Chapter 113

"I called you all back today to celebrate Noelle. Do you really have to bring—"

Kimberly saw Jeha hurt by Damon’s words. She frowned and said, "Tragedy down the middle on such an important day?"

Eli, already fed up with Leia, didn’t hold back. Ever since he found out she had gone behind Noelle’s back and told Reyna what she said, he had stopped being kindhearted. Now, hearing Damon defend Leia and even call her their mom, Eli rolled his eyes.

"Exactly,” he said. “Noelle has done something amazing. Everyone is happy for her. Leia herself said that she sees Noelle but she's happy! What, is she dying of jealousy or something?"

"Her sister? So why—"

Damon’s jaw clenched. “Eli, watch your m—”

Eli sniggered, unfazed. “What? Am I wrong!”

Just as things were about to escalate, Vincent slammed his spoon down with a loud clank. “That’s enough," he said sharply. "You two need to learn some respect! Are we really going to turn this into a shouting match?"

Damon and Eli shot each other a look but backed down. The room fell into tense silence.

Kimberly sighed and turned to Damon. "I’m not playing favorites,” she said, her voice softer. “Tonight is about Noelle. Of course, she’s the center of attention. And Leia, she’s already doing well for herself. She’s Reyna’s last student, and now that she’s signed with Lighting Media, her future is bright. She doesn’t need to feel insecure just because Noelle’s working as a composer for The Legend.”

Charlie, who had been quiet the entire time, finally looked up. “Mom,” he said, his voice calm but firm, “if you can, try not to bring up Reyna in front of Leia.”

Kimberly frowned. “Why? What happened?”

Charlie hesitated, but since it was already out in the open, he decided to just say it. “Reyna’s in the middle of a scandal. Because of that, Phoenix Entertainment and I have decided to cut ties with Lighting Media. She’s pissed about it, but since she can’t do anything to me, she’ll probably take it out on Leia."

“Leia is still under Lighting Media. If Reyna holds a grudge, there’s a good chance they’ll blacklist her.”

Kimberly’s face fell. “How did this happen?”

Damon’s expression darkened. He turned to Charlie, his jaw tight. “Charlie, you’re in the industry. No way you didn’t know Reyna had skeletons in her closet. If you weren’t planning to work with Lighting Media, why didn’t you stop Leia from signing with them?”

Charlie met his glare, unfazed. “I did try. I told her to slow down and think it through, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Damon scoffed. “And that was it? You just let her go?”

Charlie exhaled, clearly trying to stay patient.

Eli, on the other hand, was done holding back. “Damon, cut it out. Leia is an adult. She made her own decision, and now she has to deal with the consequences."

"Charlie warned her, she ignored him. What was he supposed to do? Tie her up and keep her from signing?”

Damon shot him a glare. “Eli, shut up!”

Eli smirked. “Oh, what? You don’t like hearing the truth? You can baby Leia all you want, but don’t take it out on everyone else.”

Damon let out a sharp laugh, his anger barely contained. “You think I want to be pissed off? You guys are just impossible.”

He suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Oh, we’re impossible? Do you even know what Leia did?"

"She ran straight to Reyna and told her that Noelle claimed to be the creator of The Shallows! Do you have any idea how close Reyna was to winning Noelle over that? Is that what a sister does?"

Chapter 118

Eli sighed, knowing the conversation was spiraling. He had promised Charlie they wouldn’t bring it up, but at this point, there was no point in—

Damon looked like he’d been slapped. He shook his head. “No. No way. I don’t care how much Leia dislikes Noelle, she wouldn’t do something like that."

"Then explain this," Eli retorted. "How did Reyna even know about Noelle? Everyone in the industry gossips, but somehow, Reyna went straight to Noelle’s identity. Who else could’ve tipped her off?”

Damon’s superior attitude deflated, doubt creeping in.

Kimberly intervened, her voice lower now. "Do you have proof Leia told her?"

Eli’s frustration mounted, his jaw tightening in a clench. He gritted his teeth and snapped. “Isn’t it obvious?"

Damon muttered, his anger rounding into something deeper. “So you don’t have proof? And yet you’re so quick to throw accusations at your own sister already. Eli, what kind of brother are you! Do you even have a heart?"

Eli nearly laughed at the absurdity of it. “No heart! If I really don’t have one, I wouldn’t have stayed quiet after my fallout with Leia. I hadn’t exposed her to the family."

"And because of that one reason, I’m suddenly the villain?"

Kimberly, watching her sons go at it, let out a heavy sigh. Her good mood had long since disappeared. The evening had started off fine, but ever since Leia left, the atmosphere had soured, and everyone had been on edge.

She glanced at Noelle, suddenly worried about how this was affecting her.

However, when she turned, she found Noelle sitting there, calmly eating roasted chicken like nothing was happening.

Kimberly smiled. At least she’s not letting it get to her. Simple, food- loving, and unbothered, that’s my girl.

Kimberly was wrong. Noelle was eating, but her mind was far from relaxed.

"Eli finally speaking up for me; Charlie’s stance was still unclear."

And Damon, well, she didn’t hate him, but he really wasn’t the sharpest when it came to Leia. It was fine if he wanted to be protective of her, but at the very least, he could have considered her better.

Noelle didn’t expect much; she didn’t need blind loyalty or over-the-top gestures. All she wanted was for Damon to have her back the way he did everyone else.

Unfortunately, judging by how things were going, that was still a long way off.

Thinking about it, she grabbed another chicken drumstick and made up her mind; this weekend, she would find a way to get along better with Leia.

The weekend rolled around before she knew it.

That day, after wrapping up his driving practice, Damon decided to hit the mall.

Leia had been in a funk lately, barely leaving her room whenever he was home. Damon wasn’t great at handling emotions, especially when it came to Leia's.

He parked his car and was making his way toward the entrance when he heard someone call out, “Damon! Damon!”

He recognized the sound of that voice. Slowly, he turned his head, following the direction it came from. A petite figure was dashing in his direction.

"Leia?"