Noelle pondered for a moment before adding, "There's one more thing. I really can't handle being interrupted when I'm studying, and the whole situation with you and Xyla is a major distraction for me. Can you promise you won't involve yourself with Xyla while I'm studying?" She looked straight into his eyes, leaving no room for negotiation. Quentin conceded. "Alright, I promise." He had already been disgusted by the two women who might be Xyla and Ava. If those two women were Xyla and Ava, he wasn't sure what to do with Xyla next. Noelle didn't say anything else. The couple went to Harmony Creek to retrieve all of her books. Because she had already taken a nap earlier, she wasn't tired, so she spent some time studying before going to bed.The next morning, Janet called, bubbling with excitement. "Could you bring Elle over here, Quentin? I need her to check the guest list I've drafted to see if we've missed anyone. If everything checks out, I'll finalize the invites and send them o
Janet looked back at her husband, perplexed as to why he had such a strong prejudice against Noelle. She spun around and walked away. In the living room, Quentin carefully went over the guest list. After Janet came over, he said, "I just need to add a few more names, and everything should be good. I'll have Martin prepare the list and addresses for you soon."All of a sudden, he recalled what Noelle had once asked him, "Do your parents truly have no objections to our wedding?" In particular, she had placed a special emphasis on his father.It seemed like her concerns were spot on. His father did have a prejudice against her. Quentin felt a little uneasy, so he went upstairs to find his father again.Mark frowned when he saw him return. "What else do you want?"Quentin looked at him and said, "Elle and I are already married, Dad. We're only having this wedding so that we don't have any regrets in our lives. Whether you approve or not doesn't matter."He was almost out the door, b
Since he was already at the office, Quentin took care of some work in his office. Then, he received a call from the team he had sent to Creekville. "Mr. Lowe, we took Ms. Cadwell's photo and asked around. Those two women are definitely Xyla Cadwell and her housekeeper."In an instant, all the guilt Quentin felt toward Xyla vanished. He told Martin, "Let's go to the hospital!"…Meanwhile, Ava rushed back to the hospital, and as soon as she walked into Xyla's ward, she couldn't help but share her night with Xyla. "Wade just can't hold a candle to Luke, Xy. He couldn't go again after one round and had to rely on Viagra. Luke, on the other hand, was truly something else…"Ava was all smiles as she reminisced about her time in that remote mountain village. Xyla snorted. "I can't believe you're still not over your wild ways at your age!"Ava retorted, "Oh, like you're any better? I wonder who was the one who had spent the whole night holed up in Eugene's room!"Xyla's expression harde
"Quint's drunk, Noelle. Could you come pick him up?" Dennis glanced at Quentin, who was slumped over the table, intoxicated.Noelle's heart skipped a beat. "I'll be right there."…At a bar, Quentin held his drink with a weary grip, as if the alcohol was the only outlet for his pent-up frustration. "I don't know what to do about Xyla anymore, Dennis. My men went to that remote village with her picture and asked around, and those two women were her and Ava. "But she claims that after she was assaulted, she had nowhere to go, so she followed Eugene. It's been so long, and it happened in a remote village, so there's no way to investigate further. "What do you think I should do now? If I take her word and she's deceiving me, I'll look like a fool. But if she's telling the truth and I've wronged her, I'd be letting my savior down. I…" He felt very dejected. Dennis responded, "Honestly, I think it's all a lie. That woman's got more tricks up her sleeve than you can count. Hey, stop
Noelle was aware that Xyla was once again playing on Quentin's heartstrings. Sadly, it always seemed to work without fail. "It's getting late. You should get some rest. We can talk about this tomorrow." All of a sudden, she felt a surge of compassion for the man in front of her. There was nothing wrong with his good-hearted nature; the real problem stemmed from Xyla's wickedness. Quentin took her advice and drifted off to sleep.…The next morning, she woke up and found him propped up on one elbow, his obsidian-like eyes staring at her unblinkingly. Noelle gasped. "What the hell are you doing?"Quentin grinned and looked especially charming on such a bright morning. "Nothing. I was just looking at you." He looked refreshed. He got out of bed. "Come with me to the cemetery later to visit Xyla's brother, Elle. I've been wanting to introduce you to him for a while now!"It seemed like he had completely forgotten about what he had said the night before—how he wished he hadn't b
Noelle rolled her eyes at him before opening the car door and getting in. "I'm just saying, isn't it true that girls take after their dads and boys take after their moms?"Quentin thought about it for a moment and scowled. "This is getting more and more ridiculous!" Noelle made a face and ignored him.Janet called while the couple was on their way home. "Are you free right now, Elle? Come over and take a look at which of these pieces of jewelry goes best with your wedding gown!" Janet was at the top jewelry store in Dragfort at the moment.Noelle responded, "Mom, I have plenty of jewelry already. I can just pick one of them!""How could you just pick from any one of your old pieces, you silly girl? You need to wear new jewelry for your wedding! Hurry up, I'll be waiting!"Quentin, who was in the front seat, chuckled. "If Mom's paying, you might as well go along with it. You'd be silly not to."Janet overheard him on the phone and chided, "All you know is how to scheme against you
Noelle was taken aback. "This is way too expensive, Lorraine! There is no way I'm getting this!" She tried to take the necklace Lorraine had placed around her neck off.However, Janet interjected, "We're definitely getting this! Ms. Summer has excellent taste. This jewelry set suits you perfectly!"Janet didn't have a daughter of her own, and Noelle was her one and only daughter-in-law, so she was more than happy to spend on her. Lorraine felt both envious and sad.And just like that, Janet spent almost 200 million dollars in a single morning. As it was already noon, Janet turned to Lorraine and asked, "Why don't you join us for lunch, Ms. Summer?"Lorraine readily agreed. "Sure!" So, the three of them headed to a nearby restaurant. Noelle accompanied Janet to the restroom, leaving Lorraine alone outside the private dining room. As fate would have it, she ran into Mark, who was there to meet a client. Mark frowned, but he couldn't help but stop in his tracks and ask, "You're
Mark walked over and calmly took a seat beside Janet. "What a coincidence!"Under the table, Janet took his hand, and he gently held hers. "I went to pick out some jewelry for Elle this morning and ran into Ms. Summer. So, we decided to grab lunch together. Do you remember Ms. Summer, Mark?" Janet asked."Of course, I remember. You're making it sound as if I'm too old to remember anything," he chuckled."It's good to see you, Mr. Lowe." Suppressing the unease in her heart, Lorraine beamed.Mark met her gaze with a warm smile. "Yes, it's good to see you too, Ms. Summer."Janet suddenly recalled something amusing and said, "Guess what? I noticed that Ms. Summer has the same wallpaper on her phone as Mr. Walsh! Women all over the world are into roses, it seems."Mark's palms were starting to get a little sweaty. Suppressing his murderous intent, he told Janet, "If you like roses as well, I'll send you one every day."He paused before continuing, "I have a client to attend to, so I'