having to undergo chemotherapy several more times, she had to remain positive. Kimberly was determined to recover quickly so that she could assist Arthur in managing thepany as soon as possible. She didn’t want to disappoint his expectations and trust this time.
“Kimmy, can we start learning now?”
Kimberly immediately turned toward the open bedroom door. Mario was standing there, shing a smile.
Kimberly nodded.
“I’ve been ready for a while. So, where are we going to study?” she asked.
“In Opa’s office. There, we’ll have more space.”
Then Kimberly followed Mario to Arthur’s office on the first floor. Today, he nned to teach Kimberly about managing thepany. This was done so that she could take Arthur’s ce as soon as possible.
“You can sit down first; I’ll fetch some documents for you to study,” Mario instructed once they had arrived in the office.
Mario handed Kimberly quite a few documents to study, ranging from generalpany profiles to shareholder lists, tender documents, and files rted to thepany’s internal issues.
“I’ll exin each one to you.”
Teaching Kimberly about business was not a difficult task. She was quitepetent. She had studied business abroad and graduated with top honors. Moreover, her experience as Nichs’s personal secretary had given her some insight into the intricacies of the business world.
While working at Alpha Beta, Kimberly had often observed how Nichs maintained good rtionships with clients, how to win them over, and even how to secure major contracts that benefited thepany. It seemed she should be thankful to him now.
Mario felt the same way. He didn’t have trouble exining all the material to Kimberly. She easily understood what Mario had been exining so far.
“I don’t think I need to go into too much detail with you, Kimmy. You already have a strong foundation in business,” Mario praised.
Kimberly smiled in response.
“Yes, there were definitely benefits to working at argepany like Alpha Beta. I learned a lot there.”
Mario nodded in agreement.
“I know that. Your boss has unquestionable credibility and business acumen. I know Nichs is a genius. Almost all major contracts are won by Alpha Beta.”
Kimberly continued to smile.
“You’re absolutely right; when ites to business, Nichs is beyond doubt. He even dedicated half of his life to advancing thepany. I wonder when I can be a leader like him.”
There was silence for a moment. Mario chose to busy himself with organizing the documents that Kimberly had finished reading. Meanwhile, the woman in front of him appeared lost in thought. Mario was aware of this.
“Kimmy, may I ask you something?” Mario spoke up as he calmly returned to his seat.
Kimberly raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
“Please, I’ll answer as best I can.”
“Do you still love Nichs?” The question slipped out of Mario’s mouth unintentionally. There was no ulterior motive; he simply wanted to know how she felt now.
Kimberly fell silent. It wasn’t that she couldn’t answer; she was just uncertain about her feelings at the moment.
“If my question bothers you, Kimmy, it’s better to forget it,” Mario said.
Kimberly took a deep breath and finally answered.
“If you ask whether I love him or not, of course, I still love him,” Kimberly replied without hesitation.
Mario got up and moved to sit beside Kimberly.
“If you still love Nichs like that, you should fight for your love, Kimmy.”
Kimberly looked at Mario with doubt.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.
“Why are you asking me to fight for Nichs? Whether you like it or not, you’ll be my fiancé soon. You should separate us like what Opa did to prevent us from being together.”
Upon hearing Kimberly’s question, Mario chuckled softly.
“You’re funny,” he said.
“How so?” Kimberly asked, puzzled.
“I know about Opa’s insistence on matchmaking us. But I still have a heart. I want you to be genuinely happy with your own choice,” Mario said sincerely, making Kimberly feel ufortable. After all, he had always done everything to make her happy.
“Even though I love Nichs, it doesn’t necessarily mean we can be together,” Kimberly suddenly said.
“What do you mean?” Now Mario was puzzled.
Kimberly took a deep breath. Discussing the issue of Nichs only made her chest feel tight.
“I doubt his feelings for me. I feel like he doesn’t truly love me,” Kimberly’s gaze turned mncholic, indicating that there was pain there.
“How do you know that? Don’t make assumptions about matters of the heart, Kimmy,” Mario advised.
Kimberly shook her head.
“If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t doubt me to the point of having someone spy on me. And let’s not forget about Opa. Do you think he would just ept my rtionship with Nichs?”
Mario reached for both of Kimberly’s wrists and held them tightly.
“Who knows, maybe Nichs hase to his senses now. The fact that he looked so frustrated at the airport, as if he was afraid of losing you. It was the same at the hospital. He even apologized to Opa repeatedly.”
Kimberly gave a bitterugh.
“Besides, Nichs doesn’t know about my health condition after the surgery. If I forget, it will be difficult for me to have children in the future. Nichs is the only son of a British conglomerate. I doubt he and his family will still choose me when they find out I can’t give him children.”
“Oh God, Kimberly,” Mario eximed with a slight shout. Then he pulled Kimberly’s body closer to hug her. “I don’t like to see you so hopeless like this. Even if that man rejects you for reasons of having children, I won’t forgive him. Moreover, I’ve reminded you many times that I’m ready to marry you anytime.”
Kimberly remained silent without responding. Instead, she tightened her embrace around Mario and cried. Unbeknownst to them, outside the room, Arthur had been silently watching them both.
***
“Are you ready?” Mario asked Kimberly, who still appeared busy at the vanity table.
“Very ready. I’ll be down for breakfast in a moment. After that, we’ll leave.” Mario nodded and closed the door to Kimberly’s room.
Today, Mario wanted to take Kimberly with him to an important meeting with a major investor. There would be many business associates there, and he wanted Kimberly to present theirpany in front of clients and rivals from otherpanies.
“Are you sure Kimberly can do it? The bid amount today is no joke, nearly reaching 25 trillion,” Arthur asked Mario once they were seated in the dining room.
Mario nodded confidently.
“Of course. Kimberly has great potential. That’s why I’m very confident we can win this bid.”
Arthur chose to sip his green tea first before continuing to speak.
“Other bigpanies will be present there. I’m just worried that-”
“Opa…” Mario held Arthur’s hand. “Please, don’t doubt Kimberly’s abilities. Your granddaughter can do it.” Mario continued to reassure, trying to dispel all the doubt on Arthur’s face.
Arthur took a deep breath.
“I’m just afraid, that’s all.”
Mario smiled.
“Leave everything to me. I will apany Kimberly and never leave her side.”
“I’ve always trusted you. That’s why I chose you to be Kimberly’s husband.”
Mario just smiled and went back to his breakfast. Not long after, Kimberly joined them, sitting down to have breakfast.
“Opa, I’m leaving this morning. Please pray for your beloved granddaughter’s sess.” Kimberly got up from her seat and briefly hugged Arthur before leaving for good.
Arthur smiled.
“Of course, I always pray for your sess.”
After saying their goodbyes, Mario and Kimberly headed to the capital building in the city center. As Mario mentioned earlier, they were having an important meeting with an American investor today. They nned to invest 25 trillion rupiahs in building a satellite city at the end of Java Ind.
It wasn’t just Kimberly’spany participating; this meeting involved many construction and property developmentpanies. They would allpete against each other to win this major tender.
“You can sit over there.” Mario guided Kimberly to sit in one of the avable chairs in the meeting room. Representatives from variouspanies were already present, shaking hands with each other. Then, the arrival of a man caught Kimberly’s attention. Someone she had missed for a long time. Now, he was standing right in front of her.
The man smiled and extended his hand toward Kimberly.
“How are you, Kimmy? It’s been a long time.”
Kimberly epted the handshake.
“Nick…”