Nina was becoming irritated when Percy insisted on not coming back to the mansion. Is he staying away from her because he had found another woman?

“I’ll wait for you. Just come back when you’re done with your business.” After that, she ended the call.

Percy was a little confused. He knew that everyone had their limits, though Nina had never spoken to him so aggressively before. It made him wonder if that was Nina’s true personality.

It was the first time that she was impatient toward him.

Percy put his phone away. Who could have told her that he was still in the country?

He had deceived Nina for the past few days because he was busy dealing with his business, not to mention that Ms. Johnston, the young woman that his mother was trying to match him with, was pestering him twenty-four seven.

He had to keep himself away from the mansion so that Nina would not be caught in the crossfire, and he only planned to go back after he dealt with the matters at hand.

He was about to succeed in his plan when Nina called him.

Now that she had already found out, he could not keep himself away from her any longer.

The internal telephone began to ring. Percy picked up the receiver and asked, “What is it?”

His assistant was taken aback. Percy sounded as though he was not in a good mood. “Mr. Mallory, Ms. Johnston is in the lobby now. She said that she wants to meet you.”

“Tell her that I’m not in,” Percy said. He was not going to let that woman pester him anymore. If she knew that he was in the company, she would cling to him and not let go.

He would have thrown her into the Pacific Ocean and let her sleep with the fishes, if not that the Johnstons were quite influential.

“But…” His assistant wanted to remind him that Ms. Johnston was his fiancee.

If the Mallory and Johnston families were joined by marriage, the resulting conglomeration might be the biggest in A City or even the country.

Even though Percy and Luke were good friends, they were nevertheless business competitors. That was why Percy’s mother had arranged the marriage.

“Have I not made myself clear?” Percy said. On other days, he might entertain Ms. Johnston for a while, but today, he had to finish his work so that he could go back to talk to Nina.

“Understood. I’ll send someone downstairs to stop her from coming up,” the assistant said.

Percy continued to work busily.

He finished his work by half-past eleven. He left the company and drove back to the mansion.

Nina said that she would wait for him. The lights in the mansion were on by the time Percy stepped out of the car. Belongs to - All rights reserved.

Percy thought she would want to discuss her mother’s hospitalization with him. From the look of things, he had a feeling that she wanted to talk to him about something else.

If Nina knew that he was still in the country, she might have also found out about Ms. Johnston.

Percy could not help but smile when he thought of that possibility.

If Nina was angry because of Ms. Johnston, it meant that she was jealous and she cared for him.

That was why Percy was happy.

He went through the door and into the living room. Nina was sitting on the couch.

The television was on and filled the cavernous living room with noise. The place did not feel as desolate as it used to.

“I’m home,” Percy said.

Nina was lost in thought, and she did not hear the door open over the noise from the television. That was why she did not notice Percy coming into the mansion.

She came to her senses. She glanced at the man, then at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was already midnight.

She guessed that Percy must have settled that woman in bed before coming home. After all, that was what he did to him at the start of their relationship.

After making out in bed, he would leave the mansion around midnight.

Nina did not know if she should feel happy. Her insistence had made him leave that woman and return to the mansion.

She thought that it was quite ridiculous for her to behave that way. She was supposed to be the illicit mistress, but she was behaving as though she was his legally married wife. The truth, however, was that Percy was going to marry someone else.

It was not going to be her.

“The maid made some pudding earlier. I thought you might like it,” Nina said.

Percy raised his eyebrows, quite surprised that Nina did not get to the topic. He was not in a hurry anyway, so he nodded and went into the kitchen.

Soon, he came out with a portion of the pudding.

Nina knew that Percy liked sweets, so she had asked the maid to make some pudding for him. That was all that she could do for him.

Percy sat down on the couch next to her.

Nina took a deep breath. She did not smell the perfume of another woman.

Over the years, she had gotten familiar with Percy’s unique masculine scent.

Nina wondered if Percy had taken a shower before leaving that woman so that she would not suspect anything.

She was not in a rush to talk. After Percy finished the pudding, she took out a debit card from her pocket and handed it to Percy.

Percy frowned. “What’s this?”

“There’s some money inside. It’s not enough to pay back the money you spent on me over the years, but it’s quite a bit. If you don’t think that it’s enough, give me some time and I’ll pay you back in full,” Nina said. The hand that was holding the debit card was shaking slightly.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Even though Nina did not say it, Percy could tell that she was trying to cut all ties with him.

Was it because of that Johnston woman?

Percy did not know, so he tried to ask for more information.

“I know that your mother has arranged a marriage for you. Now that you have a proper fiancee, it’s time for this illicit lover of yours to leave. I believe that the time spent with you over all these years should be enough to repay my debt of gratitude to you, so let’s just call it even. Treat your future wife well, and let me start a new life,” Nina said. She did not expect that she would feel horrible when saying those words.

In any case, she had already said what she wanted to say.

She did not feel any better. Instead, her heart wrenched.

It seemed as though she was reluctant to leave him after all.

‘How low have I gotten?’ she thought. ‘Why would I still want to be someone’s illicit lover?’

With a wave of his hand, Percy smacked the debit card away, and it fell on the floor. “Do you think you can get rid of me so easily, Nina Langdon? Don’t even think about it.”

“I’m not as good as you think, Percy. Why would you want to do this? Moreover, you can’t be so selfish. Please let me have my dignity!” Percy’s refusal made Nina sink into despair.