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
Large rocks tumbled down from the mountaintop unexpectedly. It crashed into the bus, which Noelle Xanthos happened to be in, and the two cars ahead. The cars were buried beneath the rubble right away. Meanwhile, the bus got struck so hard that it jerked violently before flipping onto its side."Wren, we encountered a landslide! I'm going to die!" A woman on the bus bawled while shrieking into her phone.With trembling hands, Noelle fished her phone out and sent Quentin Lowe a voice message. "I'm scared, Quentin… Can you come and get me?"The shivering in her voice made it evident that she was crying.Yet, there was no response from the other end.Noelle sat near the window, so her head smashed into the glass when the bus flipped over. The girl sitting beside her also crashed into her. When everything finally stilled, Noelle could no longer move one of her arms.Pain, chaos, stuffiness, fear, and helplessness overwhelmed the small, cramped space. Noelle felt as if she were drown
Noelle had an incomplete business contract discussion with a client yesterday. The client had to leave abruptly, so they needed to continue their discussion today.Two dolled-up women walked over from not far away. One said, "I heard that Xyla got into a car accident while shopping yesterday. She had a minor injury on her forehead, but Mr. Lowe spent all afternoon accompanying her for a full body check-up! He treats her so well!""Yeah! I don't know where Xyla got all her luck from," replied the other.The two were wives of wealthy families and donned stylish outfits. They gossiped about yesterday's scandal while walking by.Noelle's mind went blank as the pair's words stabbed slowly but deeply into her heart. As she was unloved in her marriage, she had to face her fears and pains alone. Meanwhile, Quentin kept Xyla company and cared for her even though she only had a mild injury.Tears welled in Noelle's eyes as she had never experienced such sorrow. The thick, overwhelming
Of course, Noelle's text went unanswered.The next day, she went to John's villa with two dark circles around her eyes. She was halfway through dealing with work when Yvette came looking for her.Yvette drove a trendy red Porsche, and she donned a fashionable, neat outfit. She brought Noelle to watch a movie. Noelle couldn't refuse her, so she had no choice but to go along. After the movie, Yvette treated her to Frosan cuisine. She couldn't help but ask, "Have you heard any news about your cousin?""Why don't you call Quentin if you miss him that much?" asked a giggling Yvette. She took her phone from her bag, dialed Quentin's number, and shoved the phone to Noelle. "Go on, talk to him!"Noelle was only worried Quentin would get scammed in a foreign country and never asked to speak with him. So, at that moment, she was at a loss. The phone was like a ticking time bomb in her hands."Yes?" A calm voice rang out from the other end of the call.Noelle's heart skipped a beat, and s
Noelle was speechless.Quentin continued to walk away without stopping once.Noelle's heart sank into her stomach as she wondered whether she had to do with Quentin's sudden departure. Unease filled her chest as she finished the chess match and stood to leave, too.She had just arrived at the yard when a blinding beam of light shined at her, so she covered her eyes. That was when a deep voice rang out from behind the light. "Get in."Noelle frowned. The Maybach's headlights had switched off when she approached it. She got into the backseat. She once saw Quentin driving and Xyla sitting in the front passenger seat. Due to that, she never sat in the front with Quentin.Quentin's threatening voice sounded from the driver's seat. "Did you tell my mother?""Tell her what?" Noelle was confused.Quentin scoffed lightly. He was evidently feeling infuriated by her innocent reaction. "I gave Xy a diamond necklace worth one million for her birthday. "It seems you, my wife, got jealou