The CEO Gets What He Wants

At the Moore residence, the well-dressed Nicole was playing poker with Allie and a group of wealthy women.

At the same time, the housekeeper accompanied Jeffrey and the twins to a nearby park for a stroll.

Allie dared to so brazenly invite others over to the Moore residence for a card game only because Lily had returned to her family residence.

“I won again!” It seemed like Allie was lucky that day since she had already won a few rounds consecutively.

Her triumphant laughter filled the living room as she showed her cards.

“Mdm. Allie, you're so lucky today. You've won a few rounds already! That's so impressive,” Nicole praised.

“That's it for today. My luck is down in the dumps today; I haven't won once.” Caroline, who was sitting next to her, was visibly unhappy.

Caroline's grumble left Allie smiling from ear to ear. “Nickie is a lucky child. I barely won when I played poker with you all in the past. But every time Nickie is here, I'll definitely win!”

“Well, Allie. Nickie is always here to keep you company when she's free. It's very considerate and sweet of her to do that. When is she getting engaged to Cayden?” Nancy queried in curiosity as she shuffled the cards.

Almost everyone in Allie's group of friends knew about Nicole.

It was not the first time Allie bragged to her friends about how the daughter of the state secretary was infatuated and persistently pursuing her son. In fact, Allie was more than delighted to have Nicole as her daughter-in-law.

The reason was simple. Not only was Nicole an educated and elegant lady from a prominent family, but she was also graceful and had good manners. To add on, she also had an outstanding appearance. In the eyes of those wealthy women, Nicole was clearly Allie's chosen daughter-in-law.

That being said, with how extensive the newspapers, magazines, and web news had developed, those women were not entirely oblivious to rumors and gossip. They were well aware of Cayden's scandal with another lady recently.

It was rumored that he had admitted that Avery was the mother of the twins.

However, they believed that someone like Avery, who came from a humble family, would never be able to marry into a wealthy family.

In other words, women of Avery's status would only be fit for fun and entertainment purposes and nothing more than a mistress. The position of the wife of the Moore family's son, or Cayden, would still be left for a socialite with a good family background.

Hearing Nancy's question, Nicole nervously held her breath as she waited for Allie's response.

She feared that all the money and effort she had spent on Cayden's mother would go down the drain.

“Soon. Cayden is focused on his career and can't be bothered about his love life now. But he's not getting any younger. He will get married eventually when the right time comes. I'll make sure he starts planning next year. They'll get married latest by the end of next year...” Allie explained without giving much thought to it.

Learning that there was still such a long wait, Nicole felt a pang of disappointment surge within her. Nonetheless, those emotions soon faded away.

I'm still young, anyway. So what if I have to wait a year more? When the time comes, with the pressure from both the Moore family and the Lambert family, I don't believe Cayden will still insist on marrying Avery.

With that thought in mind, Nicole felt much more relieved.

She quickly recomposed herself and continued with the poker game. Even though she was wearing a warm smile on the surface, she was actually overwhelmed by frustration and irritation inside. Had she not wanted to butter up Allie, she would never have willingly kept those middle-aged women company.

Just as Allie and the others were engrossed in their game, Avery and Cayden returned.

When Avery saw Nicole in the living room, she began to feel a little uncomfortable.

Similarly, when Cayden saw his mother playing poker with her group of friends, his brows instantly scrunched deeply.

He mumbled a soft greeting at Allie and headed toward his room with his arm wrapped around Avery's waist. Throughout it all, he did not interact with Allie's friends and even ignored Nicole's existence.

A grim look crept up on Allie's face, and a hint of disgust flashed across her eyes at the sight of the plainly-dressed Avery.

In her eyes, Avery was just like an ugly duckling when compared to the elegant and presentable Nicole.

There was nothing but disdain in Allie's gaze.

As for Allie's group of friends, they were sitting around and watching the Moore family's drama unfold in amusement—Cayden ignoring the woman Allie chose for him and instead showering love and tender care toward the woman Allie firmly objected to.

However, one thing to note was that even though Avery was in plain clothing, she was actually quite pretty. She had exquisite facial features that made her look extra sweet and graceful. Her complexion was smooth and porcelain-like, and her pair of bright eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled.

At first glance, she was a lot more outstanding than Nicole.

Jealousy crushed Nicole as she noticed how protective Cayden was toward Avery. Nevertheless, she still tried to put on an amicable look.

After Cayden and Avery headed upstairs, Caroline commented in a shrill voice, “Oh gosh. Women these days don't seem to know how to behave themselves anymore. They aren't even married, yet she's already showing up at the man's house. Allie, are you not doing anything about Cayden? Men can do anything outside, but you can't allow such behavior to happen at home. Tsk... If my son did such things, I'd be sure to break his legs!”

Allie was already burning with displeasure, and those blunt remarks by Caroline only further fueled the embarrassment and vexation that soon became apparent on her face.