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Chapter 204

Author: Jean Song
"Ms. Swanson, are you sure it's a good idea to have dinner alone with Mr. Carter? I mean, he—" Her assistant, Oliver Shaw, hesitated, leaving the rest unsaid.

Noelle, of course, understood their concern. Ethan's reputation in Vinton City was far from stellar. His insistence on having dinner alone with her tonight naturally set off Oliver's alarm bells—and rightly so.

"It's fine. It's just dinner," Noelle replied calmly.

After that, she opened the car door and stepped out onto the pavement. She had chosen the restaurant herself and, to avoid any potential "surprises", arrived half an hour early to order the food in advance.

Ethan arrived just as Noelle finished filling up her glass with water.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Ms. Swanson."

"No worries. I just got here myself," Noelle replied with a smile.

Their first interaction was smooth, and everything seemed normal so far.

After a few glasses of red wine, the conversation began to shift.

"Ms. Swanson, you've been here
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Danielle
Mr. Carter is married, shameless
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