Quentin was worried Noelle would beat herself up, so he smiled and grasped her arm. "Elle, material wealth is of little consequence. Having you back means more to me than anything else."Noelle was slightly moved. "Is David not going to sue Grover?" she asked after a moment's hesitation, her voice laced with concern.Sure enough, a shadow of gloom flickered in the man's eyes. Grover was John's man. Even though he was doing Noelle's bidding, it still didn't sit right with him."Elle," he called out, caressing her cheek with his finger. "From now on, if you need anything, come to me for help, okay?"A trace of sarcasm surfaced in her gloomy eyes. Was he seriously expecting her to rely on him to look into Xyla?Quentin drew her into his arms. "Let's put Xyla behind us and start over, alright? Promise me.""Are you really not going to concern yourself with her anymore?" Noelle eyed him a little skeptically.He shook his head. "Yeah, she's not worth my concern.""What if she comes t
Michael's imposing presence enveloped Emmie, causing her to hold her breath. She eyed him skeptically. He said apathetically, "Emmie Fox, your daughter set Lia up, humiliated her in public, and even posted my contact number on the Internet. I won't let this slide easily. If you don't want me to sue her, along with that fake David and Quentin, meet me at Belvedere Villa. I'll give you three days!"With that, he smiled sardonically and let her go. He then turned on his heel, walked toward his car, and got in. The black sedan sped off into the night.In the darkness, Emmie's body trembled. Three hours later, her slender figure appeared at Belvedere Villa. As if he was expecting her, the villa's door was left unlocked. There was a man in a black suit on the couch, holding a glass of wine, and projecting an imposing presence. When Emmie walked in, his dark gaze swept over her silently. It was obvious that she had rushed over immediately after he left, as she was still wearing her wo
After what felt like an eternity, Michael finally got off Emmie. He was satisfied. Emmie opened her eyes and sat up. Her body was sore and limp. She put on a shirt and hurried to the bathroom to clean herself. Behind her, Michael frowned. He rolled out of bed, pushed open the bathroom door, and walked in. He leaned against the doorway and watched her scrub her skin vigorously. "Do you want me to find you a brush, hmm?" he asked angrily.Emmie jumped. Instinctively, she raised her arm to cover herself. Her brows drew together, and her lovely face was now tinged with annoyance. "What else do you want, Michael Xanthos?"Ever since she discovered he had another woman over a decade ago, they had been living separately. Therefore, this was the first and only time in over a decade that he had been physically intimate with her. However, she was utterly repulsed.Her glowing, slender body was marred with red welts from her vigorous scrubbing. His eyes were ablaze with rage, and he could fe
Holding the plate of sliced fruit, Noelle was having trouble standing upright. "Quentin's parents must hate me right now," she thought."Here, take this." She handed the plate to Quentin and went downstairs. Confused, he knocked on the door, handed the plate of fruit to Janet, and quickly went downstairs as well. "What's going on?" he asked Noelle in the living room downstairs.Noelle turned around. "Would you hold it against me, Quentin?"Puzzled, Quentin asked, "What would I hold against you?""I made you spend so much money, and now your parents probably hate me too," she responded. Even though Janet didn't voice it, Noelle suspected she was also upset with her. He said, "No way. I spent that amount on my own accord. As for my parents, they wouldn't hold it against you." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, holding her close as they walked outside.Even though Quentin didn't mind, Noelle couldn't help but think about what Mark had said. She was worr
Quentin emerged from the bathroom and noticed Noelle staring blankly at her phone. "Did your mom reply?""Yeah, she said she's fine, and she told me not to worry about her." However, her heart felt heavy. Noelle was aware that her mother was probably very sad; she just didn't want to show it.Her usual clear, dark eyes misted over. It made his heart ache. He stroked her hair. "Don't dwell on that anymore. Go get some rest." Noelle went to bed obediently. Quentin stood there for a moment, lost in thought. Was Michael not giving Noelle a hard time because of Emmie?He hastily sent a message to one of Emmie's students. "How has Professor Fox been these past few days?" He had always gotten updates about Emmie through this student.That student promptly responded. "Professor Fox has been out with a friend and hasn't returned." Quentin figured that friend was probably Michael. In the blink of an eye, morning arrived. By the time Noelle got up, Quentin had already left for work. Noe
The morning flew by, and Lorraine came to find Noelle at noon. The girls grabbed lunch at a restaurant next to the library. "You've patched things up with Quentin again?" Lorrain asked, arching her brow.Noelle smiled. "Yep. I doubt anyone else would take the blame for my screw-ups and fork over two billion dollars just to make things right." Lorraine scoffed. "Is that all it takes to win you over? If it were Xyla, he'd probably do even more!"Noelle fell silent after she mentioned Xyla. She was aware Quentin would never be as good to her as he had been to Xyla. Yet, his reaction after she had made such a huge mess really got to her. Xyla was totally out of his life now, so there was no need for her to be hung up on her. "Forget it. Let's not talk about them anymore. Men are all the same; nothing good ever comes out of talking about them. It'd just ruin your appetite. Let's eat!" Lorraine said after noticing her friend's silence.The girls talked over lunch, and Lorraine had a
Noelle returned to Windsor Villa and was about to head to the kitchen to prepare dinner when Quentin called. As soon as she answered the call, his voice came through. "Elle, I won't be home for dinner tonight. It's Quinn's first day at work, and it's company policy for all the executives to have a get-together."He was the CEO, so he had to show up. Worried that she might get the wrong idea, he added, "I'll just make an appearance, have a drink, and be right back."Noelle responded, "Okay."Quentin said, "Come here. Give me a kiss."Noelle reluctantly puckered her lips and kissed her phone. "I'll give you a proper kiss when I get home," Quentin said teasingly.Her cheeks heated up as she was aware that he meant more than just a peck on the lips. After he hung up, she stood, rooted to the spot, for a moment. Then, she skipped dinner and went upstairs to study.An hour later, she heard a car pulling into the yard. Quentin was back. Her heart leaped with joy, and she hurried downs
Noelle's heart ached. Instead of going to Quentin, she spun around and left. As she was leaving Stille Industries, Quentin called her and asked, "Why didn't you come over?"Noelle was feeling down in the dumps. She stood beside the street and responded quietly, "I realized I could've read a whole bunch of books in the time I needed to head to your company. Quentin, I need to focus on my studies, or I won't be able to get into graduate school."Despite his disappointment that she didn't come to see him at work, he reassured her, "I know you'll make it. You're a top student at Collinview University, Elle! I'm sure you will have no trouble getting into Dragfort University for graduate school!"He figured she was just overly anxious. Her eyes misted over, and she bit her lip gently. "Thank you, Quentin."Quentin teased, "Why don't you give me a kiss instead?"With tears in her eyes, she puckered her lips and kissed her phone. "Mr. Lowe, it's time to meet the Franconian clients," Mar