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.

Cedric interrupted her, saying, "Just die somewhere else where no one can see you if you're panicking. However, using suicide to threaten someone to do something they don't want to

She glanced at Cedric and said, "Let's go." She refused

frowned and asked, "Where are

"I'm free to go wherever I

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

take Noelle away by force, I'll call the police on you and tell

off. "He's not abducting me. I'm the one who wants to leave!" She no longer wanted to stay with the Liddell family anymore. They were suffocating

"I know you're in your rebellious phase now, Noelle. You refused to listen to me, but you'll understand soon that I only have the best intentions for

"You only have the best intentions for her? Is that why you forced Noelle to

If this is truly what your best

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 to her. At

"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

she hadn't hired any lawyers for herself and wondered if Cedric had hired one

calmly, giving her a sense

to mean? We're her guardians. You have no right to

six months. We will file a lawsuit against you immediately if you

sister then. He softened his tone and said, "It was my fault for

was no longer a need for him to do so. She turned around

Noelle's feelings. Now, she refused

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

why did you hit

that he was the one who lashed out first. He regretted his 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

calm her down and get her to join the team, Lucas. I'm

in disbelief. "Do you think you'll calm her down