WARMING THE BILLIONAIRE COLD HEART

Mario never seemed tired of smiling at all the guests who attended. His face was radiant after formally getting engaged just a few hours ago.

Arthur was also delighted. The old man was even busy socializing with the business colleagues who were present at the party.

Among the many happy people, only Kimberly seemed ordinary. She even appeared distant from the crowd, choosing to sit alone in one corner of the event room while continuously gazing at Mario from a distance.

She should have felt relieved because she wasn’t the one accompanying Mario tonight. Yes, a few days ago, Kimberly almost couldn’t breathe when he suddenly brought up the topic of engagement. She thought that her grandfather, Arthur, was really going to arrange a match between them. However, Mario revealed that he would be engaged to another woman.

“So, is Grandpa really going to arrange a match between us?” Mario didn’t immediately answer. He remained silent for quite a while, which only made Kimberly’s thoughts wander.

“Come on, answer my question. Why are you staying silent?” Kimberly urged. She was impatient to get clarity from Mario about this engagement.

In his position, Mario took a deep breath, preparing himself to deliver this news to Kimberly. “The engagement party will be held the day after tomorrow. I hope you can attend.”

“Whose engagement party? Ours?” Kimberly was truly puzzled by Mario’s statement.

Mario shook his head quickly. “Not our engagement.”

“What? What do you mean?” Kimberly became even more confused. “Oh, come on, Mario. Don’t be vague like this. Please explain clearly,” Kimberly insisted.

Mario sighed briefly and then provided an answer to Kimberly’s earlier question. “Please pay attention and listen to me carefully,” Mario commanded. “Actually, I’ve had a girlfriend for a while now.”

Kimberly widened her eyes, ready to protest, but Mario gave her a signal not to interrupt him.

“It hasn’t been long, maybe just around six months recently. At first, I kept all of this hidden from Grandpa Arthur because I didn’t want to disappoint him. As you know, Grandpa wants the two of us to be together. But after being sure that the only person you love in this world is Nicholas, I recently gathered the courage to tell Grandpa everything. Fortunately, he finally understood and supported me in proposing to the woman I chose.”

“So, you’re really going to be engaged to your chosen woman?” Kimberly shook her head in disbelief. Of course, she was surprised, considering that Mario had spent more time recently taking care of Kimberly and Arthur Rayder.

Mario nodded.

“Yes, as I mentioned before, I’m getting engaged the day after tomorrow. I hope you can attend the engagement party. If you have some free time, I’ll tell you more details about my fiancée,” Mario said.

Kimberly approached Mario, closing the distance between them and then hugged him.

“Congratulations. I’m genuinely happy to hear this news. I’ll definitely be there at your engagement party,” Kimberly said sincerely. To her, Mario deserved to have this happiness.

“I’m sure you’ll be happy too, Kimberly,” Mario said as Kimberly released her hug.

Although Arthur Rayder was very stern and arrogant, Mario believed that the old man loved his granddaughter deeply. He always tried to provide the best for Kimberly. It just required more patience to deal with all his behavior.

“If only I could. But it seems unlikely,” Kimberly’s face turned sad.

Mario frowned. “Why is it unlikely?”

“You know for yourself that Grandpa doesn’t approve of my relationship with Nicholas,” Kimberly smiled sadly. She was aware that her love story was not going as smoothly as she had hoped.

Mario gently cupped Kimberly’s downcast face. “Talk to Grandpa. I believe you can change his mind. You both just need to have a heart-to-heart conversation. You have to fight for your love.”

Kimberly nodded and then smiled. “I will try.”

Recalling her conversation with Mario a few days ago, Kimberly chuckled. Could she really convince Arthur to approve of her relationship with Nicholas?

So, when they arrived home after attending Mario’s engagement party, Arthur suddenly called Kimberly, who was about to go to her room. He asked her to sit in the family room with him.

“There’s something I need to ask you,” Arthur said.

Kimberly sighed softly. She was sure that Arthur was going to ask why she had been looking downcast for the past few days.

“What does Grandpa want to ask?” Kimberly asked. Her face appeared relaxed.

Arthur leaned his old, frail body against the armrest of the chair, adjusting his sitting position to be more comfortable. Then he spoke again.

“What have you been thinking about for the past few days? You seem upset, Kimberly. Even though I’m not forcing you to get engaged to Mario.”

Kimberly raised her face, mustering the courage to look Arthur in the eye.

“I’m sure you know what I’ve been thinking, Grandpa.”

Arthur sighed heavily. “Why is young Alistair driving you so crazy? He’s hurt you multiple times. He even left you now, hasn’t he?”

“And I’m sure Nicholas left me because of you!” Kimberly responded with a hint of emotion.

“Nicholas left you because of his own choice,” Arthur replied calmly.

Kimberly shook her head repeatedly. “It can’t be. There must be a reason why Nicholas suddenly left me. I know who Nicholas is. He’s a man who always tries to get what he wants, except when it inconveniences a lot of people,” Kimberly argued. “Please, tell me everything, Grandpa. Aren’t you even a little bit sorry for me?” Kimberly’s voice trembled. She was on the verge of tears.

Arthur took a deep breath. He realized that Kimberly looked deeply hurt this time.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything. But you need to remember that my decision won’t change a bit after you hear all of this.”

“Grandpa…” Kimberly whispered. “Just tell me everything.”

Arthur looked straight out the window and began to recount everything. The initial chronology of why he made a ridiculous request to Nicholas.

That afternoon, on the day Capital was going to announce their business partner, Arthur received an unexpected guest while he was engrossed in reading a book.

“Sir, there’s someone who wants to meet you,” a maid informed Arthur, who was relaxing in his office.

Arthur removed his reading glasses and asked, “Who wants to meet me at this time of day?”

“I’ve never seen her before either. She said there’s something important she wants to discuss with you, sir,” the maid replied politely.

“Tell her to come in and meet me here,” Arthur instructed, and the maid nodded respectfully.

Before long, the maid brought someone into Arthur Rayder’s office. Someone whose face looked familiar to the old man.

“What brings Cassandra Harrison all the way to my house?” Arthur greeted when Cassandra had seated herself in front of him.

Cassandra smiled. “My name is Cassandra Alistair now, Mr. Arthur. Have you forgotten?”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Arthur chuckled.

“Ah, of course, I remember. How could I forget about you, the wife of a British conglomerate? I also remember because your husband donated a significant amount to our charity project a few years ago. That’s what caused you to move from Singapore to London, right?” Cassandra nodded. “As a good wife, I have to accompany my husband wherever he goes.”

“It’s only right for a wife to follow her husband wherever he goes. But in charity work, you’re still active, aren’t you?” Cassandra nodded again. “Of course, I’m still active. I promised Aunt Veronica that I would continue her work in helping the less fortunate.”