When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian) novel Chapter 48

Whitney had not been cooking at home as much lately ever since Yvette was hospitalized. Her refrigerator was practically empty, so she visited the supermarket near Coaska Heights to stock up. She pushed her cart through the produce section, selecting ingredients for her meal.

The weather was getting colder, and Whitney planned to make a hearty beef stew. She had already picked out most of the ingredients, with potatoes being the last on her list.

As she reached for a sack of potatoes from the newly stocked display, another hand reached for the same one. Their hands touched, and Whitney looked up to meet a pair of dark eyes that flickered with surprise.

"Noel?" Whitney blurted out, surprised to see him there. She glanced at his cart, filled with frozen meals, milk, and bread.

"Go ahead and take this one. I'll grab another," she said, pulling her hand back.

"You can have it," Noel replied coldly, pushing his cart forward.

As he started to walk away, Whitney called out, "Wait!" She hurried to catch up with him. "You probably haven't eaten yet. I'm making stew and a few other dishes. Why don't you join me?"

Noel studied her for a moment, his gaze intense and his voice low as he asked, "Weren't you planning to move out?"

Whitney shook her head. "Not anymore."

Noah was caught off guard by her answer. After a brief pause, he said, "I remember you saying you didn't want me coming over for meals anymore."

"I wanted to apologize for that. I misunderstood and thought you were..." Whitney trailed off, embarrassed as she stared at her feet.

"Thought I was what?" Noel's voice came from above her.

"It's in the past now. I was wrong, so please just accept my invitation," she stated.

Even Yvette could tell what Noel meant, yet it seemed to fly over her head. Whitney thought it was just stupid of her, so she avoided any explanation. She feared that Noel would be upset at her foolishness if he found out the real reason.

Whitney also could not forget Yvette's words from before, in which she told her, "Noel seems to care so much about you, Whitney. Did he fall for you? I know Noel pretty well. He's a good guy and incredibly handsome, but his family background...

"Being from a political family is different from your usual wealthy family. He probably has little say in who he marries, and someone of our social status wouldn't be considered suitable."