Chapter 5

Nicolas didn't really take Noelle's words to heart. The weird stuff she mentioned sounded more like some wild daydreams, pretty hard to believe. After dinner, he drove her to the gates of the Anderson family villa.

Noelle jumped out of the car like it was nothing, then quickly spun around and slammed the door. Her bright eyes were full of excitement as she looked at him. "Hey, Nick, when can we hang out again!"

Nicolas had planned to use this meeting to shut down the rumors about the families’ potential marriage, but Noelle showing up threw that idea right out the window. She looked all sweet and innocent, but there was this sharpness about her. Being around her, though, was oddly fun.

He paused for a second, then looked up at her with a lazy grin, the kind that made her heart skip a beat. "Whenever I have some free time, I'll come find you."

"So, when's that gonna be?" Noelle pressed, her voice sounding a little impatient.

Nicolas shrugged, not in a rush.

Hearing that, Noelle immediately pouted, clearly not liking that answer. She felt like he was just giving her the brush-off. The way her lips stuck out and her cheeks puffed up just made her that much cuter.

"Pfft..." Nicolas couldn't help but laugh at how adorable she was. He reached over and playfully pinched her soft cheek. "Got a phone?"

"Yeah," Noelle replied cheerfully. "Give me your number." She rattled it off like she'd done it a million times.

Nicolas quickly pulled out his phone and typed it in. Just as he did, her phone rang. "That's my number. Hit me up if you need anything," he said.

"Okay!" Noelle nodded eagerly, her face lighting up with a huge smile. "Nick, I'll call you when I get a chance!"

Nicolas couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "She seems to have all the time in the world." He casually added, "Don't call me too much, though. Just maybe once in a while, like in the evenings."

"Sounds good!" Noelle agreed without hesitation, clearly excited. She bounced toward the villa, then stopped halfway to turn around and wave her arm at Nicolas with a big grin. "See you, Nick! Watch your step." Nicolas called out softly.

"I got it!" Noelle shot back cheerfully, stretching her arms wide like a bird finally getting to fly free, chattering to herself as she skipped through the gates of the Anderson family villa. She looked like a happy little ball of energy, full of optimism and totally carefree.

Nicolas waited until she disappeared out of sight before giving Bryan the nod to start the car.

On the drive, Bryan couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Sir, weren't you planning on keeping your distance from the Andersons? Why'd you give her your number?"

Nicolas let out a small smirk, his lips curling up. "She's...different, don't you think?"

"Yeah..." Bryan hesitated, then said bluntly, "She's definitely one of a kind, but honestly? She comes off as kind of innocent."

Nicolas didn't have an answer for that. He couldn't really argue.

After a long pause, Nicolas suddenly let out a soft laugh. He rested his chin in his hand, staring out the window as the scenery flew by. His lips pulled into a sly grin. "The Andersons aren't exactly the nicest people. I wonder how long she'll last in that jungle, all alone. They're probably gonna chew her up."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Bryan replied. In their minds, Noelle seemed way too naive to fit in with that crowd. She'd probably get destroyed in that family.

Noelle strolled through the corridor leading to the villa, and in the distance, she spotted two good-looking guys leaning against the marble pillars outside, talking. It was her fourth brother, Damon, and her fifth brother, Eli. She felt closer to Eli, so she immediately waved and shouted, "Eli! Eli! I'm back!"

The brothers both turned at the sound of her voice.

"Whoa!" Eli jumped when Noelle came running at him. Lately, he'd been a bit wary of her; she was just too familiar for comfort.

Damon, who had been standing nearby, gave the two of them a once-over, a smirk playing on his lips. "Eli, you and this girl are real tight, huh! She's all over you every time she sees you."

Eli quickly shrugged it off. "She's the one who won't leave me alone. It's got nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, sure," Damon said with a cold laugh, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Then tell me, who was the one practically dying to gossip about Nicolas Sawyer's scandals when she said she was gonna marry him? Who's been waiting by the door like a damn puppy?"

Eli went quiet, his face going red. He looked away, trying to play it off. "Damon, what the hell are you talking about! I don't get it."

Damon sneered, clearly enjoying Eli's discomfort. He gave a cold chuckle. "Sure you don't."

Noelle hurried toward Eli but was intercepted halfway by Damon. Damon's good-looking face twisted with a bit of sarcasm. "Noelle, is it just Eli in your world! You see him, and totally forget about me, your fourth brother! Not even a hello?"

Noelle looked up at Damon, trying to smooth things over. "Hey, Damon! I saw Eli first, so I went to say hi to him first. I didn't mean to ignore you, I…"

"No need to explain," Damon cut her off, his voice dripping with disdain. "From now on, don't bother greeting me. Just hearing you call me Damon makes me sick." Without another word, Damon turned and walked into the villa.

"Wait, Damon..." Eli didn't expect Damon to be this harsh toward Noelle. While Eli didn't exactly go out of his way to be kind to her, Damon's coldness was on a whole other level.

Noelle lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked up at Eli. "Brother, I just figured something out."

"What now?" Eli shot her a side glance, mentally rolling his eyes. "This girl's always up to something."

Noelle got serious, thinking it through. "Do you think Damon doesn't like me?"

"You just realized that?" Eli deadpanned. The truth was, the whole Anderson family wasn't exactly thrilled about Noelle's sudden return. She was a threat to Leia, their golden girl. Anyone who upset Leia was in trouble, and Noelle's presence alone was enough to stir up tension.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try harder!" Noelle clenched her fist, determination lighting up her face. "I'm going to make Damon like me!"

Eli looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "You're really going to keep dreaming, huh? He's not going to warm up to you that easily." Out of all the brothers, Damon was the one who spoiled Leia the most. Getting him to accept Noelle as a sister was as likely as winning the lottery.

"I can do it!" Noelle flashed him a confident grin. "If I set my mind to something, I always get it done." She'd always been able to do whatever she set out to do, and she was sure she'd fit in with this family, no matter what.

"Ha, well, good luck with that," Eli muttered, dismissing her. Then something clicked, and he asked, "By the way, you've met Nicolas Sawyer, right?"

"Yeah, I've met him," she replied.

"Uh..." Eli scratched his head, feeling a little uneasy. Nicolas had a reputation, and Noelle was too pretty to trust around him. He didn't want anything bad happening, and the last thing the Anderson family needed was more drama. So, he'd had someone watching over Nicolas' place. The report he got was that shortly after Noelle went inside, a woman came out of the villa. That didn't sit well with him. What if Nicolas is involved in something shady, and Noelle caught him red handed? he'd thought. So he decided to wait by the door to get the full story.

"Tell me something," Eli asked carefully, "When you went in, was there a woman coming out of Nicolas' room?"

Noelle's eyes widened in surprise, looking impressed. "Wow, Brother, you're good! Huh? How did you know there was a woman coming out of Nick's room?"

"What? There really was one?" Eli was so stunned, he almost didn't even notice how Noelle was addressing Nicolas.

"Yep!" Noelle smiled playfully, clearly not bothered. "When I went in, they were just done, and the woman came out all disheveled, not even dressed properly. I had to remind her to put her clothes back on." By the end of her little story, Noelle was looking pretty pleased with herself.

Eli was left speechless, his mind racing. Damn it! He just met his fiancée, and this idiot was still out here messing around like this? Nicolas is a piece of shit!