"I'm tired, Quint. Why don't you go about your own day? I'll be fine here. I'll be all good after a few days of rest," Xyla said weakly.Quentin nodded. "I've already arranged for bodyguards to stand guard outside your ward. No one will dare to harm you again."Xyla nodded obediently. "Okay."As soon as he left, she sent a message to Mitchell. "Help me come up with a plan. The foreign specialist will be here to treat me tomorrow!"Mithcell was so sick and tired of Xyla. If she didn't have dirt on him, he would've blocked her ages ago. "He's a specialist. I'm just an ordinary guy. What can I do?"Xyla: "You're the deputy director of this hospital; you're not just an ordinary guy!"Mitchell gritted his teeth. "There's nothing I can do! The hospital agreed to bring the specialist in. I don't have the authority to deny him entry!"Xyla: "Find a way to stop him from coming then!" Exasperated, he decided to ignore her. However, she called him and said, "If you don't help me, I'll go
Noelle's curiosity grew. "What is it? Why are you beating around the bush?"Quentin finally found his voice. "Did you send someone to slap Xyla last night?" His tone was gentle, yet his dark eyes were piercing, as if he were attempting to see through her. After saying that, he pressed his lips together and waited for her response.Noelle was caught off guard. Her brows drew together as she asked, "What are you on about, Quentin? Don't you know who I was with last night? Do you think I can be in two places at the same time?"He called her over and sat her on his lap, only to say something that cut deep. Noelle felt hurt and upset.His expression darkened. "Xyla was slapped multiple times last night, and her face is severely swollen. I was just asking; I didn't mean anything else. I just need you to be honest with me. If it were you, I'd understand and forgive you. After all, that's what I promised you."Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and anger
After he arrived at the hospital, Quentin immediately spotted Mitchell stepping out of the elevator. His head was hung low, and he looked rather upset, as if he were mad at someone. He didn't notice Quentin and walked straight out of the elevator.Quentin proceeded straight to the security department. He had already called the director of the hospital beforehand, and the head of security was waiting for him at the door. When the latter spotted the former, he greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Lowe."Quentin handed him a cigarette. "Help me check the surveillance footage from the tenth floor of the inpatient department last night."The head of security shook his head when he heard Quentin's request, declining the cigarette. "I'm afraid I can't check the surveillance footage there, Mr. Lowe. The system was down last night.""It was down last night?" Quentin asked, surprised.The head of security confirmed. "Yes, it was.""What a coincidence," Quentin thought. "Alright then, don't let m
Noelle tugged at the corner of her lips, and she felt her heart beginning to soften. "Why didn't the mosquitoes eat you up?" she asked irritably.Quentin chuckled. "Maybe they tried and thought I tasted bad!"Noelle couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. Her mood, which had been gloomy all night, lifted a bit thanks to his humorous remark. She reached into her backpack, pulled out a bottle of mosquito repellent, and tossed it to him. "Spray it on yourself!"Quentin took the bottle, sprayed it on the spots that had been itching all night, and was greeted by the pleasant fragrance of honeysuckle. "Thank you." He handed the mosquito repellent back to her. Noelle took it and said, "You should go. I'm heading to the library." She stuffed the bottle back into her backpack and started to leave.He inquired, "Are you still mad at me?"Noelle stopped in her tracks. Was she still mad at him? Of course, how could she not be? But his words had taken the edge of her anger."No." Without
Xyla's expression changed dramatically. "I admit that you did help me, Mr. Kingston, but it was a win-win situation for both of us the first time! Besides, your attempt to drive a wedge between them didn't work!"Gabriel's patience had run thin. "That's none of my concern. Just tell me, when can you get me what I want?""In three days!" she said through gritted teeth. He hung up the phone.Her heart was pounding in her chest. Gabriel wanted the bid price for a project from Stille Industries, and it wouldn't be easy for her to get her hands on it; she needed to find the right opportunity.…Meanwhile, Noelle arrived at the library. Sawyer waved at her from his seat from a distance, and she walked over. "Hello."Sawyer appeared very excited as he whispered, "I thought you weren't coming." He was a full-time student who only had time to visit the library in Dragfort on weekends. The last week had felt like a month to him."I bought this for you!" He pulled out a popular cartoon plu
Quentin felt content when he saw Noelle. After getting into the car, he told Martin, "Find a reason to keep Sawyer Donovan from the School of Foreign Languages away from the library.""That punk doesn't know his place," he brooded. How dare he make a move on his woman?Noelle watched as Quentin's car drove away and was about to enter the library when she received a message from Grover. "Breaking news, Ms. Xanthos! Mitchell Langston went to the hospital to tamper with the surveillance footage last night!""What did he tamper with?" she asked.Grover responded, "He had the security department destroy all the surveillance footage from the tenth floor of the inpatient department from the night before last."Wasn't that the floor where Xyla was staying? Also, the night before last… Her chest felt stuffy as she recalled how Quentin had asked her if she had sent someone to slap Xyla.Noelle called Grover. "Grover, could you please ask the patients on Xyla's floor if anything had happene
