After filling up the tank, Xyla pulled out a QR code for Quentin to scan, and he promptly paid. Meanwhile, Noelle went to the gas station's supermarket and bought two bottles of mineral water. As soon as she returned, she spotted Xyla in her gas station uniform and froze. Puzzled, she walked over to Quentin and gently squeezed his hand. It was too much of a coincidence for them to run into Xyla just as she was working as a gas station attendant.Quentin glanced at her, and he could see right through her. "Get in the car," he said. Perhaps Xyla had truly turned over a new leaf?When Noelle turned around, a car appeared in the opposite direction. The vehicle seemed to have lost control and was speeding toward her."Watch out!" A startled cry rang in Noelle's ears as someone shoved her aside. The car narrowly grazed Xyla before screeching to a halt.Noelle stared at Xyla, who had been knocked over by the collision, in disbelief. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. It dawned on he
The sun had already set when Emmie saw the message on her phone. "Elijah's back, Emmie! A few of our classmates in Dragfort are planning a get-together tomorrow at noon. I heard you're in Dragfort as well. Why don't you join us?"The message included a hotel location. The sender was one of her and Elijah's college classmates. Her fingers trembled, and her mind went blank.Just then, her phone rang. It was Michael. Emmie composed herself before answering the phone.Michael's low voice came through. "Have you gotten off work yet?" It was his last night in Dragfort, and he wanted to make it count.Her breath caught in her throat. This past week, he would attend meetings in the city in the morning and then come to this small town to have a secret rendezvous with her at night. However, Emmie didn't want this to continue. After all, he had Lia, didn't he? "I have to work overtime tonight," she said calmly.He sneered, "Don't play games with me, Emmie Fox. I'm well aware that Elijah Ca
There was a malicious glint in Michael's eyes that sent shivers down one's spine.Emmie looked at him but remained silent. The more she tried to explain her relationship with Elijah, the more she felt like she was digging herself into a hole."I'm hungry. Can we eat now?" A hint of resentment flickered in her clear eyes. His heart softened, and he let go of her. Emmie started to eat. The table was laden with her favorite dishes, but she couldn't taste anything. She wondered what her life would be like if she hadn't met this unreasonable man that year and been ensnared by him.Emmie shoveled the food in with little regard to its flavor because her heart ached, and she felt numb. She continued to eat beyond the point of satiety until she felt the nausea hit her like a freight train. Clutching her stomach, she retched. Michael looked over and asked nervously, "What's wrong?" Emmie shook her head, as her abdomen felt distended and uncomfortable. "Is your stomach upset?" He finally
Yvette rolled up in her flashy Porsche to pick Noelle up on Saturday. Then, the two of them had lunch at a restaurant near the library.Yvette trilled, "Noelle, we have a new professor in the archaeology department! His name is Elijah Callahan, and I heard he's from the northwest. He's a great lecturer. Oh, and get this—he was also a top student at Collinview University back then. I looked him up on the Internet and found out he was a classmate of your mom's!"Yvette booted up her school's forum on her phone and scrolled to a post about Elijah. "Look, it's this guy!"Noelle looked at the picture and froze. So, his name was Elijah. It was the man she had seen the other day at Restaurant Blanc. But why had her father torn up a photo of Elijah? What was his relationship with her mother? Noelle was perplexed. Yvette continued, "I heard Professor Callahan is still single! He's handsome, charming, and a university professor; there should be a lot of women lining up for him, right? It'
Xyla appeared uneasy and anxious. "That's really not necessary, Quint! My leg is just fractured. It'll be fine after I go home and get some rest!""She's genuinely changed," he thought. Quentin looked at her sun-kissed face and her rough hands and felt complicated.Ignoring her protests, he called his acquaintance and arranged a hospital room for Xyla. Then, he said, "You don't have to go back to the gas station anymore. I'll find you a less demanding job."He paused before adding, "I hope you'll live an honest life." With that, he left. Xyla smirked as she watched him walk away. "In the end, you just can't ignore me after all, Quentin!"Quentin answered a call from Noelle as he walked out of the hospital. "Where are you?" she asked. Noelle missed him.He responded, "I'm at the hospital, picking up my mom's medical report.""Oh. Is everything okay?" she inquired. He answered, "Yeah, everything's fine."He hesitated for a moment and decided not to tell Noelle about his enco
Noelle continued, "Her colleagues told me that Xyla fractured her leg and was hospitalized. I think we should visit her first thing tomorrow. If she hadn't saved me the other day, I'd be the one lying in the hospital right now!"Quentin assumed she had gone to the gas station. "There's something I haven't told you, Elle. I ran into Xyla at the hospital when I went to collect my mom's medical report today. She fractured her leg, so I arranged a hospital room for her. Xyla has changed, Elle."With gentle eyes, he looked at Noelle. Her heart sank as she knew right there and then that Xyla's ploy had worked. She arched her brow and casually said, "Oh, that's quite the coincidence! I can't believe she was there to have her leg looked at right when you went to pick up your mom's medical report." Quentin's brows knitted as he realized she was hinting at something. "Perhaps she didn't realize that her injury was that serious yesterday." He didn't want to bring up Xyla again, knowing it wou
Emmie was beside herself with worry. Her students had gone to the flea market in Liberty County during their break. On their way back, the cab they were in collided with a large truck. One of them was slightly injured, but the other female student was in critical condition.Her student was transferred from Liberty Hospital to the city hospital in the middle of the night, and she was still unconscious.Concerned about her student's condition, Emmie hung up the phone. She looked into the ICU and felt as if her heart was being squeezed when she saw her student covered in tubes. "Ma'am, please pay the hospitalization fees!" a nurse said after walking over.Each second in the ICU was expensive. Emmie rushed to the payment counter and paid a lump sum of 50 thousand dollars. When she turned around, she accidentally bumped into someone, causing the medical insurance card of the female student she was holding to fall to the ground. Emmie hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but a slender,
"My student is still in critical condition, Michael!" Emmie exclaimed.Michael looked at her coldly. "Are you worried about your student, or are you attempting to have a secret rendezvous with Elijah?"Emmie was stumped. She turned her head to the side and couldn't be bothered to deal with this unreasonable man anymore.He raised his hand and loosened his tie. "If I hadn't shown up, what would you two have done next? Gone to a hotel and caught up?"She frowned but remained silent. Unable to contain himself any longer, he spun around and grabbed her by the collar. "Say something!" Her breath hitched in her throat, and a glimmer of emotion flickered in her clear eyes. "There was never anything between me and Elijah, Michael Xanthos! Whatever feelings I had for him vanished into thin air the moment you came into my life!"Emmie and Elijah lived next door to each other and were inseparable since childhood. Their relationship began innocently and continued to flourish as they both