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.

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

said, "Let's

and asked,

replied, "I'm free to go

wondering if the latter was the reason behind Noelle's drastic changes recently. Lucas stepped forward to block Noelle's path.

stared Cedric down. "If you try to take Noelle away by force, I'll call the police on

who wants to leave!" She no longer wanted to stay with the

You refused to listen to me, but you'll understand soon that

coldly. "You only have the best intentions for her? Is that why you

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

how little attention he had paid to 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 realized that he had been an incompetent older brother

Noelle Liddell's lawyer. We've submitted evidence given her family's history of violence. She'll now

any lawyers for herself

glanced at her calmly, giving her a sense

to mean? We're

said, "Ms. Liddell 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 her." Shocked, Lucas found

was my fault for being an incompetent brother. You had to suffer so much, Noelle. But I promise you that it won't happen again.

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

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

back. He wondered how she could just walk away and leave the Liddell family just like that when she was their sister. He panicked and turned to Frank. "Find a way to keep her, Frank! We're a family!" Lucas couldn't simply let her leave when they still

as he asked, "Then why did you hit her earlier, especially when you knew we were

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

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

"Do you think you'll calm her down by cutting