Chapter 8
Chapter 8:
But Ethan seemed to read her mind without even trying.
He looked at her, one brow lifting slightly. His throat moved as he spoke, his voice calm and steady. “I remember p>
Noelle’s heart skipped a beat.
Of all the possibilities she had imagined, this was the one she feared most.
To put it simply, their relationship had always been complicated.
Even though she had been adopted, Jeffery and Babette had given her a good life. Jeffery had powerful friends, and among them was Levi, the former head of the influential Martin family.
Naturally, Levi had often visited—with Ethan in tow. That was how she and Ethan had first crossed paths.
As kids, they spent a lot of time together. Maybe too much. The adults had taken that as a sign and arranged for the two of them to get married someday. Back then, Noelle was too young to truly understand what a marriage arrangement meant. But as she grew older and began to realize what it involved, the entire idea started to make her uncomfortable. Being around Ethan only made it worse.
Ethan didn’t seem happy about it either. In fact, he often acted cold and oddly hostile—especially when she spent time with the boy next door. His words were sharp, as if he knew exactly how to get under her skin.
Their arguments grew worse over time, shifting from childish teasing to genuine, heated fights. Eventually, they couldn’t stand each other.
𝗗𝗈𝗐ոl𝗈ad 𝖯D𝗙𝘀 𝖿𝗋е𝘦 𝗈ո
By high school, Noelle had hit her rebellious phase. She marched right up to Jeffery one day and told him she wanted to call off the arrangement—because she had fallen for a boy in her class.
When Ethan found out, he stormed into her room that night, looking like he had walked straight out of a thunderstorm. His voice was ice-cold as he asked her if she had completely lost her mind.
She had never seen him so angry. They argued—loudly, painfully—and everything fell apart that night. After that fight, Ethan left to study abroad, and she hadn’t seen him since.
She hadn’t even recognized him when she got into the car.
He had changed so much. The boy she once knew was long gone.
The cityscape outside the window blurred into streaks as the car sped along the road.
Noelle noticed that Ethan hadn’t touched the stack of documents beside him since she got into the car. Instead, his long fingers kept brushing lightly against a faint scar on his left wrist. It looked almost like a bite mark.
Noticing her gaze, Ethan spoke casually, a playful edge in his voice. “A little wild kitten gave me that p>
Noelle blinked, speechless.
Ethan’s brows lifted slightly, as if a memory had surfaced. “Short fuse, sharp tongue—real firecracker, that one p>