Eric Ferguson felt his heart clenched and his eyes darkened. He did not know anything about Nicole. He was unaware that she could play the violin so well, nor did he know that she smoked.

"I never smoked in front of you because I was afraid you wouldn't like it before, so of course, you never had the chance to see it."

Every time Nicole donated blood, she would feel very weak. Eric accompanied Wendy Quade, and Nicole's only company was cigarettes. Nicole was particularly addicted to smoking during those tough days.

The corners of Nicole's lips hooked up, but her eyes were slightly despondent. A moment later, she returned to her usual self.

She glanced at Eric's drooping eyes and smiled playfully.

"Want to hear my conditions?"

Without waiting for his reply, Nicole went straight to the point.

"Get Wendy Quade to give me however much blood I've donated to her. It doesn't have to be in one go. Anyway, she can finish repaying me within a year."

Eric's head jolted up. "What?"

Nicole laughed. "I thought about it. My blood is so precious, so I should use it to save people who are actually worth saving, rather than wasting it on this vile woman. I was so stupid before, but it's still not too late to wake up from my delirium. I want my blood back. In exchange, I'll give you the pipe, then we won't owe each other anymore."

Wendy Quade was only trying to spite Nicole, so from time to time, she would pretend to be sick or hurt and would ask Nicole to transfuse blood to her.

Nicole knew all about it, but Eric never saw through it. In the past, Nicole would feel aggrieved, but now, it all seemed irrelevant.

Once Wendy returned her blood, Nicole could draw a clear line with the past and could finally feel whole again.

'Isn't Wendy Quade coming back soon? I want to spite that woman! Which will he choose? His family heirloom or Wendy Quade?' Nicole was looking forward to Eric's answer.

She smiled leisurely and threw the cigarette butt in the ashtray in front of her, then stood up and left the room with her purse.

"You don't need to give me an answer so quickly. Think about it."

Looking at her back, Eric's gaze became complicated all of a sudden.

'How much did Nicole hate Wendy? How much did she hate this marriage that she wanted to get back every single drop of blood?'

Eric called his assistant Mitchell. "Check how much blood did Nicole donate to Wendy throughout the years."

Mitchell paused for a moment before he replied, "Yes, sir."

Within a few minutes, Mitchell came back with an answer to Eric's question. "President, Ms. Nicole has donated a total of 14,400 ml of blood to Ms. Quade. The total amount of blood of an adult is about 4.000 to 5.000 ml. The blood donated by Ms. Nicole over the years is equivalent to the total amount of blood in three adults. That means Ms. Nicole had drained every drop of blood from her body three times..."

As soon as Mitchell finished his sentence, Eric hung up the phone.

'She literally bled herself dry three times because of me?!'

However, he was completely unaware of her grievance and fortitude in the past three years.

Eric's heart felt like it was pressed down by a boulder and he found it hard to breathe.

Nicole's condition was to get Wendy to pay her back within a year. This showed how much she hated them to her core.

Eric felt frustrated. He knew that there was no way he could exchange Wendy for the emerald pipe.

When Eric was in the army, that bomb should have fallen on him, but Hendrick pounced on Eric and blocked the bomb with his body. Before Hendrick died, his only worry was Wendy's health, so Eric promised that he would do whatever possible for Wendy to live a long and healthy life.

Thinking of the past, a trace of pain flashed in Eric's eyes.

When Nicole walked out, she saw Logan standing not far away, waiting for her. The two of them walked to the doorway and met with Gerard Lichman, who was sitting in the lobby. He smiled in a doting and gentle way while he talked to someone on the phone.

Seeing Nicole, Gerard quickly said a few words and hung up. He strode over and said politely, "Ms. Nicole, did you have a pleasant chat?"

"It is for me, but probably not for the guy inside... " Nicole gave a faint smile.