Chapter 54

Noelle’s phone rang. It was Frank. She silenced her phone and ignored the call.

Frank was exasperated. "She's not answering," he told Lucas.

"Frank, I told you she'd crack eventually, yet you let her do whatever she wants. She hit me and Xenia this time."

"Didn't you slap her before? It's even now," Frank countered.

"That's different! I'm her brother! And Xenia did nothing to provoke her."

Frank sighed. "I know, but Noelle isn't easily swayed anymore. If you didn't have an umbrella, you could have asked Aiden for one. Why demand hers?"

Lucas knew Noelle resented them, so why push her? Wasn't that asking for trouble?

"I wanted to save time," Lucas retorted. "Besides, how can she use such a large umbrella alone? If she didn't want to share, fine. But why hit us?"

His anger grew. "This won't do. I'll message her."

He typed, "Noelle, where are you?"

Immediately, a notification appeared: his message couldn't be sent; he'd been blocked.

Lucas paled. "She blocked me! How dare she?"

"I told you not to act rashly," Frank said helplessly. "You're under surveillance; you can't meet her. If she calls the police, you'll go to court."

"Does she think I'm afraid of her? I'll pretend I never had a sister!"

Lucas slammed his phone down, his expression dark. He was humiliated.

"Stop saying stupid things," Frank said. "She's rebelling, upset about everything she's been through. That school doctor's egging her on. But she's still our sister. That won't change."

Frank's gaze was determined. "I'll find a way to get her home. Stop doing stupid things if you don't want to lose her completely."

Lucas fell silent.

He'd only taken two bites of his meal when he commented, "This honey garlic chicken is horrible. Where's the previous chef?"

Gordon hesitated. "Ms. Liddell made it for you. She flavored it to your liking. The other chefs don't know her recipe."

Lucas was stunned. He stared at the chicken, deep in thought. He'd never noticed Noelle's attention to detail.

Since Noelle left, his life and esports team were a mess. His first reaction to being blocked wasn't anger, but panic. He hadn't expected her departure to affect him so much.

Early the next day, Noelle went to school. Xenia was on sick leave.

Frank watched from the corridor as Noelle entered the classroom, sat straight, and studied seriously. He felt a pang of nostalgia. She'd changed so much.

After hesitating, Frank asked Lionel, "How has Noelle been?"

"She's improved greatly," Lionel said. "I hope her family pays more attention to her. I always thought she was a bad student, but she couldn't focus because of you."

"Affected by us?"

"Xenia's always had average results. But Noelle is intelligent. Did you focus so much on Xenia that Noelle purposely did badly to relieve pressure? Xenia's always been a bit petty; that might explain Noelle's poor results for the past three years," Lionel said carefully.

Frank's expression darkened. Had Noelle held herself back for Xenia? He thought of her recent changes and academic improvement. A sharp pain pierced his chest.

Struggling to remain steady, Frank asked, "Mr. Kramer, could you have Noelle come out for a moment?" He needed to ask her himself.

Chapter 55