Chapter 8
Noelle his play, and the recording slowly started to play
Leia’s voice came through loud and clear. “Noelle, I’m really sorry.
“Huh? For what? Noelle responded confused
“I didn’t expect Eli to be so cruel, putting you in the storage room, Leia’s voice was full of regret. “You’re the real heiress of the Anderson family This room should be yours, not mine.”
“Really? Well, since that’s the case, why don’t we just swap rooms? I’ll take this one, and you can have the storage room”
“Alright, just remind me at dinner tonight, and I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about it”
“Why do I have to remind you?”
Tve got a terrible memory, so I might forget,”
way then
“Okay
When the recording ended, a weird tension settled in the air.
Lela, sitting at the table, clenched her fists under the table, cursing to herself, Dunn it, Noelle. She secretly recorded met She is way more cunning than I thought!
“Sert Leia said this room should be mine, Noelle said, casually putting her phone away and eyeing the meat on the table like nothing was happening.
The Anderson family exchanged looks, all of them trying to make sense of the recording. What the hell are we supposed to made of the
Ell took a deep breath and walked over to Noelle, his steps steady and calm. Without saying a word, he lightly–but firmly–tapped her on the head.
“Ouch” Noelle yelped, her eyes shooting up to meet his. “Eli, what was that for?”
El looked like he was about to snap, but there was a flicker of relief in his eyes. He shook his head, exasperated. “You’re such an idiot! Leia was just – being polite, and you actually took it seriously
He had long realized that Noelle didn’t exactly think like everyone else, but he didn’t expect her to be this clueless about basic social interactions.
“Polite?” Noelle blinked, completely confused. She turned to Leia, her face blank. “Leia, you were just being polite?
Now the pressure was on Leia. She had just set Noelle up to look like the bully, but now her own words were under fire. If she admitted it was all just politeness, she’d look completely insincere
“What the hell do I say now? Les cursed silently. ‘Damn it, Noelle! You actually recorded that conversation! Such a sneaker bitch!”
When Leia stayed silent, Damon couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped at Noelle. “Leia was being totally genuinet But you? How could you just agree to that without even thinking?”
“Huh?” Noelle tilted her head, clearly confused. “But she agreed 100.“
“You think Lea would just agree for no reason? You’re totally taking advantage of her!” Damon’s words made Noelle feel more and more cornered.
“I didn’t” Noelle pouted, throwing Leia a frustrated look. “Leia, if you didn’t want to, why not just say so? I wouldn’t have pushed it! But now you’re making it sound like I did something wrong?
Leia was so stunned she couldn’t even respond, her mind screaming, Can someone just shut her up already?”
“Alright, enough,” Adriel interjected, stepping in to break up the mess. He turned to Noelle and said, “There are a bunch of empty rooms upstairs. Pick whichever one you like.”
“Fine,” Noelle mumbled, still looking pissed off
Suddenly, a piece of bok choy landed in her plate. She blinked and turned to see Eli sitting next to her.
His expression was serious, but his voice was tinged with mild concern. “Stopj
› just eating meat. You need some vegetables, too.”
1/2
Chapter 8
Eli had noticed she hadn’t touched any vegetables since she sat down, just meat after meat
Noelle glared at the greens in her bowl, her frustration growing. She felt wronged–like she couldn’t even enjoy her food.
Annoyed, she pushed the bok choy back into Eli’s plate and muttered, “Not eating it.”
Eli’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘She really has the nerve to give me attitude?”
After dinner. Noelle went to pick a room, and Eli silently followed her. As he replayed the scene at the table in his mind, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervouE.
He knew Leia wasn’t trying to make things harder for Noelle, but without that recording, Noelle would’ve been stuck with the reputation of bullying Leia. Life at the Anderson house would’ve been a nightmare for her.
At least the recording saved her.
Eli couldn’t help but feel curious. Noelle seems so clueless most of the time, so how the hell did she even think of recording the conversation!”
“Noelle” Eli’s voice rang out in the hallway, laced with a hint of curiosity.
Noelle peeked her head out from behind the half–open door, her big eyes blinking in confusion. “Eli, what’s up?
Eli locked eyes with her and got straight to the point. “When you were talking to Leia, what made you suddenly decide to record the conversation!”
Noelle shrugged casually and responded without a second thought, “Oh, it’s just my professional instinct. I mean, recording things is just safer, you
know?”
“Professional instinct?” Eli blinked, taken aback. He couldn’t help but press further, “What do you mean by professional instinct?”
Noelle flashed a bright smile, not the least bit hesitant about her past. “Oh, I used to be an agent. So, it’s pretty much second nature by now.”
Without waiting for Eli to respond, she turned back to her room hunt, casually strolling through the empty rooms.
Eli stood frozen, as if the air around him had suddenly thickened.
His face drained of color as he watched Noelle hop from room to room. A sinking feeling spread through him. This is a disaster. Not only is she scatterbrained, but she might actually be delusional!”
‘Maybe… he thought, maybe I should just take her to a psychiatrist tomorrow. This isn’t normal…‘
