Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 280

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Chapter 280

Jessa

The ride back from the overlook was quiet.

Not uncomfortable quiet.

Just… thoughtful quiet.

The kind where both people are thinking about the same thing but neither one knows exactly what to say next.

The sun had already started dipping low, turning the sky orange behind the trees. I watched it through the passenger window while Noah drove, one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel.

My brain was still replaying the conversation over and over.

Because it hadn’t gone the way I expected.

Not even close.

When I first said the word Oregon, I’d braced myself.

I thought he might get quiet.

Or confused.

Or worse… hurt.

Instead he had just said something simple.

“You should go.”

I glanced over at him.

He caught me looking and lifted one eyebrow slightly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“That sounded like something.”

I shook my head.

“I’m just thinking.”

“Dangerous hobby.”

I smiled faintly and leaned my head back against the seat.

He had said it so easily.

You should go.

Like it didn’t scare him at all.

Like the idea of his girlfriend possibly moving three thousand miles away wasn’t a big deal.

And that made something inside my chest twist in a completely unexpected way.

Because part of me had almost hoped he would panic.

Chapter 280

Not in a dramatic way.

ust… enough to show that the idea of losing me bothered him.

nstead he had supported me.

Which somehow made everything harder.

Noah turned onto the street that led toward my house.

‘You’re doing the thinking face again.”

‘I am not.”

‘You definitely are.”

sighed.

‘I just didn’t think that conversation would go like that.”

‘Like what?”

‘You being so calm about it.”

He shrugged slightly.

‘What did you want me to do?”

‘I don’t know.”

‘Start crying?”

laughed.

“That would’ve been memorable.”

‘Good to know.”

I shook my head.

“I thought you’d be upset.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s far.”

“Yeah, Oregon is definitely far.”

“That’s my point.”

He pulled the truck up in front of my house but didn’t shut the engine off right away

Instead he turned toward me.

“Jess.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not going to be the guy who tells you not to chase something just because it makes my life inconvent

My stomach did that strange flip again.

“It’s not just inconvenient.”

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Chapter 280

“I know.”

His voice was calm.

“But you getting into a school like that is a big deal.”

“It might not even happen.”

“Maybe not.”

He shrugged.

“But the possibility is still pretty cool.”

I looked down at my hands in my lap.

The truth was, hearing him say that made something inside me soften.

Because for years it felt like the world had already decided what I was allowed to do.

What I was allowed to be.

The girl who didn’t fit.

The girl who didn’t belong.

The girl who should be grateful for whatever scraps of acceptance she got.

And here Noah was…

Acting like I deserved something bigger.

“You’re taking this really well,” I said quietly.

He leaned his elbow against the steering wheel.

“Well, I did have a moment earlier where I thought you were about to break up with me.”

I groaned.

“Oh my God.”

“That was a stressful thirty seconds.”

“You’re ridiculous,”

“I’m serious,” he said. “I thought you were going to say something like ‘we need to talk.“”

“That phrase is dangerous.”

“It really is.”

I laughed again.

Then the laughter faded as another thought crept in.

“Can I be honest about something?”

He nodded.

“Always.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to hurt you.”

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Chapter 290

His expression softened a little.

“You didn’t hurt me.”

“I thought maybe you’d feel like… I was planning a future that didn’t include you.”

He shook his head slowly.

“Jess.”

“What?”

“You’re allowed to plan a future.”

“I know but-”

“And you’re not required to limit your life just because we’re dating.”

The words landed heavier than he probably meant them to.

Because suddenly I realized something.

He was giving me permission to leave.

Not in a bad way.

Not like he didn’t care.

Just in a way that meant he respected my future.

And for some reason that made my chest tighten.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“Because you’re being mature.”

“That’s insulting.”

“I didn’t know you were capable of it.”

“Wow.”

I smiled a little.

But inside my head another thought had started formning.

If Oregon actually became real…