When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian) novel Chapter 84

Whitney was startled and instinctively raised her hands to shield herself, fearing Noel was about to do something unexpected.

But instead, he just stared at the right side of her face, his expression growing colder.

"Did your father do this?" His voice was nearly icy, and the air in the elevator seemed to chill.

In the dim light of the car, Noel hadn't noticed her swollen right cheek.

But now, in the bright elevator, he could clearly see it. Her cheek was red and swollen, with faint finger marks etched into her skin.

Whitney looked at herself in the mirror on the elevator wall, gently pressing her tongue against her sore cheek. "It's nothing. The swelling will go down by tomorrow."

She brushed it off, lowering her head slightly, letting her hair fall over her face to hide it. She didn't want Noel to see her in this state.

The elevator chimed, signaling they'd reached the top floor. Whitney followed Noel down the hall, realizing they were heading to the presidential suite.

They stopped in front of a door, and Noel pulled out a key card. It seemed he had a permanent room here.

With a soft beep, the door unlocked.

"Have a seat first," Noel said, heading toward the kitchen.

Whitney sat down on the sofa, looking around the suite. It was clean and orderly, not surprising for a hotel room, as it would be regularly cleaned.

Her gaze drifted to a corner of the room, where a black, lacy camisole lay casually on the chaise by the window.

She froze for a moment, quickly looking away, feeling her cheeks heat up.

Her mind began to race. Was this his personal suite, or was there another woman he brought here because it was inconvenient to take her back to his place?

After all, she'd never seen him bring a woman home to Coaska Heights.

Given his status, he probably preferred to keep things low profile.

"Hold this against your cheek," Noel's deep voice pulled her from her thoughts.

She looked up, seeing him holding an ice pack, illuminated by the soft light above.

Standing there, he looked almost angelic, his sharp features softened by the glow.

Once again, she couldn't help but admit that Noel was annoyingly handsome.

The Howard genes were strong, but it seemed Noel had gotten the best of them.

Realizing she was staring, Whitney quickly snapped out of it.

She took the ice pack from his hand, pressing it gently to her cheek, savoring the coolness. She replied politely, "Thank you."

Despite herself, her eyes drifted back to the black lace camisole. No matter how good-looking he was, he still had the flaws of any man.

"It's not convenient for you to stay in the master bedroom. You can use the guest room tonight," Noel said.

Whitney nodded. It was understandable. After all, the master bedroom was probably where he entertained other women. She felt a slight pang in her chest.