No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Mia suddenly spoke up. "Can I join you for lunch?"

Noelle had no objections to that. She glanced at Grace, and then the two of them nodded in agreement.

Mia let out a breath of relief. She grabbed her walking stick and headed downstairs with them.

Noelle turned to Grace and said, "How about the cafeteria? It's closer."

The main concern was that Mia had trouble walking. They were worried that Mia would feel uncomfortable if they went too far. And thus, the three of them went to the cafeteria for lunch.

Grace glanced toward the school gate and said, "The car is still there."

Noelle followed after her line of sight and also recognized Cedric's car instantly.

She did not expect him to still be waiting outside the university.

She took out her phone and saw several messages from Cedric, asking if she had already woken up and inviting her to L Bistro for lunch.

After going through the messages, she replied, "I'm awake now. I still have classes today, so I can't make it."noveldrama

Her phone started ringing moments right after she sent her reply. Grace spoke up. "You should pick up the call and explain what happened."

Noelle stepped aside in the hallway to answer the call. A deep, hoarse voice came from the other end.

"Are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? L Bistro's soup works really well at treating hangovers. I'll bring some to you later."

"You don't need to do that. I'm okay now," Noelle's voice sounded somewhat distant.

Cedric rubbed his temples and said, "Noelle, something happened last night, so I couldn't reply to your messages in time. I'll make sure to let you know in advance from now on."

Still standing in the hallway, Noelle looked at the car parked outside of the university's gates. Her eyes were slightly teary. "I understand. I'm just a little busy lately. Let's talk after things settle down."

Noelle still had no idea how to face Cedric just yet. She felt that she needed a few more days to clear her mind. But the truth was that she was just avoiding him.

Cedric let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, I have something I want to tell you by then."

waš

Anastasia was still hospitalized, and

he wanted to bring Noelle to meet her. But before that, he had to tell

Noelle about his true identity. Honet

never would have expected that their relationship would become strained in such a critical moment

After she hung up, Cedric rolled down the car window and lit a cigarette.

He was not addicted to smoking. He only ever smoked whenever he felt extremely frustrated because he had no idea how to make amends with Noelle at that moment.

His only option now was to find a way to make it up to Noelle in the next few days, lest Noelle be even more furious once she found out about his true identity.

Noelle hung up and then watched as the car outside the university drove away. She felt as if a part of her heart had been hollowed out.

She turned around and headed to the dining table. As she ate her lunch, she was still as absentminded as ever.

Grace asked, "Has he left?"

Noelle was slightly irritated. "He's gone now. I'll talk to him in a couple of days after we both calm down a little."

Grace turned to Mia and said, "Noelle's relationship is mutual, so I guess it's fine. But as for you and your fiance, you need to be cautious of him trying to take advantage of your wealth."

Mia hesitated for a moment. "I've already looked into my fiance's family. I heard that he dotes on an adopted sister in his family. I've also heard that the rest of his family have also gone to great lengths just to help her several times over the years."

Noelle was surprised. She wondered if Mia was referring to Xenia.

She realized that the Cantrell family was not so clueless as to not know anything after all. But she immediately wondered why Mia had brought it up all of a sudden and if Mia was testing her or something.

Grace angrily slammed the table. "Adopted sisters? That again? Never heard any good examples about them!"

A mix of emotions flashed across Mia's face. When Grace went to use the

restroom, she turned to Noelle and asked, "What do you think?"

"Ms. Cantrell, there's no need to beat around the bush if you just wanted to know

about Donovan's relationship with Xenia," Noelle replied.

Mia's face instantly turned pale after hearing Noelle's reply. She did not expect Noelle to catch on to what she was really trying to say.