No longer a pushover

Chapter 20

Chapter

20

The slap left Noelle's hand numb. She looked at Cedric in astonishment. Somehow, she felt as if he seemed taller and more formidable. She never expected him to grab her hand to deliver Lucas a slap personally. Everyone went completely silent.

Xenia was overjoyed the moment she saw Lucas getting slapped. She was certain that Lucas would never forgive Noelle now.

Lucas' eyes were rimmed red as he asked in disbelief, "You dared to hit me, Noelle?"

He refused to believe it. He was sure that Noelle would fear upsetting him to the point where he'd ignore her forever.

Noelle slowly retrieved her hand, feeling satisfied. She said calmly, "You slapped me earlier. Is there any problem with me returning the favor?"

Lucas exclaimed, "But I'm your older brother! I was just preventing you from saying the wrong thing and causing trouble. Isn't that different?"

He had always been a prideful person. Even after his apology, he wasn't expecting to be slapped by Noelle, and he felt somewhat embarrassed.

• Cedric asked mockingly, "Can you tell me what she said earlier that might have caused trouble?

Lucas turned to Xenia and replied confidently, "Xenia was feeling emotional earlier. What if she was agitated by Noelle's words and ended up harming herself?"

He was adamant that he did the right thing and that Noelle was the heartless person here. Even if she had won the repechage, he'd ensure that she couldn't harm their family member.

Cedric glanced at Xenia. His gaze turned cold when he said, "We've been talking for a while now. If you truly wanted to kill yourself, why haven't you done it yet? Who are you trying to buy time for?" Xenia was caught off guard by his cruel comments. She did not want to kill herself in the first place. She wondered when Noelle had become close to the sharp-tongued school doctor.

act. She could only start tearing up once again before saying, "I... I panicked earlier. I only wanted-" However, Cedric interrupted her, saying, "Just die somewhere else where no one can see you if you're panicking. However, using suicide

was tired of everything. She glanced at Cedric and said, "Let's

frowned and asked,

"I'm free to

As your guardian, I have the right to ask you about your whereabouts. You can't just leave with some random stranger!" He eyed Cedric warily, wondering if the latter was the reason behind Noelle's drastic changes recently. Lucas stepped forward to block Noelle's path. "Frank is right. You're still young. Don't be deceived by

Noelle away by force,

I'm the one who wants to leave!" She no longer wanted to stay with the Liddell family

phase now, Noelle. You refused to listen to me, but you'll

intentions for her? Is that why you forced Noelle to compromise every time

up every time, yet you still want her to be understanding. If this is truly what your best intentions look like, why don't you

Noelle back then. He had thought that she wouldn't care, seeing how she had always been obedient and never complained. It turned out she had been holding it in the entire time. Frank

spoke first, "I'm Ms. Noelle Liddell's lawyer. We've submitted evidence given her family's history of violence. She'll now be transported somewhere she finds safe under the police's

lawyers for herself and wondered if

glanced at her calmly, giving her a

to mean? We're her

has filed for a protection order, sir. You are now required to stay away from her for six months. We will file a lawsuit against you immediately if you continue to harm

realized that he was about to lose his sister then. He softened his tone and said, "It was my fault for being an incompetent brother. You had to suffer so much, Noelle. But I promise

up. Her eyes were clear as she said, "Forget about it." There was no longer a need for him to do

to water. As expected, they had hurt Noelle's feelings. Now, she refused to

like that when she was their sister. He panicked and turned to Frank. "Find

he asked, "Then why did you hit her earlier,

rash decision now. Still, he attributed it to Xenia's threats to harm herself with a razor. He turned and glared at Xenia, blaming her, "Why must you do such a dangerous thing?" He knew

wanted to calm her down and get her to join the team, Lucas. I'm doing this all for your good!" Xenia refused to admit she was unsure of

you'll calm her down by cutting yourself? You're clearly