Chapter 128

Eli found himself outnumbered. He glanced around the room, his lips curling into a bitter smile. “Well, three votes for, one against, and one aberration. Guess my opinion doesn’t matter, huh?”

Nicolas, victorious, smiled gracefully. “So, Thi, can I take Noelle now?”

Eli shot a cold look at Nicolas.

Nicolas ignored the childish antics and turned to Vincent and Kimberly with a polite smile. “Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, may I take Noelle now?”

Vincent nodded. “Go ahead. Don’t delay her treatment.”

Kimberly stepped closer to her daughter, gently touching Noelle’s forehead. The heat radiating from her skin made Kimberly’s worry deepen. She looked up at Nicolas and added, “Nicolas, make sure she doesn’t catch a chill on the way. And keep a damp cloth on her forehead to cool her down.”

“Thank you. You have my word I will take good care of her.”

After saying their goodbyes, Nicolas carried Noelle out of the Anderson house and quickly drove to his private residence.

His residence was a small duplex, normally occupied only by Nicolas, and a housekeeper came by to clean every so often. But since it was late, the housekeeper had already left.

Nicolas instructed his secretary, Bryan, to prepare all the necessary medical supplies. He was about to call a doctor when Noelle, still feverish and half-conscious, stopped him.

“Nick, no doctors.”

“Don’t worry. My people are discreet. They won’t say a word,” Nicolas tried to reassure her.

But Noelle stubbornly shook her head. “No need. I’m a pretty good doctor myself. I know what’s going on with me. Nicolas, just get me a few meds.”

She lived off a few medications. Nicolas frowned, still uneasy. “Elly babe, are you sure just these meds will be enough?”

“Yep.”

Noelle was lying limp on the bed, eyelids barely lifting as she looked at him. “The medicine is just to help a little. My body heals fast. I just need rest.”

Hearing this, Nicolas finally relented. “Alright. I’ll get the meds. You try to rest.”

With that, he turned to leave, but before he could even take a step, Noelle grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“What is it?” he asked, turning around.

Noelle’s round eyes were half-lidded. She looked at him, her voice soft, “Nicolas, will you stay with me tonight? I just want you by my side.”

Her weak, dependent expression melted his heart. His eyes softened as he bent down, gently ruffling her hair. “Of course, sweetheart. I’ll stay with you. Let me just get your meds first, okay?”

“Okay.”

Only then did she release him, her eyes fluttering as she added, “Come back quick.”

“Promise,” Nicolas said, giving her a smile.

He couldn’t help but think how clingy she was when she wasn’t feeling well—she was already a naturally affectionate person, but when she was hurt, she seemed even needier.

Nicolas returned with the medication she requested—oral and topical. After administering everything, Noelle flopped back onto the bed, exhausted, though her small hand still clung tightly to his. It was as if holding onto him was the only way she could feel safe.

Nicolas sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching her sleep.

That night, Noelle didn’t sleep peacefully. Her injuries were severe. Even surgery would take hours to treat such wounds, but she refused to go to the hospital or accept medical help, choosing to rough it out on her own.

As she put it, she’d always handled injuries this way before, even worse ones, and still pulled through.

But even someone as strong as her couldn’t avoid suffering during the recovery. After all, she was still only human.

Her fever raged all night, and she felt like a little furnace. Despite her small frame, when she curled up, she seemed even smaller.

Nicolas watched her closely. Suddenly, he remembered reading somewhere that people with extreme insecurities often curled up into a ball while they slept.

He didn’t know what Noelle had been through, but he could imagine. She had probably been through so much pain and hardship alone, always forcing herself to carry the burden without anyone to rely on.

“Elly babe, it’s okay. I’m here. You don’t have to be scared,” Nicolas bent down and whispered softly in her ear, trying to comfort her.

She remained unconscious, but from the way she clenched her teeth and made faint “hissing” sounds, he could tell how much pain she was in.

Just watching her made his heart ache. She had insisted she wasn’t in pain, probably trying to appear strong for his sake. But now, it was clear. Such a little liar, Nicolas thought, a mix of tenderness and frustration swirling inside him.

Nicolas lay next to her, humming a soft tune. Whether the song had any effect, or if Noelle simply found comfort from his presence, by the time the early morning hours came, her face had relaxed, and the pain seemed to ease.

All night long, Nicolas had been wiping her forehead and cooling her down. By the time the sky began to lighten, Noelle’s fever finally broke.

She was still asleep. Nicolas gently lifted the hem of her shirt to check her wounds.

Miraculously, the injuries from yesterday, once raw and bloody, had scabbed over. The inflammation had subsided, and her skin, except around the wound, had returned to its original smoothness.

Noelle lay quietly, breathing evenly, not the frantic breaths from last night but calm and steady.

She was healing fast.

Nicolas was astonished.

Earlier, Noelle had claimed that she’d recover completely in a week, without leaving a scar. At the time, he thought she was either exaggerating or just trying to avoid worrying him.

But looking at her now, recovering at this speed, maybe, just maybe, she would be fully healed before the week was up.

It was incredible. Such healing power was beyond what any normal human could possess.

Nicolas had known for a while that Noelle wasn’t an ordinary person. Her reflexes, speed, strength, and learning ability were all top-tier. She was, in many ways, the pinnacle of human potential.

But even then he hadn’t considered the full picture. Someone like her—so powerful—couldn’t have been born naturally.

Nicolas knew that secret organizations existed, conducting experiments to create enhanced humans. Noelle seemed like the type they’d be striving for—perfect, beyond the average human.

But if that were true, he couldn’t understand why she had been released. If she had been a subject of such an organization, she would have been a precious asset. Why let her go? What purpose would it serve?

According to Nicolas’s investigation, Noelle had shown up at an orphanage when she was just ten years old. This meant that for the last eight years, she had been living freely.

If she really was the product of some secret program, why would they let her go? What could their reasoning possibly be? Nicolas wondered, his mind filled with questions.