No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 1042

Blake stood up. "That's enough, Donovan. Don't you realize how inappropriate what you just said was?"

Donovan fumed. "What's inappropriate about that? I'm only thinking for the sake of the Liddells!"

"But you're also thinking about yourself. Noelle is incredibly talented, but we hurt her. Now that she's willing to help us, it's giving us a chance to prove ourselves. Who would be shameless enough to expect something in return from their sister?"

Donovan slumped back into his seat, muttering, "Now we even have to earn the right to prove ourselves? It's not like we owe her anything."

Blake retorted, "Actually, we do."

Lucas spoke up as well, "I agree with Blake. We do owe Noelle."

Still unwilling to back down, Donovan believed his eldest brother's ego was bruised. "But Carl's helping too. Surely he can't just do it for free?"

It was only now that Carl finally spoke. "Blake's right. Helping our sister shouldn't come with conditions."

Noelle got up and looked at Carl. "But business is business. Since this involves Mrs. Greene's treatment, feel free to make any requests you have. The Greene family doesn't want to owe the Liddell family anything either."

Frank asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to my room to rest." She refused to stay around them any longer.

After Noelle left, Blake couldn't help but glare at Donovan. "Donovan, do you not see what you did wrong?"

Donovan snorted. "I know Noelle was treated unfairly, but we didn't know the truth either. Everyone's hurt!"

Blake sarcastically chimed in, "Even so, you shouldn't take Carl as an excuse. He's not asking for anything from her, and that's got nothing to do with you."

Seeing another argument, Carl stepped in. "That's enough."

Donovan turned to him. "Was I really in the wrong?"

Carl's hands slowly clenched. "We were wrong, Donovan. We still have a chance to make it right, so why won't you cherish it?"

Noelle returned to her room upstairs, only to find Xenia standing across the hallway with a swollen pregnant belly. She was giving Noelle a chilling glare.

Xenia let out a cold snort. "You're the one who ordered them to lock me in, aren't you? You're not letting me go anywhere, huh?"

Noelle calmly replied, "You should be grateful you're still in this big villa, well-fed and well-kept. Do you think you'll live some kind of good life once you leave the Liddells?"

"If it weren't for you, you wouldn't have gotten the evidence so quickly. Now, my dad has agreed to confess, too. I'm not planning to go anywhere before this baby is born, so stop locking me up!"

Xenia snapped, clearly unwilling to accept her fate.

"That's not my concern." Noelle didn't want to waste another word. She turned and stepped into her room, reaching to shut the door.

But suddenly, Xenia lunged forward and grabbed it. "Noelle, we're settling this today, and you're not walking away!"

Noelle had no interest in arguing. She yanked the door forcefully, only for Xenia to stumble back and crash to the floor with a painful, piercing scream.