WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

“Darling… wake up,” Nicholas whispered as he gently kissed Kimberly’s cheek.

It was countless times now that Nicholas had tried to wake Kimberly. Since locking her in his room, their activities had consisted of nothing more than longing embraces and sharing stories. Nicholas himself didn’t know what time they had gone to sleep the previous night. All he remembered was Kimberly suddenly dozing off while holding onto him. That might be the reason why she was finding it hard to wake up now, even though they had to go to work as usual today.

Feeling at a loss, Nicholas kissed Kimberly’s lips, savoring them before giving them a gentle nip. He had to do this deliberately to make her wake up.

Kimberly squirmed irritably. “You cheater! You had the audacity to wake me up like that,” she grumbled while sitting up and stretching her stiff muscles. A moment later, she scooted down from the bed.

“Where are you going?” Nicholas pulled Kimberly back to the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to take a shower, Mr. Alistair. You told me to wake up so I could get ready quickly, right?”

Nicholas shook his head.

“”Don’t even think about leaving without hugging me first, Mrs. Alistair. From now on, every time you wake up or go to sleep, you must do that. Or if necessary, starting tonight, you can move to my room,” Nicholas ordered.

Kimberly’s cheeks turned red upon hearing Nicholas’s request. She didn’t really need to be surprised; the man was known for his whims. But asking her to hug him regularly made Kimberly feel both embarrassed and happy. She believed that Nicholas truly loved her now.

“Are you sure you’re not trying to tease me? You’re not playing with me, are you? I’m just afraid you won’t be able to control yourself later,” Kimberly teased.

Nicholas lifted his chin high. “Are you the one challenging me now? If I wanted to, I could have done it a long time ago. No need to wait all this time.” They both laughed.

After getting ready and having breakfast, Kimberly and Nicholas finally left for work together. Kimberly was surprised once again when the CEO, unashamedly, held her hand as they exited the car and entered the Alpha Beta building.

Embarrassed, Kimberly tried to release their interlocked hands. However, the more she struggled to let go, the tighter Nicholas held her hand. She had no choice but to resign herself to being the center of attention for all the employees passing by.

Meanwhile, Nicholas couldn’t help but keep smiling as he noticed Kimberly’s frustration clearly displayed on her face. Along the hallway, Kimberly didn’t stop voicing her protests until they reached Nicholas’s office.

“You shouldn’t have to hold my hand like this, Nick. I’m not that old!” Kimberly exclaimed, her lips pouting in irritation.

“You’re not old, Kimmy. You’re my future wife,” Nicholas confidently replied, unfazed by Kimberly’s apparent annoyance.

“Tsk! You’re going overboard,” Kimberly protested again.

Nicholas squinted his eyes at Kimberly. “Why? Don’t you want to be my wife?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just-”

“Enough! The point is, you want to, right?” Nicholas cut her off, leaving Kimberly momentarily dumbfounded.

“Why do you always act so whimsically with me?” Kimberly grumbled.

Nicholas chuckled again, observing Kimberly becoming even more exasperated with him. For the umpteenth time, he pulled Kimberly into his embrace.

“So, when can I marry you?” Before Kimberly could respond, Nicholas captured her lips once more, kissing her deeply. He pushed his future bride’s body against the edge of his desk. However, their intimate moment was abruptly interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat.

“Ahem!” A loud cough sounded as a man stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“This is the office; if you want to be intimate, you should just go home,” teased the man, who happened to be Edward. He had entered without knocking. When the door swung open, he discovered the two lovers in their intimate embrace.

“Don’t even ask about Nicholas’s reaction; if Kimberly hadn’t restrained him, he might have kicked Edward right then and there,”

“Edward Martin, how dare you barge into my office without permission? Where’s your aristocratic manners?” Nicholas said sarcastically.

Edward laughed in his position. “Oh, come on, I’m just stating the truth. If you want to be intimate, you should do it at home. It’s like you’re running out of places,” he retorted, not willing to back down.

Not wanting the two men to argue any longer, Kimberly tried to mediate. She then pulled Nicholas’s arm and urged him to sit down. She knew there must be something important that made Edward suddenly come to Nicholas’s office.

“It seems like there’s something you both need to work on. Instead of arguing, please finish it quickly. I’ll prepare coffee for both of you.”

Edward nodded. “Of course, I wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t important. I need you to check and review the business proposal between Alpha Beta and Omega Group. They’re facing a potential failure right now. It’s very risky to continue the partnership.”

After saying that, Kimberly prepared two cups of coffee for her two friends and then left them to focus on their work.

