No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 659

Cedric could barely see anything around him—the smoke was thick, and visibility was almost zero. He shouted as loudly as he could, "Noelle! Where are you?"

His heart was pounding as he searched through the haze, each second dragging on like forever. He had never known time could feel so agonizingly slow. "Noelle, where the hell are you?"

"I'm over here." The voice was faint, barely audible through the noise, but Cedric immediately followed the sound. Then, he found Noelle curled up behind a large ceramic planter near a window, clutching the prototype tightly in her arms.

Cedric rushed over, tore off his jacket, and wrapped it around her. His voice trembled with anger as he barked, "You were willing to risk your life over a prototype?"

Noelle opened her mouth to speak but ended up coughing violently from the smoke. The air was harsh and acrid.

"Don't talk," Cedric ordered. "I'm getting you out of here."

He shielded her with his body and moved toward the exit, but the fire had grown larger and blocked their path. Noelle's heart skipped—she could see the flames spreading, and panic gripped her chest. She could not help but wonder if Cedric was insane for running into this mess just to save her.

Just then, the firefighters burst through the doors and began dousing the flames. Within moments, they had the situation under control.

It was only then that Cedric guided Noelle outside, not letting go of her for a second. The first thing he did was check her from head to toe.

However, Noelle was not worried about herself—she immediately checked the sample in her arms. Upon seeing that it was completely intact, she finally let out a relieved breath.

She looked up at Cedric, eyes glowing. "Look! It's okay—I protected it."

Cedric saw the joy in her eyes and felt his anger begin to melt away, though moments ago, he had been ready to lose his mind. He thought, "What a fool. Did she really think the prototype was more important than her life?"

His jaw tightened. "You're still worried about that? Do you even care about staying alive?"

Noelle blinked at him, finally snapping out of it. "I didn't expect the fire to get so big. I just kept thinking about how the sample's due next week—if we didn't have it ready for the conference, what would the company do?"

This was her first major breakthrough in life, and she could not let it all go to waste.

She could not shake the feeling that the fire had not been an accident. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, her throat and nose began to ache. Even with her mouth covered earlier, she had definitely breathed in some of the smoke.

Cedric noticed the discomfort on her face and immediately grabbed her hand. He said, "Come on. We're going to the hospital."

They had barely taken a few steps when Ryan called out in alarm, "Noelle! Your leg's bleeding!"

Noelle looked down—and sure enough, her calf was scraped and burned, blood dripping down her ankle. She had not even noticed it until now. But now that she had, the pain was starting to hit her hard.

Cedric's eyes darkened. He did not say a word and simply scooped her up into his arms. Then, he strode straight toward the elevator.

Noelle could feel everyone's eyes on them and whispered, flustered, "Put me down... I can walk on my own."

"It's just a minor injury," she added quickly. "Not like my leg is broken or anything."