WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

Kimberly quietly enjoyed her dinner. Her mind wandered, and she had too much on her mind. It was the second day since Nicholas had left for abroad, yet he hadn’t taken the initiative to contact her. Was Nicholas angry with her? It wasn’t funny that she had to reach out to him first.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Am I the one being victimized here? I’m the one who’s disappointed. Why am I the one being ignored? Ugh! So frustrating,” Kimberly rolled her eyes, scrutinizing herself in an attempt to find any flaws within.

“Am I not pretty enough that Nicholas truly sees me as not his type?” Kimberly sighed deeply, holding her cheeks. “Gosh, how perfect do I have to be for Nicholas to accept me?” She winced.

But before she could finish her thoughts on Nicholas, another issue crossed her mind. Now, she was thinking about the diagnosis the doctor had given her yesterday. To recover, she needed a lot of money for surgery, and at the moment, she had only two options: returning home and seeking help from Grandpa Arthur or telling everything to Nicholas. Because those were the only two people who could help her.

She had to make a decision quickly; the doctor had already warned her to take action immediately. Of course, to prevent the cancer cells from spreading to vital organs.

Kimberly took a deep breath, her eyes closing. She tried to push away the growing fear. All the worst-case scenarios were spinning in her head.

“I have to have the surgery. Yes, I need to have it soon,” Kimberly convinced herself, strengthening her resolve. But it didn’t last long; the doctor’s words about all the risks and side effects from yesterday echoed in her mind.

“I have the risk of not having children. And which man would want a woman who can’t give birth? If Nicholas finds out, he might distance himself even further.”

Kimberly had even lost her appetite. She struggled to swallow the food she had just put in her mouth. When she tried to chew, the doorbell rang loudly. She immediately got up to open the door.

“Good evening, ma’am. I’m from the tower’s reception, here to deliver a flower arrangement from Amanda Florist.”

“Flower delivery?” Kimberly asked, puzzled. “From whom?” she continued, curious.

The receptionist tried to double-check, turning the flower bucket she held. But it seemed she couldn’t find what she was looking for. “There’s no sender’s name, only a greeting card.”

Kimberly furrowed her brow, but her hand still reached out to accept the flowers from the woman in front of her. With a polite smile, Kimberly thanked her, “Thank you very much.”

The receptionist then bid her farewell and left, leaving Kimberly still feeling confused and curious. She went inside, then checked the greeting card that was still attached to the ribbon on the flowers she held.

“You are My Sunshine.”

Kimberly flipped the greeting card back and forth, but only those words were printed on it. There was no sender’s name or any other words to clarify its meaning.

Kimberly shrugged, not bothering too much. Shortly after, her phone rang. She picked up the flat object lying on the dining table, feeling a bit happy when she saw Nicholas’s name on the screen. She answered promptly.

“Hello…”

Kimberly opened the conversation. However, instead of a response, there was only silence and the sound of a deep sigh on the other end. She waited for quite a while until her patience began to wane.

“Nick, are you mute? If there’s nothing to talk about, I’ll end the call,” Kimberly said seriously. She moved the phone away from her ear, intending to press the reject button and disconnect the call from Nicholas.

“Wait!” he finally spoke. “Why are you so emotional?”

“Me? Emotional, you say?” Kimberly sighed in frustration. “You should know why I’m acting like this. Besides, if there’s nothing important, we might as well end this call.” Kimberly actually missed the sound of the man on the other side, but her pride was in control right now. Especially since he hadn’t apologized at all after what happened a few days ago. Hadn’t Nicholas been taught how to apologize to a woman?

“Why rush to end the call? I still miss you. That’s why I chose to remain silent, enjoying your voice from a distance.”

“The red blush of embarrassment was clearly etched on Kimberly’s face. Nicholas’s words had the clear power to awaken strange desires within her. For a moment, she felt herself getting carried away until her awareness returned, not long after.

“Don’t get carried away, Kimberly.

You have to play hard to get.

Besides, you know yourself,

Nicholas is a fickle man.”

Kimberly took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from falling for Nicholas’s charms. “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in your sweet words, Nick. Don’t beat around the bush too much.”