***

Kimberly was getting ready for lunch. Seeing that Nicholas’s office door was still closed, she assumed he was still busy. Not wanting to disturb him, Kimberly decided to go join Alex and Keyra in their office.

Just as she stood up, her phone began to ring. When she checked it, she saw Mario’s name on the screen. Without hesitation, she picked up the call.

“Kimmy, come to the hospital immediately. Grandpa has lost consciousness.”

Without a second thought, Kimberly grabbed her work bag and hurried to the hospital. When she arrived, she found Arthur in a weakened state. His heart condition had flared up again. The doctor recommended immediate heart bypass surgery to save his life.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Grandpa, please hold on. Kimmy is here. I beg you, wake up,” Kimberly couldn’t hold back her tears as she looked at him through the glass. The elderly man was being fitted with various medical devices before the surgery.

Mario, who was always there, could only provide comfort. He hugged Kimberly tightly to help her stay strong in the face of the ordeal.

“Kimberly, please don’t cry like this. Let’s just pray that Grandpa’s surgery will be successful,” Mario said, never letting go of his embrace.

Elsewhere, after working with Edward for about four hours, Nicholas decided to invite Kimberly to have lunch together. However, when he stepped out of the office, he couldn’t find her at her desk. Puzzled, he tried calling her, but her phone was off.

Nicholas thought that Kimberly might have already gone to lunch with her friends. He decided to return to his office. Just as he sat down, there was a knock on the door. Someone entered and handed him a folder to review.

Without hesitation, he accepted it. However, the atmosphere turned tense as he began to open and flip through the pages of photos inside the brown folder.

***

“Where have you been, Kimberly?” Nicholas asked as Kimberly had just entered the apartment unit. He had been waiting in the living room.

After successfully undergoing a four-hour surgery, Arthur was immediately moved to the ICCU room. According to the doctor, his condition would gradually improve, and they were just waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Seeing Kimberly looking exhausted, Mario suggested that she should go home and assured her that he would take care of everything and provide updates as usual. However, when she arrived home, she was surprised to find Nicholas waiting for her with a difficult-to-read expression on his face.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t inform you. There was something important I had to take care of,” Kimberly replied hesitantly.

Nicholas smiled sarcastically, his gaze sharp. “What kind of business kept you away without giving me any notice?”

Kimberly lowered her head, feeling guilty for not notifying him and not realizing her phone had been off all day. It was clear that Nicholas was angry now.

“I apologize, Nick. I genuinely didn’t realize that my phone’s battery had run out. I-”

“Just answer me, Kimberly. What were you doing out there that made you forget to contact me?”

Nicholas interrupted her, and his voice was starting to rise. He even got up from his seat.

“This afternoon, I suddenly had to meet-”

“Meet who? Your lover? Your secret boyfriend? Who?”

His jaw visibly clenched, and his fists were ready to strike. Kimberly was taken aback, not expecting Nicholas to accuse her like this. She shook her head repeatedly, denying what he had just accused her of.

“It’s not like that, Nick. How could I-”

Before Kimberly could finish her sentence, Nicholas abruptly threw a stack of photos directly at her face, and they scattered on the floor.

Kimberly gasped, surprised when she picked up the photos that Nicholas had thrown at her. The pictures showed her holding hands and even tightly embracing another man, clearly not Nicholas.

“Is this what you were doing out there? Even when I wasn’t here?” Nicholas laughed bitterly.

Kimberly shook her head repeatedly. “Nick, it’s not what you think. I can explain everything.”

Nicholas stared blankly, uninterested in what Kimberly had to say.

“There’s no need for explanations, Kimberly. I’ve warned you multiple times. Never go anywhere with another man without my permission. Is my request that difficult for you?”

Kimberly bit her lower lip, trying to hold back tears and taking deep breaths to respond to Nicholas’s question.

“Please, listen to me,” Kimberly bravely approached Nicholas, trying to reach for his wrist. But Nicholas quickly pulled away.

“No need.” Nicholas’s voice softened, but disappointment was evident on his face. “Those pictures explain everything. I thought you were different, Kimmy. But apparently, you’re the same.”

Next, Nicholas immediately left, leaving Kimberly behind. He slammed the door, and soon, from inside the room, the sound of objects crashing to the floor could be heard.

Kimberly could only sit down. She struggled to hold back tears, but eventually, they flowed freely down her cheeks. She blamed herself for not revealing the problem earlier, which led to this misunderstanding. She also regretted breaking Nicholas’s request not to get close to any other man, including Mario.

Now, what should she do? Everything had happened. Was there still a chance for her to fix this? Or the worst-case scenario: would Nicholas refuse to forgive her?