Layla's family called her all sorts of nasty names, as if she were a jinx that everyone despised.If she could really become friends with Noelle, it might help her family business, right? After all, Noelle was personally chosen by Janet as the future mistress of the Lowe family. Besides, Quentin had no intention of marrying Xyla, which meant that he was fond of the woman before her. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. …After wrapping up his work at the company, Quentin headed to the hospital. Xyla sat quietly on the bed, watching dramas with Ava. She seemed to be in a good mood.When he walked in, Xyla looked over and smiled. "You're here, Quint!" She seemed overjoyed, as she even jumped out of bed to get him some fruit. Quentin stopped her. "Sit still. I'll get them!"Ava chuckled. "Ms. Cadwell has changed a lot in the past few days; she's become much more cheerful. It must be because her brother's watching over her!"Xyla said softly, "Yes, it must be because of my br
Martin responded. "Will do, Mr. Lowe." Then, he muttered under his breath, "Is Ms. Cadwell cursed or something? One minute she's getting burned, the next she's involved in a car accident, and now she's been slapped in the face. "As if that's not enough, she has asthma and depression, and she tried to cut her wrist to commit suicide. Then, she ran away on a rainy night… It's a miracle that she's still alive!"Quentin frowned. "What did you just say?"Martin hurriedly responded, "N-nothing!"Quentin spat, "If you don't have anything nice to say, shut up!"Martin immediately lowered his head. Just then, Quentin's phone rang. His expression softened when he saw the familiar number. He answered the call. "Elle?"Noelle asked, "Let's go out for dinner tonight."His eyes crinkled as he asked gently, "Where to?""I sent the location to your phone," she said.Quentin checked his messages and forwarded the address to Martin. "Take me to this restaurant."Half an hour later, Quentin
"Sorry, but if I ever get married, it definitely won't be to either of you."Noelle had originally come to visit Christian, but now she didn't feel like staying anymore. She was beyond frustrated.Christian's sharp, dangerous eyes narrowed in an instant, brimming with hostility as he locked his gaze on Noelle. Quentin's handsome face darkened as well, his mood turning stormy.Noelle spun around and walked out."We'll see about that," Quentin muttered, getting up to leave as well.As he passed by the clinic where Noelle worked, he cast a glance in that direction before heading out.Near the end of the workday, Russ called. "Ms. Xanthos, Mr. Xanthos has arranged for you to meet a boxing champion. Are you free now? I can take you to meet him."Noelle couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and bitterness. She had lived 24 years, and only now did he care about whether she had any self-defense skills. Isn't it a little late for that?Still, she went.After one session, she was dr
Noelle quietly closed the door behind her. Leonard glanced over, saw it was her, and put away his phone. "He just fell asleep. Ms. Xanthos, you should head home and rest. I'll keep watch tonight," he said softly.Noelle shook her head. "He took the knife for me. How could I go home? I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I'd rather stay here and keep an eye on him."She sat down on the couch, her gaze heavy with concern as she looked at Christian sleeping.Leonard nodded. "Alright, you stay here. I'll step out for a bit," he said before leaving the room.Noelle nodded.Christian's phone, sitting on the nightstand, pinged with a WhatsApp notification.Noelle walked over, picked up the phone, and saw a message from someone with the nickname "The Blomming Fifties.""What a flashy name," she thought with a faint smirk.But for some reason, curiosity tugged at her—she suddenly felt a strong urge to peek into Christian's private world as if she might uncover something hidden beneath t
Noelle remained silent.In Dragfort, ever since Quentin had learned early that morning about Christian taking a knife for Noelle, he had locked himself in his office. It had been three hours now.The morning executive meeting was canceled, and his client appointments were rescheduled. Senior staff members who needed his signature on documents stood hesitating at the door, feeling the oppressive atmosphere even from outside the office.Department heads waiting to give their reports also lingered at the door, too intimidated to enter.In the end, they all turned their pleading eyes toward Martin.But even Martin was hesitant to go in.After all, he had witnessed the weight of Quentin's emotions—shock, frustration, and a deep sense of defeat—that had cast a heavy, oppressive mood over the office.Martin made a call to Dennis, knowing only he could possibly get through to Quentin now."Mr. Jackman, you need to come over," Martin said quietly, making sure to step into a quieter co