Nicholas chuckled on the phone. “I’m not trying to sweet-talk you, Kimberly. I’m serious. Maybe you’re still angry with me. Okay, I apologize, sincerely apologize for all my actions that hurt your feelings. Will you forgive me?” the man genuinely pleaded.

“Hmmm…” Kimberly didn’t answer, choosing to clear her throat loudly. In reality, she had forgiven him since yesterday. Again, she was just too proud to admit it. Moreover, Nicholas hadn’t contacted her at all since yesterday, which made Kimberly even more annoyed.

Meanwhile, Nicholas, understanding Kimberly’s response, spoke up again. “Oh, by the way, have you received the bouquet I sent you?”

Kimberly nodded in understanding, realizing that the person who had sent her flowers a while ago was Nicholas. “So, you’re the one who sent the flowers without a name?”

“Of course, who else?” Nicholas asked.

“Who knows, maybe it was Mr. Edward who sent me the flowers,” Kimberly teased. She mentioned Edward’s name on purpose, just to see what reaction Nicholas would give.

“Uh! That’s impossible. I’ve asked the apartment management to blacklist Edward from there. Let alone sending gifts, he can’t even set foot in that apartment,” Nicholas said confidently.

“Goodness, Nicholas!” Kimberly exclaimed half-shouting. “How could you do that to Mr. Edward? You’re going overboard.” Kimberly had intended to see Nicholas’s reaction, but instead, she was surprised by his overprotective behavior. She couldn’t understand why Nicholas always viewed Edward as a perpetual rival.

“Kimberly Rayder…” Nicholas’s calling brought Kimberly’s wandering thoughts back.

“Huh? What?” Kimberly replied in surprise.

“How was your check-up this afternoon?” Nicholas inquired. Of course, he needed to make sure of Kimberly’s well-being. He didn’t want anything bad to happen again.

Kimberly swallowed hard, gathered herself, and replied, “There’s nothing to worry about. The results of the examination were quite good.”

Kimberly chose to keep her condition hidden from Nicholas. She thought it would take the right time to tell him. Perhaps she would also reveal the hidden background she had kept for so long. But not now. Someday, Kimberly promised herself.

“Is that so?” Nicholas double-checked.

“I’m serious, Nick,” Kimberly tried to assure him.”

Nicholas let out a relieved sigh. “Alright then. Now you can rest. I have to get back to finish my work.”

“Okay,” Kimberly replied briefly.

“Oh, by the way, Nick,” Kimberly suddenly said before she actually ended the phone call.

“What’s up?” Nicholas asked, puzzled.

Kimberly remained silent for a while, but before long, her voice was heard again.

“I really miss you, Nick. I want to meet you soon.”

Nicholas froze. He didn’t respond at all to Kimberly’s expression of longing. He seemed entirely nonchalant. Could it be that he still couldn’t open his heart?

“Aren’t you missing me?” Kimberly asked when she noticed Nicholas’s lack of reaction.

Nicholas just chuckled softly and then replied, “It’s late now; you should get some rest. See you the day after tomorrow.” The call ended abruptly, leaving Kimberly cursing loudly in her position.

Oh God.

What else do I have to do to make him truly love me!

***

Kimberly glanced at the clock on the nightstand, which showed it was already ten in the morning. She began to prepare for a shower. As she was about to step into the bathroom, the doorbell rang more than twice. Without hesitation, she rushed to the door and opened it.

“Sorry for the early disturbance, ma’am. I want to deliver another bouquet,” the receptionist who had delivered flowers last night stood at the front of Nicholas’s apartment unit. Without much talk, Kimberly took the flower bouquet offered and thanked him.

Goodness, Nicholas.

Why is he sending me so many flowers?

Does he want to create a flower garden here?

Moreover, instead of giving living flowers like this, it would be more useful if he gave me a deposit, wouldn’t it?

This time, Kimberly chose not to immediately transfer the flowers into a vase. She left them as they were on the nightstand and proceeded with her postponed shower routine.

She spent almost an hour in the bathroom. Her body was so tired, and she had to relax all her stiff muscles by soaking in warm water.

After enjoying her time in the bathroom, Kimberly rinsed off and wrapped herself in a bathrobe. As she stepped out, she nearly jumped in surprise. There was a man sitting calmly on one side of her bedroom’s bed. The man turned to look at her and then grinned sharply at Kimberly.