Chapter 207

“What’s going on?” The sudden power outage startled Damon, who immediately jumped to his feet in alarm.

On the other hand, Bennett was much calmer. He opened the bedroom door and looked into the pitch-black hallway, saying, “It’s probably just the circuit breaker tripping.”

“The circuit breaker tripped?” Damon frowned, finding it hard to believe. “Why would it trip for no reason! What are the maintenance guys even doing? Sitting around and getting paid for nothing!”

“Alright, alright.” Bennett defended the maintenance team and said, “People make mistakes sometimes. It’s already so late at night. Why are you so anxious? Just have someone go check.”

Damon furrowed his brows, finding something off about the outage. Feeling uneasy, he turned to Bennett and said, “Bennett, let’s talk about the gifts tomorrow. The power just went out all of a sudden, and I want to check on Leia. She scares easily; I don’t want her to freak out.”

Just as Damon reached the door, Bennett stopped him.

“What are you doing, Bennett?” Damon halted his steps and asked in confusion.

He glanced back at Bennett, and in the dim glow of the phone’s cold white light, Bennett’s handsome and gentle features took on an eerie and almost chilling quality. For a brief moment, it frightened Damon.

But almost instantly, he realized he must have been seeing things, because upon closer look, Bennett still looked just as calm and composed as ever. With his lips slightly curved, Bennett teased, “Damon, it’s late, and the power’s out. Why are you running to Leia’s room? Even real siblings set boundaries, let alone Leia, who isn’t even related to us by blood. If you keep staying so close to her, people might start questioning you.”

Hearing Bennett's insinuation, Damon immediately grew agitated. His face darkened as he said unhappily, “Bennett, what are you trying to say! Blood-related or not, I’ve always seen Leia as my sister. We’ve been siblings for 18 years. Do you think that would suddenly turn into something else?”

“Why are you getting so worked up?” Seeing Damon about to explode, Bennett quickly slung an arm around his shoulders and laughed. “Of course, I believe you. But if word got out, would others believe it? Most people only see the surface. When they think of wealthy families, they will associate them with all sorts of filthy scandals. Even if you’re just looking out for Leia, you still need to be careful. The world doesn’t run on what you think is fine. Got it?” Bennett added.

Damon was deep in thought, wondering if he should keep a distance from Leia. But before he could think further, a terrified scream was suddenly heard from the hallway near the stairs. “Ahhh!”

Damon recognized the voice immediately. It was Leia.

“Leia!” Without hesitation, Damon rushed toward the sound.

At the same time, the lights in the villa suddenly came back on.

When Damon arrived, he saw Leia and Noelle standing face to face in the hallway. Leia clutched her chest, still trying to calm herself down. She complained with annoyance, “Noelle! Were you trying to scare me to death? It’s so late at night, and you’re walking without making a sound. I nearly fell down the stairs when you bumped into me!”

Noelle pouted. “I always walk lightly. But Leia, why were you coming up from downstairs?”

Leia was startled when she heard that. She blinked at Noelle and corrected her, “Noelle, I didn’t come upstairs. I was just about to go downstairs, but when I heard footsteps, I turned around. That’s when you bumped into me.”

Hearing her, Noelle blinked as well and said, “Leia, you just complained that I walk without making footsteps sound. But now you’re saying you heard footsteps? What are you rambling about?”

“You…” Leia was at a loss for words, feeling utterly annoyed with Noelle, who could argue with her about anything.

Gritting her teeth, Leia forced a smile and said, “I didn’t put it accurately. I should’ve said that I sensed someone behind me, so I turned around.”

“Wow!” Noelle’s eyes widened in an exaggerated expression of admiration as she said, “I see. Leia, you’re really impressive. I’m really good at hiding my presence. Most people don’t even notice when I get close, but you actually sensed me!”

Leia rolled her eyes inwardly and pondered, Is she mocking me? Damn it. Noelle is such a bitch! Every word she speaks is dripping with sarcasm. Ugh. Let’s see how long she can keep this up.

Leia was fed up with Noelle, but she still kept a smile on her face and playfully said, “That just proves we’re so in sync. No matter where you are, I can always sense you.”

“Oh. I see.” Noelle and Leia looked at each other and exchanged smiles.

But in Noelle’s mind, she was thinking, Leia sure is quick-witted. But in sync! Please, the way she’s looking at me, she’s practically ready to eat me alive! And does she think I’m an idiot? She clearly just came upstairs, yet she was lying about going down. But why did she lie?

While Noelle was pondering Leia’s motives, Damon and Bennett arrived.

“What’s going on with you two?” Damon was the first to speak.

When Leia saw him, she softly called out, “Damon.” Then she smiled and said, “Nothing, it’s just that the power went out, so I wanted to see what was going on. As I was heading downstairs, I ran into Noelle at the stairs.”

Leia’s words sounded harmless on the surface. Those not paying close attention might misunderstand and think she bumped into Noelle while going downstairs. However, Bennett caught the subtle manipulation in her phrasing.

The corners of his lips curled up as he thought, This woman… What a waste of talent. She’d thrive in a political chess game.