Noelle's eyes carried a cold glint as she refuted, "How could I have known Xenia's plan? This is just karma at work."
She glanced at the empty milk bottle on the table. "There's still a little left inside. I'll use it as evidence."
She hadn't drunk the milk and poured most of it out to leave just enough for proof.
Frank looked at Noelle with a complicated gaze. He'd guessed that she'd known about Xenia's plan and simply played along so that Xenia could have a taste of her own medicine. They'd all figured it out.
Frank urged, "Go ahead and get some rest in the guest room, Noelle. We'll deal with this tomorrow."
Noelle turned and entered the guest room.
Once she left, Frank couldn't help but say, "Have you noticed how much Noelle has changed, Blake? She knew about Xenia's vicious scheme and could've stopped it, yet she stayed in the bathroom and watched as Gordon…"
He couldn't accept that Noelle had just stood by and done nothing.
Blake scoffed. "If Noelle hadn't been smart, she would've been the victim tonight. I think she did the right thing, and Xenia deserves to suffer the consequences of her actions."
"But was this really necessary? Couldn't we just give Xenia a lesson?" Frank was unsettled by the fact that Noelle had watched Gordon assault Xenia without interfering.
"You're too soft, Frank. Noelle did the right thing, and we should call the police to have them investigate. Maybe they'll find evidence linking this to Xenia."
"Forget it. Reporting this would ruin the reputation of the ladies in our family. Plus, Xenia has suffered enough."
Blake disagreed but didn't call the police either. They would see how things played out the next day.
Noelle returned to the guest room and locked the door. As she lay in bed, she thought about Gordon and Xenia's thrilling scene and figured the latter must be seething with rage. What a show, huh?
She was too excited to sleep, so she picked up her phone and saw a message from Cedric telling her to reply if she was free. She thought about it before texting back.
. "I've just watched an exciting show, but you're probably asleep by now. I'll tell you about it tomorrow."
As soon as she sent the text, Cedric video-called her. Noelle answered and looked at him on the screen. "Why are you still awake this late?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)