"Don't forget about us when that time comes, Lia!" Just then, a white sedan pulled up right in front of the three women, narrowly missing them. "Hey, watch where you're going!" one of Lia's friends yelled. The sedan's window rolled down, revealing a young woman's cold face. Noelle's voice was icy as she threatened, "Stay away from Gentle Glades, Lia Woodworth! If you ever insult my mother again, I can't promise I won't break your legs!""Who do you think you are? Do you even know who you're talking to?" Lia's friend shot back. Lia stopped her and smiled. "Lola, this is Michael's daughter!" Her smile was so warm and friendly. "Elle, I'm afraid you've got the wrong idea. I would never insult your mother. I simply wanted to have a friendly conversation with her. After all, we're both your father's women, remember? In a way, we could even be sisters!""Shut your trap!" Every word Lia said was an insult to Emmie. Noelle could barely contain her boiling anger. "No one considers y
Emmie tried to ignore Michael and walk away, but he grabbed her arm, yanking her back. "Where do you think you're going? Is Elijah waiting outside for you?" He said it to get a rise out of her, knowing full well Elijah was bedridden and scheduled for surgery the next day.Emmie couldn't take it anymore. "Let go of me! I'm meeting Elle for lunch!" she yelled, thrashing about.Michael smirked. "Tell her you're too busy and eat with me instead! Or else, she can bid her trip to the Utopia States farewell!"She felt suffocated. "Michael Xanthos!"He cocked his brow. "You should know that there was never a rotation program in the Utopia States!" It was obvious he'd pulled some strings to get Noelle a chance to go to the Utopia States.Her anger subsided a little. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten she's your daughter!"Right then, her phone rang. Emmie was aware it was Noelle calling. She answered it and said, "Elle, I was just notified that I needed to go to the museum right away. I won'
Michael had only wanted to be a little closer to Emmie. When did he ever ask for anything else? How did it turn into him forcing her to trade her body? Was he truly that inhumane? In the end, he got up and left with a heavy heart. …The next day, Noelle couldn't meet Emmie, as Fred's condition suddenly took a turn for the worse. When Quentin called her, she burst into tears. Despite having a flight booked to the Utopia States the following day, she immediately booked the most expensive flight to Dragfort. Unfortunately, she was too late; when she arrived, Fred had already passed away. Overwhelmed by grief, she wept uncontrollably.Quentin handed her a letter. "This is from Grandpa." He appeared calm and collected, just like always, but his eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was grave.Noelle unfolded the letter and felt as if she could see Fred's kind and loving face right in front of her. "Elle, I want to apologize for everything our family has put you through over the y
On the way to Collinview City, Noelle's head pounded, and her stomach churned with nausea, though she couldn't bring herself to throw up. She reclined in her seat as the flight attendant, assigned to accompany her, checked on her frequently, concern etched on her face."Are you sure you don't need anything?" the attendant asked again, her worry apparent.Noelle shook her head, but then caught a whisper from the attendant to someone nearby, "Mr. Lowe instructed us to take good care of Ms. Xanthos. Should we inform him about her condition?""Don't tell him!"Noelle abruptly sat up. "I'll be fine after some rest."She didn't want to cause any more trouble, nor did she want to endure Quentin's concern and care.A breakup is a breakup. There's no need to keep dragging things out.Noelle's reaction took aback the flight attendant but quickly composed herself. "Alright, Ms. Xanthos," she replied, refraining from contacting the ground as instructed.Over two hours later, the plane touc
After Michael finished speaking, he walked away, his tall figure showing no trace of emotion.Noelle stared blankly at his departing silhouette, thinking, "Yeah, she really had missed out on so much before. But… did this mean he was actually trying to mentor her?"When Noelle returned to her place, she collapsed onto the bed, not wanting to get up. Even though she had only assisted in the surgery, the constant tension had left her utterly exhausted.Her phone rang—it was Christian. She answered."Hello?""Hey, little widow, did you finish knitting that scarf?"Noelle replied, "Halfway done."Then, through gritted teeth, she added, "Call me 'little widow' again, and I'll marry you just to spite you!"Christian chuckled, his voice sounding especially nice even over the distance. "Sure! Go ahead and try. Let's see if you can manage to outlive me!"Noelle suddenly found herself at a loss for words."You're so annoying!"She hung up the phone and walked over to the window, hoping
Noelle laughed for a good while as she stared at the notification of the 700-dollar deposit. It was the most stress-relieving and happiest thing that had happened to her in a long time.Excitedly she posted on social media, along with a screenshot of the notification."700 dollars received, yay!"A flurry of envious emojis flooded the comments.John simply commented, "Nice."Christian added, "If I'd known it made you this happy, I would've helped you get even more!"Noelle suddenly found herself at a loss for words.Just then, she received a new message on WhatsApp. Noelle opened it.Zara texted, "Elle, how did you do it? Teach me! I've tried several times, but I never succeed."Noelle replied, "I just got a lot of people to help. You can do it too if you find enough people."But Zara replied, "Elle, I don't have many friends. Could you ask your friends to help me out too?"Noelle frowned. She had only asked Christian for help on a whim and was already regretting it. Christi
Christian suddenly decided that things were going too smoothly, so he pressed his fingertip against a piece of broken dishware. In an instant, blood started to flow."Be careful not to cut yourself—oh no..." Noelle had just finished warning him when she saw the blood trickling from Christian's finger, cut by the sharp edge of the broken dish.Her heart skipped a beat."Wait here, I'll get the first aid kit!" Noelle dashed upstairs.Emily, who had been watching from the doorway, glanced at Christian's finger, shook her head, and, not sure whether to praise him or not, said, "Nice move, young man!"With that, she turned and left, giving the two young people some space.Noelle returned with the first aid kit and carefully took Christian's hand, starting to disinfect and bandage the wound.As she worked, Christian kept his eyes on her, his long dark lashes fluttering as he blinked. "Weren't you planning to keep my hand as a specimen?"Noelle shot him a glance. "I've changed my mind
Noelle was momentarily stunned.Yvette gently placed her hand over her rounded belly, resting it softly on the fabric of her dress. She lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Ask me anything you want."Noelle's stiff legs finally moved, and she stepped into the house, sitting down on the couch, still finding it hard to believe. "Whose child is it? Where is he? Why didn't you ever tell me?"Suddenly, it all made sense to Noelle—Yvette hadn't gone back because she was pregnant out of wedlock.Yvette's hand gently caressed her belly as she sat down next to Noelle."He's mine. I'm going to raise him on my own!"She had no intention of telling John that she was carrying his child.This child was something she had chosen for herself, and she didn't believe John should bear the responsibility.Besides, if John married her just because of the baby, it wouldn't feel right to her.Seeing Yvette like this, Noelle realized she wasn't going to get any more answers.For a moment, Noelle didn'