Walking onto the balcony, Mr. Stark frowned at how disturbed his wife looked as she sat there, staring into nothingness. "What is it now?" Mr. Stark's voice snapped her out of her daze and he saw her eyes flick towards him. "You have been distracted all night, and now, you got that look on your face that I know way too well. Is this about Noah?" "Yes," Mrs. Stark whispered. "Honey," "Do you know that Noah is not legally married to Genevieve, and yet, he's willing to stand by her side and ruin himself-" "He lied?" "Rhodes told me everything yesterday. He's been deceiving us this entire time!" With a hesitant stare, Mr. Stark approached his wife, held her shoulder, and squeezed it, saying, "If that's the case, Noah is not bound to her legally, and yet, he's willing to stand with her. Shouldn't that prove that he truly loves Genevieve?" "What are you saying?" Mrs. Stark stared at him, wide-eyed. "Should we allow that girl to just ruin him and our family's reputation?" "No. But we
Even though Genevieve had spent the morning meticulously preparing for Mrs. Stark's visit, making sure everything was spotless and the meal was perfect and been rehearsing in her mind how to handle the meeting, attempting to steel herself for any possible confrontation, the moment two o'clock arrived, she held her breath, still nervous as she was earlier.All three men sat in the living room, watching as she paced about anxiously. She looked like a nervous rabbit who had gotten locked in her own cage. Her cheeks were pink from the exercise and her eyes were wide with fear.Just then, the door buzzed, and her breath caught, almost choking her. She could only stand there, motionless."I will get it," Noah said, waking from his seat."No!" Genevieve suddenly nodded, looking at him. "We should all go together and greet her at the door to show our respect."Moments later, everyone gathered at the front door, and Noah opened it because Genevieve was way too nervous to even breathe.The door
Unable to take another step, Leo stood frozen, listening to the muffled yet stern words exchanged between Mrs. Stark and Noah. The words stung his young ears, and his innocent eyes began to well up with tears. He couldn't understand the full extent of the conversation, but he sensed the tension in the air, so he listened further. From beyond the door, Mrs. Stark's voice continued, carrying a tone of authority and disappointment, "You've been playing a dangerous game. You've allowed this charade to go on long enough, and it's not fair to Genevieve and Leo. You need to end this now before it gets out of hand." "I know what I'm doing. I can handle this. We'll sort it out." Noah's voice responded, quieter but with an underlying anger. There was a pause, and then Mrs. Stark's reply was sharp, "You will soon get engaged to Glenn, for heaven's sake. You can't continue this deceitful act with Genevieve and Leo. It's time to end this farce and be with the woman you're supposed to marry." Af
The moment, Mrs. Stark arrived in the dining room, she saw Noah taking Leo from Genevieve's shaking hands and rushing out of the room, ignoring her, with Rhodes and Genevieve finally snapping out of their shock and rushing after them. "What in the world is happening here?!" Mrs. Stark exclaimed, her voice commanding attention, but no one stopped to talk to her.Without waiting for explanations, Mrs. Stark quickly followed them outside and watched as they piled into their respective cars. So she hopped into her vehicle and drove after them.As Noah drove, Genevieve sat in the backseat, hugging Leo, and when she noticed that he was glancing at her every now and then, she frowned, mumbling, "This is all your fault."Those words were like a dagger to Noah's heart, but he kept his cool and said nothing, instead trying to focus on driving.Moments later, they arrived at the private medical facility, that Mr. Stark built for Dr. Daniel to live in, but was also a top-notch clinic that only a
Glancing over at Genevieve, Noah paused, seeing the look of guilt in her eyes, knowing that she had already started to blame herself, and he gave her hand a tender squeeze before saying, "We... Genevieve and I were arguing. It was about us, our relationship. It got pretty intense, and Leo witnessed it all."Reaching for his notebook, Dr. Daniel listened attentively, nodding with understanding as he wrote down and then inquired gently, "And how bad was this argument?" "It was about us breaking up. Leo, he... he didn't want that..." Noah said as his expression shifted, a mix of regret and concern crossing his face.With a pause, Dr. Daniel's gaze softened as he observed Noah before he asked, "What is your relationship with Leo like?""I have been a father figure to him since his mother and I got together. We love each other as a father and son do... He... he means everything to me." Noah said, feeling Genevieve hand stiffened in his.Immediately, Dr. Daniel nodded, resting back in his
Looking away from Noah, Genevieve sat in Dr. Daniel's office, her hands nervously fidgeting with a stray thread on her dress as she held back tears that threatened to spill over. The lump in her throat kept growing, threatening to choke her, but she was trying her best to remain calm. "Look, Noah," Genevieve began, her voice wavering slightly, "I want to make something clear. I don't want to be with you romantically. I can't forget what you've done, but for Leo's sake, I'm willing to be with you – but not really together, you know what I mean?" When she heard Noah sigh deeply, her head snapped up to watch him slump back in the chair. She felt a pang of fear run through her, realizing just who she was breaking up with. "I want to be clear about something else. This can't last forever. When Leo is a bit older and can understand why we can't be together, we will have to break up." She said as she paused, closing her eyes tightly. "I don't like it, but I'll do it for Leo." Noah fina
In the early morning, the light peeked through the curtains, casting a soft glow into the room where Genevieve had slept on the bed while Noah had spent the night on the couch. For the entire night, Noah had barely slept, his mind swirling with the complexities of the situation as he curled up on the couch, wrapped in his comforter, his thoughts consumed by the gravity of the lies they were entangled in.When the morning light filtered in, the room was still, until the sound of a gentle knock at the door echoed through the room. Before Noah could even fully register the sound, he bolted up from the couch, the comforter trailing behind him as he hurried to the bed. Hastily, he jumped onto it, landing beside Genevieve, hugging her waist as his lips pressed against her neck just as Leo's little hand pushed the door open.The feeling of his body so close to her made her remember just how much she missed his touch all night, and yet, even though her heart raced, she tried to push down
Locking gaze with Noah, Steve cleared his throat and then eyed Ross as he said, "Boss, since the whole Hunter situation, we have been keeping a close eye on your house directly. Yesterday, when you and ma'am left the house to take Leo to the infirmary, we noticed that we weren't the only ones tailing your car."Immediately, Noah's brows drew together, knowing that those words meant Genevieve and Leo's safety was at risk once again."We initially thought it was Hunter," Steve continued, his gaze shifting to Ross briefly before returning to Noah, "but when the car following you pulled over, and the driver got out to make a call after your mother had left the facility, we took the opportunity to confront him. Long story short, we knocked him out and brought him here for questioning.""We have been trying to contact you since yesterday to inform you about the situation, but you kept canceling our calls. It wasn't until this morning that you finally answered." Ross, his voice low and serio