Chapter 439 Helpless
Colton lifted his glass to his lips before taking a sip of his drink. “Nicole, how much do you know about the Zuniga Family from Durobrivae?” Nicole stared at Colton for a while.
She was overseas most of the time, so she had only heard a few things about the Zunigas. “I know that Old Mr. Zuniga is a general,” she replied.
Colton lowered his glass cup that made a soft clink against the wooden table. He was no longer smiling at that point—instead, he was eyeing Nicole with a severe look on his face. “It isn’t just Old Mr. Zuniga who’s a general.
All of the younger generations are generals as well. Christi is Old Mr. Zuniga’s only granddaughter, and she’s the eldest son’s daughter. So you can’t afford to offend any of the men in her family.”
Nicole vaguely understood what Colton meant, and she looked up into his eyes while questioning him. “Are you saying that Richard will have to stay with Christi even if he doesn’t like her?”
Colton nodded. Richard visited him with a glum look on his face that day. In the past, they used to be able to chat and bicker with one another, but now…
It seemed as if Richard had grown a few years older overnight. If the Gardner and Jenkins Families gathered to go against the Zunigas, they would probably lose something in the fight.
The Kohlberg group already had their eyes on the Gardners. If anything happened to them, Bryan would definitely seize the opportunity to get involved. But, as much as Colton wanted to help Richard, it wasn’t the right time to do so. It was crucial for the Gardners to get a partnership with F&R Enterprise, so they would be doomed if anything went wrong.
“Richard was probably trying to protect Miss Hull by cutting ties with her. If the Zuniga Family knew that Richard liked her…” Colton didn’t finish his sentence, but Nicole was smart enough to figure out his meaning. For the first time, she realized that true love didn’t always bring two people together.
Nicole didn’t know if she was supposed to tell Julia about this. After all, nothing would change even if Julia knew the truth. Perhaps Richard and Julia can run away together, but what will happen to the Jenkin and Hull Families?
Will they suffer the wrath of the Zunigas? Any family who’s even just a little weaker than the Zunigas would have to beware of them. But, knowing Julia, she will definitely go to Richard if she knows about this.
Nicole reached her hand out to rub it with her fingers. Her head was hurting as she thought about this. When Colton saw how troubled Nicole looked, he spoke sternly.
“I don’t think you should tell Miss Hull about this. Otherwise, both the Jenkins and the Hulls will suffer.” Nicole let out a sigh. She had initially wanted to help Julia find the truth, but now that she knew it, it seemed like there wasn’t any use.
All of a sudden, Nicole recalled something. “Did Miss Zuniga force Richard into this, or was it the rest of her family who did it?” Colton shook his head. “I didn’t get to ask him about this.
But I know Christi, and I don’t think she’d force Richard to do this.” Colton had met Christi at a few parties in the past, and she seemed like a gentle and friendly woman.
“So, are you saying that the Zuniga Family was the one who forced Richard to be Christi’s fiancé?” Nicole knitted her brows. Colton leaned back against the couch as he lowered his gaze. “I guess so.”
Nicole felt her body turning weak. How am I supposed to explain all of this to Julia? She thought about it for a while before deciding that she would go back and see how Julia was acting.
At that thought, Nicole stood up and turned to Colton. “Thank you so much for today, President Gardner. I’ll head home now.” Right when Nicole was about to leave, Colton held onto her hand.
