When Love Is a Lie (Whitney and Damian) novel Chapter 89

Unlike many other heirs from affluent families, Noel always kept a clean reputation.

But last night, he suddenly called Thomas, asking to borrow the presidential suite at his hotel.

Intrigued, Thomas couldn't resist teasing him. "Well, well, the stone finally blooms?"

He had expected Noel to deny it, but instead, Noel simply replied, "Are you lending it or not?"

Thomas exclaimed with a grin. "Of course! For my dear friend, I'd offer more than just the suite. I'd even personally wait on you!"

"Get lost," Noel muttered, his tone laced with irritation.

Thomas had pressed further, refusing to let it go. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Noel didn't respond and hung up right away.

Now, in the present, after asking yet another question, Thomas received the same silent treatment.

Thomas raised his glass, clinking it against Noel's and leaning back with an easygoing smile. "Let me guess. Did she reject your advances, refuse to fall for the allure of your tailored suit, and now you're brooding over it?"

"Or could it be that…" Thomas's gaze dropped lower, smirking suggestively.

He didn't even get a chance to say, "It's not working," before Noel's piercing glare cut him off.

"Whoa, easy there. I was just kidding, I'll punish myself with a drink." Thomas chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Noel was naturally reserved, and he became even more reticent when drinking.

Seeing his friend continue to drink in silence, Thomas leaned closer, lowering his voice.

He said, "I know who she is, but I just don't get it. How did you end up falling for your cousin's fiancée?"

Though Thomas might be a playboy, he was also shrewd.

He had already guessed that the person Noel called about last night was Whitney.

From the first time he saw them together at a restaurant, he could sense the odd tension between them.

Later, Noel even bought the apartment across from hers at Coaska Heights under Thomas' name.

The intentions were as clear as day.

Of course, Noel was comfortable letting Thomas in on the secret because he considered him a true friend.

Otherwise, with Noel's guarded nature, Thomas would never have pieced it together.

"Because she's the little girl who once gave me candy," Noel replied, his mind drifting back to over a decade ago.

At that time, he was just twelve, living with his parents at the Howard residence.

He wasn't the top scorer in his recent test, and his father punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall, forbidding him to eat.

His mother didn't plead on his behalf either. She merely told him coldly to accept the punishment.

He had been on his knees for an entire day. His legs had gone numb, and his stomach growled from hunger.

"Hi, are you hungry?" A soft and sweet voice chimed in.

A small, rosy-cheeked girl appeared before him.He recognized her as Whitney, the little girl that Elijah doted on in the Spencer family.

She had bright, sparkling eyes, fair skin, and chubby cheeks that begged to be pinched.