The Lies Behind Her Marriage novel Chapter 212

The One Who Got Away.

Noelle looked emotionally exhausted.

They had been on the road for nearly an hour, and her head kept dipping forward before she jerked it back upright again. One hand remained pressed against her chest, her fingers tightening every now and then as if she were trying to ease the ache there.

Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her face looked noticeably thinner than he remembered. Even her blouse hung a little looser on her frame.

She looked like someone who hadn’t slept properly in days.

This wasn’t the Noelle Rowan Silas knew in the past.

In high school, Noelle had a vibrant smile. She was a go-getter who always knew what she wanted. Her eyes sparkled at the smallest things, and her laughter was infectious.

Sadly, Brian had taken all of that away.

Perhaps that was her biggest downfall. She only wanted one person, and that was Brian Kingsley.

‘If I had met you earlier—if we were neighbors and not Brian, would things have been different?’ Silas wondered, his gaze locked on her.

He remembered well how Noelle and Brian were inseparable. They were childhood best friends who knew everything about each other.

Everyone talked about it in high school. The Rowans and the Kingsleys were close. Silas had seen it himself.

When Noelle won awards, Brian’s family would send flowers and gifts to celebrate her.

Silas had once attended one of Brian Kingsley’s birthday parties and had seen the family portraits displayed there. Noelle appeared in many of them. In short, she had once been treated like a daughter of the Kingsley family.

Despite knowing that Noelle and Brian might end up together, Silas had still tried to show Noelle he was an option.

Many times, he had helped her, but she never thanked him.

The first time Silas had helped her was during a robotics presentation. He challenged her presentation and asked questions that were never raised.

He knew she could answer them, and she did. Noelle earned full merits after her presentation. And Silas? He was proud of how he had helped her.

The first time Noelle outranked him during a quarterly exam, Silas told her, “Don’t get comfortable. I’ll take first place next exam.”

Noelle never liked the threat. Instead, she studied harder for the next exam.

The awards and the top ranking didn’t always go to Noelle. Silas also had to prove himself to his parents, but the competition truly amused him. He saw Noelle as someone deserving of his attention.

There were times when Silas would subtly give Noelle hints of how much he liked her. Back then, he would praise her with words like:

“You’re the only person in this school who can argue with me for ten minutes without collapsing.”

“At least if I lose first place, it’s to someone competent.”

One time, when Noelle beat him at a quiz bowl, Silas genuinely congratulated her. He said, “You did great. Just don’t let it get to your head.”

Silas had even shown Noelle a hint of his jealousy.

“Kingsley again? Don’t you ever get tired of talking about him?” he used to say.

“You should try having conversations with people who can actually keep up with you.”

On one occasion, he made himself clear.

“You really like Kingsley that much?” Silas asked during a group study session.

Noelle blinked at him. “Of course. He’s my best friend. I'll marry Brian one day.”

He couldn’t find his father at the time, nor his mother. Sterling and Celine were busy mingling with other business partners.

An intern offered to assist him. She was very persistent and even followed him through the hallways, but Silas rejected the offer, saying, “It’s fine. I can manage.”

He made his way to his room, but along the way, he bumped into a man.

“Hey, watch it!” the man said.

Silas was holding his keycard at that time, but it fell on the floor. After the encounter, he picked up the keycard and continued to his room. Before going in, he noticed the unknown man tracing his steps back.

He didn’t think much of it and stepped inside his room. After turning off the lights, he lay down on the bed.

Sometime later, the door opened again. Someone stumbled into the room—a woman who looked far more dazed and unsteady than he was.

This woman was someone he thought he knew. Or at least someone he had liked for a very long time.

Under normal circumstances, Silas would never have let things go that far. But the woman’s desperation stirred something in him, a strange heat coursing through his veins. Only then did he realize something was wrong.

His mind felt sluggish while his pulse raced. Whatever he had ingested was clearly affecting him, leaving his body unnaturally restless.

A lot happened between him and that woman.

But it was only after the sun came up that Silas clearly saw the woman lying next to him.

She was the girl from high school.

The one who got away.

Noelle Rowan.