Even though Christian was in obvious pain, he forced himself not to make a sound.Such a stubborn fool.The door knocked twice, and Leonard walked in. Seeing Noelle, he greeted her, "Ms. Xanthos."Noelle's eyes were red, but she didn't respond.Christian opened his eyes slightly and said, "Don't tell anyone I'm injured."Leonard nodded."Tell them I'm on a business trip," Christian added.Leonard raised an eyebrow, "Bro, with a wound like that, how long do you think this 'trip' will last before people catch on?"Christian shot him a cold glare, and Leonard quickly relented, "Okay, okay, I get it. I'll handle it."Christian closed his eyes again, waves of pain crashing over him like a relentless tide.Suddenly, he opened his eyes once more. "Silly girl."Noelle paused, her tear-filled eyes looking at him.A smile tugged at the corner of Christian's mouth. "Get out for a bit. You look terrible."Noelle's lips twitched as her damp lashes fluttered, and a surge of unexplainabl
Just as the man raised the knife for a second strike, the security team arrived and swiftly pinned him down.Noelle heard a low grunt behind her, followed by Christian's pained chuckle. "Good thing it wasn't him."Noelle's heart clenched as she turned to see Christian, clutching his shoulder, slumped against her legs.He was wearing a beige coat, now stained with a large patch of blood around his shoulder.Christian was rushed to emergency surgery, but Noelle remained frozen in her chair, her mind replaying his words, "Good thing it wasn't him."Who wasn't it? Quentin?Why did he say that? Why did he act this way?The image of Christian's blood-soaked coat lingered in her mind. The wound—how deep was it?Noelle sat there, numb and lost in thought for an unknown period, until Michael appeared.He glanced at her through the doorway, but without a word, he continued walking past.A little while later, Kara gently patted her shoulder. "They've moved him to a room. You should go s
Emmie smiled and placed a few more ravioli on Noelle's plate. "Then eat a little more. It's your mom's first time cooking, and once you're in the Utopia States, you won't have this."It wasn't like she had never cooked before—she had made instant noodles when she was alone.Noelle ate a small bowl of ravioli without pausing, her stomach now full and round. Her eyes welled up with tears, though whether it was from happiness or something else, no one could tell.After dinner, Noelle stayed for a bit before leaving.Emmie watched Noelle's car disappear down the driveway before finally going upstairs.Michael, leaning back on the bed, heard her soft footsteps approaching and lifted his eyelids.The bedroom was dark, and when Emmie stepped in, her gaze met Michael's dark, piercing eyes. She paused at the doorway, and he continued watching her."Lia must be blind. She couldn't tell if it was you or the driver," Emmie said coldly, walking straight to the other side of the bed and pulli
Emmie was at a loss for words.Michael said, "Your daughter's leaving for the Utopia States soon. You should take this time to spend with her."Emmie's breath hitched. "Elle agreed?"Michael nodded. "Yes."It was the best way for Noelle to get away from those two men and focus on her own growth.After a night's rest, Noelle felt much better the next morning. Emmie called her, inviting her to Gentle Glades after work.What Noelle didn't expect was to see Michael there as well.He was lounging on the couch in casual clothes, flipping through a medical journal. Emmie, wearing an apron, seemed to be busy in the kitchen. When Noelle walked in, Emmie immediately came out."Elle!" Emmie's gentle face was filled with warmth as she took Noelle's hand.Noelle felt a bit disoriented.In her memory, Emmie's life was filled with books and work, never with the kitchen. And Michael—she hadn't seen him so relaxed and calm, casually reading a magazine on the couch, in over a decade.It felt
Michael couldn't forget the look Elijah had given him that day—a mocking smile, full of meaning. Elijah slowly pulled back, revealing Emmie's curled-up body underneath him.Without a word, Michael opened his phone and pulled up a social media app. He tossed the phone to Emmie. "Take a look for yourself."Emmie looked down and saw a video posted by Elijah just minutes earlier. It was of her feeding him. She watched in disbelief, then replayed it. The account was undeniably Elijah's."Scroll down. There's more," Michael's voice drifted from the couch.Emmie's fingers moved down the screen, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of Michael sitting with his legs crossed, taking a sip of coffee handed to him by the housekeeper.Further down, she found a photo posted by Elijah a month ago, showing her preparing his medicine. The footage seemed to be taken from security cameras.But none of these posts had appeared on her social media feed.She had never seen them on her phone.Mich
Quentin didn't deny it.Noelle's chest tightened as she remembered that day in Ocean City when Christian had said Gillian deserved to be slapped. Now, it all made sense.At the time, she had sarcastically asked him if he would treat her the same way once he got tired of her.His response had been, "Do you think I'm tired of her, and that's why I did it?"Now she understood. Christian had known all along that it was Quentin who had called Gillian to Ocean City.A wave of frustration swelled in Noelle's chest. Her fingers clenched tightly as the memory of Christian's sweet words clashed with the thought of him being with Gillian. Bitterness gnawed at her.Just then, the door opened again, and a strong, steady figure entered. His gaze swept silently over the two men in the room before he walked straight to the bed."Elle?""Clement!" At the sight of him, Noelle's eyes brimmed with tears."Let's go home," Clement said as he turned and carefully lifted her onto his back. Noelle res