No longer a pushover

Chapter 3

The next morning, Noelle's phone buzzed continuously with notifications.

After the noise woke Noelle up, she checked her phone, her expression dark. These notifications were all from a forum app, and her message inbox was flooded with insults.

She was no stranger to such insults, as the incident of her pushing Xenia into the pool last night had been uploaded to the campus forum.

Xenia was very popular in school, and most people began berating Noelle.

Despite her throbbing headache, Noelle jumped into the fray and lashed back at her haters. The number of comments on the forum spread to over a thousand, causing the page administrator to think that the forum had been hacked. After posting her response, she tossed her phone aside and lay back down. Now that she no longer had to please the Liddell brothers and care about her reputation, she would just live however she wanted.

Not long after, a maid knocked at her door. "Ms. Liddell, it's time to get up for school. You're going to be late."

It wasn't until then that Noelle realized she still had to go to school that day. She splashed cold water on her face to wake herself up.

If she wanted to leave the Liddell family, she had to graduate and get into a university far away from here. She changed into her uniform and headed downstairs with her backpack.

Just then, Frank and Blake turned up.

Noticing Noelle's slightly flushed face, Frank walked over and instinctively reached out to her forehead to check her temperature.

But Noelle dodged his hand and headed to the dining room instead. She took a seat, knowing that she needed to eat breakfast to get better and gain the energy to focus on her studies. She was aiming for Yole University, after all.

Frank's hand paused mid-air. As he awkwardly lowered his hand, Blake snorted and said, "I told you she's an ingrate. Unlike Xenia, who has always been weak, she's as strong as an ox. She's burning up just because she fell into the water last night and caught a cold. "But Noelle? She'll never get sick!"

Frank fell silent. It was true that Noelle had always been in excellent health. He approached the dining table and said, "Xenia's sick, so you'll have to take care of her for the next few days at school until she's fully recovered. Got it?"

Now that Noelle had become more rebellious as she grew older, he thought he couldn't spoil her like before. He would force her to learn if she didn't know how to be grateful.

your life, but you almost killed her," Blake chimed in. "You must

but she still forced herself to eat. With less than 100 days until the entrance exam, she was determined to

him,

You'll have to hurry up so the food doesn't get

Noelle replied coldly, though she had

her tears. She had thought that living her life over again wouldn't upset her anymore, but Blake's earlier words pierced her heart like a needle. Memories of how Frank

born weak, her brothers' attention was always drawn

had a fever, she had to bear

to rest. She reminded herself that she just had to bear it a little longer. It was less than 100 days

school, she went straight to her senior-year classroom. As soon as she entered, the noisy classroom fell silent. Rumors of her outburst on the forum spread across the school, and everyone wondered if she had lost her mind. "I wonder what triggered Noelle to

so she's given up on maintaining a façade. She's just being

she could hear them. She dropped her bag down on her desk and went

an IV

another position

hard. She glanced up

was standing in front of her, flanked by her

Noelle, even fabricating lies to bring up her brothers. "Noelle, what would you like for lunch?" Xenia began meekly. "I'll go get it for you. Please don't be

Noelle replied

you!" Gwen hissed. "You're so ungrateful. Xenia is

care of Xenia instead. She got sick because of

guys. I can take care of myself. I've always been on my own. Stop criticizing

No

classroom. Just

fell on the broken glass. What a

classroom erupted into chaos, and Noelle sensed an impending headache. She was just about to say something when her vision went black, and she fainted. When she woke up, the scent of disinfectant filled her senses. She wondered if she was

103°F. You've been pushing your body too far. Are you trying to