LOGINNoelle walked out of Laurence’s study. When the door slipped shut, she stood outside for a bit before heading downstairs. Jane and Lilian had finished their supper. Jane was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen while Lilian stayed at the dining table. The two ladies seemed to be chatting. Picking up on Noelle’s footsteps, Lilian stopped talking. Noelle wanted to do the dishes for Jane, but Jane was done with the task. “Mom, just leave the dishes to me next time.” Jane replied, “I’m not helpless. I’ll keep going while I still can. I don’t need to leave the chores to you, especially since you’re already busy every day. You need to relax at home and stop sweating the small stuff.“Lilian and I aren’t princesses. It won’t kill us to do the dishes. Stop acting as if you let us down.” After putting away the dishes and cleaning her hands, Jane gave Noelle a squeeze on the cheek. “Lilian is right. I can’t get a good pinch like before. You need to start caring for your skin better.
Laurence grimaced. He glared at Noelle. Any idiot could see how he felt about her. Noelle, perceptive about everything else as she was, would not be oblivious. Yet, Noelle had to name Callia as the woman he loved. It was true that he adored Callia, but it was familial. He cared for Callia as a brother would. Callia was a lot younger than he was. In some ways, Laurence practically raised her. With Laurence’s expression turning sour, Noelle smiled embarrassedly. “Sir, i-it was just an assumption. The only young girls around you are Chloe and Callie.”“Thank goodness the Yorks aren’t here to hear that, or else I’d never be able to set foot in Wildridge Manor. They’d treat me like a predator.” Caught between laughter and tears, Laurence said, “Chloe and Callie are just family to me. There’s nothing romantic between us. Can’t you tell? “Stop talking nonsense. Chloe has Devon, and Callie has Xavier. I’m in no business to break them up.” Noelle smiled awkwardly, not divul
Not responding right away, Laurence quietly stared at Noelle. It was as if he was checking to see whether Noelle was lying. Noelle stood there, a face of composure. Jane and Lilian did talk about Laurence settling down, so technically, she was not lying. “What did you say?” Laurence knew that Noelle had lied through her teeth. Even though she was convincing, he saw through her, especially since she gripped her pants in secret. That was a telltale sign that she was not truthful. Not calling her out on the lie, Laurence let her spin the story. He trusted that Jane and Lilian were on his side to push the two of them together. The hard part was not telling Noelle how he felt. He had no problems doing that. His concern was Noelle’s attitude. She might not accept his feelings. Laurence could tell that Noelle felt something for him, but the real hurdle was her fixation on their social standing. If Noelle could not let go of that obsession, Noelle would only push him away,
“If they break in through the perimeter, my powder attacks will only catch them off guard once. By wave two, they’ll be wearing full gear and masks to protect themselves against the attack.” Lilian blinked. “That’s right. It’s only useful for sneak or surprise attacks. Now that they are ready for us, the powder won’t work anymore. “It’s okay. Out of all the chemicals you have, one is bound to work. “Besides, it’s going to be fun trapping them in here for a good beating once they infiltrate the place.“My only concern is that they can’t get in. Your security is too tight.” Laurence smiled and said, “I could accidentally let them in through the front door and shut them in. Then, we can get them real good behind closed doors. “Enjoy your food. I’ll get out of your hair.” Laurence’s mind was preoccupied with Noelle. He did not believe that Lilian simply had small talk with Noelle. Surely, something else was said. Laurence had no idea what Jane and Lilian said to Noelle tha
“Mom. Master.” Laurence’s voice came from the kitchen. “I made you pasta. The food is ready.” Jane and Lilian stopped grilling Noelle. Their intention was to put a little pressure on Noelle, so she could face her feelings and be with Laurence. Noelle and Laurence were made for each other. Plus, they knew each other inside out since they had been in each other’s lives since childhood. Laurence could not make the first move, afraid that something might happen to him, which would end up hurting Noelle. On the other hand, Noelle was held back by her own insecurities that came with her upbringing. The pair could use a little push, or it would be years before they could be honest about their feelings. Society was less cruel to men who were still single in their thirties, but Noelle’s biological clock was ticking. Noelle was like a daughter to Jane and Lilian. The ladies wanted to shield Noelle from all the hurt. They could not sit by and watch Laurence drag his feet. For th
The reason for Roxy’s jealousy was that Noelle got to stick close to Laurence every waking minute, and that Laurence was nice to her. It took a while before Noelle found her voice. “Mom, Lilian, I-I’ll follow Mr. Laurence only when he’s out and about after he gets married. I’ll make myself scarce once he reaches his destination. I can keep my distance that way.“Laurence’s future wife should know who I am and where I stand in the family when she dates him, so she won’t get the wrong idea.” “Noelle, what do you think about Laurence? I want you to look beyond your commitment to him and think as a woman. Do you think he’s worth settling down with?” Jane asked. Jane gestured for Lilian to stop talking for fear of pushing Noelle too far. “Mr. Laurence is a good man. Regardless of the perspective, he’s a wonderful man, worth spending the rest of anyone’s life with.” The way Noelle saw it, Laurence was the best. “Have you ever stopped to wonder if Laurence’s affection for you is
Serenity helped her sister close up before getting into the car with her.“I asked Aunt Audrey for help and she was very happy to help. Oh, right! I have some good news. Alice is pregnant.”Alice had gone for a medical check-up and found that her discomfort as of late was due to pregnancy.She had been
The moment Serenity opened the door, a palm swung toward her.She reacted quickly and caught the hand.It was Jessica.Jessica thought the person who came to open the door would be Liberty and raised a hand to slap the moment the door opened. She did not expect it to be Serenity instead. Serenity learn
Serenity held the watering can in her right hand and raised it when she turned to look at him. She was showing him that she was using her right hand.She injured her left hand.“It’s tiring if you only use one hand too. I told Mrs. Lane to take good care of these flowers. You don’t have to worry about
After struggling to take his eyes off Serenity, Zachary quietly followed his sister-in-law out. Grabbing the paper and pen, Serenity wrote an apology and left her name and phone number so she could discuss repairs when the person got in touch. Seeing the anti-theft lock was unused, Serenity put the







