Now that only the family was left, Mallory came to her father’s side and glared at Meira and Noah. "This girl ruined our image. She needs to be taught a lesson."
Noah stood like a wall in front of Meira as he said coldly, "She is my wife now, and I won’t stand by quietly if you plan to teach her a lesson."
Natalie raised a brow in astonishment at how protective Noah was being toward the little girl.
"She is a daughter of our family," Mallory said.
"Not anymore," Noah countered. He didn’t wait for Justin to even step in. If she was married to him, he had to take a stand.
"We don’t accept you in our family," Mallory spat out.
"I don’t need it either," he replied.
Meira, hiding behind him, didn’t dare come out, feeling completely protected behind this man.
"Keep quiet, Mallory," Marina said as she walked toward them. "Meira can marry whoever she wants. No one should force her." She then turned to Noah. "Meira, come out."
Meira stepped out slowly and looked at the old woman.
"You chose Noah. I’m happy for you. You have my blessings," Marina said.
Meira didn’t know what to say at the remark about her choosing Noah. That hadn’t exactly been the case.
"Thank you, Ms. Marina," Noah said on Meira’s behalf.
Justin looked at Aeldric, who could only swallow his anger. "Want to say anything else, old man?"
Aeldric glared at him and walked away. Mallory and Grace left as well.
Marina looked at Justin. "You should have told me about it. I was so nervous for my girl."
"I’m sorry," he replied.
"Now that they are married, what do you plan for them?" Marina asked.
"I’m sending both of them back to Imperial City. It’s not good for Meira to stay here. Now that she’s married and everyone knows about it, she’s free to go with Noah—and the old man won’t stop her," Justin added.
"That was a good decision. Now he won’t dare use Meira against you."
All of them left the event hall. Soon, Noah and Meira were ready to leave for Imperial City.
Before leaving, Noah and Justin had a moment alone.
"Mr. Handrix, I would have liked to stay here and work with you," Noah said. "I am, after all, your assistant."
"Don’t worry. Even in your absence, I can handle everything here. You just go and help Meira settle there. That’s the best thing you can do for me at this moment," Justin replied. "Take care of her."
Noah hummed in response, and Justin handed him an envelope.
Noah opened it and heard Justin say, "From now on, you’re the branch head of NextEra in Imperial City."
Meira pulled out her seatbelt but fumbled with how to fasten the buckle. She looked at Noah’s belt, trying to figure out how he had done it.
Noah noticed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and showed her how to do it again. This time, she followed correctly and managed to secure it.
But then, all of a sudden, she felt the jet begin to move and looked outside the window. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of flying, and she wondered if it would be acceptable to scream out in fear.
Her palms had already started to sweat as the jet picked up speed. Panic was clear on her face, and her breathing grew shallow. Her delicate hands gripped the armrests as if they were her only lifeline.
Utter fear was evident in her expression, and she felt an overwhelming urge to get off the jet right away.
She closed her eyes, tears already forming in them, trying to control herself—she didn’t want to be an inconvenience to anyone.
Just then, she felt warmth on her cold hand that clutched the armrest. A warm hand squeezed it gently to comfort her. She opened her eyes and looked at the man sitting in the chair across the aisle.
Noah had unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned slightly toward her to hold her hand.
"It’s alright," he said, his gaze and tone gentle and reassuring.
Meira nodded slightly, and soon she felt the jet had steadied. It was calm now, unlike the rush of movement on the runway.
"You can look outside now. You’ll feel better," Noah said and was about to retreat his hand, but she held it back.
Noah let her be and watched as she gathered the courage to look outside. Her eyes widened in awe at the sight of the city below, brightened with millions of tiny lights—like stars scattered across a dark curtain. It looked beautiful.
Slowly, she let go of Noah’s hand as she relaxed and continued watching the view.
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