No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel 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. 

Xenia was now put in an awkward position. She didn’t know whether to place the razor down. or continue her 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 to threaten someone to do something they don’t want to is wrong!” 

Xenia cried out of frustration. She wasn’t acting this time, 

Noelle was tired of everything. She glanced at Cedric and said, “Let’s go.” She refused to waste her time there any longer. 

Frank frowned and asked, “Where are you going? 

Noelle replied, “I’m free to go wherever I want.” 

Frank replied, “You’re still a minor. 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 other men’s lies.” 

Frank stared Cedric down. “If you try to take Noelle away by force, I’ll call the police on you and tell them you’re abducting a minor.” 

Noelle was pissed 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 her. 

Frank looked at Noelle. “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.” 

Cedric chuckled coldly. “You only have the best intentions for her? Is that why you forced Noelle to compromise every time a conflict happens? 

“She’s aggrieved and beaten 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 try being on the receiving end instead?” 

Frank was rendered speechless. He now realized 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 to her. At that moment, the police arrived along with a lawyer.